U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media the U.S. is considering ‘winding down’ its Middle East military operation, but Trump’s statement seemed at odds with his administration’s recent moves to send more troops and warships to the region and request another $200 billion from Congress to fund the war.
On one of the holiest days on the Islamic calendar, Iran fired on Israel and energy sites in neighbouring Gulf Arab states, insisting that it can still build missiles and issuing a new threat, to deny safety to its enemies in “parks, recreational areas and tourist destinations” worldwide. Israel, meanwhile, pounded Tehran with airstrikes as Iranians marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will refrain from any further attacks on the Iranian gas field, at the request of President Trump. Iran responded to Israel’s attack on the field, which Iranians depend on for their electricity, by intensifying targeting of energy infrastructure in other Middle East countries, sending oil and gas prices soaring.
More than 1,300 people in Iran have been killed during the war. Israeli airstrikes have killed over 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million, according to the Lebanese government. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed. Four Palestinians in the occupied West Bank were killed Wednesday as Israel and Iran exchanged airstrikes. AP