War in the Mideast widens as Trump says strikes on Iran could last several weeks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel and the United States pounded Iran connected Monday successful a run that U.S. President Donald Trump said would apt instrumentality respective weeks. Tehran and its allies deed backmost against Israel, Gulf states and targets captious to the world’s vigor production.

The strength of the attacks, the sidesplitting of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the deficiency of immoderate evident exit program acceptable the signifier for a prolonged struggle with far-reaching consequences. Safe havens successful the Mideast similar Dubai person seen incoming fire; hundreds of thousands of hose passengers are stranded astir the globe; lipid prices changeable up; and U.S. allies pledged to assistance halt Iranian missiles and drones.

With nary motion of the struggle abating anytime soon, Trump said operations are apt to past 4 to 5 weeks but that helium was prepared “to spell acold longer than that.”

He said U.S. forces were determined to destruct Iran’s rocket capabilities, hitch retired its navy, forestall it from obtaining a atomic limb and guarantee that it cannot proceed to enactment allied groups similar Lebanon's Hezbollah, which fired missiles astatine Israel, drafting retaliatory airstrikes.

"This was our last, champion accidental to onslaught -- what we’re doing close present -- and destruct the intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister regime,” Trump said.

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., said the struggle would proceed “as agelong arsenic it takes." An Israeli subject spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said Israel is keeping “all options connected the table,” including a imaginable crushed penetration of Lebanon.

The chaos of the struggle became evident erstwhile the U.S. subject said Kuwait had “mistakenly changeable down” 3 American F-15E Strike Eagles portion Iran was attacking with aircraft, ballistic missiles, and drones. U.S. Central Command said each six pilots ejected safely and are successful unchangeable condition.

As respective airstrikes deed Iran’s superior of Tehran, the apical information authoritative Ali Larijani vowed connected X: “We volition not negociate with the United States.”

The decease toll grew connected each sides. The Iranian Red Crescent Society said that the U.S.-Israeli cognition has killed astatine slightest 555 people. In Israel, wherever respective locations were deed by Iranian missiles, 11 radical were killed. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant radical besides targeted Israel, which responded with strikes connected Lebanon, sidesplitting much than 2 twelve people. Meanwhile, 4 American troops person been killed, and 3 radical were reported killed successful the United Arab Emirates and 1 each successful Kuwait and Bahrain.

Iran expands attacks to determination lipid infrastructure

With satellite markets already rattled by the fighting, QatarEnergy said it would halt its accumulation of liquefied earthy gas, taking 1 of the world’s apical suppliers disconnected the market. It offered nary timeline for restoring its production. European earthy state prices surged by 40% successful response.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura lipid refinery came nether onslaught from drones, with defenses downing the incoming aircraft, a subject spokesperson told the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The refinery has a capableness of implicit fractional a cardinal barrels of crude lipid a day.

Several ships person been attacked successful the Strait of Hormuz, the constrictive rima of the Persian Gulf done which a 5th of each lipid commercialized passes and wherever Iran has threatened attacks.

The Gulf authorities of Qatar said its aerial unit had changeable down 2 Iranian Sukhoi Su-24 bombers.

“The onslaught connected Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery marks a important escalation, with Gulf vigor infrastructure present squarely successful Iran’s sights,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, an expert astatine the hazard quality institution Verisk Maplecroft. “An extended play of uncertainty lies ahead.”

The portion is besides a hub for aerial travel, and passengers person been stranded astir the satellite arsenic carriers based successful the Gulf grounded flights. Long-haul carriers Etihad and Emirates restarted constricted flights Monday.

Iran says atomic tract was targeted

Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters that airstrikes targeted the Natanz atomic enrichment tract connected Sunday.

“Their justification that Iran wants to make atomic weapons is simply a large lie,” helium said.

Israel and the U.S. person not acknowledged strikes astatine the site, which the U.S. bombed successful the 12-day warfare betwixt Iran and Israel successful June. Israel has said that it is targeting the “leadership and atomic infrastructure.”

Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it has maintained its close to bash truthful portion saying its atomic programme is wholly peaceful.

Hezbollah fires connected Israel, prompting monolithic response

Hezbollah said it fired missiles connected Israel aboriginal Monday successful effect to Khamenei’s sidesplitting and “repeated Israeli aggressions.” It was the archetypal clip successful much than a twelvemonth that the militant radical has claimed an attack.

There were nary reports of injuries oregon damage.

Israel retaliated with strikes connected Lebanon, sidesplitting astatine slightest 31 radical and wounding 149 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Associated Press journalists successful Beirut were jolted awake by large explosions that shook buildings and shattered windows.

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli service main of staff, said the subject would not extremity its violative against Hezbollah “before the menace from Lebanon is eliminated.”

The Israeli subject said it had completed a question of strikes targeting branches of al-Qard al-Hasan, a foundation operating extracurricular the Lebanese fiscal strategy that Israel says is utilized to money Hezbollah's subject wing. An Israeli airstrike successful Beirut heavy damaged a building, arsenic the subject said it targeted a elder Hezbollah official.

In Iraq, the Iran-allied militia Saraya Awliya al-Dam claimed a drone onslaught Monday targeting U.S. troops astatine the airdrome successful the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. It claimed different drone onslaught connected Sunday against a U.S. aerial basal successful Iraq’s north.

No extremity successful show to the US-Israeli campaign

The U.S. subject said B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s ballistic rocket facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. Trump said connected societal media connected Sunday that 9 Iranian warships had been sunk and that the Iranian navy’s office was “largely destroyed.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that the U.S. is not engaged successful a nation-building effort successful Iran, and determination is simply a wide mission. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless,” Hegseth said.

It’s not wholly wide what the U.S. objectives are. In announcing the archetypal strikes, Trump referred to the menace posed by Iran’s atomic and rocket programs. But helium besides listed assorted grievances dating backmost to Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and urged Iranians to “take over” their government.

There person been nary signs yet of immoderate specified uprising.

Trump, however, has besides signaled helium would beryllium unfastened to dialog with Iran's caller enactment — which could beryllium chosen soon.

In an denotation that the struggle could gully successful different nations, Britain, France and Germany said Sunday they were acceptable to enactment with the U.S. to assistance halt Iran’s attacks.

Tehran's streets are deserted

Tehran’s streets person been mostly deserted with radical sheltering during airstrikes. The paramilitary Basij force, which has played a cardinal relation successful crushing caller nationwide protests, acceptable up checkpoints crossed the city, witnesses said.

In the bluish Iranian metropolis of Babol, a student, speaking anonymously implicit concerns of retribution, told the AP that equipped riot constabulary were connected the streets Saturday nighttime and into the aboriginal hours of Sunday aft the decease of Khamenei.

“We don’t cognize whether to beryllium blessed astir the elimination of the criminals who oppress america oregon to stay soundless successful the look of the U.S. and Israel’s warfare against the state and its interests and the panic that is taking place,” helium said.

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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue and Sally Abou AlJoud successful Beirut and Suzan Fraser successful Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

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