Middle East war Intensifies, Israel strikes Tehran, Beirut
There was no sign of the war letting up on its seventh day, as US President Donald Trump called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender”
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike at Dahiyeh in Beirut’s southern suburbs, in Lebanon on Friday (Photo: PTI)
Dubai, March 7: Israeli warplanes pounded Beirut and Tehran on Friday as Iran launched another wave of retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries.
There was no sign of the war letting up on its seventh day, as US President Donald Trump appeared to rule out negotiations with Iran and called for its “unconditional surrender”.
Tens of thousands have fled Beirut’s suburbs and southern Lebanon after sweeping Israeli evacuation warnings.
The war has escalated to affect more than a dozen countries across the Middle East and beyond. The US said that it had struck an Iranian drone carrier at sea as it waged an unrelenting campaign against the country’s navy that earlier included torpedoing of a warship in the Indian Ocean.
The US and Israel have battered Iran with strikes, targeting their military capabilities, leadership and nuclear programme.
In a social media post on Friday, Trump said that after Iran’s surrender, “and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before”.
The war has already caused a spike in oil prices, and Qatar’s energy minister warned that it could “bring down the economies of the world”, predicting a widespread shutdown of Gulf energy exports that could send oil to USD 150 a barrel.
Israel’s military said on Friday morning it had begun a “broad-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran. Witnesses described Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah in an area that is home to multiple missile bases.
Iran meanwhile launched missile and drone attacks at Israel, as well as Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, all countries that host US forces.
The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 120 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six US troops have been killed.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that some countries had begun mediation efforts in the conflict, without elaborating.
With inputs from agencies