Tehran, Mar 20 (AP) On one of the holiest days on the Islamic calendar, Iran fired on Israel and energy sites in neighbouring Gulf Arab states, insisting that it can still build missiles and issuing a new threat, to deny safety to its enemies in "parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations" worldwide.
Israel meanwhile pounded Tehran with airstrikes as Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Israeli and US officials have said weeks of airstrikes have decimated Iran's military, but there's little information from Iran about damage to its weapons and energy facilities since the war began nearly three weeks ago.
US Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will stop attacking the gas field that Iranians depend on for most of their electricity at the request of US President Donald Trump. Iran responded to Israel's attack on the field by intensifying targeting of energy infrastructure in other Middle East countries, sending oil and gas prices soaring.
The Pentagon's request for another USD 200 billion to fund the war would need congressional approval as the US national debt hits a record USD 39 trillion.
More than 1,300 people in Iran have been killed during the war. Israeli airstrikes have killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million, according to the Lebanese government. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 US military members have been killed.
Here is the latest:
France taking appropriate measures' after naval officer's use of Strava app exposed carrier's location
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The deployment of the Charles de Gaulle to the Mediterranean to help protect French and allied assets during the Iran war isn't secret -- reporters were briefed by video link from aboard the nuclear-powered 42,000-ton behemoth, which is also visible from space.
Still, the French newspaper Le Monde caused a stir by spotting a naval officer using the Strava exercise app, which narrowed its search for the satellite image taken that same day.
French military spokesman Col. Guillaume Vernet told The Associated Press that sailors are warned about the security risks of using apps while deployed. "Appropriate measures are being taken by the command," he said.
Iran's military warns parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations worldwide won't be safe for enemies
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Iran's top military spokesman warned Friday that "parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations" worldwide won't be safe for Tehran's enemies.
Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi made the threat as Iran continues to be hit by American and Israeli airstrikes.
It renews a concern held by analysts as the war goes on -- that Iran could revert to using militant attacks beyond the Middle East as a pressure tactic in the war.
"From now on, based on the information we have about you, even parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations anywhere in the world will no longer be safe for you," Shekarchi said in a statement published online by Iranian state television.
Israelis give opposing views on the war
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Some Israelis in Haifa worry there might not be a strategy in place to end the war with Iran.
"We just don't see the end, we don't see where this is leading," said Harry Goldstein, a resident of the coastal city.
While some Israelis feel relatively safe, even among a barrage of attacks launched from Iran toward the country, others worry that even shrapnel and debris falling onto their cities may cause extensive damage.
Some Israelis say they believe their country and the US should press on until they bring an end to Iran's theocracy.
"Dear Trump, I really hope something comes out of this war, that it topples the regime, finishes them off, and truly, there's no one like you," said Vered Turgeman from Haifa.
Israel's Defense Minister says strikes on Syria were to protect Druze minority
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Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned the Syrian government against using the Middle East war as a cover to harm Syria's Druze community, after Israel's military said Friday it has struck sites in the Sweida area in response to what it said were attacks against the Druze.
There was no immediate word on casualties and Syrian state media has not commented or reported on the Israeli strikes. It wasn't immediately clear when the strikes took place.
"We will strike with even greater force," Katz said.
Activist groups in the Druze majority province said that skirmishes have taken place between armed Druze groups and Syrian government forces in the past two days.
Iran-linked facilities close in Dubai
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Iranian-linked facilities in Dubai have been closed as the Iran war has seen the United Arab Emirates repeatedly targeted by Iranian fire.
The Iranian Hospital, opened in 1972 under the shah in Dubai, stood closed Friday. Its website was down and its phone number disconnected.
The hospital, while providing affordable medical care for decades, also had been linked to Iranian intelligence operations in the past, including an incident in which a Dubai police officer allegedly spied for cheaper health care for his daughter.
The Emirati government acknowledged the closures in a statement.
"Certain institutions directly linked to the Iranian regime and (Revolutionary Guard) will be closed under targeted measures after being found to have been misused to advance agendas that do not serve the Iranian people, and in violation of UAE laws," it said.
The Iranian Club in Bur Dubai earlier wrote on Instagram it would close "due to the current circumstances".
Revolutionary Guard spokesman killed in airstrike
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The spokesman for paramilitary Iran's Revolutionary Guard has been killed in an airstrike early Friday, Iranian state television reported.
Before his death, Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini issued a statement insisting Tehran was still able to build missiles despite the attacks coming from Israel and the United States.
Iran supreme leader calls for security' to be taken from enemies
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Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei called Friday for the enemies of his nations to have their "security" taken away, his latest message to the public.
Khamenei made the remarks in a statement issued on his behalf to President Masoud Pezeshkian after Israel killed Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib.
Khamenei hasn't been seen since he was named as supreme leader, succeeding his father, the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the first day of the war on February 28.
There have been growing comments from American and Israeli officials that Mojtaba Khamenei was hurt in the war.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it is still making missiles
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The spokesman for Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard insisted Friday that Tehran was still building missiles, seeking to counter a claim by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it no longer could.
Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini made the comments in a report quoted by Iran's state-run IRAN newspaper.
Referencing how Iranian schools consider a 20 as a perfect score, the general said: "Our missile industry score is 20 and there is no concern in this regard because we are producing missiles even during war conditions, which is amazing, and there is no particular problem in stockpiling."
He also said the war would go on.
"These people expect the war to continue until the enemy is completely exhausted," the general said of the Iranian public. "This war must end when the shadow of war is lifted from the country."
Kuwait says drone hit Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery again
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Fire crews in Kuwait were working to contain a blaze early Friday in one of Mina Al-Ahmadi's oil refinery units.
The fires resulted from an Iranian drone attack, thee Kuwait fire force said.
There was no immediate information about the extent of damage.
This was the second attack on the refinery by Iranian drones Friday morning.
Israel says it struck Syrian military post after attacks on Druze
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Israel's military said Friday it struck sites in Syria in response to attacks against the Druze.
The army said it struck infrastructure belonging to Syria in response to attacks on Druze population in Sweida in southern Syria.
Syria's state-run SANA news agency did not immediately acknowledge the attack, which marks the first Israeli attack on Syria as its war with the United States targeting Iran continues.
Israel has a significant Druze population. Israel previously has intervened in defense of the Druze in Syria, launching dozens of airstrikes on convoys of government fighters and even striking the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus.
Kuwait says refinery hit by Iranian drones, sparking fires
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Kuwait said Friday its Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery again came under attack by Iranian drones. Firefighters were trying to control blazes at several of its units, and there were no immediate reports of injuries.
Iranian state television acknowledged the attack Friday without claiming responsibility. It came as Kuwait celebrated Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Iran has increasingly targeted energy sites in Gulf Arab states since Israel bombed Iran's massive South Pars offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf.
Mina Al-Ahmadi can process some 730,000 barrels of oil per day. It is one of three oil refineries in Kuwait, a tiny, oil-rich nation on the Persian Gulf. The Kuwait Petroleum Corp. said it shut down the affected units. Kuwait has been unable to export its oil because it relies on sending it out by sea through the Strait of Hormuz, a target of Iranian attacks. (AP)
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