By JON GAMBRELL, SAM MEDNICK and JULIE WATSON Associated Press
Iran is threatening recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisting it is still building missiles three weeks into an escalating war in the Middle East. The United States is deploying more warships and another 2,500 Marines to the region. As Israeli strikes landed in Tehran, Iran launched more attacks on Israel and energy sites in neighboring Gulf Arab states. With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how much damage its forces have suffered in the punishing U.S. and Israeli strikes that began Feb. 28 — 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.
By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING, MIKE CORDER and NATALIE MELZER Associated Press
Iran has intensified its attacks on oil and gas facilities around the Gulf, dramatically raising the stakes in a war that is sending shock waves through the global economy. Thursday's strikes came in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian natural gas field. They sent fuel prices soaring and risked drawing Iran's Arab neighbors directly into the conflict. Tehran targeted energy production, further stressing global supplies already under pressure because of Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz. That's a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran no longer can enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called Russia and Iran "brothers in hatred." It came as he visited London to seek support from U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in his country's fight against Russia's invasion. The talks between the two leaders on Tuesday came as the Iran war revives Russia's ailing economy through increased oil revenue, robs U.S.-brokered talks on ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine of momentum, and could soon limit Kyiv's access to vital Western air defense systems that are needed in the Middle East. Starmer said "We can't lose focus on what's going on in Ukraine and the need for our support." NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also attended the talks.
By SEUNG MIN KIM and DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press
President Donald Trump is pushing back against claims by the director of the National Counterterrorism Center about the motivations for the Iran war. In announcing his resignation Tuesday, Joe Kent claimed Iran "posed no imminent threat" to the United States. Trump says Iran is a "tremendous threat." Kent also says it's clear the U.S. started the war "due to pressure from Israel." The Republican president previously has denied Israel forced the U.S. to act. Kent is a former Washington state political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists. As head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent was in charge of an agency tasked with analyzing and detecting terrorist threats.
By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING, MIKE CORDER and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
Updated
Israel says it has killed two senior Iranian security officials in a major blow to the country's leadership. Iran, which confirmed one killing, fired salvos of missiles and drones Tuesday at its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the deaths of Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's all-volunteer Basij force. The Iranian judiciary's news agency, Mizan, confirmed the killing of Soleimani and did not confirm nor deny the death of Larijani. Larijani was considered one of the most powerful figures in the country since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war.
By BASSEM MROUE, JAMEY KEATEN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
Fears of a global energy crisis persist as the war in the Middle East rages on. More U.S.-Israeli strikes hit the Iranian capital Monday and Israel again bombarded Lebanon. An Iranian drone strike temporarily shut Dubai's airport. That's a crucial global travel hub and the attack underscored the threats to the world economy. Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran more than two weeks ago, Tehran has regularly fired on Israel, American bases in the region, and Gulf Arab countries' energy infrastructure. It has also effectively stopped shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. That has dramatically increased the price of oil and put pressure on Washington to do something to ease the pain consumers are feeling.
