Iran Threatens Tourist Sites as US Sends More Troops to Middle East
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran threatened Friday to expand retaliatory attacks to tourist and recreation sites worldwide, even as the United States announced the deployment of additional warships and Marines to the region. Hours later, President Donald Trump indicated on social media his administration was considering “winding down” military operations. The conflicting messages came as the war entered its fourth week with no indication of abating.
While Israeli airstrikes hit Tehran, Iran launched further attacks against Israel and energy facilities in neighboring Gulf Arab states, coinciding with one of the holiest days on the Muslim calendar. Iranians also marked Nowruz, the Persian Latest Year, a normally festive occasion.
The U.S. Is deploying three additional amphibious assault ships and approximately 2,500 Marines to the Middle East, according to a U.S. Official. Two other U.S. Officials confirmed the deployment of the ships but did not disclose their destination. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of military operations. This follows a recent redirection of another amphibious assault ship carrying 2,500 Marines from the Pacific to the Middle East, bringing the total number of U.S. Military personnel in the region to over 50,000.
In a social media post, President Trump stated, “We are getting very close to completing our objectives while considering winding down our great military efforts in the Middle East.” This statement appeared to contradict his administration’s move to bolster its military presence and request an additional $200 billion from Congress to fund the war.
Iran’s threat to target “parks, recreational areas, and tourist destinations” globally raised concerns that Tehran might revert to using militant attacks beyond the Middle East as a tactic of coercion, according to General Abolfazl Shekarchi, the top spokesperson for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has withdrawn several hundred personnel from Iraq and relocated them to Europe, confirmed NATO commander General Alexus Grynkewich. This move followed a series of Iranian attacks on other troops at bases housing British, French, and Italian forces within the country.
Iran intensified attacks on energy facilities in Gulf Arab states after Israel bombed the massive South Pars Iranian natural gas field earlier in the week. Two waves of Iranian drones struck a Kuwaiti oil refinery Friday morning, causing a fire at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, which can process approximately 730,000 barrels of oil per day. Bahrain reported a fire after shrapnel from an intercepted projectile fell on a warehouse, and Saudi Arabia announced it had downed several drones targeting its oil-rich eastern province.
These attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure, coupled with Iran’s control of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – a strategic waterway handling roughly 20% of the world’s oil and essential goods – have fueled fears of a global energy crisis. Brent crude, the international standard, has surged during the conflict, trading around $108 per barrel Friday, up from approximately $70 before the war began. The rising oil prices also rattled stock markets.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei praised the resilience of Iranians in the face of the war in a written statement read on Iranian television during Nowruz celebrations. He asserted that U.S. And Israeli attacks were predicated on the illusion that killing Iranian leaders would lead to the government’s collapse. Khamenei has not been seen in public since assuming the role of Supreme Leader following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the initial Israeli strikes that reportedly also injured him.
Heavy explosions shook Dubai as air defenses intercepted incoming fire over the city, where many were celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the conclude of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Loud explosions were also reported in Jerusalem after the Israeli military warned of incoming Iranian missiles. The Israeli military stated that fragments of missiles landed near the Ancient City of Jerusalem, home to sites sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
More than 1,300 people have died in Iran during the war. Israeli strikes against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon have displaced over one million people, according to the Lebanese government, which also reports over 1,000 deaths. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missiles, and four others in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 U.S. Military personnel have died.
On Friday, Israel expanded its attacks to Syria, claiming to have targeted infrastructure there in response to what it described as attacks against the Druze minority. The Syrian Foreign Ministry stated that Israel acted under “flimsy pretexts and fabricated excuses.”