Iran launches fresh missile strikes on Israel as US President Trump warns of intensified attacks on Iranian infrastructure, deepening the regional conflict.
JERUSALEM: Israel reported it was under attack from a new barrage of Iranian missiles on Friday. Its military said air defences were activated to intercept the incoming fire.
Israeli emergency services reported damage to houses and cars from an unintercepted cluster missile. Military radio said a train station in Tel Aviv was damaged by shrapnel.
The attacks came as US President Donald Trump issued a new warning on his Truth Social platform. He stated the US military “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants!”
This followed his earlier claim that Iran’s tallest bridge had been destroyed. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded online that “striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender.”
The conflict, now over a month old, began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Retaliatory attacks have since spread violence throughout the Middle East.
Gulf states have also come under direct threat. A drone attack sparked fires at a refinery owned by Kuwait’s national oil company on Friday.
Kuwait’s air defences responded to new missile and drone attacks. Iran said its strikes a day earlier had hit targets in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Israel.
These included “American steel industries in Abu Dhabi, American aluminium industries in Bahrain, and the Rafael arms factories of the Zionist regime”. Despite the bombardment, daily life continued in parts of Tehran.
Families gathered in a park to mark a traditional Persian New Year picnic. A resident noted increased checkpoints manned by the Revolutionary Guards across the city.
In Israel, some Passover celebrations were held in bunkers. “This is not my first choice,” said a writer named Jeffrey at a meal in a Tel Aviv shelter.
The war’s economic impact is rippling globally. Oil prices surged to around $110 a barrel after Trump’s warnings.
The World Bank warned of mounting risks to inflation, jobs and food security worldwide. Airlines in China are raising fuel surcharges and Malaysia has asked civil servants to work from home.
Pakistan has sharply raised fuel prices and Bhutan is experiencing fuel shortages. “We are helpless,” said resident Karma Kalden in Thimphu.
Egypt has ordered shops and malls to close early on weekdays to curb soaring energy bills. Diplomatic efforts focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil conduit effectively closed by Iran.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper convened about 40 countries to demand its “immediate and unconditional” reopening. “Iran is trying to hold the global economy hostage in the Strait of Hormuz. They must not prevail,” Cooper said.
A UN Security Council vote on authorising force to protect shipping in the strait was delayed. The vote, brought by Bahrain, was postponed with no new date given.
Trump has suggested Tehran’s new leadership could prove “more reasonable” in potential peace talks. Iran has dismissed US overtures as “maximalist and irrational.”