The US and Israel war against Iran enters its fourth day. And it is becoming more and more complicated and affects more countries, while Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu redouble the involvement of their countries and announce that the bombings could last “four or five weeks.” Trump also lamented the shortage of the most advanced military material due to the weapons supplied by Joe Biden to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he disparagingly described as PT Barnum, a well-known American charlatan and trickster of the 19th century.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, has tried to rule out that the conflict could become an “endless war” in the Middle East. In an interview on Fox News, Netanyahu stated: “This is not an endless war. In fact, it is something that will usher in an era of peace that we have not even imagined.” Netanyahu has stated that Operation Epic Fury would create the conditions “for the Iranian people to take control of their destiny, form their own democratically elected government” and be able to “free themselves from the yoke of this machinery of terror.”
Netanyahu has defended the bombings on the grounds of preventing the Islamic Republic from acquiring a nuclear weapon, without evidence that it was any closer to obtaining one. These statements, repeated by the US president, contradict information from US intelligence services, which have analyzed that Iran is almost a decade away from developing a “militarily viable” intercontinental ballistic missile.
As a result of the attacks, the Red Crescent estimates 555 civilians in Iran, although the number may exceed 700, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), based in the United States.
Meanwhile, Iran is responding to the offensive by Washington and Tel Aviv, to the point of reaching the US embassy in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) with drones, causing significant material damage.
The Saudi Defense Ministry confirmed the attack, saying it caused “a limited fire and minor property damage,” but reported no injuries.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced, for its part, that it had begun efforts to destroy “American political centers” in the region: “The explosion at Washington’s embassy in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, is a step in that direction.”
Donald Trump told NewsNation that his response to the attack on the diplomatic legation will be known “soon.”
The US Embassy in Riyadh is among several US military and diplomatic facilities that have been targeted by Iran. CNN has also reported that the US embassy in Kuwait was also attacked on Sunday and Monday.
Indeed, Tehran has also attacked Israel and various Gulf countries, including energy facilities in Qatar.
Places considered safe in the region, such as Dubai, have been targeted; energy prices have skyrocketed; and US allies have pledged to help stop Iranian missiles and drones.
The biggest energy impact has been on natural gas prices, which have risen more than 40% in Europe when QatarEnergy, one of the main suppliers, has stopped the production of liquefied natural gas after the attack on its facilities.
US oil rose 6.3% to $71.23 per barrel, while Brent, the international benchmark, rose 6.7% to $77.74 per barrel, reports The Associated Press. Rising oil prices raise the prospect of gasoline becoming more expensive, as well as rising prices for other products, at a time when populations in many countries are hit by inflation.
A key point is the Strait of Hormuz, at the southern end of the Persian Gulf, through which 20% of the world’s oil supply passes.
Tanker traffic has been drastically reduced due to the disruption of satellite navigation systems. In addition, the United Kingdom’s Maritime Commercial Operations Center has reported attacks on several ships in the area on both sides of the strait and warned of an increase in electronic interference in systems that show the location of ships, AP reports.
The US, for its part, has ordered the departure of its citizens from 14 Middle Eastern countries.
“The hardest blows are yet to come from the US military,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened journalists before informing members of Congress about the operation in Iran.
Meanwhile, bombings from Washington and Tel Aviv have hit the Golestan Palace in Tehran, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “The Golestan Palace, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been damaged after an American-Israeli attack,” according to the Iranian Mehr agency. picks up CNN.
World markets are being shaken as fighting spreads across a region vital to energy supplies.
Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery has also been attacked by drones, but its defenses shot down the aircraft, a military spokesman told the state news agency Saudi Press Agency. The refinery has a capacity of more than half a million barrels of crude oil per day.
Protests in the US
Throughout the United States, thousands of people gathered this Monday to denounce and protest against the US-Israeli military operation in Iran.
In Boston, despite the low temperatures, protesters took to the streets: one of them, addressing the crowd, expressed his opposition to “these endless, stupid, immoral and dangerous wars,” according to CNN affiliate WCVB.
In New York City, a group of protesters gathered in Manhattan for a brief rally before marching through the streets chanting “hands off Iran now” (“hands off Iran now”), while holding banners and posters.
Similar protests took place in Chicago, Portland (Oregon) and Madison (Wisconsin).
The ANSWER Coalition, an anti-war and occupation organization, announced over the weekend on social media that Monday would be a national day of protest for “Stop the War in Iran” (“Stop the war in Iran”).
Source: www.eldiario.es
