‘Attack on Iran will escalate,’ Israel says as it hits ‘Tehran’s heart’ – National
Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Iran and threatened on Friday that its attacks would “increase and expand” after US President Donald Trump said ceasefire talks were progressing well and gave Tehran more time to open the Strait of Hormuz, although there were no signs that Iran was backing down.
With stock markets reeling and the economy reeling from a war raging across the Middle East, Trump is under increasing pressure to end Iran’s hold on the canal, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped.
The United States has given Iran a 15-point proposal for an end to the shooting including relinquishing control of the strait, but at the same time it has ordered thousands of troops to the region – perhaps in preparation for a military attempt to break the waterway from Iran’s strong grip.
With time running out on Trump’s deadline for Iran to open the corridor, after which he threatened to destroy Iran’s energy plants, he pushed back his self-imposed deadline to April 6 on Thursday, saying talks to end the conflict were going very well. Iran, however, has maintained that it is not involved in any negotiations.
Air raid sirens went off in Israel as the military said it was working to intercept Iranian missiles in what was a daily occurrence. Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran “will pay a heavy price, raising the price of this war crime.”
“Despite the warnings, the shooting continues,” Katz said. “Therefore the attack on Iran will increase and expand to other targets and areas that help the regime in building and using weapons against Israeli citizens.”
Israel’s military said its strikes on Friday targeted facilities “in the heart of Tehran” that Iran uses to produce ballistic missiles and other weapons. It also hit missile launchers and storage facilities in western Iran.
Smoke billowed over Beirut after the pre-dawn strike, and Lebanon’s Ministry of Health later reported two deaths.
Meanwhile, Iran has been firing missiles and drones at its Gulf Arab neighbors, with sirens warning of attacks in Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense said it fired missiles and drones at the capital, Riyadh.
Kuwait said both its Shuwaikh port in Kuwait City and Mubarak Al Kabeer Port in the north, which is being built as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, suffered “damage” from the attack.
It appeared to be the first time that a joint project with China in the Gulf Arab countries has been attacked in the war. Throughout the conflict, China has continued to buy Iranian crude.
After Wall Street’s worst day since the start of the war, Asian stocks in particular fell on Friday amid growing doubts about the possibility of a slowdown. Oil prices rose again, Brent crude, the international standard, at US $ 107 a barrel in morning trading, more than 45 percent since Israel and the US attacked Iran in Feb. 28 to start a war.
Iran’s seizure of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has caused growing concern about the global energy crisis, and appears to be part of a strategy to make the US back down by destabilizing the world economy. The Gulf Arab bloc said on Thursday that Iran is now imposing tolls on ships to ensure safe passage through the waters.
Trump’s ambassador Steve Witkoff said Washington had presented a 15-point “action list” to Iran to end the ceasefire, using Pakistan as a mediator. The list includes restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
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Iran rejected the US offer and put forward its own five-point proposal, including the restoration and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
Politicians from several countries have been trying to arrange a direct meeting between delegates from the US and Iran, possibly in Pakistan.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday that the country’s foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, held phone calls yesterday with his Turkish and Pakistani counterparts as part of “their efforts” to organize talks.
Abdellatty said he hoped the trilateral effort would lead to “gradual de-escalation efforts that will lead to the end of the war.”
As communication efforts continued, a group of American ships approached the region with about 2,500 Waters. Also, at least 1,000 82nd Airborne paratroopers — trained to land in hostile terrain to protect key terrain and airfields — have been ordered to the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council will hold closed-door consultations on Iran on Friday, according to two UN officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting is not public.
They added that Russia had requested a meeting about the US-Israeli attack on civilian infrastructure in the country, and that the US, which holds the presidency of the Security Council, had organized it.
Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said aid groups in Iran reported that “countless houses, hospitals and schools were damaged or destroyed,” and that almost all of Tehran had been damaged.
“Citizens are paying the highest price for this war – it must end,” he said in a statement.
The International Organization for Migration said on Friday that 82,000 civilian buildings, including hospitals and the homes of 180,000 people in Iran have been damaged so far.
“If this war continues, we risk a much wider humanitarian crisis,” Egeland said. “Millions could be forced to flee across borders, putting enormous pressure on an already overcrowded area.”
The Israeli army said on Thursday it had sent the 162nd Division to southern Lebanon, joining thousands of soldiers who were moved there after the outbreak of the war. Israel says the ongoing offensive is aimed at protecting towns on its northern border from Hezbollah attacks and removing the militant group from the area.
18 people died in Israel, and four Israeli soldiers were also killed in Lebanon. Two Israeli soldiers were seriously injured in Lebanon on Friday in an “operational accident,” the military said.
Authorities said more than 1,100 people have died in Lebanon and more than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran.
About 13 American soldiers died and four people in the West Bank were attacked and 20 in the Gulf Arab states also died.
In Iraq, where Iranian-backed militias have joined the war, 80 members of the security forces have been killed.
