Two tankers were hit off the Iraqi coast and a container ship was struck near the United Arab Emirates.
By Nathan Morley
More cargo ships have come under attack in the Gulf, in what appears to be a new wave of strikes by Iran. Two tankers were hit off the Iraqi coast and a container ship was struck near the United Arab Emirates.
Iranian state media said Iranian forces were responsible for at least one of the attacks. In a statement read on state television, Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei — who has not appeared in public since succeeding his father — vowed to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route.
He also pledged to “avenge the blood of Iranians” killed in recent violence. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed several people, including at least eight in Beirut’s seafront district. Israel is also carrying out what it calls “wide-scale” attacks on Iran.
The Israeli military has not commented on the Beirut strike but said its operations in Lebanon are aimed at Hezbollah, the Iran‑backed militant group.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces issued an “urgent warning” for residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate. Iranian attacks across the region have continued. Italy said its base in Erbil, northern Iraq, was hit overnight, and there were reports of drones near Kuwait’s international airport.
In Washington, U.S. military officials told Congress that the first week of the war with Iran has cost about $11.3 billion. The estimate does not include the cost of deploying forces ahead of the first strike on Feb. 28.
