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Iran escalated its retaliatory operations across the Middle East in the afternoon of February 28, with reports suggesting that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
An official from the European Union’s naval mission Aspides told Reuters that vessels have been receiving VHF transmission from the IRGC saying “no ship is allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz.”
The strait is the world’s most vital oil export route, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
The official noted that Iran had not formally confirmed any such order. However, an IRGC commander, Ibrahim Jabari, told the Lebanese network Al-Mayadeen later that “the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is currently being carried out following the aggression against Iran.”
The commander also revealed that “1,200 missiles were launched from Iran in various directions immediately” after the United States and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic in the morning.
The semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that 14 U.S. bases were hit with missiles and drones across the Middle East.
One of the key targets hit, according to the IRGC, was the American-made AN/FPS-132 radar in Qatar. The high-power, solid-state phased-array radar is used for long-range early warning of ballistic missile attacks and space surveillance. It costs $1,1 billion and has a range of up to 5,000 kilometers. The radar in question is owned and operated by the Qatar Emiri Air Force, but is believed to support U.S. military operations in the region.
A Qatari Defence Ministry official confirmed to Al Jazeera that an early-warning radar in northern Qatar was targeted in an Iranian attack.
The IRGC also claimed to have hit a support ship of the U.S. Navy, but the Central Command denied that any of its vessels were targeted.
More attacks also targeted Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a hub for U.S. forces in the region. The Jordanian Armed Forces said that it dealt with at least 49 missiles and drones launched from Iran.
Additional strikes were launched against Kuwait. A drone hit Kuwait International Airport, which also hosts U.S. forces. Reuters reported that a total of 12 people have been wounded in the country since the start of the war.
Other Iranian missile and drone strikes were reported in Bahrain, and the UAE, where multiple hotels and high-rise buildings were targeted. One of the strikes hit Dubai’s famed man-made island The Palm. Emirate authorities said that four people were injured there.
Saudi Arabia also confirmed it was targeted in an Iranian missile strike earlier in the day. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the kingdom was able to repel attacks on its capital, Riyadh, and on the country’s east. No casualties were reported.
Separately, more missile and drone strikes targeted Israel, with several impacts reported. The Israeli military even said that missiles with multiple warheads were used. The country’s Magen David Adom ambulance service said that it had treated a total of 89 people who were lightly injured as a result of the attacks, the vast majority of them indirectly.
Despite the pressure from the Iranian attacks, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had carried out the largest-ever strike sortie in Iran with more than 200 fighter jets.
The IDF revealed in a statement that the fighter jets dropped hundreds of munitions on some 500 Iranian military targets in western and central Iran, near-simultaneously, in the morning hours as part of the sortie.
“This is the largest strike sortie in the history of the Israeli Air Force, executed after close planning with high-quality intelligence, synchronizing hundreds of aircraft simultaneously,” the military said.
The IDF added that the strikes on Iran’s air defense systems “enabled the expansion of air superiority over Iranian skies and caused a severe blow to the regime’s central offensive capability, the launch sites in western Iran.”
One of the sites that was struck in the Tabriz area served Iran’s ballistic missile unit, “and from there it planned to launch dozens of missiles toward Israel,” it noted.
In an earlier statement, the IDF said that it struck an “advanced SA-65 air defense system” deployed in the Kermanshah area.
“The IDF continues at this time to strike infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in order to cause a blow to the regime and thwart threats to the Israeli home front,” the military added.
Meanwhile, Channel 12 reported that Israel “assesses” that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was likely killed in an Israeli strike earlier in the day. The report said that there are “growing indications” to this effect, despite official Iranian denial.
A separate report from Reuters said that IRGC commander Gen. Mohammad Pakpour and Iranian defense minister Amir Nasirzadeh were killed in Israeli strikes.
The U.S. military, from its side, has not yet provided any details about its operations. Everything suggests that Israel is leading the attack on Iran, at least for now.
According to the Iranian Red Crescent, 200 have been killed since the start of the attack on Iran, with more than 700 others wounded.
Two massacres were reported today in the southern region of the Islamic Republic as a result of American-Israel strikes. At least 85, including students, were killed when a girl’s school was struck in the area of Minab. An additional 15 were killed in a strike that targeted a sports center in the city of Lamerd.
The situation has clearly reached the point of no return for all sides. While Iran’s allies have not yet joined the fight, the regional conflict could expand further in coming days, especially if Arab countries decided to respond and attack the Islamic Republic. This would greatly benefit the U.S. and Israel.
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bombing schools does not really stimulate regime change.
well i won’t be finding a job anytime soon now here in illinois smh. 🤦
trump kill civilians and request regime change from beraved iranin civillians how stupid can he be or is it epstein secret hiding.natyhu is not even black chosen israelite but pretend to be white chosen one which is a lie.
gcc country is the main culprit
trump did a historical blunder persians are know fed up their are going to root out all usa military.soon venezuella,cubaa,mexico nd others re going to hit usa oil,gas and military depots in us mainland.usa is doom under trump.