Iran targets Israeli refinery as Israel strikes Iran's missile sites

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Saturday night that it launched attacks on a refinery in Israel's Haifa in response to the targeting of one in Tehran, reported Xinhua.

In a statement published on its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC said the Haifa refinery was hit by Khyber-Shakan missiles in response to the Israeli attack.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported that U.S. and Israeli warplanes targeted an oil depot in southern Tehran.

Tehran is under a new wave of heavy attacks Saturday night with huge explosions heard in the Iranian capital, according to Xinhua correspondent.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that it struck two main ballistic missile production sites in Iran.

The two sites, located in Parchin and Shahrud, were struck by hundreds of Israeli fighter jets, guided by intelligence, it said.

During the strike in Parchin, southeast of Tehran, on Thursday, the IDF struck infrastructure used for the production of essential components for the development of various weapons, the statement said.

In the strike in Shahrud, north-central Iran, on Friday night, the IDF struck a ballistic missile production site of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On Thursday, Israel's President Isaac Herzog said that Israel is not calling for a ground invasion of Iran.

In an interview with CBS News, Herzog said, "Let me be clear, I'm not calling on any boots on the ground. I'm not asking any American or anyone else."

Meanwhile, an Iranian military spokesperson said Saturday that "enemy ships" entering the Gulf will "end up at the bottom" of the waterway, according to multiple media reports.

In a statement published on its official news outlet Sepah News, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Saturday that it has hit a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker as a U.S. asset in the middle of the Gulf.

The IRGC identified the tanker as "Louise P," saying it was hit with a drone around Saturday noon, the statement said.

It added the IRGC has earlier announced that all Israeli and U.S. assets in the West Asia region would be considered as legitimate targets for the Iranian armed forces.

Earlier in the day, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported that the IRGC hit an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday morning.

The report said the "violating" oil tanker, sailing under the commercial name "Prima," was struck by a drone after it failed to pay attention to frequent warnings issued by the IRGC's Navy about the prohibition of movement across the Strait of Hormuz due to security reasons.

Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official said Saturday that Iran has not and will not attack those regional countries that do not put their airspace, land and facilities at the disposal of the "enemies."

Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for Iran's armed forces, made the remarks in a live interview with state-run IRIB TV while pointing to remarks earlier in the day by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who said the interim leadership council had decided to stop attacks by the country on neighbors unless it is targeted from those states.

Shekarchi said from the first day of the U.S. and Israeli attacks, Iran's armed forces have considered any origin of attacks against the country as legitimate targets and taken the necessary actions.

Shekarchi said that so far, those countries that have not put their airspace, land and facilities at the U.S. disposal for "aggression" against Iran have not been targeted. "However, any state that provides the United States and Israel with space or a place to be used for action against us, that space and place will naturally be among our targets."

He emphasized that as Pezeshkian said, Iran respects countries' national sovereignty and attaches great importance to all Muslim states' security, underlining that Iran has not and will not back down in the face of the United States and Israel, and will continue dealing "crushing blows" to them as before.

Also on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, in a post on social media platform X, called on the United Nations to bear its legal and moral responsibilities regarding the "illegal war" on the country.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a live broadcast statement on Saturday that Israel's attack on Iran will continue with "full force and uncompromising momentum."

Israel has a well-prepared plan with many surprises to undermine "Iranian regime" and "enable change," Netanyahu said.

Addressing the Iranian people, he said, "The moment of truth is approaching. We do not seek to divide Iran, but to liberate it and live with it in peace."

He condemned the United Nations for "condemning us without reason in our just war against Iran's murderous proxies in Gaza and doing nothing about the massacre in Iran."

He also demanded that the Lebanese government enforce the ceasefire agreement and disarm Hezbollah.

Rocket barrage targets US embassy in Baghdad

The U.S. embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was targeted by rockets on Saturday evening, and explosions were heard, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

A rocket barrage struck the U.S. embassy location, triggering its defense systems, with no immediate reports OF casualties or losses, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Shortly after the attack, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, also the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, ordered all military and security commanders to pursue those responsible for the "terrorist act of launching projectiles toward the U.S. Embassy" in Baghdad and bring them to justice.

A statement by Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for Iraq's commander-in-chief, said that targeting diplomatic missions and embassies in Iraq is an act that cannot be justified or accepted under any circumstances, adding that such actions undermine national security and stability.

Decisions related to war and military action remain exclusively within the authority of the state, which alone embodies the national decision, it said.

Iraq's paramilitary member killed in airstrikes

One member of the Iraqi paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) was killed and three others wounded on Saturday in unidentified airstrikes in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, the Iraqi military said.

A statement by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command's Security Media Cell (SMC) said that the strikes occurred at approximately 6:10 p.m. local time (1510 GMT).

One of the attacks struck the headquarters of the PMF's 40th Brigade, and another targeted the PMF's 33rd Regiment, resulting in casualties and material losses.

During the past days, several PMF members were killed in attacks, which the group attributed to U.S.-Israeli bombs.

In a separate statement, the SMC said an unidentified drone was intercepted near Erbil International Airport at about 7:45 p.m. local time.

The drone crashed onto a plastics warehouse, causing a fire, it said, adding that civil defense teams extinguished the fire, causing no casualties and only material damage.

The strikes occurred amid heightened regional tensions following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28, to which Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. assets across the Middle East.

26 killed as Hezbollah says it repelled Israeli commando in Lebanon

Twenty-six people were killed and an unspecified number wounded early Saturday during clashes in eastern Lebanon, following Hezbollah's claim that it repelled an attempted Israeli commando landing.

Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported that clashes erupted on the eastern mountain range along the Lebanese-Syrian border near the Nabi Chit-Ham axis after four Israeli military helicopters carried out a landing operation in the rugged mountainous area.

Hezbollah said its fighters detected the helicopters on Friday evening and later exchanged fire with the advancing Israeli infantry force. The NNA reported that residents also joined Hezbollah fighters in confronting the force.

Israeli fighter jets and helicopters later carried out around 40 airstrikes on the town and surrounding areas, the NNA reported, adding that the strikes were aimed at securing the withdrawal of the Israeli infiltrating unit and preventing reinforcements from reaching the area.

The NNA further reported that the clashes left 26 people dead, including members of the Lebanese army, security personnel and civilians in the region. Israel has not announced any casualties.

Earlier on Friday, Israeli warplanes launched 13 airstrikes on Nabi Chit and nearby areas, which local media said were carried out ahead of the commando operation.

The escalation follows rocket fire toward Israel launched from Lebanon early Monday by Hezbollah, the group's first such attack since a ceasefire took effect on Nov. 27, 2024.

Israel has since launched what it called an "offensive military campaign" against Hezbollah, combining heavy airstrikes with ground incursions along the border and evacuation warnings for areas south of the Litani River and Beirut's southern suburbs.

Hezbollah fires around 100 rockets, drones toward Israel

About 100 rockets and drones were launched from Lebanon toward Israel over the course of Saturday, while Israeli tanks advanced toward a southern Lebanese border town, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV channel reported, as cross-border hostilities intensified amid ongoing Israeli attacks on several areas across Lebanon.

The Islamic Resistance, the armed wing of Hezbollah, said the projectiles were fired from Lebanese territory toward Israeli targets during the day.

Israeli media reported that rockets continued to be launched from Lebanon toward northern Israeli settlements, with sirens sounding in Kiryat Shmona and Margaliot.

Hezbollah said in separate statements that its fighters targeted radar systems of the Iron Dome air defense system at the Kiryat Eliezer site, described as the main air defense base in the city of Haifa, at 8:00 p.m. local time with a salvo of what it called "precision rockets."

In another statement, the group said it also targeted the Stella Maris base, a strategic facility used for maritime monitoring and surveillance along Israel's northern coast, with a similar rocket barrage at the same time. The group also renewed its warning to residents of Nahariyya and Kiryat Shmona, urging them to evacuate.

Meanwhile, Al-Manar TV reported that several Israeli Merkava tanks advanced from the Israeli settlement of Avivim toward the southern Lebanese town of Aitaroun.

According to Al-Manar, the advancing Israeli force was met with a volley of rockets, while heavy machine-gun fire was heard in the Al-Zuqaq neighborhood on the outskirts of the town.

Hezbollah announced the launch of rockets from Lebanon toward Israel early Monday for the first time since a ceasefire was declared on Nov. 27, 2024, prompting the government to announce a ban on its security and military activities, limiting it to political work and obligating it to hand over its weapons.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army launched what it described as an "offensive military campaign" against Hezbollah, carrying out intense airstrikes on multiple Lebanese areas and border ground incursions, accompanied by warnings for residents to evacuate areas south of the Litani River and Beirut's southern suburbs.

Iraqi militia claims 23 attacks on "enemy bases"

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella body for Iraq's pro-Iranian militias, announced on Saturday morning that its fighters carried out 23 operations against "enemy bases" in Iraq and the region over the past 24 hours.

It said in a statement that the strikes involved "dozens of drones and missiles," without providing further details regarding specific targets or casualties.

A pro-Iran group calling itself the "Guardians of Blood," affiliated with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, claimed responsibility for launching drone attacks targeting "vital targets" in the provinces of Sulaimaniyah and Duhok in Iraq's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.

It said that part of the reason for the attack was to retaliate for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The attacks came amid heightened tensions following the recent joint U.S.-Israeli strike, to which Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israeli and U.S. assets across the Middle East.

Kuwait's oil company announces production cut

Kuwait's major national oil company the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) announced Saturday a precautionary cut in crude oil production and refining.

Citing escalating regional tensions, the KPC said in a statement that the adjustment is "strictly precautionary" and that the company "remains fully prepared to restore production levels once conditions allow."

The announcement came amid heightened regional tensions following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28, to which Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. assets across the Middle East.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran's army said its navy has launched a wave of drone attacks targeting Israel as well as U.S. bases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait.

Meanwhile, Kuwaiti Minister of Defense Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah held separate phone calls during the day with his Saudi and UAE counterparts on the latest regional developments, according to reports by the official Kuwait News Agency.

Saudi Aramco's crude oil shipments temporarily directed to Yanbu Port

Saudi Aramco announced on Saturday that crude oil shipments are being temporarily redirected to Yanbu Port to enhance safety and the continuity of supplies, according to local Al Ekhbariya TV.

The measure comes amid rising regional tensions and concerns over navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important maritime passages for oil transportation.

Saudi Aramco is one of the world's largest oil companies by production and plays a key role in global energy supplies.

Driver killed after interception debris falls on vehicle in Dubai

Debris from an aerial interception fell on a vehicle in Dubai's Al Barsha area, killing an Asian driver, authorities said on Saturday.

In a post on social media platform X, the Dubai Media Office said the incident followed a successful interception operation by air defense systems.

A powerful explosion was heard in Dubai on Saturday evening. The United Arab Emirates' Defense Ministry said the blasts resulted from its air defenses intercepting ballistic missiles and drones.

Further details of the incident were not immediately available.

Explosion over Dubai results from intercepting missiles, drones

A powerful explosion was heard in Dubai on Saturday evening as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed intercepting incoming missiles and drones from Iran.

The Ministry of Defense confirms that the sounds heard in scattered areas of the country are the result of the air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles, and fighter jets intercepting drones and loitering munitions, said the UAE Defense Ministry in a post on social media X.

It urged the public to stay in safe areas and follow official updates.

Earlier, the UAE Interior Ministry issued an emergency mobile phone alert warning residents of a potential missile threat, urging them to seek immediate shelter.

Debris from the interception fell onto the facade of a tower in Dubai Marina, with no injuries reported, according to the Dubai Media Office.