Three weeks into an escalating war in the Middle East, the US is reportedly sending more warships and Marines to the region, and Iran threatened Friday to expand its retaliatory attacks to include recreational and tourist sites worldwide.
As Israeli airstrikes landed in Tehran, Iran launched more attacks on Israel and energy sites in neighbouring Gulf Arab states, and the region marked Eid, one of the holiest days on the Muslim calendar. Iranians were also celebrating the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, a normally festive holiday that is more subdued this year.
Jerusalem's Old City was hit by debris on Friday from incoming intercepted Iranian missiles. The debris landed in the Jewish quarter, less than 500 metres from The Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, and Al Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. It struck just above Dung Gate, one of seven functional entrances into the Old City.
With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how much damage its arms, nuclear or energy facilities have sustained in the punishing US and Israeli strikes that began on 28 February — or even who was truly in charge of the country. But Iran's attacks are still choking off oil supplies and denting the global economy, raising food and fuel prices far beyond the Middle East.
Trump Friday called his NATO allies "cowards" for not responding to his call to provide security in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that saying that without America the alliance is a “paper tiger.”
Hours after Trump's statement, the United Kingdom announced that it had authorised the use of its military bases for the US to carry out strikes on Iranian sites attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The agreement expands the previously agreed to conditions for use of its bases, which stated that American forces could use British bases for operations to prevent Iran firing missiles that put British interests or lives at risk.
The US and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, from hoping to foment an uprising that topples Iran’s leadership to eliminating its nuclear and missile programs. There have been no public signs of any such uprising and no end in sight to the war.
