(AFP) – Iran targeted US radar and air defense installations in the Gulf on Tuesday, warning Washington of “more decisive and powerful” attacks to come as the conflict threatened to widen with a blockade of Saudi ports by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Here are the latest developments on Tuesday:
– **Trump vows to help Lebanon**
US President Donald Trump met his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun at the White House on Tuesday, where he vowed to support the country with disarming Iran-backed Hezbollah and forging a lasting peace with Israel. “President Aoun stressed the urgent need for a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory,” according to a readout of the meeting from the Lebanese presidency. After the talks, Trump said he would authorize the resumption of direct flights by US airlines to Lebanon, which have been suspended since the 1985 hijacking by Lebanese Islamist militants of a TWA flight with many Americans aboard.
– **War cost US $37.5 bn**
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iran war has cost the United States $37.5 billion so far, up from a previous estimate of nearly $29 billion in mid-May. “The estimate we have as of today is $37.5 billion,” Hegseth told Congress during a hearing Tuesday where he defended a request for $67 billion in supplemental funding for the Pentagon.
– **Trump ‘not finished’ with Iran**
President Donald Trump said the United States will continue attacks on Iran, while forecasting it would take the country more than 20 years to rebuild from current damage. “If we left right now, it would take Iran 20, 25 years to rebuild. Okay, and we’re not finished at all…we’re not leaving right now,” he told reporters during a White House meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
– **Trump warns Houthis**
Trump said he would “take care of” the Houthi rebels if the Iran-backed militant group follows through on its threatened blockade of Saudi ports. “If something like that happens, we take care of it,” Trump told reporters.
– **Pakistan PM calls for restraint**
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for restraint from all warring sides during a meeting with Iran’s interior minister on Tuesday. Sharif “urged all sides to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that could further destabilize the region,” a statement from his office said, adding that he told Iran’s Eskandar Momeni that Pakistan would continue to act as a mediator.
– **Kuwait slams Iranian attacks**
Kuwait said Iran hit several power and water desalination plants Monday, causing fires in the fourth such attack in as many days.
– **Bahrain says intercepts Iran attacks**
Bahrain sounded sirens as the country’s military had said it intercepted the latest of a spate of Iranian attacks on the Gulf kingdom. “The siren has been sounded, Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” the interior ministry said in a statement on X.
– **Jordan intercepts drones**
The Jordanian military announced it had intercepted five Iranian drones, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirming the attack that they said targeted a “complex housing US terrorist forces in the region of Rukban.”
– **Iran stops tankers in Hormuz**
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday they stopped two “non-compliant oil tankers” attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, after “explosions caused extensive fires aboard them,” state news agency IRNA reported.
© 2024 AFP
