Skip to main content

US embassy in Iraq hit as Mideast war enters third week

Explosions rocked cities across the Middle East on Saturday as the United States 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 US and Israel attacked Iran and plunged 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 and home to oil storage and 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 neigh...
Post a Comment

US embassy in Iraq hit as Mideast war enters third week

Explosions rocked cities across the Middle East on Saturday as the United States 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 US and Israel attacked Iran and plunged 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 and home to oil storage and 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 neighbours 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, an AFP journalist saw. It followed strikes against the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah, killing two members, including a "key figure", security sources said. President Donald Trump said 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 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% 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, according to Iranian media. Trump said 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 on Friday. The Israeli army told 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 says more than 1,200 people have been killed by US and Israeli attacks, numbers that could not be independently verified. The UN refugee agency has estimated 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. Read More: US aircraft crash in Iraq kills six crew members Israel's military said it conducted 7,600 strikes on the country, most of them against its missile programme. Iran's rulers appear intent on showing they will come through the war intact and in control, despite former supreme leader Ali Khamenei being assassinated at the start of the US-Israeli campaign. Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was named the new supreme leader, but has been absent from public view and is said to be wounded. Within Iran, the Revolutionary Guards have warned they will crack down heavily on any anti-government protests, after demonstrations in January in which several thousand people were killed. Iranian authorities have maintained an internet blackout since the war started. The Wall Street Journal and New York Times said on Friday the Pentagon had dispatched the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the region along with its complement of some 2,500 Marines. The US military has lost 13 personnel, including six aboard a refuelling aircraft that crashed in Iraq, an incident US officials said was not the result of hostile fire. Qatar said it intercepted two missiles on Saturday and evacuated key areas after blasts were heard in the capital Doha. Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said its forces had intercepted dozens of drones on Friday. Hamas called on Saturday for Iran to refrain from targeting neighbouring countries, in a rare breach between the two allies, though it affirmed Tehran's right to defend itself. Beyond the Gulf, Turkey said NATO forces shot down a ballistic missile launched from Iran, the third such interception in the war. Lebanon has been drawn into the war, too, after the Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel following the assassination of Khamenei. An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed a dozen doctors, paramedics and nurses at a healthcare clinic, Lebanese health authorities said on Saturday. According to the Lebanese authorities, at least 773 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon aimed at wiping out Iranian ally Hezbollah.

from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/7vZec8j
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...
Post a Comment
Read more

US, Philippines kick off joint military drills in South China Sea with 16,000 troops

Some 16,000 US and Philippine troops kicked off the annual joint military drills on Monday in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), local media reported. WPS is the official designation by Philippines to the parts of the South China Sea that are included in the country's exclusive economic zone. The 19-day exercises, dubbed "Balikatan 2024," will involve around 5,000 Philippine and 11,000 US troops, making it the largest joint military drills between the two allies conducted in decades, local English daily Manila Times reported citing the military. A total of 14 nations, including Japan and India, will take part in the drills as observers amid mounting maritime tensions in the South China Sea. Contingents from the Australian Defence Force and the French Navy will also join the exercise as participants. Read also: China urges US to stop using Philippines as a pawn to destabilise South China Sea France will join the group sail but will only navigate on the edge of the Philippine E...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

The private jet parking lots at airports near the Indian city of Ayodhya are full and the shops have run out of gold-plated idols, as wealthy devotees prepare for the invite-only opening ceremony of one of Hinduism's holiest temples. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani are among the 8,000 or so attendees at Monday's inauguration event for the Ram Temple, which devotees believe is built on the birthplace of Lord Ram, a sacred Hindu deity. The construction of the temple, which began after the Supreme Court awarded the site to Hindus in 2019 more than two decades after a Hindu mob razed a mosque there, triggering deadly riots, fulfils a key campaign promise of Modi and his Hindu nationalist party. Read BJP-promised temple transforms Ayodhya: Muslims, locals feel neglected The opening ceremony, organised by the trust that built the temple, comes months before a national election which the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is widely expected to w...
Post a Comment
Read more