DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran threatened Friday to expand its retaliatory attacks to include recreational and tourist sites worldwide, as the U.S. Announced it was sending more warships and Marines to the region. The threat came as President Donald Trump, in a social media post, suggested a potential winding down of military operations, a statement that contrasted with his administration’s simultaneous bolstering of forces and request for an additional $200 billion in congressional funding for the war.
The mixed messaging underscored the escalating, three-week-old conflict, which has seen Israeli airstrikes targeting Tehran and Iranian attacks on Israel and energy sites in neighboring Gulf Arab states. The situation unfolded against the backdrop of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan for Muslims, and Nowruz, the Persian New Year, traditionally a time of celebration in Iran.
With limited information emerging from Iran, the extent of damage to its military, nuclear, and energy facilities remains unclear. However, Iranian attacks continue to disrupt oil supplies and negatively impact the global economy, driving up food and fuel prices internationally. The initial justifications for the war, offered by the U.S. And Israel, have ranged from hopes of triggering a regime change to eliminating Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, neither of which have materialized.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump stated, “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East.” This declaration appeared at odds with the deployment of three more amphibious assault ships and approximately 2,500 additional Marines to the region, as confirmed by a U.S. Official. Two other officials corroborated the deployment, withholding specific destinations for security reasons. This follows a previous redirection of another group of amphibious assault ships carrying 2,500 Marines from the Pacific to the Middle East, bringing the total U.S. Troop presence in the region to over 50,000.
While Trump has ruled out deploying ground troops to Iran, he maintains that all options remain on the table. U.S. And Israeli leaders assert that weeks of strikes have significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities, including the deaths of the supreme leader’s national security council head and other high-ranking officials. However, Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini, a spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, claimed in a state-run newspaper that missile production continues despite Israeli assertions to the contrary. State television later reported Naeini’s death in an airstrike.
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, issued a statement on Iranian television marking Nowruz, praising the steadfastness of the Iranian people. He dismissed the U.S. And Israeli attacks as based on the false premise that eliminating Iranian leaders would lead to the government’s collapse. Khamenei has not been seen publicly since becoming supreme leader following the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Israeli strikes at the start of the war, strikes that reportedly wounded him as well.
Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, Iran’s top military spokesman, warned that “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” worldwide would no longer be safe for Iran’s enemies, renewing concerns about potential militant attacks beyond the Middle East.
NATO has withdrawn several hundred personnel from Iraq and relocated them to Europe, confirmed by NATO’s top commander, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich. This move followed a series of Iranian attacks on troops at British, French, and Italian bases within the country.
Iran has intensified attacks on energy sites in Gulf Arab states following Israel’s bombing of Iran’s South Pars offshore natural gas field. Two waves of Iranian drones targeted a Kuwaiti oil refinery early Friday, causing a fire at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, which processes approximately 730,000 barrels of oil per day. Bahrain reported a fire after intercepting a projectile, and Saudi Arabia announced the downing of multiple drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.
These attacks on energy infrastructure, coupled with Iran’s disruption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway for global oil and goods transport – have fueled concerns about a global energy crisis. Brent crude oil has surged during the conflict, reaching around $108 per barrel Friday, up from approximately $70 before the war began. The rising oil prices contributed to a downturn in U.S. Stock markets.
Trump similarly offered a conflicting view on securing the Strait of Hormuz, stating that other nations utilizing the waterway should assist but that it shouldn’t be necessary once the threat from Iran “is eradicated.” He has criticized NATO partners as “cowards” for their reluctance to directly participate in securing the strait. British ministers announced Friday an agreement to allow the U.S. To use U.K. Bases in operations aimed at preventing Iranian attacks on ships in the strait.
Heavy explosions were reported in Dubai as air defenses intercepted incoming fire during Eid al-Fitr celebrations. Loud explosions were also heard in Jerusalem after the Israeli army warned of incoming Iranian missiles, with fragments reportedly striking the Old City. More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran during the war, and Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon have displaced over 1 million people, according to the Lebanese government, with over 1,000 fatalities reported. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missiles, and four others have died in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 U.S. Military members have also been killed.
Israel broadened its attacks to Syria on Friday, targeting infrastructure in response to attacks attributed to the Druze minority. Syria’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes as based on “flimsy pretexts and fabricated excuses.”
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