As the US President threatens to bomb Iran back to the “Stone Ages”, American and Israeli forces step up attacks on the country, and Tehran says it will continue to fight back.
By Linda Bordoni Hopes for a swift end to the Middle East war faded on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran. In a national address on Wednesday evening, Trump told Americans he would finish the job "very fast", without, however, setting any timeline for ending the conflict. On its part, Iran fired more missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states, demonstrating Tehran’s continued ability to strike its neighbours and contradicting the U.S. President‘s claim that the threat from the country was nearly eliminated. Iran’s attacks on Gulf states, along with its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, have disrupted the world’s energy supplies with effects far beyond the Middle East. Also on Thursday, amid soaring oil prices and growing pressure, some 40 countries are exploring ways to restore freedom of navigation at virtual talks. Thousands killed Meanwhile, thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East since February 28, when the U.S. and Israel began air strikes on Iran, triggering Iranian attacks on Israel, U.S. bases and the Gulf states, while opening a new front in Lebanon. Iran said several people were killed on Thursday when a bridge linking Tehran and the western city of Karaj was hit by an air strike, while some major steel producers and Tehran's Pasteur Institute of medical research sustained serious damage. The country's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted U.S.-linked steel and aluminium facilities in Gulf states and would step up such attacks if Iranian industries were hit again. The U.S. embassy in Baghdad urged its citizens to leave Iraq, warning of attacks in the capital by Iran-allied militia in the next 24 to 48 hours. The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and International Energy Agency on Wednesday warned the war was having "substantial, global and highly asymmetric" effects and said they would coordinate their response, including through potential financial support to those countries hit hardest.