US Completes Major Strikes on Iran; Global Diplomatic Tensions Escalate
The United States military has announced the completion of its latest wave of strikes against Iran, a two-hour operation that hit dozens of targets. Washington described the assault as a ‘strong response’ to Iranian missiles launched at US forces in the Middle East a day earlier. Iran’s Fars news agency reported that the US strikes killed three members of a family, including a two-year-old child, on the island of Qeshm.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs separately issued a strong condemnation of joint US-Saudi airstrikes on Iraq, calling them a blatant violation of Baghdad’s sovereignty and a deliberate attempt by Washington and Israel to expand the regional war.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House to discuss all possible options to contain Iran’s nuclear programme, including diplomacy, economic pressure, and military force. A senior Israeli official briefed reporters that Netanyahu did not tell Trump that Israel now prefers further strikes on Iran, stating, ‘Ultimately, it is his decision,’ in reference to the US president.
Jordan’s air defences shot down five missiles launched from Iran on Thursday morning, hours after the US announced the completion of its major strike wave. A spokesperson for the Jordanian armed forces confirmed there were no casualties from the interceptions. The US Central Command had earlier stated that its strikes targeted dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps assets, including military command centres, missile and drone facilities, and coastal surveillance and defence sites.
In a separate diplomatic incident, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters sparked outrage after telling a Chinese-born MP to ‘go back to your own country’ during a parliamentary debate on the government’s pandemic response. Peters made the remark to Green Party MP Lawrence Xu-Nan, who was born in Tianjin but raised in Auckland, after being asked whether he had been vaccinated. Peters later claimed the MP had ‘just arrived five minutes ago’.