Iran-US struggle newest: Iran vows to hit again at US allies after Trump ‘obliterates’ its navy on key island
Iranian forces have threatened to attack US allies after Donald Trump said the US hit Iran’s crucial Kharg Island in “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East”.
The US president said the military has “totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island” in a post on Truth Social.
On Saturday, the Iranian military warned that any attack on Iran’s oil and energy infrastructure would lead to attacks on energy infrastructure owned by oil companies in the region cooperating with the US, Iranian media reported.
The island is the linchpin of Iran’s oil industry, a dominant export port which is connected by pipeline to the major oil fields in southwest Iran.
Trump said he chose not to wipe out the island’s oil infrastructure “for reasons of decency” – but warned Tehran that he may do so if it does not allow free passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
It comes as the US deploys thousands of troops and more warships to the Middle East as Iran steps up on the Strait of Hormuz.
The Pentagon is sending a Marine expeditionary unit to defend against Iran, US officials told the Wall Street Journal.
Around 2,500 troops and one extra warship will be sent, the Associated Press reported.
The WSJ also reported five US Air Force refueling planes were struck in Saudi Arabia by an Iranian missile in recent days.
UAE suspends some oil operations at Fujairah after drone strikes
The United Arab Emirates has suspended some of its oil loading operations at the port of Fujairah after Iranian drone strikes, according to Bloomberg News.
A fire is reported to have broken out on Saturday morning at the port, which is located near the Strait of Hormuz, people familiar with the matter told the publication.
Fruit and vegetable producers say Iran war could cause empty supermarket shelves
Rising energy costs and transportation costs could leave supermarket shelves empty, Lea Valley Growers Association (LVGA) has warned.
The company’s secretary Lee Stiles warned that the industry requires immediate support if crisis is to be averted.
He said: “Growers are in the same position now as they were when Russia invaded Ukraine, because the wholesale gas prices are creeping up.
“With rising costs, many growers are thinking they might as well send the staff home, stop for the season and not produce anything.
“They’re going to have to make a decision in the next few weeks as to whether or not it’s going to be economic to continue for the rest of the year.”
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Qatar evacuates parts of Doha with government offices and US university branch campuses, witnesses say
Qatari authorities evacuated parts of Doha’s Msheireb district, which includes government offices and a Google office, early on Saturday, witnesses said.
Witnesses also said authorities evacuated parts of Doha’s Education City, which is home to branch campuses of six US universities.
The evacuation orders came after Qatar’s interior ministry said authorities were clearing a “number of specified areas as a temporary precautionary measure,” without providing details.
The move came about an hour before authorities reported missile interceptions in Qatar.
Watch: Trump releases video showing apparent strike on Kharg Island
President Donald Trump has released footage showing an apparent strike on Iran’s crucial Kharg Island.
Iran says US ‘begging the world’ to buy oil after bullying tactics
Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi criticised the US over what he described as a shift in Washington’s stance on Russian oil amid its ongoing war with Iran.
In a post on social media platform X, Araghchi said the Donald Trump administration was now urging countries, including India, to buy Russian crude despite previously pressuring them to stop such imports.
“The US spent months bullying India into ending oil imports from Russia. After two weeks of war with Iran, the White House is now begging the world – including India – to buy Russian crude,” Araghchi wrote.
“Europe thought backing illegal war on Iran would win US support against Russia. Pathetic,” he said.
Pete Hegseth claims Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is ‘wounded and likely disfigured’
“The U.S. is decimating the radical Iranian regime’s military in a way the world has never seen before,” the defense secretary boasted at a Friday morning press briefing. “We said it would not be a fair fight, and it has not been.”
To date, more than 15,000 Iranian targets have been hit, obliterating the nation’s air defenses, air force, and navy, while its missile capabilities have plummeted by 90 percent, Hegseth said. He then warned Friday will be the most intense day of U.S. strikes on Iran to date.
Where is Kharg Island? Tiny oil hub in Persian Gulf that could be Trump’s secret weapon against Iran
Despite its small size, the island holds around 94 per cent of the country’s crude oil for export, mostly bound for China, and its main oil export terminal.
US administration officials said that discussions on seizing the key island have taken place, according to Axios. The land, which is smaller than the city of Westminster in London, could choke off Iran’s economy and leave a devastating impact for years to come.
Will Trump’s attack on Kharg Island cause further mayhem for the global oil economy?
Neil Quilliam, an energy policy and foreign affairs analyst at Chatham House, previously told The Independent that while it is “unlikely” President Donald Trump would completely take over the territory, any attempt would “likely send the markets into a tailspin”.
It could also block any future resolution between the countries, leading to an endless standoff.
“The US would effectively control Iran’s major export terminal but the Iranian leadership would remain in control of the country’s production so there would be a standoff,” he said. It could also be a “major cause for concern” for Gulf countries, setting a dangerous precedent.
“It is Iran’s Achilles heel in this war but fighting for and occupying Kharg could cause irreparable damage to the terminal and hurt any successor regime’s chances of managing the economy,” he continued. “Previous presidents have steered away from Kharg understanding its strategic important to global oil markets.”
Explosion at Jewish school in Amsterdam
An explosion damaged a Jewish school in Amsterdam early on Saturday in what the city’s mayor described as a deliberate attack against the Jewish community.
Concerns about attacks on Jewish communities around the world have risen following US and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s subsequent response.
The blast occurred at a school in an upscale residential neighbourhood in the south of the Dutch capital and caused limited damage, Mayor Femke Halsema said in a statement, adding that police and firefighters reached the scene quickly.
No injuries were reported.“This is a cowardly act of aggression against the Jewish community,” Halsema said.
“Jewish people in Amsterdam are increasingly confronted with antisemitism. This is unacceptable.”Security at synagogues and Jewish institutions in Amsterdam had already been heightened after an overnight arson attack on a synagogue in central Rotterdam on Friday.
In neighbouring Belgium, an explosion also caused a fire at a synagogue in Liege earlier this week.
2,000 killed in two weeks of conflict so far
Two weeks into the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, the conflict has left a growing humanitarian and regional toll, with around 2,000 people reported killed, the majority in Iran but also many in Lebanon and an increasing number in Gulf countries.
Several million people have been displaced from their homes as the fighting spreads across the region.
The United States has also suffered casualties.
All six crew members aboard a US refuelling aircraft were killed after it crashed in western Iraq during the conflict.
Five U.S. Air Force tanker aircraft stationed at a base in Saudi Arabia were damaged in an Iranian missile strike and are undergoing repairs, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials.
Beyond direct military exchanges, the war has raised concerns about global energy security. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has attempted to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which roughly 20% of the world’s fossil fuel supplies pass.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the US Navy would soon begin escorting oil tankers through the strait to ensure the flow of energy supplies.
Although Trump had earlier suggested the conflict could last only weeks, he declined to predict when it might end, telling reporters: “It’ll be as long as it’s necessary.”
Source: independent.co.uk
