The war only continues to escalate as Yemenâs Iran-backed Houthis confirmed a second wave of attacks on Israel since joining the conflict on Saturday. In a televised speech, Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the Iran-backed group had launched a âbarrage of cruise missiles and dronesâ in a second attack on Israel, targeting key military sites. The entry of the Houthis, poses a direct threat to the Bab al-Mandab strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, a second major choke point in the supply chain of energy supplies and other trade in and out of the Middle East. The Pentagon is preparing plans for weeks of ground operations in Iran â potentially including raids on Kharg Island and coastal sites near the strait of Hormuz â though President Donald Trump has not yet approved any deployment, the Washington Post is reporting. Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has told one of the USâs biggest annual gatherings of conservatives that he is ready to lead a new Iranian government and would call on the countryâs citizens to rise up when the âright moment arrivesâ, AP reports.
Iranâs Revolutionary Guard threatened to target US universities in the Middle East after saying US-Israeli strikes had deliberately targeted two Iranian universities. âIf the US government wants its universities in the region to be free from retaliation... Pakistan has said it would host a meeting of Middle Eastern powers on Monday in an effort to find a regional approach to ending the conflict. Israeli attacks killed three journalists in a targeted strike on their car in southern Lebanon, which the Lebanese president condemned as a âblatant war crimeâ. The Israeli military bombarded Tehran with a âwide-scale wave of strikesâ, damaging residential areas, civilian infrastructure, and research and educational buildings.
Iran has allowed 20 oil tankers from Pakistan to pass through the strait of Hormuz. Ishaq Dar, Pakistanâs deputy prime minister, said two ships would cross per day. The country has been playing a key mediatory role in the conflict. Continue reading...
