The US and Israel on Feb 28 launched what they described as a “pre-emptive” joint strike against Iranian targets, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations”
A meeting of the foreign ministers of the regional countries, hosted by Saudi Arabia, has condemned Iran’s retaliatory campaign against Gulf countries, calling on the country to “immediately” cease the aggression
Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s key South Pars gas field if there are further attacks against Qatar’s main gas plant
Iran seeks compensation from the United Arab Emirates, accusing it of enabling US attacks against Iranian territory, Iran’s UN Ambassador told the UN Secretary General in a letter according to a Nournews report, according to Reuters.
In the letter, Amir Saeid Iravani said the UAE’s decision to allow its territory to be used for the strikes constituted “an internationally wrongful act that entailed state responsibility.”
Tehran said the UAE had an international responsibility to provide reparation, including compensation for all material and moral damages incurred.
Iranian missile attacks have killed three Palestinian women in the occupied West Bank and a foreign worker in central Israel, medics said, AFP reports.
Falling shrapnel struck a hair salon in the West Bank town of Beit Awa near Hebron late Wednesday, killing the three women, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, marking the first Palestinian deaths from Iranian attacks in the ongoing Middle East war.
The victims include 17-year-old Mays Ghazi Masalmeh, according to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa.
The Red Crescent said at least eight others were wounded, including one woman in critical condition. Wafa reported that the salon had been set up in a metal caravan next to a house.
AFP images showed civil defence workers inside the caravan, whose roof appeared to be punctured by the falling munition. A rug and bed sheets were covered in blood.
Palestinian security forces gather at the scene where Palestinian women were killed in an Iranian missile attack near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 18. — Reuters
Iran has executed three people convicted of killing police officers and carrying out operations in favour of the United States and Israel during unrest earlier this year, the judiciary said, reports Al-Jazeera.
It added that those executed were involved in the killing of two law enforcement personnel.
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, currently the only export outlet for its crude, was targeted in an aerial attack, an industry source said, adding there was minimal impact, reports Reuters.
It was not immediately clear what specifically was targeted in Yanbu.
The Kuwaiti Army says its air defences are “confronting hostile missile and drone attacks”, about an hour after the National Guard said it shot down several drones, reports Al-Jazeera.
The army advises the public to adhere to “security and safety instructions” and says that any explosions heard are the result of interceptions.
The Channel 12 broadcaster says Iranian missile attacks on Israel have triggered air raid sirens in central Israel, the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley, reports Al-Jazeera.
The Israeli military also said that it has detected incoming missiles from Iran.
The price of the main US benchmark for crude oil rose more than three per cent following strikes against energy infrastructure in Iran and Qatar, reports Reuters.
At around 2230 GMT, a few minutes after the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) reopened, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) contract was up 3.15pc at $99.35 a barrel.
An influential armed group in Iraq pledged to stop attacking the US embassy for five days, presenting a series of conditions, reports Reuters.
Kataeb Hezbollah said the group’s secretary-general had “issued orders to suspend operations targeting the US Embassy in Baghdad for a period of five days”, but stipulated several conditions, notably preventing Israeli bombing of a southern Beirut neighbourhood, and “a commitment to refrain from bombing residential areas in Baghdad and other provinces”.
AFP reported no drone or rocket attacks so far on the US embassy in Iraq’s capital Baghdad, between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held separate phone conversations with the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, and Pakistan.
In a post on X, the Iranian foreign ministry said regional developments in light of the “ongoing US and Zionist regime’s military aggression” against Iran and its regional and global repercussions was discussed.
“In these discussions, Iran’s foreign minister assessed the US and Zionist regime’s attack on Iran’s infrastructure as an action aimed at escalating tensions and destabilizing the region, emphasizing the need for vigilance and coordination among regional countries in the face of these threats.”
The Iranian diplomat said that the Islamic republic will not spare any effort in “defending its national sovereignty and the security of its citizens”.
Qatar’s interior ministry said that the country’s civil defence forces had “contained” all fires at the Ras Laffan Industrial Area. The statement added no casualties were reported and cooling operation is underway.
A meeting of the foreign ministers of the regional countries, hosted by Saudi Arabia, has condemned Iran’s retaliatory campaign against Gulf countries, calling on the country to “immediately” cease the aggression.
Foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Pakistan, Turkiye, Syria, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Egypt attended the meeting.
In a statement, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry said that the participants “strongly condemned the Iranian attacks using missiles and drones, considering them a violation of sovereignty and international law”.
They held “Iran fully responsible for the losses, calling on it to immediately and unconditionally cease the aggression, and to comply with Security Council resolutions”.
Saudi Arabia has held a “coordination” meeting with the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt, its foreign ministry says.
In a statement, the ministry said that Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan, along with his regional counterparts, discussed the “Iranian escalation” and the “importance of continuing consultation and coordinating joint efforts to achieve security and stability in the region”.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was present in the meeting as well.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s key South Pars gas field if there were further attacks against Qatar’s main gas plant, AFP reports.
Trump confirmed on his Truth Social platform that Israel had struck the South Pars field but said the United States “knew nothing” of the attack, which spurred Iran to launch an attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility.
“NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field unless Iran unwisely decides to attack a very innocent, in this case, Qatar - In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before,” the US president wrote.
A projectile has hit a vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates near the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire, a British naval maritime security agency said, AFP reports.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report at 2300 GMT on Wednesday “that a vessel has been hit by an unknown projectile which has resulted in a fire on board” off the UAE port of Khor Fakkan in the Gulf of Oman.
Abu Dhabi has shut down operations at a gas facility due to falling debris from missile interceptions, the Emirati capital’s media office said, AFP reports.
“Abu Dhabi authorities are responding to incidents at the Habshan gas facilities and at the Bab (oil) field caused by falling debris from the successful interception of missiles,” Abu Dhabi’s media office posted on X.
“The gas facilities have been shut down,” it said, adding no injuries had been reported.
An Iranian missile attack has caused damage at Qatar’s main gas facility on its north coast, the defence ministry said, AFP reports.
The “State of Qatar was attacked (by) ballistic missiles, from Iran, which targeted Ras Laffan Industrial City and caused damages”, the Qatari defence ministry posted on X.
Qatar had said overnight that attacks on the gas facility were a “direct threat” to its national security.
Iranian state television has said that a missile struck Qatar’s main gas facility again, hours after it was hit in a destructive strike that Doha said caused extensive damage, AFP reports.
“Qatar’s Ras Laffan refinery hit by missile again, burning,” the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting posted on Telegram.
The European Union has called on Israel to cease its military campaign in Lebanon, after the latest Israeli strikes on Beirut, AFP reports.
“The EU is deeply concerned about the ongoing Israeli offensive in Lebanon, which already has devastating humanitarian consequences and risks triggering a prolonged conflict,” a spokesperson has said. “Israel should cease its operations in Lebanon.”
