The Latest: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says Tehran still building missiles and the war will go on
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 also said the Iran 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.”
A short time later, Iranian state television reported Naeini was killed in an airstrike.
The war persisted Friday in drawing Arab neighbors directly into the conflict, with heavy explosions shaking Dubai, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry reporting a fire from falling shrapnel, Kuwait shutting down oil production as firefighters worked to put out three fires from airstrikes, and Saudi Arabia shooting down multiple Iranian drones. Israel said it had begun striking Iranian targets east of Tehran.
The latest attacks come as Arabs observed Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Here is the latest:
Israelis give opposing views on the war
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 U.S. 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
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
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.”
Al Aqsa Mosque closed for Eid prayers
Al Aqsa Mosque compound has closed for Eid prayers for the first time in decades.
The compound in Jerusalem will be closed to worshippers for Friday’s Eid al-Fitr, the holiday on which Muslims mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
The full closure of the holy site marks the first since the 1967 Mideast war, when Israel captured East Jerusalem and the Old City.
The mosque sits on a hilltop compound that is sacred to Muslims and Jews, who believe it was the site of biblical temples. Access has been a flashpoint and historically sparked tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
Israel has kept holy sites in the Old City closed to worshippers of all faiths throughout the Iran war citing security, though the restrictions have had the broadest effect on Muslims, tens of thousands who normally come for Friday prayer at Al Aqsa.
Revolutionary Guard spokesman killed in airstrike
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
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 Feb. 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
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
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
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
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.
Shrapnel sparks fire in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia destroys drones
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry reported a fire erupted Friday morning after shrapnel fell on a warehouse in the island kingdom. Firefighters worked to control the blaze, it said.
Saudi Arabia reported shooting down multiple Iranian drones Friday morning targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.
Explosions shake Dubai
Heavy explosions shook Dubai in the United Arab Emirates early Friday as air defenses intercepted incoming fire over the city. A missile alert sounded prior to the strike.
The Dubai Media Office, the sheikhdom’s government communication’s arm, said, “Authorities in Dubai confirm the success of all air interception operations, with no injuries reported.”
It came during Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, as mosques in the UAE made the day’s first call to prayers.
Iranians mark Nowruz under early morning airstrikes
Iranians marked Nowruz, or the Persian New Year, early Friday morning as airstrikes began.
Israel’s military said very early Friday it had begun to strike Tehran.
Activists reported hearing strikes around Tehran after Israel’s announcement of a new wave of attacks.
The announcement came after an intense day of Iranian missile strikes targeting Israel, with more than a dozen launches on Thursday alone, according to Israel’s military.