Hamas called on Iran Saturday to avoid launching attacks against neighboring countries after the Islamic Republic fired missiles across the region in response to the joint US-Israeli bombing campaign. Some of the strikes targeted countries such as Qatar and Turkey, both of which are also major state backers of the Palestinian terror group.
The statement from Hamas urged an end to what it described as “American-Zionist aggression” against Iran. The announcement came as Palestinian media outlets reported that at least three people in Gaza were killed by Israeli gunfire on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces said it had killed three Palestinian gunmen since Friday but did not immediately address the specific reports, and the military frequently says such incidents occur after Hamas violates ceasefire arrangements.
In its first public appeal of this kind directed at Tehran, Hamas said that, “while affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighboring countries.”
A Hamas representative told AFP that the organization has been in communication with Iranian officials regarding the matter.
“The Israeli occupation seeks to sow discord between Iran and its Arab and Islamic neighbors,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.
“Hamas’s leadership has also reached out to officials in several countries, including Qatar, Turkey, and Iraq, urging them to work toward halting the American and Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added.
Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones toward more than a dozen countries across the Middle East, including Israel, since Israel and the United States began a bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic on February 28. The strikes were intended to weaken the regime and dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.
Qatar said on Saturday that it intercepted two incoming missiles after explosions were heard in the capital, Doha, prompting authorities to evacuate certain areas. Meanwhile, Turkey reported on Friday that a ballistic missile fired from Iran was intercepted in Turkish airspace by NATO forces.
{Matzav.com}
export facility, stating that although Tehran appears interested in negotiating an end to the conflict, the conditions currently on the table remain unacceptable.
Trump said the recent American strikes had already inflicted massive destruction on the key oil terminal, declaring that the operation had “totally demolished” much of Kharg Island. At the same time, he told NBC News that additional attacks remain possible, remarking that “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”
Kharg Island sits roughly 30 kilometers (19 miles) off Iran’s southern coastline and about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of the Strait of Hormuz. The facility is critically important to Iran’s economy, serving as the main export hub for approximately 90 percent of the country’s oil shipments.
{Matzav.com}
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President Donald Trump said Saturday that U.S. military strikes severely damaged Iran’s principal oil export terminal at Kharg Island and suggested that American forces could target the location again.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump described the recent attack as highly destructive and indicated that additional strikes on the island remain possible. “We totally demolished Kharg Island. We may hit it a few more times just for fun,” Trump told NBC News in an interview.
The President also said the operation deliberately avoided critical energy transmission infrastructure. “I didn’t do anything having to do with the energy lines, because having to rebuild that would take years.”
Trump said Iran has shown interest in negotiating a ceasefire but indicated that he is not ready to agree to a deal under the current circumstances. “Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” he explained, adding that any terms will have to be “very solid.”
When asked what conditions might be included in an agreement to end the fighting, Trump declined to outline specifics. “I don’t want to say that to you.” He agreed, however, that a commitment from Iran to completely abandon any nuclear ambitions would be part of it.
The President also questioned whether Iran’s newly installed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is still alive. “I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” said Trump.
Referencing reports about Khamenei’s status, Trump added, “I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender.”
Speaking on Friday with Fox News Radio, Trump declined to offer a clear timeline for when the war with Iran might end, saying the decision would depend on his own judgment. He told the outlet the conflict would conclude when he feels it “in my bones.”
Trump also said he does not expect the war to drag on for an extended period but stressed that he alone will determine when it concludes.
During the same interview, Trump expressed confidence that the conflict may end soon but said the United States is prepared to continue operations for as long as necessary. He rejected concerns that the U.S. military could run short of munitions.
“Nobody has the technology or the weapons that we have,” he told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade in the interview. “We’re way ahead of schedule. Way ahead.” He later assured that the US had “virtually unlimited ammunition. We’re using it, we’re using it. We can go forever.”
On Wednesday night, Trump spoke with reporters after returning from a rally in Kentucky and said Iran’s military capabilities have been severely degraded, describing the country as “pretty much at the end of the line”.
At the same time, Trump made clear that the United States is not prepared to immediately bring the conflict to a close.
“They’ve got no Navy. They’ve got no Air Force. They have no systems of control. We’re just riding free range over that country!” he said.
During his remarks at the Kentucky rally, Trump emphasized that the United States must see the conflict through to completion.
He added that the Iranians “don’t know what the hell hit them. They don’t know. They got hit by the American military – they don’t know. They say, ‘What the hell is happening?’ They didn’t expect anything like this.”
“We don’t want to go back every two years. Because someday there will be a time when you don’t have me as president,” he added.
{Matzav.com}