Israel launched strikes on Iran’s capital ahead of a major US presidential address, escalating a regional conflict that has rattled global markets and energy supplies.
TEHRAN: Israeli forces struck Iran’s capital on Wednesday, escalating a month-long regional war just hours before US President Donald Trump was scheduled to address the American public.
Iranian state television reported “attacks on Tehran” with explosions heard across the city early Wednesday. The Israeli military confirmed conducting a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on the capital and later said it was intercepting a new missile attack from Iran.
Trump, whose statements have swung from combative to conciliatory, had earlier said the war could be over in “two weeks, maybe three”. The White House said he would give “an important update on Iran” to the nation on Wednesday evening.
His Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian said the Islamic republic had the “necessary will” to end the war, provided its enemies guaranteed it would not flare up again. The comments came as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened major US tech firms, including Intel and Tesla, with “destruction” if more Iranian leaders were killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the campaign would continue. “We had to act, and we acted,” he said in a televised statement. “We will continue to crush the terror regime.”
The conflict that began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks has expanded across the Middle East. Israel’s military said Wednesday it had struck “approximately 7,000 targets” since the start of the war, including “4,000 terrorist targets” in Iran.
More than 2,000 Iranian soldiers and commanders were “eliminated” in the strikes, it added. The campaign has also intensified on other fronts.
Lebanon’s health ministry said seven people were killed in Israeli strikes in south Beirut early Wednesday. Israel’s campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah has left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, according to officials.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels joined the war over the weekend, firing missiles at Israel. Israel said its air defences intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Wednesday with no casualties reported.
Iran has kept up retaliatory attacks on Gulf nations it accuses of hosting US forces. Kuwait’s civil aviation authority said the country’s international airport came under an Iranian drone attack that led to “a large fire” at its fuel tanks.
Bahrain’s interior ministry said a fire broke out at a business facility “as a result of the Iranian aggression”. Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said several drones were “intercepted and destroyed”.
A British maritime security agency reported a tanker was hit by a projectile in the Gulf off Qatar’s coast, sustaining damage but no casualties. The war has sent energy markets into a tailspin, particularly after Iran largely shuttered the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Crude prices jumped on the supply worries, even as some Asian stocks rallied on Trump’s comments about a potential end to the fighting. Japan’s Nikkei climbed more than 3% at the open Wednesday.
Trump said France, China and other countries seeking passage through the Strait of Hormuz will have to “fend for themselves”. He lashed out at allies who have refused to help Washington secure the waterway.
Rising US fuel prices stoked by the standoff have become a political headache. “I’m just bewildered, confused, unhappy. Because we didn’t ask for the war,” said Jeanne Williams, 83, at a Washington gas station.
Trump said he was not worried about spiking prices hurting American wallets. “All I have to do is leave Iran,” he told reporters. “And we’ll be doing that very soon, and they’ll come tumbling down.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, speaking after visiting US troops in the Middle East, vowed that “the upcoming days will be decisive.” US Central Command shared a video it said showed forces dropping “precision munitions on underground military targets deep inside Iran”.
The official status of talks to resolve the conflict remains uncertain. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera he still receives messages from US envoy Steve Witkoff, but denied this meant negotiations were underway.
