Israel launches more attacks on Iran as crisis deepens

 Israel launched further attacks on Tehran on Friday, a day after President Donald Trump told it not to repeat its strikes ‌on Iranian natural gas infrastructure, which sharply escalated the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The conflict has killed thousands, spread to neighbouring nations, and hit the global economy since the United States and Israel launched their ​initial strikes on February 28. Early on ⁠Friday, Israel launched a wave of strikes on Tehran, targeting what the military called "infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime".

A brief statement did not provide further ‌details. Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates said they were dealing ‌with missile attacks, hours before the start at sundown of the Eid Al Fitr holiday celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The latest attacks follow days of Iranian strikes on regional energy infrastructure that has roiled global markets.

Energy crisis escalates

Energy prices jumped on Thursday after Iran responded to an Israeli attack on a major gas field by hitting Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City, which processes around a fifth of the world's liquefied natural gas, causing ‌damage that will take years to repair.

Saudi Arabia's main port on the Red Sea, where it has been able to divert some exports to avoid Iran's closure of the Gulf's exit point, the Strait of Hormuz, was ⁠also attacked on Thursday.

Oil prices fell on Friday as Western nations and Japan offered to help secure safe passage for ships through the strait - normally the conduit for a fifth of the world's oil supplies - and the US outlined moves to boost oil output.

The strikes on regional energy facilities underscored Iran's continued ability to exact a heavy price for the US-Israeli campaign, and the limits of air defences in protecting the Gulf's most valuable and strategic energy assets.

Trump, politically vulnerable to rising fuel prices among his core voters ahead of November's midterm elections, has lashed out at allies who have responded cautiously to his demands that they help secure the strait.

He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not repeat the attack on energy infrastructure. "I told him, 'Don't do that', and he won't do that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.

Netanyahu later ​said Israel had acted alone in bombing Iran's South Pars gas field.

Reuters