Israel launched more strikes in and around Tehran early Friday as Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year, as the war with Iran approached its fourth week.
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly diverged over Israel’s bombing of Iran’s South Pars gas field on Wednesday, which rattled energy markets and widened the conflict’s spillover across the Gulf. Iran targeted multiple gas and oil facilities on Thursday, including Qatar’s Ras Laffan, a major energy hub.
Trump said Thursday he told Netanyahu to refrain from hitting Iranian energy sites again. Netanyahu responded that Israel acted alone in hitting the South Pars site and said Israel would “hold off on future attacks” at Trump’s request. Overnight, Iranian drones hit Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery again, sparking fires as crews worked to contain the blaze. Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said the country’s air defenses responded to missile and drone threats from Iran with explosions echoing across Dubai as worshippers marked the Muslim holiday of Eid.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen publicly since he succeeded his slain father, issued a rare statement Friday saying Iran’s enemies need to have their “security” taken away.
Updates:
Trump and Netanyahu spar over strikes on energy infrastructure
President Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday he had complained to Netanyahu about Israel’s strike on South Pars and urged Israel to avoid future attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure to prevent further disruption to global energy supplies. Netanyahu later said Israel acted alone in carrying out the attack and that it would honor Trump’s request. “President Trump asked us to hold off on future attacks, and we’re holding off,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu claims Iran “has no ability to enrich uranium”
At his first press conference since the war began on Feb. 28, Netanyahu claimed Iran “has no ability to enrich uranium” and “no ability to produce ballistic missiles,” saying Israel is targeting industries that enable production. He described the war as focused on destroying Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and “creating the conditions that will allow the Iranian people to take their fate into their own hands.”
His remarks contradicted recent statements from the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi told NPR he believes parts of Iran’s nuclear program will remain despite heavy damage from U.S. and Israeli strikes. “Of course, there is an enormous degradation of the physical facilities,” Grossi said, “But most probably, at the end of this [military conflict], the material will still be there and the enrichment capacities will be there, perhaps some infrastructure will still be there.” Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also pushed back, noting the concern is not what Iran can do today but what it might be able to do in the future.
Iran hits Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery again
Kuwait said Friday that Iranian drones struck the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery overnight, igniting fires at several operational units. Authorities said firefighters were working to control the blaze and that no injuries were reported. The attack followed a strike on the same gas facility the day before, as Iran intensified attacks on Gulf energy sites after Israel’s bombing of South Pars. Mina Al-Ahmadi is Kuwait’s largest oil refinery, making it a prominent target amid the conflict’s widening energy front.
Iran’s new supreme leader says enemies’ “security must be stripped”
In his first statement since Israeli strikes killed top Iranian officials, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said “security must be stripped from internal and external enemies” in response to the killing of Iran’s intelligence chief, Esmail Khatib. Israel also killed Ali Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, and Gholamreza Soleimani, commander of the Basij paramilitary militia earlier in the week. Khamenei, 56, has not been seen publicly since he succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Feb. 28.
Israel confirms killing of IRGC spokesperson
Israel’s military said it “eliminated” the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s top spokesperson, Ali Mohammed Naini, early Friday. Israel did not disclose how or where Naini was killed. His death is the fourth senior Iranian official killed by Israel this week.
EU calls for reopening of Strait of Hormuz, moratorium on strikes
European Union leaders meeting in Brussels called for “de-escalation and maximum restraint” and pressed for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The European Council deplored the loss of civilian life and warned of the hostilities’ far-reaching impact on economic stability. Leaders also called for a moratorium on strikes targeting energy and water infrastructure as energy prices climbed. A joint statement by France, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Canada condemned Iran’s recent attacks on commercial vessels and attempts to block the Strait of Hormuz, urging an end to mine-laying, missile and drone attacks.
