Israel has struck southern Lebanon, Beirut and an oil storage facility in Tehran as the war in the Middle East keeps escalating, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “many surprises” for the next phase of the conflict.
Iran also hit a desalination plant in Bahrain. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a U.S. airstrike damaged an Iranian desalination plant on Qeshm Island, warning that in doing so “the U.S. set this precedent, not Iran.” Such infrastructure is critical for drinking water supplies in the parched deserts of the Gulf.
An Israeli attack on an oil storage facility in Tehran sent up pillars of fire that could be seen in Associated Press video as a glow against the Saturday night sky. It appeared to be the first time a civil industrial facility has been targeted in the war.
The conflict has rattled global markets, disrupted air travel and left Iran’s leadership weakened by hundreds of Israeli and American airstrikes.
Saudi Arabia intercepts at least 3 drones and a missile
The Kingdom’s Defense Ministry said Sunday night it had intercepted a missile headed toward Prince Sultan Air Base, and two drones in northern Riyadh city
In an earlier post on X, it said it intercepted a drone over the Empty Quarter desert while heading toward the Shaybah oil field.
A separate post had the same details for the latter drone, but it was unclear if that was a different event.
The ministry also shared footage it said showed Saudi air defenses intercepting and destroying “a number of drones” launched at it in recent days
7th American killed in Iran operations, military confirms
The U.S. military announced an American service member has died of injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on troops stationed in Saudi Arabia.
The seventh American service member killed in the Iran war was an Army soldier, a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to The Associated Press.
The service member died on Saturday from injuries sustained during a March 1 Iranian attack on the kingdom
The American death toll since the start of combat operations now stands at seven. Six Army reservists were also killed in the March 1 attack on Kuwait.
All seven casualties from the war in Iran were Army soldiers. The first six deaths were Army reservists killed in a March 1 attack on a command center in a Kuwaiti port.
Israel says it destroyed headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard air force
The military said in a statement that the headquarters struck in Teheran operated “the ballistic missile command, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) array, and other air force units.” The army’s spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said the headquarters were “destroyed.”
Israel has pounded Iran with widespread airstrikes for days, hitting more than 140 targets on Sunday alone, according to Defrin. (edited)
Israel’s army chief tells Israeli public to prepare for war to take ‘a long time’
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke at an assessment held with the Home Front Command chief and other military officials, in comments provided by the army.
“Israel has already been in a state of prolonged emergency for two years,” Zamir said. “What we mainly need right now is perseverance and patience. It will take a long time yet, you need to be prepared for that, and however long it takes, it will take.”
Israel confirms it struck hotel in central Beirut, says 5 Iran-linked commanders killed
The military said the overnight strike by its navy killed five top commanders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps while they were “hiding in a civilian hotel.”
It said they served in the Guard’s Quds Force’s Lebanon and Palestine corps and were involved in funding, arming and providing intelligence to Hezbollah and Hamas.
The Quds Force works heavily with Iran’s allied militant groups in the region.
Last week the Israeli military said it killed the acting commander of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps in an airstrike in Tehran.
Macron urges Iran to halt strikes in phone call with the country’s president
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had talks with Iranian President Massoud Pezechkian on Sunday and urged him to stop the strikes.
“I stressed the need for Iran to immediately cease its strikes against countries in the region,” Macron said on X.
He also called on Iran to guarantee freedom of navigation by “putting an end to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Macron also mentioned the case of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French nationals who were released from an Iranian prison in November and transferred to the French Embassy in Tehran, after more than three years in detention on spying charges. He called for their return to France as an “absolute priority.”
Macron also stressed deep concern regarding the development of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic program and said a diplomatic solution is necessary.
Both leaders agreed to remain in contact, according to Macron’s post on X.
Macron is the first Western leader to talk to Iran’s president since the beginning of the war.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone Sunday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He also had separate talks with President Donald Trump, Macron’s office said.
Lebanon says over a half-million people have been displaced in the week of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah
The actual number is likely higher. Lebanon’s count of 517,000 refers to those who registered on the government’s online portal. The cash-strapped government has struggled to accommodate the large number of people who have fled their homes in large parts of southern and eastern Lebanon.
Israel over the past week has called on residents in dozens of villages across southern Lebanon and the entirety of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate as the fighting intensifies.
Six Palestinians have been killed this week in interactions with Israeli settlers
Palestinian mourners marched down the main street of the West Bank village of Khirbet Abu Falah Sunday, hoisting high the coffins of three men killed in an interaction with settlers.
