Latest developments in Middle East war

Iran on Monday threatened to attack Israel’s power plants and those supplying United States bases across the Middle East if President Donald Trump carries out his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power network.

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war on Monday:

Aircraft carrier return

The USS Gerald Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier playing a key role in the Middle East war, has returned to a base in Crete.

The vessel, which took on food, fuel and ammunition at Souda Bay in February, reported a laundry fire on March 12 which injured two crew members.

Political settlement

Russia called for a “political and diplomatic settlement” to the war.

“This is the only thing that can effectively contribute to defusing the catastrophically tense situation that has now developed in the region,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

‘Goodbye to electricity’

Iran’s state media published infographics of power plants in the region that its forces could target, in response to US President Donald Trump’s threat to “obliterate” Iran’s electricity plants if it didn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

One infographic was titled “Say goodbye to electricity!” and showed potential targets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait. Other maps showed Orot Rabin and Rutenberg, Israel’s two largest power plants.

Friendly fire

The Israeli military confirmed that its own artillery fire had killed an Israeli civilian on the northern border on Sunday, where Hezbollah had claimed an attack and that “several severe issues and operational errors took place during the incident, including both the planning and execution of the fire”.

Israeli emergency workers had initially said that a man was killed in a “direct hit” on his car by a rocket from Lebanon, making him the first fatality in the country’s north since the latest round of fighting with Hezbollah broke out.

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Naval mines

Iran’s defence council said in a statement that it would mine “all access routes and communications lines in the Persian Gulf and coastal areas” – including deploying “drifting mines deployable from the coasts” if its coastlines or islands were attacked.

‘Uncontrollable situation’

Asked about US President Donald Trump’s threats to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian warned that “If the war expands further and the situation deteriorates again, the entire region could be plunged into an uncontrollable situation.”

Israel interceptions

Israel’s military said defensive systems were working to intercept the latest salvo of missiles fired from Iran and urged people to take cover.

On Saturday Iranian missiles evaded defences and injured dozens when they hit two southern towns close to Israel’s desert nuclear facility.

Economic ‘crisis’

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said “the global economy is facing a major, major threat” and compared the current energy crisis to those of the 1970s and the impact of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

“This crisis as things stand is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together,” Birol said, adding that no country will be immune to its effects.

Gulf nations attacks

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates repelled fresh attacks, while sirens sounded in Bahrain.

Abu Dhabi authorities said an Indian national had been wounded by falling debris from an intercepted ballistic missile.

‘Wide-scale’ strikes

Israel’s military said it launched “a wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran.

Iranian media reported explosions ringing out over the capital, while an AFP journalist saw a thick column of black smoke rising at least an hour later.

France ‘solidarity’

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that he spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express “solidarity” with the kingdom and reiterate France’s commitment to contributing to air defences against Iranian missiles and drones.

US embassy attacks pause

Kataeb Hezbollah – an Iran-backed armed group in Iraq – says it will extend its five-day pause on attacking the US embassy in Baghdad, announced on Thursday.

Since the start of the war in the Middle East, pro-Iran armed groups have claimed responsibility for near-daily attacks on US interests in Iraq and across the region, while strikes have also targeted these groups.

Lebanon raps Hezbollah

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are commanding Hezbollah’s operations in the group’s war against Israel.

In an interview with the Al Hadath network, Salam once again lashed out at Hezbollah for dragging Lebanon into the Middle East war by firing rockets at Israel.

The Star