War Widens As Israel And U.S. Pound Iran And Tehran And Its Proxies Hit Back

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The war in the Middle East took an even more spiraling turn Monday. Israel and the USA attacked Iranian. Tehran and its allies have retaliated against Israel, neighboring Gulf states and targets critical to the world’s oil and natural gas production.

The severity of the attacks, Murder of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneiand the lack of any exit plan in sight paves the way for a protracted conflict with far-reaching consequences. Safe havens in the Middle East As Dubai sees the fire coming; hundreds of thousands of airline passengers stranded around the world; oil prices was shot; and US allies promised help Stop Iranian missiles and drones.

Iran has long threatened to plunge the region into all-out war if attacked, including targeting Israel, Gulf Arab states and the flow of crude oil vital to global energy markets. all of these was attacked On Monday.

The chaos of the conflict was revealed when the US military said Kuwait had intervened. “He was shot by mistake” Three American F-15E Strike Eagles as Iran attacks with planes, ballistic missiles and drones. U.S. Central Command said all six pilots exited the plane safely and were in stable condition.

Israel and the United States bombed Iran’s missile sites and targeted its navy, claiming to have destroyed its headquarters and several warships. While numerous air strikes were being carried out on Iran’s capital Tehran, senior security official Ali Larijani promised X: “We will not negotiate with the USA.”

The death toll rose on all sides. The Iranian Red Crescent said that at least 555 people lost their lives in the US-Israeli operation. 11 people lost their lives in Israel, where Iranian missiles hit many places. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group also targeted Israel; Israel also attacked Lebanon, killing more than two dozen people. Meanwhile, four American soldiers were killed, three in the United Arab Emirates, and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.

In Kuwait City, fire and smoke billowed from the US Embassy compound shortly after the US issued a warning to Americans to take cover and stay away from the complex. There was no immediate report of damage or casualties.

Already in world markets shaken from the fightQatarEnergy said it would stop producing liquefied natural gas, pushing one of the world’s largest suppliers out of the market. It did not offer any timeline for restoring its production. In contrast, European natural gas prices increased by 40%.

Meanwhile, a military spokesman told the state-run Saudi Press Agency that Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery came under attack by drones and that its defense systems shot down incoming planes. The refinery has a capacity of over half a million barrels of crude oil per day.

The Sultanate said a drone also targeted an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, killing a sailor, while the wreckage fell into an oil refinery in Kuwait.

Many ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. One fifth of oil trade goes through and where Iran has threatened attack.

“The attack on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with the Gulf energy infrastructure now directly in Iran’s crosshairs,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft. “There is a long period of uncertainty ahead of us”

The region is also a air travel centerand passengers were stranded around the world as carriers operated overland flights in the Gulf. Long-haul carriers Etihad and Emirates resumed limited flights on Monday.

Air strikes on Sunday targeted the Natanz nuclear enrichment site, Iran’s International Atomic Energy Agency Ambassador Reza Najafi told reporters.

“Iran’s justifications for wanting to develop nuclear weapons are a big lie,” he said.

Israel and the United States did not accept that there was an attack on the field that the United States bombed during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June. Israel said it targeted “the leadership and the nuclear infrastructure.”

Iran says it has not enriched uranium since JuneHe reserved the right to do so while saying that his nuclear program was entirely peaceful.

The UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace in Tehran was damaged in US-Israeli attacks on Sunday, an Iranian government news outlet said on Monday.

Hezbollah said it fired missiles at Israel early Monday in response to Khamenei’s killing and that “Israeli attacks have been repeated.” It was the first time the militant group claimed responsibility for an attack in more than a year.

No injuries or damage were reported.

Israel retaliated with attacks on Lebanon, killing at least 31 people and wounding 149, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. Associated Press journalists in Beirut were jolted awake by loud explosions that shook buildings and shattered windows.

Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said the army would not stop its attack on Hezbollah “until the threat from Lebanon is eliminated.”

“We will end this operation not only by hitting Iran, but also by dealing a devastating blow to Hezbollah,” he said.

Rescue services in Israel said many sites were hit, including by Iranian missiles. Jerusalem and a synagogue in Beit Shemesh. In total, 11 people were killed.

Iran’s proxies were a major concern for American and Israeli officials before launching attacks over the weekend.

Iraqi Shiite militia group Saraya Awliya al-Baraj claimed responsibility for a drone attack targeting US soldiers at the airport in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday. He claimed there was another drone attack on a US air base in northern Iraq on Sunday.

US military said B-2 stealth bombers It hit Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2000-pound bombs. President Donald Trump said on social media that nine Iranian warships were sunk and the Iranian navy’s headquarters was “substantially destroyed.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that the United States is not engaged in a nation-building effort in Iran and has a clear mission. “This is not Iraq. This is not forever,” Hegseth said.

When asked about the operation’s ultimate goals, how long it would last, or what success would look like, he did not elaborate, saying it would disadvantage U.S. forces.

In the northern Iranian city of Babol, a student whose name was not disclosed out of fear of retribution told the AP that armed riot police were on the streets Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday following Khamenei’s death.

“We do not know whether we should be happy that the criminals who oppressed us have been eliminated, or whether we should remain silent in the face of the war and terrorism waged by the USA and Israel against the country and its interests,” he said.

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv and Israel, while Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Türkiye, contributed to this report.