On the fourth day of the war in the Middle East, Iran attacked the United States Embassy in Saudi Arabia early this morning with two drones, causing a "limited fire" and minor damage, according to the Saudi Ministry of Defense. Additionally, the Revolutionary Guards have announced a "large-scale attack" on a U.S. airbase in Bahrain.
Furthermore, the United States has closed its embassy in Kuwait until further notice, and the State Department has ordered the evacuation of non-essential personnel and families in Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, and Jordan "due to security risks."
Meanwhile, Israel has announced that it is conducting "simultaneous attacks" in Tehran and Beirut against Iranian military targets and Hezbollah. Additionally, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the army will "take control" of new positions in Lebanon.
Hizbullah justifies its first attack on Israel as a "defensive act" and announces three more
Hizbullah argues its first attack on Israel as a "defensive act" and announces three more
The Lebanese Shiite group Hizbullah justified on Tuesday its first attack on northern Israel as a "defensive act," which triggered a strong Israeli offensive against Lebanon. The group announced the launch of three more actions against military targets in the neighboring country, as reported by Efe. On Sunday night to Monday, Hizbullah launched an attack on military facilities in northern Israel in response to the recent assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Jamenei and ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since the ceasefire at the end of 2024. Following the action, Israel began a fierce aerial campaign against southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburbs of Beirut, resulting in dozens of deaths and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. In response, the Lebanese government announced it would ban the military activity of the Shiite group and force them to surrender their weapons. In this context, Hizbullah described its initial action as a "defensive act" and "legitimate right," while calling on "responsible" parties to focus on stopping the Jewish state as the direct cause of the current situation in the country. Additionally, early this morning, Hizbullah claimed three new attacks on two airbases and a military barracks in northern Israel, two of which were carried out with drones and one with projectiles.
Israel claims to have killed Hizbullah's weapons chief
The Israeli Army reported on Tuesday the death of Reza Juzai in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, identified as the head of Hizbullah's weapons program and leader of the Lebanese branch of the Quds Force, the elite unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. In a statement released on its channels, the Army stated that Juzai, killed on Monday, was considered the "right-hand man" of the Lebanese branch commander and "a key player" in strengthening Hizbullah's military capabilities through the supply of materials from Iran. Israel recurrently bombs southern Lebanon and Hizbullah targets, despite the November 2024 ceasefire. Since Monday, following an attack by the Shiites on the northern part of the country - which caused no casualties - Israel has been attacking Lebanon in parallel with Iran, resulting in at least 31 deaths in the country and a wave of displaced individuals.
France ready to defend its partners attacked by Iran, if requested and without offensive objectives
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated on Tuesday that France is prepared to defend its partners in the Middle East after several of them were attacked by Iran, if requested, without offensive objectives, and "in a proportionate manner." Barrot summarized, "France is ready to protect itself, its nationals, its interests in the region, and its partners," in an interview with BFMTV when asked about announcements regarding possible military interventions in the region. He explained that "France is ready to defend its partners upon request, in a proportionate manner and obviously in accordance with the principle of collective self-defense, which is a principle of international law." When asked if this means that France will intervene if requested by its partners, he replied that it means "we have the right to intervene and we are ready to do so," adding that "the President of the Republic makes the decision." Regarding whether French Rafale fighter jets intervened over the weekend to neutralize Iranian drones attacking Abu Dhabi, he recalled that France has an airbase and a naval base in the United Arab Emirates, and the fighters "were mobilized to ensure the security" of these facilities. Reported by Efe.
4.4 magnitude earthquake near Gerash, southern Iran
A 4.4 magnitude earthquake occurred on Tuesday morning in southern Iran, 52 kilometers northwest of the city of Gerash. The tremor was felt at 10:24 local time (GMT +3.30) at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), which monitors seismic activity worldwide. Gerash is a town in the Fars province, located 912 meters above sea level. No consequences related to the earthquake have been reported yet. The capital is 881 kilometers from the earthquake's epicenter.
European stock markets continue to drop by nearly 2% after a critical session in Asia
European markets face another day of open conflict in the Middle East with negative signs. European indices were already anticipating the outcome after a critical session in Asia, despite Wall Street closing with slight gains yesterday. At the European bell, the Eurostoxx 50, the most representative index of major firms in the Old Continent, plunged by 1.8%. The German DAX dropped by 1.9%, with declines of 1.3% in the Paris stock exchange and over 1% in London.
United States indefinitely closes its embassy in Kuwait
The United States announced on Tuesday the indefinite closure of its embassy in Kuwait amid a wave of Iranian attacks on American targets in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for the war initiated in their country by Washington and Tel Aviv. The diplomatic mission stated on its X social media account, "Due to ongoing tensions in the region, the US Embassy in Kuwait is closed until further notice. We have canceled all regular and emergency consular appointments. We will issue a notice when the embassy resumes normal operations." The US Embassy in Kuwait had already warned on Monday of a "continuing threat" of missile and drone attacks against the oil-rich country and advised against visiting the embassy. On Sunday, the State Department ordered non-essential personnel from its embassy and countries to leave Kuwait, and on Monday urged American citizens to immediately leave 14 countries and territories in the Middle East, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, due to "serious security risks."
Three Amazon facilities in the Persian Gulf out of service due to drone attacks
Three Amazon Web Services cloud storage facilities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain are "significantly damaged" and have had to interrupt their services after being hit by drones in recent hours, reported the US e-commerce giant. "In the United Arab Emirates, two of our facilities were directly attacked, while in Bahrain, a drone attack near one of our facilities caused physical damage to our infrastructure," stated Amazon Web Services (AWS) in a series of alerts to its clients in the region, as reported by CNBC. AWS linked the attacks to the "current conflict in the Middle East," following the war started by the United States and Israel against Iran on Saturday, after which Iran launched a wave of attacks against American targets in the Persian Gulf. The company warned its users in the Middle East that it will take time to restore its services "given the nature of the damage" and recommended that they "back up their data" and consider migrating it to cloud services in other regions of the world. Reported by Efe.
Israeli Defense Minister announces the army will "take control" of new positions in Lebanon
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the army will "take control" of new strategic positions in Lebanon after initiating a bombing campaign against the pro-Iranian movement Hizbullah the day before. "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorized the Israeli army to advance and take control of additional strategic positions in Lebanon to prevent attacks on Israeli border towns," he stated in a press release.
Drone attack on a fuel depot in Oman
An oil depot located in a port in Oman was hit by a drone attack on Tuesday, as reported by a state media outlet, amid Iran's retaliatory campaign in the Gulf for the offensive by Israel and the United States, according to Afp. "A security source reported that the fuel tanks at the commercial port of Duqm were targeted by drones, and one of them hit a tank. The damage was contained without human losses," stated the state news agency Oman News Agency (ONA).
Trump laments the role of the United Kingdom and praises France
Donald Trump stated in an interview with The Sun that it is "sad to see" that the relationship with the United Kingdom "is no longer what it was," after Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially refrained from providing military support for attacks against Iran. The US President said that countries like France had been more supportive and claimed that he never expected to see what was once "the strongest of all" relationships change in this way. Trump stated that the United States did not need the United Kingdom to wage war in the Middle East but added, "It won't matter, but (Starmer) should have helped... he should have done it." "I mean, France has been fantastic. Everyone has been fantastic. The UK has been very different from the others," he affirmed.
France plans to send missile defense and anti-drone systems to Cyprus after the Iranian attack
France plans to send missile defense and anti-drone systems to Cyprus after a British base on the island was attacked by Iranian drones, as reported by the semi-official Cyprus News Agency (CNA).