Says still building missiles three weeks into warAP
Dubai: Iran has threatened to target recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisted it was still building missiles. Its supreme leader issued another defiant statement on Friday, nearly three weeks into US-Israeli strikes that have killed a slew of Tehran’s top leaders and hammered its weapons and energy industries.
Iran’s top military spokesman Gen Abolfazl Shekarchi warned on Friday that “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” worldwide won’t be safe for Tehran’s enemies. The threat renewed concerns that Iran may revert to using militant attacks beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic.
The United States was meanwhile deploying three more warships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the Middle East, a US official told The Associated Press. A US official confirmed the further buildup of American forces in the region, saying the USS Boxer and two other amphibious assault ships have been deployed along with roughly 2,500 Marines.
Two other US officials confirmed that ships were being deployed, without saying where they were headed. All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.
Iran fired on Israel and energy sites in neighbouring Gulf Arab states as many in the region marked one of the holiest days on the Muslim calendar. Iranians were also celebrating the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, a normally festive holiday that is more subdued this year.
With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how much damage its arms, nuclear or energy facilities have sustained since the war began on February 28 or even who was truly in charge of the country. But Iran has showed it is still capable of attacks that are choking off oil supplies and denting the global economy, raising food and fuel prices far beyond the Middle East.
The US and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, from hoping to foment an uprising that topples Iran’s leadership to eliminating its nuclear and missile programmes. There have been no public signs of any such uprising and no end in sight to the war.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei praised Iranians’ steadfastness in the face of war in a written statement read on Iranian television to mark the Persian New Year, Nowruz.
Khamenei said the US and Israeli attacks were based on an illusion that killing Iran’s top leaders could cause the overthrow of the government. He commended Iranians for “building a nationwide defensive front” and “delivering such a bewildering blow that the enemy fell into contradictions and irrational statements”.
Khamenei has not been seen in public since he became the supreme leader following the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Israeli strikes at the start of the war. United States’ and Israeli officials suspect the younger Khamenei may have been wounded.
Stepping up its attacks on energy sites in Gulf Arab states following Israel’s bombing of the massive South Pars offshore natural gas field earlier in the week, Iran attacked a Kuwaiti oil refinery early Friday with drones, sparking a fire. The Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, which can process some 7,30,000 barrels of oil per day, is one of the largest in the Middle East. It was damaged on Thursday in another Iranian attack.
Bahrain said a fire broke out after shrapnel from an intercepted projectile landed on a warehouse, and Saudi Arabia reported shooting down multiple drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.
Heavy explosions shook Dubai as air defences intercepted incoming fire over the city, where many were observing Eid al-Fitr, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
6 Indians dead in West Asia: MEA
New Delhi: Amid the escalating West Asia conflict, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said six Indian nationals have lost their lives while one remains missing.
At an inter-ministerial briefing here, Additional Secretary (Gulf), MEA, Aseem R Mahajan also said that late Thursday night, they received information of the tragic demise of an Indian national.
He said the Indian national died during an attack in Riyadh on March 18. He, however, did not elaborate upon the circumstances of this death.
“We express our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. Our Mission in Riyadh is in touch with the family and closely coordinating with local authorities for the early return of the mortal remains to India,” Mahajan said.
On Friday, the Indian Embassy in Riyadh also said that an Indian national was killed in Saudi Arabia due to the “recent events of March 18”. In a social media post, the Indian Mission expressed its “deepest condolences on the tragic demise of an Indian national in Riyadh due to recent events on March 18”.
A day earlier, the Indian embassy said alerts were received by residents in Riyadh and some other regions on Wednesday. “The Indian community is advised to remain calm and composed,” the embassy said.
Spokesperson of MEA Randhir Jaiswal said that a total of 913 Indian nationals have crossed the Iranian borders with Armenia and Azerbaijan, and have started to gradually return to India via the two countries. He said 284 pilgrims from India who had earlier gone to Iran have all come back to the country. “Yesterday 10 calls and six emails were received at the Control Room, largely calls about merchant ships,” he said.
Jaiswal was also asked about UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al Hashimy’s visit to India and her talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday. He said the West Asia situation figured in their discussion.
Mahajan said the MEA continues to proactively assist seafarers, students, stranded Indian nationals and short-term visitors for visas, consular services and logistical support wherever required. Overall the flight situation continues to improve, with flights operating from the region, he said.
From the UAE, limited non-scheduled commercial flights are operating, and about 90 flights were expected to operate to India on Friday.
Qatar airspace is partially open and 10 non-scheduled commercial flights were expected to India on Friday, he added.
Bahrain airspace remains closed, while Gulf Air continues to operate special non-scheduled commercial flights.
