Iran, explosions in several southern cities
Table of Contents
- Iran, explosions in several southern cities
- Kallas hears from the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Qatar and South Korea
- The IDF: “Israel must expect several more weeks of fighting”
- THE POINT
- Trump against Herzog: “Liar and pathetic”
- IDF: increase in land operations in Lebanon
- Sanchez: “Further escalation would trigger a long-term energy crisis”
- Iran: Israeli aerospace industry targeted
- WSJ: “Gulf countries worried”
This evening several cities in southern Iran were hit by explosions, eyewitnesses told Iran International.
In Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan province, witnesses described strong tremors accompanied by several explosions. In nearby Bandar Khamir, witnesses reported an explosion, a thick blanket of smoke and the closure of the city’s entrances and exits.
In Bushehr, witnesses said they heard four powerful explosions on Sunday night.
Kallas hears from the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Qatar and South Korea
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas today held separate talks with her counterparts from Turkey, Qatar and South Korea on the war in the Middle East, attacks on energy infrastructure and the urgent need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This was reported by EU sources, underlining how Kallas also spoke with the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. “These talks are part of the EU’s ongoing efforts to explore diplomatic ways forward. New threats of attacks on critical civilian infrastructure risk affecting millions of people across the Middle East and beyond,” the sources explain.
The IDF: “Israel must expect several more weeks of fighting”
Israel must expect ‘several more weeks of fighting’ against Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran, brigadier general said Effie Defrinspokesman for the Israeli army, on the 23rd day of war in the Middle East.
“With each passing day, we further weaken the (Iranian) terrorist regime. We will not allow the terrorist regime and its allies to pose a threat to the citizens of Israel,” he declared in a televised address.
“Citizens of Israel, we still have several weeks of fighting ahead of us against Iran and Hezbollah,” the Islamist movement allied with Tehran, the spokesperson added.
THE POINT
The shadow of a new escalation is lengthening over the war in Iran. After American President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Tehran on Saturday evening, threatening to “strike and annihilate” Iranian power plants if the Islamic Republic “does not completely open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours”, the ayatollah regime responded that it was ready, in the event of an attack, to “irreversibly destroy” the vital infrastructure of the entire region, including desalination plants, along with “completely closing” Hormuz, where only a handful of ships have managed to pass in just over three weeks of conflict. And while tensions also flare up in Lebanon – where Israel has signaled that it will “intensify” “targeted land” operations – a timid opening towards diplomacy seems to be coming from the United States: according to Axios, which cites its sources, Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are creating a team to negotiate with Iran on the president’s orders, while both countries have given voice to their conditions – currently irreconcilable – to end the conflict.
Trump against Herzog: “Liar and pathetic”
Donald Trump he harshly attacked the Israeli president Isaac Herzogcalling him “a liar, weak and pathetic” for not granting clemency to Benjamin Netanyahu. In an interview with the Israeli Channel 14the American president claimed that Herzog had agreed to pardon the Israeli prime minister “but never did”. “He is a weak person and a pathetic man for not doing it. He is not a leader,” the tycoon attacked, “Bibi should focus on the war, not on this nonsense.”
IDF: increase in land operations in Lebanon
Israel will “intensify” military “targeted land” operations in Lebanon: this was stated by the Chief of Staff of the Army (IDF), Eyal Zamir.
Sanchez: “Further escalation would trigger a long-term energy crisis”
The Spain “calls for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the protection of all the energy sites in the Middle East”: this is what the Spanish Prime Minister declared in a post on Pedro Sanchez. “We are at a global tipping point. Further escalation could trigger a long-term energy crisis for all of humanity,” his message continues. “The world should not pay the consequences of this war.”
Iran: Israeli aerospace industry targeted
The Iranian military says it has targeted Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), a state-owned defense and aerospace company. In a statement to Iran’s government news agency, the military said it launched drones against IAI targets near Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, as well as a US reconnaissance plane at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. Al Jazeera reports it.
WSJ: “Gulf countries worried”
Gulf countries are warning the US administration that any attacks on Iranian power plants could provoke retaliation, putting their energy and water infrastructure at risk and potentially impacting the global economy. This was reported by informed officials quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
According to sources, several states in the region have been irritated for days by the lack of influence exercised on Washington, despite significant political and economic investments. The mediation attempts launched by some Arab countries to encourage a dialogue between the United States and Iran would have failed due to the demands made by Tehran, considered too high, including compensation, guarantees against a resumption of the conflict and the end of the American military presence in the Gulf.
The Iranian armed forces have meanwhile threatened to strike energy and technological infrastructures and desalination plants in the region, in response to the warning of US President Donald Trump, who had called for attacks on Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened within 48 hours.
