(AFP) – Explosions rocked cities across the Middle East on Saturday as the US embassy in Baghdad was hit by a drone strike, and Tehran warned Emiratis to stay away from ports as it targets the world’s energy supply lines. Washington’s embassy in Iraq was hit for the second time since February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, plunging the Gulf into a conflict that has sent shockwaves through the global economy. Waves of drone, missile, and aerial bombing have displaced millions in the region and reportedly killed more than 1,200 people in Iran.
Clouds of dark black smoke were seen rising from Fujairah, home to a major Emirati port, as well as oil storage and an export terminal. Shortly beforehand, the Iranian military had issued a warning for Emirati civilians to avoid port areas exposed to drone and missile strikes. Despite facing superior US and Israeli firepower, Iran appears determined to fight on, launching missile and drone attacks against at least 10 of its neighbors and effectively barring the chokepoint Strait of Hormuz to sea traffic. A cloud of black smoke rose above the US diplomatic mission in the Iraqi capital, as confirmed by an AFP journalist. This followed strikes against the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah, which killed two members, including a “key figure,” according to security sources.
President Donald Trump stated on Friday that US forces had hit Iran’s Kharg Island, its biggest oil export hub, and “obliterated” military targets while sparing its energy facilities. Iranian media later confirmed there was no damage to oil facilities on the island. Iran’s threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have brought traffic to a virtual halt on a route that normally carries one-fifth of global oil supplies. Crude oil prices have surged more than 40 percent since the war began. Iran had threatened that US-linked oil and energy firms would “immediately be destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes” if the US struck its oil facilities, as reported by Iranian media. Trump announced that the US Navy would start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “very soon” to restore oil exports.
Strikes have continued in Iran, with heavy blasts shaking Tehran late Friday. The Israeli army advised people in an industrial zone in the west of Iran’s northern city of Tabriz to leave ahead of military operations on Saturday. Iran’s health ministry has indicated that more than 1,200 people have been killed by US and Israeli attacks, though these numbers could not be independently verified. The UN refugee agency estimates that up to 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since the war started. Trump described Iran as “totally defeated” and in search of a deal he was unwilling to consider.
According to the Pentagon, the US and Israel have struck more than 15,000 targets in Iran over the past two weeks. Israel’s military reported it conducted 7,600 strikes on the country, most targeting its missile program. The rulers of Iran seem intent on showing they will come through the war intact and in control, despite the death of their supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the start of the US-Israeli campaign. Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been named the new supreme leader but has remained absent from public view and is reported to be wounded. Within Iran, the Revolutionary Guards have warned of a heavy crackdown on any anti-government protests, following demonstrations in January that resulted in several thousand deaths. Iranian authorities have maintained an internet blackout since the war began.
The United States is reportedly sending reinforcements that could open up options beyond the airborne campaign. The Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported on Friday that the Pentagon had dispatched the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the region, along with its complement of about 2,500 Marines. The US military has lost 13 personnel, including six aboard a refueling aircraft that crashed in Iraq, with officials stating the incident was not the result of hostile fire.
Qatar announced it intercepted two missiles on Saturday and evacuated key areas after blasts were heard in the capital Doha. Interceptors were seen downing two projectiles over downtown Doha, according to AFP journalists. Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry claimed its forces had intercepted dozens of drones on Friday. The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called on Saturday for Iran to refrain from targeting neighboring countries, marking a rare breach between the two allies, although it affirmed Tehran’s right to defend itself.
Beyond the Gulf, Turkey reported that NATO forces shot down a ballistic missile launched from Iran—the third such interception in the war. Lebanon has also been drawn into the conflict, as the Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel following Khamenei’s death. An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon resulted in the deaths of a dozen doctors, paramedics, and nurses at a healthcare clinic, according to Lebanese health authorities. As per the Lebanese authorities, at least 773 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which aim to dismantle the Iranian ally Hezbollah.
– AFP bureaux in Baghdad, Tehran, Dubai, Washington, and Beirut.
© 2024 AFP
