\n\t\t\t\t\t\t Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran\u2019s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbors will continue.His first statement since his appointment was read on state television by a news anchor. Khamenei did not appear on camera, and an Israeli assessment indicates he was wounded in the war\u2019s opening salvo.He vowed to avenge those killed in the war, including in a strike on a school. He said Iran would \u201cobtain compensation\u201d from its enemy, referring to the United States. If it refuses, Iran will \u201ctake from its assets\u201d or destroy them to the same extent, he said.Iran’s unrelenting attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf pushed oil back above $100 a barrel on Thursday, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.Iran is trying to inflict enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to halt their bombardment, which started the war on Feb. 28. Iran’s president said its attacks would continue until Iran gets security guarantees against another assault, indicating that even a ceasefire or U.S. declaration of victory might not halt the conflict.President Donald Trump has meanwhile promised to \u201cfinish the job,\u201d even though he claimed Iran is \u201cvirtually destroyed.\u201dIran-backed Hezbollah militants meanwhile launched some 200 rockets from Lebanon at northern Israel while sirens rang out and loud booms from the interception of Iranian missiles could be heard in other areas. Israel launched another wave of attacks on Tehran and in Lebanon, where 11 people were killed.The U.N. refugee agency said up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the ongoing war. It said most have fled from Tehran and other major cities toward the north of the country or rural areas. It says at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.Israel\u2019s military warned residents of a large area of southern Lebanon to leave their homes, saying it would act \u201cforcefully\u201d against Hezbollah. It said Lebanese residents should move north of the Zahrani River, which at its midpoint is about 35 miles away from the border with Israel.Iranian officials dismiss any notion of backing downIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian suggested online Thursday that for the war to end, the world would need to recognize Iran\u2019s \u201clegitimate rights,\u201d pay reparations and offer guarantees against future attacks.In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.Amid speculation that the U.S. might target Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, Iran\u2019s main oil terminal, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf threatened in a social media post that any attempt to take Iranian islands would \u201cmake the Persian Gulf run with the blood of invaders.\u201dWith traffic in the strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9% to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38% over what it cost when the war started. Prices have swung back and forth in recent days, at one point surging to around $120 a barrel.W2lmcmFtZSBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vaGVhcnN0dGVsZXZpc2lvbmRhdGFqb3VybmFsaXNtLmh0dmFwcHMuY29tL2p1eHRhcG9zZS1pbWFnZS9zdHJhaXQtb2YtaG9ybXV6L3Rlc3QzL2p1eHRhcG9zZS5odG1sIiBmcmFtZWJvcmRlcj0iMCIgaGVpZ2h0PSI1MDBweCIgd2lkdGg9IjEwMCUiIHNjcm9sbGluZyA9ICJubyJdWy9pZnJhbWVdVideo above: President Trump eyes oil reserve release Iran and Hezbollah launch multiple attacks on IsraelIt was a sleepless night for many Israelis as Hezbollah launched some 200 rockets at the country\u2019s north and deeper into Israel, according to the Israeli military, with sirens blaring almost nonstop for hours.\u201cThe noise was extraordinary, it was really scary,\u201d said Naama Porat, a resident of the rural community of Klil, some 9 miles from the Lebanese border. She said the sound of explosions and interceptions overhead was so loud that she dashed with her son to a shelter outside before the first sirens and spent the night there.Many of the rockets were intercepted and no serious injuries were reported. But the extent of the fire shook residents of the north, who have repeatedly been told by their leaders that Hezbollah was dealt a devastating blow in its last war with Israel before a ceasefire was reached in late 2024.\u201cThey have stocks of weapons and it just doesn\u2019t end. We don\u2019t know how much and what to expect,\u201d Porat said.Missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Lebanon that if its government does not prevent Hezbollah from attacking, Israel \u201cwill take the territory and do it ourselves.\u201d He said the military had been instructed to prepare for \u201can expansion\u201d in its operations in Lebanon, without elaborating.More than 20 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon and IranIsrael, meantime, hit a car in Ramlet al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering, killing eight and wounding 31, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it was \u201cnot aware\u201d of a strike at that location.In Aramoun, a town about 6 miles south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.Video above: How long will the war in Iran last? In Tehran, security force checkpoints came under attack for the first time on Wednesday night, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported. At least 10 people were killed in the suspected drone assaults.Israel and the U.S. military\u2019s Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment over whether they were behind the attacks.Iran fires at Gulf Arab countries and hits ship in Persian GulfAs the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Persian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military\u2019s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.In Bahrain, an Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country’s international airport. Sirens sounded again later in the morning with more incoming Iranian fire.Kuwait authorities said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people, and that a drone attack on Kuwait International Airport had caused damage but no casualties.The UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.Saudi Arabia said it shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and other drones in the kingdom\u2019s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field.Following an attack on Iraq’s Basra port Wednesday that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that operations were halted at all the country’s oil terminals.Farhan al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Persian Gulf port.In the UAE, Citibank said it would close all its branches except one due to a threat by Iran \u2014 not yet realized \u2014 to target financial institutions in the region. Other financial institutions have reportedly urged their staff to work from home for the time being.Hundreds of thousands displacedAt least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.The U.N. refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 deaths. The U.S. has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.___Melzer reported from Mitzpe Hila, Israel and Rising from Bangkok. Associated Press writer Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tDUBAI, United Arab Emirates \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran\u2019s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbors will continue.<\/p>\n
His first statement since his appointment was read on state television by a news anchor. Khamenei did not appear on camera, and an Israeli assessment indicates he was wounded in the war\u2019s opening salvo.<\/p>\n
He vowed to avenge those killed in the war, including in a strike on a school. He said Iran would \u201cobtain compensation\u201d from its enemy, referring to the United States. If it refuses, Iran will \u201ctake from its assets\u201d or destroy them to the same extent, he said.<\/p>\n
Iran’s unrelenting attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf pushed oil back above $100 a barrel on Thursday, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.<\/p>\n
Iran is trying to inflict enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to halt their bombardment, which started the war on Feb. 28. Iran’s president said its attacks would continue until Iran gets security guarantees against another assault, indicating that even a ceasefire or U.S. declaration of victory might not halt the conflict.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump has meanwhile promised to \u201cfinish the job,\u201d even though he claimed Iran is \u201cvirtually destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran-backed Hezbollah militants meanwhile launched some 200 rockets from Lebanon at northern Israel while sirens rang out and loud booms from the interception of Iranian missiles could be heard in other areas. Israel launched another wave of attacks on Tehran and in Lebanon, where 11 people were killed.<\/p>\n
The U.N. refugee agency said up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the ongoing war. It said most have fled from Tehran and other major cities toward the north of the country or rural areas. It says at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s military warned residents of a large area of southern Lebanon to leave their homes, saying it would act \u201cforcefully\u201d against Hezbollah. It said Lebanese residents should move north of the Zahrani River, which at its midpoint is about 35 miles away from the border with Israel.<\/p>\n
Iranian officials dismiss any notion of backing down<\/p>\n
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian suggested online Thursday that for the war to end, the world would need to recognize Iran\u2019s \u201clegitimate rights,\u201d pay reparations and offer guarantees against future attacks.<\/p>\n
In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.<\/p>\n
Amid speculation that the U.S. might target Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, Iran\u2019s main oil terminal, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf threatened in a social media post that any attempt to take Iranian islands would \u201cmake the Persian Gulf run with the blood of invaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
With traffic in the strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9% to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38% over what it cost when the war started. Prices have swung back and forth in recent days, at one point surging to around $120 a barrel.<\/p>\n
Video above: President Trump eyes oil reserve release <\/p>\n
Iran and Hezbollah launch multiple attacks on Israel<\/p>\n
It was a sleepless night for many Israelis as Hezbollah launched some 200 rockets at the country\u2019s north and deeper into Israel, according to the Israeli military, with sirens blaring almost nonstop for hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe noise was extraordinary, it was really scary,\u201d said Naama Porat, a resident of the rural community of Klil, some 9 miles from the Lebanese border. She said the sound of explosions and interceptions overhead was so loud that she dashed with her son to a shelter outside before the first sirens and spent the night there.<\/p>\n
Many of the rockets were intercepted and no serious injuries were reported. But the extent of the fire shook residents of the north, who have repeatedly been told by their leaders that Hezbollah was dealt a devastating blow in its last war with Israel before a ceasefire was reached in late 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have stocks of weapons and it just doesn\u2019t end. We don\u2019t know how much and what to expect,\u201d Porat said.<\/p>\n
Missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Lebanon that if its government does not prevent Hezbollah from attacking, Israel \u201cwill take the territory and do it ourselves.\u201d He said the military had been instructed to prepare for \u201can expansion\u201d in its operations in Lebanon, without elaborating.<\/p>\n
More than 20 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon and Iran<\/p>\n
Israel, meantime, hit a car in Ramlet al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering, killing eight and wounding 31, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said it was \u201cnot aware\u201d of a strike at that location.<\/p>\n
In Aramoun, a town about 6 miles south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.<\/p>\n
Video above: How long will the war in Iran last? <\/p>\n
In Tehran, security force checkpoints came under attack for the first time on Wednesday night, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported. At least 10 people were killed in the suspected drone assaults.<\/p>\n
Israel and the U.S. military\u2019s Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment over whether they were behind the attacks.<\/p>\n
Iran fires at Gulf Arab countries and hits ship in Persian Gulf<\/p>\n
As the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Persian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military\u2019s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.<\/p>\n
In Bahrain, an Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country’s international airport. Sirens sounded again later in the morning with more incoming Iranian fire.<\/p>\n
Kuwait authorities said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people, and that a drone attack on Kuwait International Airport had caused damage but no casualties.<\/p>\n
The UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia said it shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and other drones in the kingdom\u2019s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field.<\/p>\n
Following an attack on Iraq’s Basra port Wednesday that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that operations were halted at all the country’s oil terminals.<\/p>\n
Farhan al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Persian Gulf port.<\/p>\n
In the UAE, Citibank said it would close all its branches except one due to a threat by Iran \u2014 not yet realized \u2014 to target financial institutions in the region. Other financial institutions have reportedly urged their staff to work from home for the time being.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of thousands displaced<\/p>\n
At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The U.N. refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 deaths. The U.S. has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Melzer reported from Mitzpe Hila, Israel and Rising from Bangkok. Associated Press writer Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[6695,8360,8364,1872,2806,1502,711,8359,8369,8368,2172,3188,100,2119,3507,94,8363,37,1517,1189,8366,5360,93,8367,7619,213,261,396,39,8361,8362,101,69,3642,8365,8358],"class_list":{"0":"post-16166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-persian-gulf","8":"tag-tehran-strikes","9":"tag-bahrain-airport-fire","10":"tag-basra-port","11":"tag-brent-crude","12":"tag-container-ship","13":"tag-dhnd","14":"tag-drone","15":"tag-dubai-ship","16":"tag-event-wednesday","17":"tag-global-energy-risk","18":"tag-gulf-shipping","19":"tag-gulf-war","20":"tag-hezbollah","21":"tag-iran-attack","22":"tag-iran-attacks","23":"tag-iraq","24":"tag-iraq-oil-terminals","25":"tag-israel","26":"tag-israeli-strike","27":"tag-jerusalem","28":"tag-jerusalem-sirens","29":"tag-lebanese-displacement","30":"tag-lebanon","31":"tag-lebanon-casualties","32":"tag-market-volatility","33":"tag-oil","34":"tag-oil-prices","35":"tag-people","36":"tag-persian-gulf","37":"tag-saudi-oil-field","38":"tag-shaybah","39":"tag-strait-of-hormuz","40":"tag-tehran","41":"tag-thursday","42":"tag-u-s-israel-strikes","43":"tag-uae-attacks"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}