Iran fired missiles at Israel early Thursday, marking the sixth day of a Middle East war since a US submarine sank an Iranian warship. As the conflict spread, Israel struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, killing thousands, disrupting shipping and oil supplies and raising fears of a wider regional war. Follow our live blog for latest updates.
Pakistani suspect willingly denies plotting to kill Trump
A Pakistani man accused of plotting to kill President Donald Trump told a judge Wednesday that he did not work with Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to hatch the alleged plot, media reported.
The Justice Department has accused Asif Merchant of trying to recruit people in the United States in a plan to target Trump and other US politicians in retaliation for Washington’s killing of the corps’ top commander, Qasem Soleimani.
The Corps plays a key role in Iran through a combination of its military and economic power, as well as its extensive intelligence network.
“I didn’t want to do it willingly,” the New York Times quoted Merchant as telling the court during his trial on charges of terrorism and murder-for-hire, which he attended to protect his family in Tehran.
Middle East war casts shadow over regional tourism
Canceled flights, postponed trips and more uncertainty: The war in the Middle East is casting a long shadow over the tourism outlook of a region that has become a prized destination for travelers from around the world.
“My last tour group left three days ago, and all the other groups planned for March have been cancelled,” said Nazih Rawashdeh, a tour guide near Irbid in northern Jordan.
“It’s the beginning of most of the season here. It’s tragic,” he told AFP.
“No problem in Jordan though. It’s perfectly safe.”
The US Energy Secretary said the impact of the Iran conflict on oil markets would be temporary
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News on Wednesday that the impact of the Iran conflict on energy markets would be temporary and a “small price” to pay for US military targets.
US and Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran’s subsequent response have raised regional tensions and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, affecting key Middle Eastern oil and gas flows and driving up energy prices. Oil prices rose in Asia on Thursday amid concerns over a prolonged closure of the strait.
“It’s definitely temporary,” Wright said on the “Ingraham Angle” program on Fox News.
“We have a world that’s just massively well-supplied, with an abundance of oil around the world and American production at record highs. So we get this; it’s just a bump in the road.”
Iran fires multiple missiles at Israel, early warnings sound in Jerusalem
Iran fired several rounds of missiles at Israel early Thursday, the Israeli military said, triggering alerts in many areas and explosions were heard in Jerusalem, though there were no immediate reports of casualties.
After a pause of more than seven hours, Israel’s military issued three separate warnings within two hours of an Iranian missile attack.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB also reported the launches.
An AFP reporter in Jerusalem heard explosions after a third report was launched.
But Israel’s emergency services, Magen David Adam, said it had received no reports of casualties since Thursday’s initial rocket fire and that the military had cleared people to leave their shelters.
Yesterday’s Key Developments:
Israeli forces launched attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, displacing tens of thousands of people from Beirut and surrounding areas.
US Senate Republicans on Wednesday rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to end his war on Iran, showing early support for a conflict that has spread rapidly across the Middle East without a clear US exit strategy.
At least 80 people were killed in a US submarine attack on an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
