Black smoke billows from an Israeli air strike on an alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah target in southern Beirut, a stronghold of the party, as Israel continues its attacks on Lebanon, expanding the conflict across the region following the large-scale Israeli-US strike on Iran.
Marwan Naamani/picture alliance via Getty Images
- Hamas called on Iran not to target neighbouring countries.
- US President Donald Trump threatened further strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island.
- Yemen’s Houthis have also expressed strong solidarity with Iran.
The Palestinian Iran-aligned militant group Hamas has called on Iran not to target neighbouring countries, while still reaffirming Tehran’s right to respond to the US-Israeli attacks.
This is the first time the group has publicly commented on Iranian policies.
It has expressed solidarity with Iran during the war, but appeared to steer clear of threatening any retaliatory actions so far.
“While the group affirms Iran’s right to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, it calls upon our brothers in Iran not to target neighbouring countries,” it said.
It also called on all countries in the region and international organisations to immediately stop the war.
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US President Donald Trump threatened further strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub and urged allies to deploy warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, an artery for global energy supplies, as Tehran vowed to intensify its response.
With the US-Israeli war on Iran in its third week, Trump said US strikes had “totally demolished” much of the island and warned of more, telling NBC News on Saturday: “We may hit it a few more times just for fun.”
Plumes of smoke rise over the oil depot tanks hit by joint Israel-US overnight in a station north west of the capital in Tehran, Iran.
Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images
The remarks marked a sharp escalation from Trump, who had previously said the US was targeting only military sites on Kharg, and undercut diplomatic efforts.
His administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start negotiations, three sources told Reuters.
The war showed no sign of ending.
Trump said Tehran appeared ready to make a deal to end the conflict, but that “the terms aren’t good enough yet”.
Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire in Gaza that went into effect in October, but there have been regular outbreaks of violence since then.
Missile attacks launched from Iran have struck multiple areas across Israel, causing fires and damage in several cities as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate.
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While Israeli attacks on Gaza declined at the beginning of the war with Iran, they have since begun to rise.
The Lebanese Iran-aligned Hezbollah, meanwhile, opened fire on Israel on 2 March to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the war.
Israel has since then pounded Lebanon and targeted the group.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, which launched a military campaign against ships they perceived as affiliated with Israel in the Red Sea during the war in Gaza, have also expressed strong solidarity with Tehran.
They have not yet threatened to resume attacks.
