Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Israel renewed its attack on southern Lebanon early Sunday as the war entered its ninth day and the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu He promised “many surprises” in the next stage Conflict rippling throughout the area.
Recent strikes in Lebanon killed 12 more people, bringing the death toll there to more than 300 after Israel ordered the evacuation of large swaths of the country during an offensive its military said was aimed at eliminating Iranian-backed forces there.
Israel and the United States began the war on February 28, saying they targeted Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, suggesting they were seeking to overthrow the government. The conflict has since spread across the region, rattling global markets, disrupting air travel and leaving Iranian leadership weakened by hundreds of Israeli and US air strikes.
Iran launched missiles and drones at neighboring countries in the Gulf, Israel intensified its attacks in Lebanon, and there were reports of attacks from Cyprus to the waters off Sri Lanka.
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined the next phase of the war late Saturday, saying Israel aimed to destabilize the Iranian regime and allow a change in government, Israel launched another wave of strikes late Saturday, hitting an oil storage facility in Tehran — the first apparent strike on a civilian industrial site — sending columns of fire into the night sky.
Iran has apologized for the attacks on Attacks on ‘neighboring countries’ Even as its missiles and drones continue to strike sites in Gulf states — including attacks that have killed civilians — militants have signaled that Tehran will not change course.
President Masoud Pezeshkian once again struck a conciliatory tone on Sunday, calling Iran’s neighbors friends and brothers while accusing the United States and Israel of using “manipulation” to sow discord between them in comments broadcast on state television.
“We will not bow our heads to bullying, injustice or intrusion,” he said.
Pezeshkian and other Iranian leaders emphasized the limited powers exercised by theocratic leaders over power. Paramilitary Revolutionary GuardWhich controls ballistic missiles used to target Israel and other countries. It submits only to Khamenei, and appears to choose its own goals. The president is one of three members of the leadership council that has overseen Iran since then Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei He was killed in the first air raids of the war.
Disagreement between politicians looking to de-escalate the war and others committed to fighting the United States and Israel could complicate any diplomatic efforts.
Pezeshkian’s comments came a day after he said the Command Council was in contact with the armed forces and “from now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should resolve this through diplomacy.”
The American strikes did not come from the Arab Gulf governments under attack, but rather from American bases and ships in the region.
But the hardline judiciary head, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Eji, another member of the three-member council, indicated that the war strategy would not change.
He said on the website
Pezeshkian also rejected US President Donald Trump’s call for Tehran to surrender unconditionally, saying: “This is a dream they should take to their grave.”
Trump threatened that Iran “will be hit very hard” and that more “areas and groups of people” will become targets, without elaborating. Indeed, conflict has occurred Global markets were shaken And he left Iran’s leadership Weakened by hundreds of Israeli and American air strikes.
“We are not looking to compromise,” Trump told reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One. “They want to settle. We’re not looking to settle.”
He described ongoing US operations in Iran as a “picnic” and said that issues such as rising gas prices and the safety of Americans would improve once the conflict ended.
The United States and Israel have targeted Iran’s military capabilities, leadership, and nuclear program. Declared war goals and timetables I switched over and over again The United States has also at times indicated that it seeks to overthrow the Iranian government Or raise the level of new leadership.
The fighting led to the deaths of at least 1,230 people in Iran, and more than 290 Lebanon And 11 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six American soldiers They were killed.
After Pezeshkian’s apology, Iranian strikes continued.
Bahrain says an Iranian drone attack caused “material damage” to a desalination plant – the first time a Gulf state has said Iran struck a desalination plant during the nine-day war.
There are hundreds of desalination plants along the coast of the Arabian Gulf, and the region relies heavily on them for water.
Earlier on Sunday, the United Arab Emirates said debris from an air interception fell on a vehicle and killed its driver. Four people have been killed in the UAE since the war began. Authorities said they were all foreign nationals.
The United Arab Emirates urged residents to stay home on Sunday morning as its military responded to a drone attack. In Kuwait, authorities said a wave of drones targeted critical infrastructure, including fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport and a government building in Kuwait City. At least two people were killed in air strikes on the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia It said it destroyed a drone heading towards the massive Shaybah oil field on Sunday and shot down four drones over the capital, Riyadh, including one that was targeting the diplomatic quarter. The Bahraini Ministry of Interior said that fragments of a missile fell on a road in Manama, injuring one person and damaging several shops.
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Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, and Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt. Associated Press journalists Basem Marwa in Beirut, Qasim Abdel Zahra in Baghdad, Amir Hussein Raji in Cairo, Melanie Liedman in Tel Aviv, Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, and Amer Madhani in Doral, Florida, contributed reporting.