Strikes hit Iran, Tehran targets Israel and Gulf states amid mixed signals over talks to end war
Dubai (AP): Airstrikes battered Iran's capital and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel's Tel Aviv and sites across the Mideast on Tuesday, even as President Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war.
With thousands more US Marines on their way to the Gulf, both sides firing intense barrages and Iran denying any negotiations are taking place, the war's tempo remained high a day after Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran's chokehold on that crucial waterway has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing, and threatened the world economy.
Any talks between the US and Iran — which appeared at the most tentative on Tuesday — would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington's shifting list of objectives — particularly over Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs — remain difficult to achieve. Meanwhile, it's not clear who in Iran's government would have the authority to negotiate — or be willing to, particularly as Israel has vowed to continue taking out leaders after killing several.
Iran also remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice, under the Trump administration, has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the Feb. 28 strikes that started the current war.
Iran's military has conducted strikes on the orders of local commanders, rather than from the political leadership, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said early in the war. It remains unclear whether Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who reportedly was wounded and has yet to be seen publicly, is issuing orders to Iran's regular military or its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answered only to his late father.
Mixed signals on negotiations amid deep mistrust
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While Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf called the idea of negotiations with the US “fake news,” Araghchi's office acknowledged the foreign minister has been talking about the war this week with his counterparts in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and Turkmenistan.
Talk of negotiations briefly drove down oil prices and boosted stocks. But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, nudging back over USD 100 a barrel Tuesday, up nearly 40 per cent since the war started.
Iran's leaders are wary of Washington's motives, in part because Tehran was in negotiations with the US before the surprise attack that started the current war. Iran was also in talks last year when the US and Israel attacked its nuclear facilities.
Iran named a former Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander as the new secretary of the country's Supreme National Security Council on Tuesday, replacing Ali Larijani, who was killed in an airstrike. Iranian state television identified the new secretary as Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who reached the rank of brigadier general in the Guard.
Marines are on the way to the Persian Gulf
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Trump's announcement also comes as a contingent of thousands of Marines is on the way to the region, raising speculation that the US may try to seize Kharg Island, which is vital to the country's oil network.
The US bombed the island in the Persian Gulf more than a week ago, hitting its defences but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.
Iran has threatened to mine the Persian Gulf if the US appears to be on the verge of landing troops. That would complicate an amphibious assault and also imperil all shipping in the area.
Trump said he would hold off on a threat to bomb Iran's power stations while talks unfold — a delay that could be timed to coincide with the arrival of US Marines in the region, expected Friday, wrote the New York-based think tank the Soufan Centre in an analysis.
“As Trump has in the past, he could be moving military assets into place, in this case to prepare for an invasion and seizure of Kharg Island, while using negotiations as a cover until those assets are fully combat-ready.”
However, the centre also noted that “Trump could be actively seeking an offramp. Whether Iran reciprocates is yet to be seen.”
Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but has not ruled it out. Israel has suggested its ground forces could take part in the war.
Iran hits Israel and Gulf neighbours while Israel attacks Beirut
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As airstrikes hit Tehran, Iran fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel early on Tuesday.
In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 100-kilogram (220-pound) warhead evaded Israeli defences to slam into a street in the centre of the city, blowing out windows of a neighbouring apartment building and sending smoke billowing. Four people suffered minor wounds, rescue service worker Yoel Moshe said.
Emerging from a shelter, Amir Hasid said he expected the scene to be far worse. “It feels like you're a (sitting) duck, waiting for the missiles to hit you, or someone next to you,” he said.
In Kuwait, power lines were hit by air defence shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours. Missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia's Defence Ministry said it had destroyed 19 Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said Israel will continue to strike Iran and Lebanon even as the US considers a ceasefire.
“There's more to come,” he said.
Israel pounded Beirut's southern suburbs on Tuesday, saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.
A strike on a residential apartment southeast of the Lebanese capital killed at least three people, including a 3-year-old girl, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Another five people were killed in the south.
Meanwhile, Lebanon ordered Iran's ambassador to leave by Sunday, declaring him persona non grata. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Denise Rahme told The Associated Press that Iran's embassy will still have a charge d'affaires to head its diplomatic mission.
The Lebanese government has been critical of Iran and accuses its elite Revolutionary Guard of operating in Lebanon alongside the Hezbollah militant group, and dragging the country into another war with Israel.
Israel has said that some of its strikes have targeted Guard officials operating in the country.
Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million.
Iran's death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes. At least 13 US military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians, in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.
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Govt forms 7 empowered groups to devise strategies to tackle impact of West Asia war: PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced the constitution of seven empowered groups to deal with potential long-term impacts of the West Asia war and urged states to work with the Centre in a 'Team India' approach to ward off the crisis.
Flagging 'serious side effects of the war', the Prime Minister recalled the national response to COVID-19, when empowered groups of experts had helped address challenges, and said the seven empowered groups will deal with the consequences of war and evolve strategies on fuel, fertilisers, gas, supply chains and inflation.
In a statement in the Rajya Sabha, he reiterated India's position of dialogue and diplomacy as the only solutions to the restoration of peace in West Asia.
He also said India was in constant touch with all parties, including Iran, Israel and the United States, to stress de-escalation.
While admitting to the unprecedented challenges the war is posing for India in terms of supply of essential goods, including crude, gas and fertilisers, the Prime Minister said going forward "self-reliance was the only option".
Acknowledging that the situation is constantly changing, the Prime Minister called upon citizens to remain prepared for every eventuality.
Noting that the war has created a serious energy crisis globally, he also warned miscreants against taking advantage of crisis, and has asked state governments to check black marketing and hoarding.
In such a critical situation, it is essential that a united voice of peace and dialogue goes out to the entire world from this Upper House of India's Parliament, Modi said.
He asserted that the government is trying to procure gas and crude oil from all available sources, and efforts on this front will continue in the coming days to ensure that the common people are not affected.
Modi also said necessary preparations have been made for the adequate supply of fertilisers, as he assured farmers that no burden of war falls upon them.
"The government is working with a comprehensive strategy to address every aspect of this crisis -- be it its short-term, medium-term, or long-term implications," he said.
The government, the Prime Minister said, has already constituted an inter-ministerial group, which meets regularly to assess any difficulties in import-export operations and work on devising necessary solutions.
"Much like the empowered groups, comprising experts and officials, that were formed during the COVID-19 pandemic to tackle challenges across various sectors, seven such new empowered groups were constituted just yesterday.
"These groups will be tasked with taking action, guided by both immediate and long-term strategies, on critical issues, such as supply chains, petroleum and diesel, fertilisers, natural gas, and inflation. I am fully confident that through these collective efforts, we will be able to effectively navigate the prevailing circumstances," Modi said.
Noting that the West Asia crisis is of a unique nature, the Prime Minister said its solutions are being devised in a correspondingly distinct manner.
"We must confront every challenge with patience, restraint, and a calm mind," he said.
He also assured that the safety of lives and livelihood of around one crore Indians in the Gulf countries is also a very big concern for India.
He said around 3,75,000 Indians have returned safely from the Gulf region so far, including 1,000 from Iran.
The Prime Minister noted that the coming period will pose a significant test for the nation, and the cooperation of states will be indispensable for success.
He urged all state governments to ensure that the benefits of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana continue to reach beneficiaries on time, as crises disproportionately affect the poor, labourers, and migrant workers.
He also called upon them to take proactive steps to put special monitoring mechanisms in place and swift action against complaints of black marketing and hoarding.
"The uninterrupted supply of essential commodities must be the topmost priority for every state, and I earnestly appeal to all state governments to put special arrangements in place to ensure this," he said.
Invoking the spirit of cooperative federalism, the Prime Minister called upon state governments to ensure that India's robust growth trajectory is maintained regardless of the scale of the crisis, and that every necessary step and reform is implemented with speed.
Recalling the exemplary Team India spirit demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Centre and states, despite being governed by different political parties, collaborated seamlessly on testing, vaccination, and the supply of essential goods, the Prime Minister said this same spirit must guide the nation now.
"With the combined efforts of all state governments and the central government, the country will be able to effectively confront this grave global crisis. We must carry forward the same Team India spirit," he asserted.
While cautioning that the adverse effects of this war are very likely to persist for an extended period, he said, "The government is vigilant, it is ready, and it is formulating its strategy and taking every decision with utmost seriousness, the welfare of the people of this country is paramount for us; this is our identity, and this is our strength".
If the West Asia crisis persists for a longer period, serious consequences are imminent, he said, adding that efforts through diplomacy are being made to ensure the safe passage of Indian ships even during the war.
India's aim is the de-escalation of the war and opening of the Strait of Hormuz, he said, adding that the country's attempt is to encourage all sections to peacefully resolve all issues.
He said attacks on commercial ships and the disruption of international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz are unacceptable.
