DUBAI: The US-Israeli air war against Iran expanded on Monday with no end in sight, engulfing Lebanon with Israel responding to strikes by Hezbollah, while Tehran fired missiles and drones at Israel, Gulf states and a British air base in far-away Cyprus.
Lebanese state news agency NNA said an initial tally showed 31 people had been killed and 149 injured. Israel declared Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem a “target for elimination”. Officials said they were not considering a ground invasion of Lebanon for now.
The US military said Kuwait’s air defences had mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighters during an Iranian attack. All six crew members were safely recovered.
After a weekend of bombing that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dragged its neighbours into war and shut shipping traffic in the Gulf, markets opened on Monday with energy prices rising sharply, putting the global economic recovery at risk.
Meanwhile, Washington’s allies in the Gulf came under renewed attack from Iranian missiles and drones. Black smoke rose above the area around the US embassy in Kuwait, where there was a heavy presence of security, ambulances and fire trucks. There were loud blasts in Dubai and Samha in the UAE, and in Doha, capital of Qatar.
Saudi Arabia shut its biggest refinery after drone strikes caused a fire there, one of a number of oil installations that became targets. In the first strike to reach US allies in Europe, a drone hit Britain’s Akrotiri air base in Cyprus overnight. Britain and Cyprus said the damage was limited and there were no casualties.