Israel launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran on Monday, as Tehran warned of retaliation against critical infrastructure across the Middle East in a conflict that has triggered the world’s worst energy crisis in decades.
Explosions were reported in Tehran, while Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said they were intercepting incoming missiles and drones.
At least 40 energy facilities across the oil- and gas-rich region have been “severely or very severely damaged,” according to International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol, as the war — sparked by Israeli and US attacks on Iran, entered its fourth week.
Iran has responded with missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and sites across the Gulf, hitting energy infrastructure and US diplomatic facilities. It has also disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint that carries around a fifth of global crude oil supplies.
With oil prices hovering above $100 a barrel amid supply fears, US President Donald Trump warned he would “obliterate” Iranian power plants if Tehran failed to reopen the strait within 48 hours. The deadline, based on his social media post, falls late Monday GMT.
Iran’s response was defiant. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said key infrastructure across the region would be considered “legitimate targets” and could be “irreversibly destroyed” if the US followed through on its threat.
Highlighting the scale of the crisis, Birol said 11 million barrels of oil per day have been knocked offline, exceeding losses seen during the oil shocks of the 1970s.
“No country will be immune if this continues,” he said, calling for coordinated global action.
Strait tensions deepen
Asian markets slipped while oil prices climbed again on Monday, with US benchmark crude briefly touching $100 a barrel.
Iran has allowed limited passage through the Strait of Hormuz for vessels from countries it considers friendly, while warning it may block ships linked to nations backing the attacks against it.
Lawmakers in Tehran are also considering imposing transit fees, with Ghalibaf saying maritime traffic will not return to pre-war conditions.
Trump has sent mixed signals on the conflict’s trajectory, saying Friday he was considering winding down operations, before issuing a stark escalation threat a day later.
Expanding regional conflict
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has indicated the campaign against Iran could be prolonged. Israel has also intensified operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, warning of a lengthy ground campaign.
“Citizens of Israel, we face more weeks of fighting against Iran and Hezbollah,” military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said.
Israeli forces have targeted bridges they say Hezbollah uses to cross the Litani River, about 30 kilometres north of the border.
Lebanon’s health ministry says more than 1,000 people have been killed and over one million displaced since Israeli strikes escalated.
President Joseph Aoun condemned the bridge attacks as a “dangerous escalation” and a violation of sovereignty, warning they could signal a broader ground invasion.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, however, also blamed Hezbollah, noting the group had launched attacks in response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the outset of the war.
Strikes hit Israel
Despite Israel’s advanced air defence systems, Iranian missiles penetrated defences over the weekend, striking two southern towns including Dimona, near Israel’s nuclear facility, and wounding dozens.
“We thought we were safe,” said Galit Amir, a resident of Dimona.
Netanyahu vowed to personally pursue senior commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as he visited the affected areas.
Rescue services said one missile landed about five kilometres from the nuclear site, widely believed to be the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal, though Israel maintains it is for research purposes.
Iran said the strike was retaliation for an earlier attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, while Israel’s military said it was “not aware” of such a strike.
According to a US-based rights group, at least 3,230 people have been killed in Iran, including more than 1,400 civilians, though the figures could not be independently verified.
AFP
