Missile Fragments at Israel’s Holy Sites as Iran Continues Attacks
Iran said it was ready to take the Middle East war “as far as necessary” as it launched strikes across the region on Monday.
Tehran, Jerusalem: Israeli police said they found missile and interceptor fragments at holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City on Monday, including areas near the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he believes Iran wants to make a deal to end the US-Israeli conflict with Tehran, adding it was unclear who is speaking for Iran. "We don't know their leaders," he said during an event at the White House. He said he was confident of getting the Strait of Hormuz soon. He complained that some were not very enthusiastic about providing help to Washington. He added that he did not know if Iran’s Supreme Leader was alive.
Meanwhile, Iran said it was ready to take the Middle East war “as far as necessary” as it launched strikes across the region on Monday.
Global oil prices have surged by 40 to 50 percent as Iran attacks shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and launches waves of missile and drone strikes in the Gulf in retaliation for the war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28.
US President Trump said he would hold a news conference on Monday, after several European countries rejected the idea of a NATO mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“By now they have... understood what kind of nation they are dealing with, one that does not hesitate to defend itself and is ready to continue the war wherever it may lead, and take it as far as necessary,” Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Tehran.
A drone sparked a fuel tank fire near Dubai airport, disrupting travel, while a missile killed a civilian in their car in Abu Dhabi, and another drone sparked a blaze in an area housing oil infrastructure in the eastern emirate of Fujairah.
“It has been a difficult few weeks hearing explosions regularly, but the Iranian attacks followed me in my last hours before I could fly back home,” a witness at Dubai airport told AFP, adding that passengers had been evacuated to a lower floor after the attack.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Monday it was carrying out what it described as “limited” ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, with its defence minister warning that those displaced would not return home until northern Israel was secure.
Cheap and deadly, Iranian-designed Shahed drones have inflicted major damage in the Middle East war, and have anti-jamming and other capabilities that make them difficult to stop. Designed to explode on impact, Shahed drones connect to GPS to register their location shortly before or after takeoff, then typically turn off their receivers.
UAE's state-owned energy giant ADNOC halted the loading of oil into storage tanks at their Fujairah facility.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards threatened on Monday to target US companies across the region, calling on employees to evacuate the sites.
Meanwhile, as India seeks Hormuz safe passage, Tehran sought the return of seized tankers, sources said.
