Iran and Israel exchanged new strikes on Sunday, with Tehran accusing the United States of preparing a ground offensive despite diplomatic attempts to end a war now in its second month.
This conflict, triggered on February 28 by an American-Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic, has resulted in thousands of deaths, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, according to authorities, and shows no sign of easing.
In Tehran, a series of explosions, including a very powerful one, were heard on Sunday night, with the Iranian Ministry of Energy reporting power cuts in the capital and surrounding areas after “attacks” on electrical installations.
Israel announced hitting an Iranian missile production site before launching new salvos in the evening against various targets.
The Israeli state reported an “impact of missile debris” on an industrial complex in southern Israel targeted by shots from the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guards.
– Pakistan ready to host talks –
Facing a conflict that has caused a surge in oil and natural gas prices due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway for a fifth of the world’s hydrocarbons, diplomatic efforts are multiplying.
Pakistan declared on Sunday its readiness to “host and facilitate significant talks in the coming days” between the United States and Iran aimed at achieving “a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the conflict,” citing growing support for its efforts from the United Nations and China.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar made this statement after meeting his Saudi, Egyptian, and Turkish counterparts in the capital, Islamabad.
This energy crisis could be further aggravated by the entry of Yemen’s Houthi rebels into the war, allies of Iran, who claimed to have carried out two attacks on Israel on Saturday.
From their strategic position, they could disrupt traffic in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most heavily trafficked maritime corridors.
Speculations are rife about a possible deployment of American troops on the ground in Iran, a possibility that President Donald Trump has kept somewhat ambiguous.
According to the Washington Post, which cited anonymous officials, the Pentagon is preparing for land operations lasting several weeks.
An American amphibious assault ship, leading a naval group comprising “around 3,500” sailors and Marines, arrived in the region on Friday.
“The enemy is publicly sending messages of negotiation and dialogue, while secretly planning a ground offensive,” denounced the President of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Before warning, “Our men await the arrival of American soldiers on the ground to attack them and punish once and for all their regional allies.”
– New written message from the supreme leader –
The new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, successor to his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died on February 28, the first day of the war, thanked the religious authorities and the Iraqi people for their support against the American-Israeli “aggression.”
Mojtaba Khamenei, still unseen since his appointment on March 8, once again expressed himself in a written message relayed by Iranian media. His absence fuels speculation, with Donald Trump even questioning whether he is alive.
“People wake up every day worried about an uncertain future,” says Farzaneh, a 62-year-old Iranian from the city of Ahvaz in the southwest, to AFP. “No one really wants war,” she laments, as it would not provide a real solution to their problems.
Iran retaliates by striking American and economic interests in the Gulf.
In Kuwait, ten Kuwaiti military personnel were injured in an attack on an armed forces site, according to a military statement.
Potential next target: American universities in the Middle East, in retaliation for strikes on Iranian establishments.
The University of Technology in Isfahan (central Iran) announced on Sunday that it was targeted in an American-Israeli attack.
The Revolutionary Guards have demanded that the United States “condemn the bombing of universities in an official statement before Monday, March 30, at noon” (08:30 GMT), or else American universities in the region will be targeted in return.
After these threats, the American University of Beirut (AUB) and the University of Madaba in Jordan announced that their classes would be held online for the next two days.
Meanwhile, alongside the Iranian front, Israel continues to launch strikes in Lebanon.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to “extend the security zone” it took in southern Lebanon, where it is fighting the pro-Iranian Shiite Hezbollah.
