Iran launched its 86th wave of missile attacks on Israel, targeting the Haifa oil refinery for the second time. The attack resulted in a fire at the refinery, with thick smoke billowing into the air. The industrial zone was also affected, with a nearby chemical factory hit by the missiles. The Israeli parliament’s session was postponed due to the attacks, which also reportedly damaged a Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft used for aerial surveillance and missile tracking.
The Israeli military confirmed that 261 soldiers have been injured since the start of the war, with no information on the number of fatalities. The Israeli Fire Service said that the missile was destroyed in mid-air, but its debris fell on the refinery’s premises, causing damage to a nearby fuel tanker and emitting smoke from a nearby building. Firefighters are believed to be searching for people trapped under the debris.
In a separate incident, at least 10 people were killed in a missile attack on a residential area in Tehran, with Iranian authorities accusing an opposition group of planning the attack. The Iranian judiciary has sentenced two individuals to death for their alleged involvement in planning armed attacks using locally-made launchers.
In a related development, Indonesia has imposed a rationing system on fuel, with state employees ordered to work from home for one day a week. US companies in the region will be targeted in retaliation for the attacks starting April 1, said the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The European Council’s president, Antonio Costa, spoke with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi by phone on Monday. The German government’s spokesperson said that the Israeli law may only be applied to Palestinians. The Qatari foreign ministry’s spokesperson said that Qatar supports Pakistan’s efforts to end the war.
The US and Israel do not want to restore relations with Iran and its neighboring countries, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that the military has the necessary targets, equipment, and personnel to continue the war.
The Chinese and Pakistani foreign ministers held a crucial meeting in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the region. The US will not engage in Iran for an extended period, said President Donald Trump in an interview with a US newspaper.
In a related development, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the US and Israel are carrying out attacks with full force inside Iran, conducting operations within Iran’s airspace. The UAE’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched a self-driving taxi service in Dubai. The price of petrol in the UAE has increased by over 30% and diesel by 70% in a week.
The Iranian government said that the US and Israel targeted a cancer medicine factory in the attacks on Iran. An American newspaper reported that Israel used espionage, cyber attacks, and AI platforms to target Iran.
In a major development, a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari took place in Beijing on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the region.
