Middle East crisis live: Trump gives Iran 48-hour ultimatum to open strait of Hormuz; about 100 injured in Israel

Trump tells Iran to reopen strait to shipping or face destruction of its energy infrastructure, as Tehran launches its most destructive attack yet on IsraelSeveral blasts could be heard from Jerusalem on Sunday, AFP journalists said, after the Israeli military warned of incoming missile fire from…

Middle East crisis live: Trump gives Iran 48-hour ultimatum to open strait of Hormuz; about 100 injured in Israel
Middle East crisis live: Trump gives Iran 48-hour ultimatum to open strait of Hormuz; about 100 injured in Israel Photo: The Guardian

Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and its repercussions for the Middle East, the world and the global economy.

President Donald Trump has threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran does not fully reopen the strait of Hormuz within 48 hours – threatening a new escalation, just a day after the president spoke of “winding down” the war .

Trump’s warning on Saturday triggered a response from Iran’s military that it will target all US “energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure” if its own facilities are attacked .

If you are just tuning in, here is a quick recap of the latest:
Iranian ballistic missile barrages wounded about 100 people in southern Israel on Saturday , striking the cities of Arad and Dimona after air defence systems failed to intercept at least two projectiles.

The Israeli Air Force is investigating its failure to prevent the attacks.

Benjamin Netanyahu called it “a very difficult evening in the campaign for our future”.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had received no indication of damage to the Negev nuclear research centre, which is near to Dimona.

In the early hours on Sunday, Israeli military announced in a brief statement that it was conducting strikes in Tehran.

Saudi Arabia’s ministry of defence said it had detected three missiles launched towards Riyadh early in the morning.

One of the missiles was intercepted, while two fell in an uninhabited area, it said
Iran on Saturday launched two ballistic missiles with a range of 4,000 km (2,500 miles) at the US-British military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, according to the Israeli military, which said it was the first time Iran had used long-range missiles since the conflict began on February 28.

The British foreign secretary condemned the attacks on Diego Garcia, while stressing the UK has “taken a different position from the US and Israel” on the conflict .

Yvette Cooper said ministers wanted to see a swift resolution to the war, adding the government was supporting defensive action against the “reckless Iranian threats”.

A projectile struck close to a bulk carrier off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, causing an explosion, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.

The death toll has risen to more than 1,500 people in Iran, more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, 15 in Israel and 13 US military members, and a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region , according to Associated Press.

Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.

Source: This article was originally published by The Guardian

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