President Donald Trump said U.S. forces “obliterated” military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, home to the main terminal that handles the country’s oil exports. The speaker of the Iranian parliament had warned that such strikes would provoke a new level of retaliation.
Meanwhile, an American official said 2,500 more Marines and an amphibious assault ship were sent to the Middle East nearly two weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic.
Iran has continued to launch widespread missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf states, and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil passes, even as U.S. and Israeli warplanes pummel military and other targets across Iran.
Here is the latest:
2 tankers are loading oil from Iran’s Kharg Island, a vessel-tracker says
According to TankerTrackers, two tankers were loading oil on Kharg on Saturday, hours after the U.S. said it struck Iranian military facilities there.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says 26 paramedics have been killed by Israeli strikes
Another 51 paramedics and medical workers have been wounded since the latest round of Israel-Hezbollah fighting began on March 2.
The latest strike on Friday night in the southern village of Burj Qalaouiyah hit a health care center, killing 12 people and seriously wounding one. A search is ongoing for four people who are still under the rubble, the ministry said.
The ministry said that Israel has been intentionally targeting medical workers, adding that claims by Israel’s military spokesman that ambulances are being used for military purposes are pretexts to justify the attacks.
Earlier Saturday, the Israeli military Arabic spokesman said Hezbollah is widely using ambulances for military purposes. He said the militant group should stop or the Israeli military will act.
UAE reports drone and missile attacks
Nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones were fired Saturday toward the United Arab Emirates, the Defense Ministry said.
It said the total number of projectiles fired at the country since Feb. 28 included 1,600 drones, 294 ballistic missiles and 15 cruise missiles. The attacks have killed six people and wounded 141 others, it said.
Iranian lawmaker says Ukraine’s drone support makes it a legitimate war target
In a post on X Saturday, Ebrahim Azizi, the head of Iran’s parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said that by providing drone support to Israel, Ukraine has “effectively become involved in the war.” He said the entire country became a target for Iran.
Iran says US and Israeli strikes damaged about 43,000 residential and commercial units
Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said the damaged structures included 36,469 residential units and 6,179 commercial facilities, according to state-run IRNA news agency.
Iran hasn’t provided any information about military losses and damage.
Mohajerani, meanwhile, said the war has taken a heavy toll on women, with 223 women and girls killed and 2,129 others wounded since Feb. 28. She didn’t provide an overall death toll, but previously authorities have said that 1,230 people have been killed.
Fire breaks out near UAE port after drone interception
The fire near Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates broke out Saturday following the drone interception, authorities said.
No casualties were reported from the attack, the Fujairah media office said, adding that firefighters were battling the blaze.
Associated Press footage showed smoke rising Saturday morning over the facility.
Iran says 52 cultural sites damaged in US-Israeli strikes
The sites include museums and historic monuments across Iran, authorities said Saturday.
The Cultural Heritage Ministry said the latest strikes in the city of Sanandaj in Kurdistan province seriously damaged the Asef Mansion, Salar Saeid Mansion and Khosro Abad Mansion, according to Mizan, the judiciary’s official news agency.
Some of the sites date back several centuries and are dedicated to Kurdish culture.
France’s president says Paris ready to host direct Israel-Lebanon talks
President Emmanuel Macron posted on X that he spoke with the president, prime minister and parliament speaker of Lebanon, and that everything must be done to prevent the country from sinking into chaos.
Macron added that Hezbollah must immediately halt “its reckless escalation” while Israel must abandon any large-scale offensive and stop its massive airstrikes.
Macron said Lebanese leaders have said they are willing to have direct talks with Israel.
The French leader said Israel must seize this opportunity to launch talks to reach a ceasefire, find a lasting solution, and allow Lebanese authorities to fulfill their commitments in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said Friday that he expressed readiness to negotiate with Israel but got no response. Lebanon and Israel remain at a state of war since 1948.
Iranian official says oil operations are normal on Kharg Island after US strikes
“Export and import operations, as well as the activities of companies based on the island, are currently ongoing,” Ehsan Jahaniyan, deputy governor of Bushehr province, was quoted as saying by NourNews, an outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Kharg Island is home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s oil exports.
Jahaniyan also said that daily life activities were normal, adding that the strikes left no casualties.
Early Saturday, semi-official Fars News Agency reported that the U.S. strikes were limited to military facilities.
Dust storm blows over Gaza as people are urged to protect themselves
A cloud of orange-tinted, thick dust spread across the Gaza Strip on Saturday as first responders told Palestinians to stay home, especially those with respiratory illness.
People were also urged to secure their tents to prevent them from being blown away. Israel’s war with Hamas has left most of Gaza’s 2 million residents displaced, living in tents and damaged buildings with little protection from the elements such as rain, wind and sand.
Videos on Saturday showed tents flapping and trees swaying as cars drove down dust-filled streets with little visibility. While dust storms occur in Gaza, there hasn’t been one this intense in more than five years.
Bahrain reports more missile and drone attacks
Bahrain’s Defense Ministry said Iran fired 10 drones and three missiles on Saturday.
That has brought the total number of missiles and drones fired at Bahrain during the two-week war to 124 and 203, respectively.
Iran threatens to attack UAE cities
Iran’s military command threatened Saturday to attack cities in the United Arab Emirates, claiming they were used by U.S. forces to launch strikes on Iran’s Abu Musa and Kharg islands.
According to Iran’s state television, the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said, without providing evidence, that U.S. forces launched attacks on the Islamic Republic from “ports, docks and hideouts within” cities in the Emirates.
It called on people to evacuate “ports, docks and locations where U.S. forces are sheltered in UAE cities.”
An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon kills 4 people
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the airstrike hit an apartment in the southern city of Sidon. It gave no other details.
10 foreigners in UAE are detained over spreading war-related videos on social media
The United Arab Emirates has detained 10 foreigners who allegedly posted footage on social media of missile and drone attacks on the county.
UAE General Prosecutor Hamad Al Shamsi ordered them to remain in detention over accusations of spreading disinformation, some of which included AI-generated videos of purported attacks on UAE landmarks.
He said in a statement that their acts are punishable by imprisonment of at least a year and a fine of at least 100,000 dirhams ($27,230).
6 Iranians from the same family were reported killed in a strike
The airstrike destroyed a residential building early Saturday in the western city of Eyvan, the judiciary’s official news agency Mizan reported, citing local authorities. The dead included a 6-month-old, it said.
At least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran since the war began Feb. 28, according to Iranian authorities.
Trump says Iran wants a deal ‘but not a deal I would accept!’
Trump wrote in a social media post: “The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal - But not a deal that I would accept!”
Lebanese media report more Israeli attacks
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes Saturday morning on Beirut and the country’s south.
Hamas calls on Iran to stop attacks on Arab countries
The Palestinian militant group also urged regional countries to “cooperate and stop” the U.S. and Israeli assault on Iran.
“While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls upon the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighboring countries,” Hamas said in a statement Saturday, its first since the war began on Feb. 28.
The group, which maintains close ties with Iran and Qatar, said stopping the war is in the interest of the region.
Hamas is part of the so-called Axis of Resistance, which includes Iranian-backed militant groups in the Middle East.
Airstrike kills 2 in Baghdad
An airstrike hit a house in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, early Saturday, killing at least one person, according to a security official and another affiliated with the Iranian-backed armed groups in the country.
The strike in Baghdad’s Karrada district also wounded two people, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the press.
In a statement, the Iraqi military condemned the strike as “a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and a disregard for international conventions.”
The strike happened before a missile attack hit the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad.
— By Qassim Abdul-Zahra
Iranian media reports 15 explosions in Kharg following US strikes
Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported at least 15 explosions with thick smoke rising over Kharg Island, earlier hit by U.S. strikes.
It said the strikes targeted an air defense facility, a naval base, the airport control tower, and an offshore oil company’s helicopter hangar, adding no oil infrastructure was damaged in the attack.
Iran reiterates threats to target US-linked oil facilities
Iran’s joint military command reiterated its threat to attack U.S.-linked oil and energy facilities in the region if the Islamic Republic’s oil infrastructure were hit.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters made the threat early Saturday, according to Iran’s state-run television.
He warned that Iran will target “all oil, economic, and energy infrastructures belonging to oil companies across the region that have American shares or cooperate with America” if energy and economic infrastructure in Iran is attacked.
No comment from US Embassy after strike on Baghdad compound
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad after a strike hit it’s compound in the Iraqi capital.
On Friday, the embassy renewed its Level 4 security alert for Iraq, warning that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups have previously carried out attacks against U.S. citizens, interests and infrastructure, and “may continue to target them.”
The sprawling embassy complex, one of the largest U.S. diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones in the past by Iran-aligned militias.
The groups have recently stepped up attacks on bases hosting U.S. and coalition troops.
A drone strike in northern Iraq on Thursday killed a French soldier and wounded several others stationed there as part of an international coalition.
Missile strikes helipad inside US Embassy compound in Baghdad
A missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, two security officials said.
The projectile landed within the embassy’s boundaries after the Green Zone, the heavily fortified district in central Baghdad that houses Iraqi government institutions and foreign embassies, added the security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak with the press.
Video obtained by The Associated Press showed smoke billowing from inside the compound.
— By Qassim Abdul-Zahra