...
By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
DEATH TOLL (per The Associated Press on Friday): Iran: 1,444. Lebanon: 1,000. Israel: 15. U.S.: 13 troops.
President Donald Trump has called NATO allies "cowards" on Day 21 of the Iran war which saw further Israeli strikes and a pledge by the U.S. to boost its forces in the region.
Alliance members would dispute’s Trump’s Truth Social post that it would be "easy" for them to help the U.S. get ships passing again through the Strait of Hormuz which has been effectively blockaded by Iran in response to American and Israeli attacks.
Read More on News
...
Trump’s Iran war Already Costs More Than Bush’s Iraq Opening
The 5 Iran war Traps Trump Must Avoid
But spiking oil and natural gas prices hurt Europe and Asia more than a net oil exporter such as the U.S. and Trump’s continued criticism of allies for not pulling their weight in the war will add to pressure on NATO member governments.
Meanwhile, the U.S. will beef up its presence in the Middle East with three more warships and roughly 2,500 more Marines to join the estimated 50,000 troops already there, according to The Associated Press, although much depends on congressional approval to the Pentagon request.
Washington may have rejected the prospect of American boots on the ground in Iran but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested a ground‑component operation inside Iran could be needed because, "you can’t do a revolution from the air."
But further missiles and drones fired by both Israel and Iran continued to fall from the sky, as Iran celebrated Persian New Year, or Nowruz with explosions heard over Tehran.
Tehran in turn fired drones at Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery in Kuwait—one of the largest in the Middle East. Bahrain also intercepted a projectile whose shrapnel landed on a warehouse, and Saudi Arabia said it had shot down drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.
Heavy explosions shook Dubai as air defenses intercepted incoming fire from Iran, The Associated Press reported. With people in the region marking Eid al-Fitr, or the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Israel broadened its attacks to Syria, saying it hit targets in response to what it described as attacks on the Druze minority.
The U.S. and Israel have given different reasons for the war from eliminating Iran’s nuclear and missile programs to sparking an uprising of which there are no signs so far.
Iran has threatened to target recreational and tourist sites worldwide and there is no end in sight to the war during which Brent crude oil soared to $108 per barrel as the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Fatih Birol told the BBC that the world faces the "greatest global energy security challenge in history."
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines