Israel threatened today to "escalate and broaden the scope" of its attacks on Iran, even as US President Donald Trump said talks to end the war were going very well and gave Tehran more time to open the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Iran has shown no signs of backing down, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
With stock market turmoil and economic fallout from the war stretching far beyond the Middle East, Trump is under increasing pressure to end Iranian control of the strait – a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil normally passes.
Iran has rejected a 15-point US ceasefire proposal, which would include giving up control of the strait, but Washington has ordered thousands more troops to the region - possibly in preparation for an attempt to wrest control of the sea corridor from Tehran by military means.
Trump has said that if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all ships by April 6, he will order the destruction of Iranian power plants. He said yesterday that talks to end the conflict were going "very well". Iran says it is not involved in any negotiations.
Air raid sirens have sounded again in Israel, and the military said it was intercepting Iranian missiles daily.
"Despite warnings, the shelling continues -– "and therefore (Israeli) attacks in Iran will escalate and expand their scope to additional targets and areas that help the regime create and use weapons against Israeli citizens," Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said. "They will pay a high, escalating price for this war crime," the minister stressed.
The Israeli military said its strikes today targeted sites "in the heart of Tehran" where ballistic missiles and other weapons are manufactured. It said it had also struck missile launchers and storage facilities in western Iran.
Iran said its nuclear facilities had been targeted after Israel said the attacks would "escalate and expand".
According to the Iranian news agency IRNA, the targets of the strikes were a uranium ore concentrate or so-called yellow cake (uranium ore concentrate from which impurities have been removed - ed.).
Iranian media said the strikes did not cause any casualties or increase radiation levels.
Smoke rose over Beirut after the pre-dawn strike, and the Lebanese Ministry of Health later reported that two people had died.
Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it was downed missiles and drones aimed at the capital Riyadh.
Kuwait said that the port of Shuwaikh in Kuwait City and the port of Mubarak al-Kabir in the north, which is under construction as part of China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative, suffered "material damage" in the attacks. It appears to be one of the first cases in which a China-linked project in the Gulf Arab states has come under attack during the war. China continues to buy Iranian crude, the AP notes.
Oil prices rose again, as a barrel of Brent crude reached $107 in morning trading, up more than 45% since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 28, starting the war.
Iran's control of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has heightened fears of a global energy crisis and appears to be part of a strategy to force the United States to back down by destabilizing the global economy. Gulf Arab states said on Thursday that Iran was collecting fees from ships to ensure their safe passage.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington had given Iran a 15-point plan for a possible ceasefire, using Pakistan as a mediator. The plan proposes curbing Iran's nuclear program and opening the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran rejected the U.S. proposal and presented its own five-point proposal, which included reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the vital strait.
Diplomats from several countries are trying to arrange a direct meeting between U.S. and Iranian envoys, possibly in Pakistan.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement today that Foreign Minister Badr Abdelati had spoken by phone with his Turkish and Pakistani counterparts as part of "intensive efforts" to organize the talks. Abdelati said he hoped for "gradual de-escalation efforts that would ultimately lead to an end to the war."
Meanwhile, US ships were approaching the region carrying about 2,500 Marines, and at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division - trained to operate in enemy territory to secure key positions and airfields - were ordered to the Middle East.
The UN Security Council will meet later today in a closed-door meeting on the Iran war, a Russian official said. He pointed out that Russia requested its convening, and the United States, which holds the presidency of the Security Council, scheduled it.