With the conflict in West Asia now in its second week, Iran and US-Israel continued relentless strikes in the region. While there has been no concrete steps towards resolution yet, Israel’s foreign minister said in a big indication that they were not looking for an “endless war”, and US President Donald Trump said it would be a “short-term excursion.”
Trump threatened to strike Iran “20 times harder” if they attempted to stop oil passage through Strait of Hormuz, Tehran responded that it would either be “strait of peace” or “strait of suffering.”
Israel continued to pound Iran and Lebanon, with Tehran retaliating by striking Gulf nations. The death toll in Iran has climbed above 1,200, while 486 people have been killed in Lebanon, CNN reported.
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Latest developments in West Asia | 10 points
• Israel struck Hezbollah infrastructure south of Beirut, a day after its attacks hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, Associated Press reported. Strikes were reported in Lebanon’s southern city of Tyre, state media reported.
• At least two people were killed in United Arab Emirates Tuesday, as nine drones hit the country. The country intercepted eight missiles and 26 drones, its defence ministry said. Abu Dhabi was also targeted, as a drone strike caused fire in an industrial zone.
• Heavy aerial bombardments hit eastern Tehran, killing at least 40 people in residential buildings, Al Jazeera reported. The attacks left people trapped in a residential building in the capital, with rescue teams racing to save them.
• While Trump issued warnings, Iranian security official Ali Larijani said that these were “empty threats.” “The sacrificial nation of Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself,” Larijani said.
Israel foreign minister Gideon Saar, meanwhile, said on Tuesday that Israel was not seeking an endless war with Iran and would coordinate with the US on when to end the conflict. “We will consult with our American friends when we will think it is the right time to do that. We are not looking for an endless war,” Reuters cited Saar as saying.
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• Gulf nations, including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, reported intercepting Iranian missiles and drones on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said the country had downed a drone east of al-Kharj governorate, another fell on a residential area in Riyadh, causing “limited material damage.”
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the offensive against Iran was “not done yet”, AFP reported “Our aspiration is to bring the Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny; ultimately, it depends on them. But there is no doubt that with the actions taken so far, we are breaking their bones,” Netanyahu added.
• US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Tuesday “will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran,” AP reported. Hegseth had earlier said that in the last 24 hours, Iran had fired “the lowest amount of missiles they have fired yet.”
• Bahrain was attacked with three missiles and a drone, authorities said, with one hitting a residential building in Manama, killing a 29-year-old woman and wounding eight others, according to the AP report.
• Amid concerns over oil prices and movement, G7 nations discussed releasing oil stocks to bring down prices between their energy ministers. France, which currently holds the G7’s rotating presidency, wants “to advance on that question, with one objective, which is to bring down prices,” government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told broadcaster France Televisions.