37 Indian-flagged ships stuck in Persian Gulf
DUBAI, Mar 3:
Israel stepped up airstrikes against Iranian missile launchers and factories Tuesday, and Iran retaliated across the Gulf region, disrupting energy supplies and travel.
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As explosions rang out in Tehran and in Lebanon – where Israel said it struck Hezbollah militants – the American embassy in Saudi Arabia came under drone attack.
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Four days into a war that President Donald Trump suggested would last several weeks but perhaps longer, hundreds of people have been killed, the vast majority in Iran, where information has been limited in part by an internet shutdown.
The spiralling nature of the war raised questions about when and how it would end. Trump seemed to leave open the possibility for more extensive US military involvement, telling the New York Post on Monday that he was not ruling out the possibility of boots on the ground.
The administration has given various objectives. While the initial US-Israeli strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Trump urged Iranians to overthrow their government, senior administration officials have since said regime change was not the goal.
Trump said Monday the military campaign’s four objectives were to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, wipe out its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure that it cannot continue to support allied armed groups.
Across Iran’s capital, explosions rang out throughout the night into Tuesday, with aircraft heard overhead.
The Israeli military said it conducted a wave of airstrikes on sites that produce and store ballistic missiles, in Tehran and Isfahan.
Strikes caused two explosions at a broadcasting facility in Tehran, Iranian state TV said, adding that no one was injured.
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran’s Natanz nuclear enrichment site had sustained “some recent damage,” though there was “no radiological consequence expected.”
The US hit Natanz during the 12-day war in June, when Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s nuclear programme.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained, however, that Iran was rebuilding “new sites, new places” underground for making atomic bombs. He offered no evidence to support his claim.
Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it has maintained its right to and says its nuclear programme is peaceful.
Satellite photos analysed by The Associated Press showed limited activity at two Iranian nuclear sites before the war. Analysts said Tehran was likely assessing damage from the 2025 strikes and possibly salvaging what remained.
A north Tehran resident has described growing fears in the capital as it comes under heavy bombardment.
Communications into Iran remain unstable with the internet largely blocked. The resident messaged The Associated Press before dawn on Tuesday. He spoke on the condition of anonymity.
He said a major blast had shaken his building on Monday. “I was by the window and felt the shock wave. Pretty scary, then saw the smoke,” he said.
Most stores in the normally bustling area of Tajrish were closed, he added. Iran has declared an official mourning period following the killing of Khamenei.
The resident said bakeries were open and supermarkets were stocked, but ATMs were mostly “out of cash.” Iran’s economy was already spiralling when the currency crashed to record lows in December.
An attack from two drones on the US Embassy in Riyadh caused a “limited fire,” according to Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry, and the embassy urged Americans to avoid the compound.
It followed an attack on the US Embassy in Kuwait. Both embassies said they were closed to the public.
The US-Israeli strikes have killed at least 787 people, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. In Israel, where Iranian missiles struck several locations, 11 people were killed. The Iranian-supported militant group Hezbollah has also attacked Israel, whose retaliatory strikes killed 52 people in Lebanon.
The US military has confirmed six deaths of American service members. In addition, three people were killed in the United Arab Emirates, and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.
Iran has hit many countries deemed safe havens in the Mideast in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes. Recent targets included two Amazon data centres in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain. The centres in the UAE were hit, while a drone struck near the one Bahrain, causing damage, the company said.
Iran has also struck energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and attacked several ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes, sending global oil and natural gas prices soaring.
“The Strait of Hormuz is closed,” declared Iranian Brig Gen Ebrahim Jabbari, an adviser to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, vowing that any ships that passed through it would be set on fire.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari vowed that Iranian attacks on the gas-rich country “will not go unanswered”.
As oil and natural gas prices climbed, stock prices fell sharply.
The conflict has spread to Lebanon, where Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel on Monday, prompting Israel to retaliate.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military hit Beirut with more airstrikes and said it had moved additional troops into southern Lebanon and taken new positions on several strategic points close to the border.
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon later said its peacekeepers saw Israeli troops going into and then out of Lebanon. But Israel’s army said its troops are still operating in Lebanon.
US President Donald Trump declared that Tehran’s request for negotiations had come “too late” as military operations continue across the region.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that Iran’s leadership and key military assets were “gone,” and warned that a “big wave” of strikes was yet to come. “We haven’t even started hitting them hard,” he said in a separate interview, signaling further escalation.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the strikes were intended to neutralize threats posed by Iran and to protect American forces in the region. He described the action as pre-emptive, citing intelligence that retaliation against US assets was imminent.
Trump also said someone from within Iranian regime might be best choice to take power once US-Israel campaign is finished.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran’s last shah, is not someone that his administration has considered in depth to take over leadership in Iran.
Meanwhile, as many as 37 Indian-flagged ships with over 1,000 seafarers are stuck in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the adjoining sea areas as the key shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz is closed due to the ongoing military actions involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
While some ships are carrying crude oil and LNG to Indian ports, others are on the way to bring petroleum products from the Gulf nations.
A total of 37 Indian-flagged ships with 1,109 sailors are stuck in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the adjoining sea areas due to the closure of the key shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, an official privy to the development told PTI.
The Directorate General of Shipping is in regular touch with the shipping companies and is closely monitoring the situation.
At least three Indian seafarers on board foreign-flagged vessels were killed, and one was injured in West Asia due to the current conflict.
A dedicated quick response team has been set up by the Shipping Ministry to enable timely coordination among authorities, ensure immediate response to emerging situations and facilitate prompt assistance to Indian seafarers and their families.
Shipping companies and Recruitment and Placement Service Licensees (RPSLs) have been advised to exercise caution in crew deployment and maintain regular communication with seafarers and their families. Helpline numbers have also been activated and shared with the families of the seafarers through RPSLs. (Agencies)
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