Israel’s military said it carried out “extensive” overnight airstrikes on Tehran and was widening its campaign against Iran’s arms industry, while Iranian media reported U.S.-Israeli strikes on the cities of Qom and Urmia that killed at least six people.
“We are intensifying our strikes against the Iranian regime’s arms industry, targeting more than 1,000 production sites”, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said.
Iranian media also reported ballistic missiles over central Israel, according to the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
The fighting, now a month old, has continued to widen beyond Israel and Iran. In Lebanon, Israeli aircraft struck Beirut’s suburbs and the Iran-backed Hezbollah responded by firing more than 100 rockets, killing an Israeli soldier and a civilian. Air raid sirens sounded early on Friday in Kiryat Shmona and other northern border towns.
In the Gulf, Saudi Arabia intercepted two drones in the eastern part of the country, home to key oil facilities. Drones were also shot down over Kuwait, while debris in the United Arab Emirates killed two people a day earlier. A damaged Thai ship ran aground off the coast of Qeshm island. The Pentagon is considering sending 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East.
At Russia’s request, the U.N. Security Council scheduled a closed-door meeting for Friday morning on attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran. The session was convened by the United States, which currently holds the council presidency.
On Friday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards urged civilians across the Middle East to leave areas near U.S. military bases, warning more attacks would follow.
“We advise you to leave as soon as possible the areas where U.S. forces are stationed so that no harm comes to you,” the Guards said in a statement carried by Iranian media.
The statement accused U.S. forces of using civilian sites and said Iran would strike them regardless of location. Iranian authorities had already warned that hotels housing U.S. troops could become targets.
“When American soldiers enter a hotel, from our perspective that hotel becomes American,” armed forces spokesperson Abolfazl Shekarchi said on state television late on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also accused the U.S. military of using populations in the region as “human shields” and called on hotels and offices, especially in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, to refuse bookings to Americans.
Israel said it would continue broad strikes on Tehran and also signaled further action in southern Lebanon. At the same time, there were signs of diplomacy. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said indirect contacts were under way between the United States and Iran and that direct talks could soon take place in Pakistan.
Financial markets reflected the strain. Asian stocks fell sharply on Friday, with Japan’s Nikkei down 1.6% and South Korea’s Kospi down 4.2%. Oil prices edged lower after Donald Trump delayed attacks on Iranian power plants, with Brent crude at USD 106.76.
The growing conflict is also disrupting global trade and threatening food security, FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero warned, PAP reported. U.N. sources said tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had fallen by more than 90%, paralyzing shipments of oil, fertilizer and gas.
“Time is now of the essence, and the clock is ticking louder,” Torero said, urging alternative transport routes and financial support for food-importing countries.
(jh)
Source: Polish Radio, PAP