In the fourth week of fighting in West Asia, the United States and Israel have exchanged fire with Iran, with attacks that have expanded to military, diplomatic and energy targets across the Gulf.
Sparked by the Feb. 28 US-Israeli strikes, the conflict has spread across the region, roiling energy markets and driving up oil prices as Tehran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, while Israel has stepped up attacks in Lebanon with a ground invasion targeting Hezbollah.
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Iran hits Israeli nuclear city: The Israeli military said an Iranian missile hit Dimona, home to a nuclear facility. Iranian state television called it a “response” to an earlier attack on its Natanz nuclear plant.
The strike on Iran’s nuclear plant: Iran’s atomic energy body said the US-Israeli strikes hit the Natanz facility, previously used to enrich uranium, but reported “no leakage of radioactive materials”.
The Hormuz threat has been ‘downgraded’: The US military said bunker-busting bombs struck an Iranian coastal underground facility this week, adding that Iran’s ability to threaten shipping around the Strait of Hormuz “has been degraded as a result”.
Nations ‘ready’ to secure Hormuz: Twenty-two countries condemned Iran’s attacks on Gulf shipping and the blockade of Hormuz, expressing “willingness to contribute to appropriate efforts” to ensure safe passage. The United States was not among the signatories.
Diego Garcia intended: Iran “unsuccessfully” tried to hit the UK-US Diego Garcia base, a UK official said, after US media reported that Tehran fired two ballistic missiles at the base.
Israel vows to intensify: Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that the US and Israel will intensify attacks on Iran from Sunday.
Iran says it has no crude oil stranded at sea for the US to lift sanctions
The US announcement that it will lift sanctions on Iranian crude oil stranded at sea is an attempt to manipulate the market, as there is no such oil, Iran’s Oil Ministry spokesman Saman Ghodousi told Iran’s state media.
“Currently, Iran has essentially no crude oil in storage or any surplus available for supply to other international markets, and the US Treasury Secretary’s remarks are only intended to reassure buyers and manage the market psychologically,” he said late Friday.
Israel: Iran used two-stage ICBMs against Diego Garcia
Iran targeted the island of Diego Garcia with a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile, the Israeli military said. This refers to a rocket with at least two rocket engines, one that allows the rocket to reach space and the other that propels it toward its target, up to 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) away.
“These missiles are not intended to hit Israel. Their range extends to the capitals of Europe – Berlin, Paris and Rome are all within direct threat range,” Chief of Staff General Eyal Zamir said on Saturday evening.
Israel says it struck a Tehran facility used to produce nuclear components
The Israeli military said on Saturday that its forces had struck a facility embedded inside a Tehran university suspected of being used to develop components for nuclear weapons.
“The Malek-Ashtar University facility was used by the Iranian terrorist regime’s military industries and ballistic missile group to develop nuclear weapons components and weapons,” the military said.
“Malek-Ashtar University was under the Iranian Ministry of Defense and is internationally sanctioned due to its activities and efforts over the years to advance Iran’s nuclear program and develop ballistic missiles,” the military added.
The G7 demands an ‘immediate and unconditional’ halt to Iran’s attacks
Top envoys from the Group of Seven advanced economies and the European Union called on Saturday for an “immediate and unconditional” end to Iran’s attacks against allies in the Middle East.
“We call for the immediate and unconditional cessation of all attacks by the Iranian regime,” the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the EU’s foreign policy chief, said in a joint statement.
The Israel-Iran war is expected to last several more weeks, the IDF chief says
Israel is only halfway through the war with Iran, the army chief of staff said on Saturday, as the country entered the fourth week of its war against Iran.
“Dear citizens of Israel – we are in the middle of the road, but the direction is clear,” said Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.
“In about a week, at Easter, at the Freedom Festival, we will continue to fight for our freedom and our future.”
Wrap | Iran’s attacks on the Israeli nuclear city a ‘response’ to the attack on the site of Natanz
Iranian state television said a missile attack on the Israeli city of Dimona, home to a nuclear facility, was a “response” to an earlier attack on its Natanz nuclear site.
Iran’s Nuclear Energy Organization had said earlier in the day that “the Natanz enrichment complex was targeted this morning,” although “no leakage of radioactive materials was reported,” according to a statement carried by local media.
According to Israeli emergency services, the rocket attack in Dimona injured at least 39 people.
Wrap | US military says Iran’s threat to Hormuz has ‘degraded’
The US military said on Saturday that Iran’s ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz had been “degraded” by the bombing this week of an underground facility where it stored cruise missiles and other weapons.
With Iran largely closing the strait, the gateway to a fifth of the world’s oil, the US military has unleashed some of the heaviest bombs in its arsenal to penetrate neighboring missile countries.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), said he had dropped multiple 5,000-pound bombs on a “hardened” underground facility along Iran’s coast that was used to store anti-ship cruise missiles, mobile missile launchers and other equipment.
“We not only took out the facility, but also destroyed the intelligence support sites and the missile radars that were used to monitor the ships’ movements,” Cooper said in the video message posted on X.
“Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz has been degraded as a result, and we will not stop pursuing these targets,” he added.
Wrap | The US and Israel attack Iran’s nuclear plant at Natanz
According to Iran’s atomic energy organization, the US and Israel targeted a plant in Natanz in Isfahan province, which houses underground centrifuges for enriching uranium for Iran’s controversial nuclear program and was already damaged in last June’s war.
“Following the criminal attacks of the United States and the occupying Zionist regime against our country, the Natanz enrichment complex was targeted this morning,” the agency said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency.
No leakage of nuclear materials was reported, he added.
