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China offers $200,000 emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran after school attack.
Iran says death toll of US-Israeli strikes reaches 1,230.
Iran's IRGC official says will burn any ship trying to pass through Strait of Horm.
Lebanon declares appointed Iranian envoy persona non grata, orders him to leave by Sunday -- report
TEHRAN -- Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr has been appointed as new secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications at the Iranian president's office, said on Tuesday.
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TEHRAN - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Iran reserves the "inalienable and natural" right to defend its territory.
Pezeshkian made the remarks when exchanging views with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the consequences of the "illegal" U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in a phone conversation, according to a statement published on the Iranian president's office website.
During the phone call, the two sides also discussed bilateral ties and the latest regional developments, said the statement.
Pezeshkian said Iran did not start the war, noting the United States and Israel launched military aggression against Iran in the middle of nuclear negotiations, killing the country's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, high-ranking military commanders and civilians, and targeting Iranian public facilities.
He said that Iran consistently makes efforts to protect regional stability and security and stressed that the country still seeks to strengthen cooperation among states in the region.
"The insecurity imposed on the Strait of Hormuz is a direct result of the military aggression by the United States and Israel," he said, adding that Iran has taken necessary measures to ensure the security and safety of navigation and the safe passage of vessels through the waterway.
Sharif, for his part, expressed deep regret over the US-Israeli attacks against Iran as well as the deaths of Iranian civilians and senior officials, extending the Pakistani government's sympathy and condolences.
He praised Iran for allowing the safe passage of Pakistan's vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, calling for collective efforts by regional states to de-escalate tensions and restore sustainable peace and stability in the region.
"Pakistan has always been and will always be by the side of the Iranian government and nation," Sharif said.
JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will leverage its attacks on Iran to ensure any potential diplomatic agreement protects its "vital interests."
Following a phone call with US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu issued a video statement, saying Trump believes there is an opportunity to "leverage the tremendous achievements" of the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran in order to "realize the objectives of the war through an agreement."
"We will safeguard our vital interests in any situation," he said.
However, Netanyahu emphasized that Israeli military strikes against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon are continuing simultaneously. Shortly after Trump announced that negotiations were underway to end the regional conflict, the Israeli military said in a statement that it launched a new series of airstrikes on Tehran. It also blew another bridge on Monday over the Litani River in southern Lebanon, claiming that Hezbollah used it to transport weapons and its members.
"We are crushing the missile and nuclear programs, and we continue to strike Hezbollah hard," Netanyahu said, adding that two more Iranian nuclear scientists were recently killed.
The comments followed Trump's announcement that Washington and Tehran were in contact to end the war. He added that planned US strikes on Iranian power infrastructure would be delayed for five days following "productive conversations" with Tehran. Iran denies any talks with the United States, calling them "meaningless."
The developments came amid heightened regional tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and US interests across the Middle East.
The ongoing war in Iran "should never have happened", Zhai Jun, China's special envoy on the Middle East issue, said on Monday, urging relevant parties to immediately halt military operations in the region while calling on the international community to uphold its commitment to peace through diplomatic means.
Speaking at a news briefing in Beijing after recently completing a round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, Zhai said the war, which is now in its fourth week with casualties exceeding 21,000, has already surpassed last year's 12-day conflict in terms of scale, intensity and duration.
From early March, Zhai visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Egypt and met with their respective foreign ministers. He also met with the secretary-generals of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League, and held a phone conversation with Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Zhai described his trip as "highly unusual" because of the current situation. "Airspace closures in some of the countries we visited led to flight cancellations, forcing us to travel by car. Along the way, we heard air raid sirens and witnessed missile interceptions, which made the tremendous impact of the war on countries even more real to us," he said.
Since the conflict started, China has carried out intensive mediation efforts. Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held phone calls with his counterparts in countries including Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, France, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the United Kingdom.
On Monday, Wang also met in Beijing with Jonathan Powell, national security adviser to the UK prime minister. What all parties need to do now is address the root cause of the crisis and work together to achieve a political settlement through dialogue and negotiations, Wang said.
Zhai, the special envoy, said that as long as the conflict continues, China's diplomatic mediation efforts will not stop. China considers halting military operations in the region an immediate priority to prevent the situation from escalating further, he said.
Dialogue and negotiations offer a fundamental solution to the current crisis, he said, emphasizing the need to adhere to international law and the basic norms that govern international relations.
Zhai said the countries he visited stressed that nonmilitary locations, particularly energy, economic and livelihood facilities, should not be targeted and that the safety of civilians must be safeguarded.
His remarks came as global concerns mounted that the conflict was escalating beyond conventional military targets to critical infrastructure, including energy facilities and desalination systems.
"As the flames of the war continue to rage across the Middle East, the global economy and trade are coming under severe strain. Once Pandora's box is opened, the harm will be endless. If the fighting continues, there will be no winners, and ultimately, it will be the people of the region who will suffer the most," he said.
Zhai reiterated China's position that the protection of civilians is a red line that must not be crossed, and that the security of international shipping lanes, including the Strait of Hormuz, must be upheld.
When asked about the biggest obstacle to achieving a ceasefire, Zhai said, "The one who tied the bell should be the one to untie it."
He said the parties involved in the conflict, especially the United States and Israel, should immediately cease military action and return to the right track of dialogue, negotiation and respect for international law.
"The Chinese people consider peace as the most precious thing," he said. "The cornerstone of China's Middle East policy is to promote reconciliation and peace in the region."
"As a responsible major country and a sincere friend of regional countries, China will maintain close communication and coordination with all relevant parties. China will work to ease tensions, pave the way for a ceasefire, build bridges for dialogue, and make unremitting efforts to promote regional peace and stability," Zhai said.
United States' President Donald Trump announced on Monday that any military strikes against Iranian energy sites will be held off for five days after the two sides held "productive conversations" over the weekend, a comment that instantly pushed up stock futures and drove down oil prices.
However, Iran denied any such contact soon after Trump's remarks, saying that there had been no negotiations, "direct or indirect" with Washington as described by Trump, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.
Trump's announcement on social media marked a stunning about-turn from his previous ultimatum that the US would strike Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Monday night.
In a telephone interview with Fox Business Network later on Monday, Trump said that Iran badly ?wants to ?make a deal and that could come within five ?days or less. He said the most recent talks between ?US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and ?their counterparts ?took place on Sunday night.
A reporter for the US news outlet Axios said representatives of Turkiye, Egypt and Pakistan had met separately with Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The reporter, Barak Ravid, cited an unnamed US source as saying the discussion was about ending the war and resolving all outstanding issues.
On Sunday, Araghchi said that the Strait of Hormuz remained open, but ships were hesitating to use the vital waterway because insurers feared the "war of choice" initiated by the US and Israel, as the conflict entered its fourth week.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps pushed back against what it said were false claims by Washington that Tehran intended to destroy water desalination plants in the Gulf region, Al Jazeera reported on Monday.
"What we have done is to announce our decision that in the event of an attack on power plants, Iran will retaliate by targeting the power plants of (Israel) and the power plants of the countries in the region that supply power to American bases, and at the same time, the economic, industrial and energy infrastructure in which the Americans are shareholders," the IRGC was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement on the Strait of Hormuz, published by Mehr News Agency on Monday.
The statement called the US-Israeli strikes against Iran a clear violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter.
"In exercising its inherent right of self-defense against the aggressor parties, Iran has not only targeted US military bases and facilities in the region, but has also adopted a series of measures to prevent the aggressors and their supporters from exploiting the Strait of Hormuz to advance … their hostile objectives against Iran," the statement said.
Meanwhile, several explosions were reported in Iran early on Monday.
According to Tasnim News Agency, the US struck residential neighborhoods in Khorramabad, western Iran, killing nine civilians.
Al Jazeera reported a US-Israeli strike on a radio station in the Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, killing one person. The activation of air defenses was heard in Tehran, while in Isfahan, Karaj and Ahvaz, massive explosions were heard.
Israel has also been accused of expanding its ground invasion in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli Air Force blew up a bridge over the Litani River on Sunday.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called Israel's latest attack on his country a "collective punishment" of Lebanese civilians and a dangerous escalation.
TEHRAN - The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday denied having negotiations with the United States, the country's official IRNA news agency reported, reversing US President Donald Trump's earlier claim that Washington had reached "major points of agreement" with Iran and is in contact with "a top person."
Friendly countries recently sent messages to Iran indicating Washington's desire to begin talks on ending the war, but Iran has not responded, the IRNA reported, citing Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei.
Baghaei said Tehran's stance on the Strait of Hormuz, as well as its conditions to end the war, have not changed, the IRNA reported.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf also denied the claim on social media platform X, saying "no negotiations have been held" with Washington.
Meanwhile, several media reports quoted Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, as saying that talks with the United States are meaningless in the current conditions.
Earlier in the day, Trump said he had ordered a five-day delay of planned strikes on Iranian power plants and energy facilities, citing what he described as "very good and productive conversations" over the past two days aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East.
Reuters, citing Israel officials, later reported that the United States is holding negotiations with Ghalibaf, and that the two sides could hold talks in Pakistan's Islamabad as early as this week.
The developments came amid heightened regional tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb. 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and US interests across the Middle East.
Trump says US has very good, productive conversations with Iran over resolution of hostilities
CANBERRA - The International Energy Agency (IEA) is in talks with member countries on releasing more stockpiled oil in response to the supply crisis driven by the conflict in the Middle East, IEA executive director Fatih Birol said here on Monday.
Addressing the National Press Club, Birol said he has been in contact with international colleagues on a daily basis regarding a second oil release after the agency's member countries agreed in March to release 400 million barrels from strategic stockpiles.
"If it is necessary, of course, we will do it," he said of a second release, but warned that it would not solve the supply shortfall.
"A stock release will help to comfort the markets, but this is not the solution. It will only help to reduce the pain in the economy," he said, describing the situation as "very severe."
Birol is set to meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese while in Canberra and said the two would discuss the IEA's recommended steps for civilians to limit oil demand, such as using public transport where possible, working from home and reducing air travel.
JERUSALEM/TEHRAN - The Israeli military said Monday it had begun wide-scale strikes on Iranian infrastructure targets in Tehran.
In Iran, semi-official Mehr news agency reported that explosions rang out in Tehran early Monday morning.
A British nuclear-powered submarine, HMS Anson, which is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles, has reportedly traveled nearly 9,000 kilometers from its previous deployment off Australia to take up position in the Arabian Sea in the latest development of the war in Iran.
The United Kingdom government's defense ministry has declined to comment on the report, but if confirmed it would back up its decision to allow the United States to use British air bases to launch attacks on sites in Iran that are targeting the globally-vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.
That change of heart by the government was announced after it emerged that Iran had tried to fire missiles at the joint UK and US-maintained military base on the Chagos Islands, in the Indian Ocean.
The Wall Street Journal and broadcaster CNN reported that two missiles were fired at the island of Diego Garcia, but neither reached its target, with one being intercepted, and the other failing in flight.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC that the government's position remained that it wanted a swift end of the conflict, and it did not want to be drawn into a regional war, but she said taking defensive action was supporting UK interests.
"As the prime minister has made clear we will provide defensive support against these reckless Iranian threats, but we have not been — and we continue not to be — involved in offensive action," she said. "We will not be drawn into a wider conflict because we think we need to see as swift as possible resolution in the UK national interest but also to support regional stability."
Israeli authorities have claimed that Iran now has the capability to target European cities with its missiles, but British government minister Steve Reed said there was no reason to think that this was likely or even feasible.
When asked why Israel had said this, he said "You would need to speak to the Israelis", while also reiterating Cooper's comments about keeping British nationals and interests safe through what he called "appropriate collective defensive action".
This comment came after the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan issued a joint statement signaling their "readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the (Hormuz) Strait" as part of efforts to try and bring global energy prices back under control, after the war sent fuel costs soaring.
As a consequence of that, US President Donald Trump has threatened — at 23:44 London time on Saturday — to "obliterate" power plants in Iran unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened to all vessels within 48 hours.
United States President Donald Trump has threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not fully reopened within 48 hours — a dramatic escalation barely a day after he talked about "winding down" the war.
In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said the US would destroy "various power plants, starting with the biggest one first".
In response, Iran warned early on Sunday that any strike on its energy facilities would prompt counterattacks on US and Israeli energy and infrastructure assets.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, was quoted as saying by the country's semiofficial Tasnim News Agency that all infrastructure related to "energy, information technology and desalination" belonging to the US and Israel will be targeted in such a scenario.
The developments signal that the war in the Middle East, now in its fourth week, is moving in a dangerous new direction.
The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, is a critical passage for one-fifth of the world's oil flow. Attacks on commercial ships and threats of further strikes have stopped nearly all tankers from carrying oil, gas and other goods through the strait, leading to cuts in output by some of the world's largest oil producers and affecting fuel and food prices in several parts of the world.
Ali Mousavi, Iran's representative to the International Maritime Organization, said that ships, except those of the "enemies", could cross the Strait of Hormuz with prior coordination with Iranian authorities for security and safety arrangements, Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday, citing Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency.
He emphasized that international maritime commitments should include respect for Iran's territorial integrity and sovereign rights, adding that Tehran is ready to cooperate with the IMO and relevant countries to enhance maritime safety and protect seafarers.
"Diplomacy remains Iran's priority. However, a complete cessation of aggression, as well as mutual trust and confidence, are more important," Mousavi said, adding that US-Israeli attacks on Iran were at the "root of the current situation" in the Persian Gulf region and the Strait of Hormuz.
Over the weekend, the US and Israel continued their strikes in Iran, targeting Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan and Natanz, including the nuclear facility in Natanz.
Pirhossein Kolivand, president of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, said the US and Israel have targeted more than 80,000 civilian locations, including schools and medical centers, since the conflict started, resulting in significant casualties.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, reiterated his call "for military restraint to avoid any risk of a nuclear accident".
The United Nations-backed agency reported on Saturday that Iran's Natanz facility for nuclear enrichment has been bombed, but no increase in off-site radiation levels has been reported. It noted that the bombing was the fourth targeted attack on nuclear facilities in Iran since the start of the US-Israeli offensive.
On Saturday, nearly 200 people were injured in Iranian strikes in the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad as Israeli air defense systems failed to intercept at least two ballistic missiles, The Times of Israel reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a social media post that he has instructed the director-general of his office to provide necessary assistance together with all government ministries.
"I offer my support to the emergency and rescue forces currently operating on the ground, and I call upon everyone to follow Home Front Command instructions. We are determined to continue striking our enemies on all fronts," Netanyahu, who visited the targeted sites, was quoted as saying.
Israel has banned large gatherings and closed schools in the south following the attacks.
The IAEA said in a post that it is aware of reports of an incident in the city of Dimona involving a missile impact and has not received any indication of damage to the Negev nuclear research center. "Information from regional states indicates that no abnormal radiation levels have been detected," it said.
Meanwhile, in a sign of increasing diplomatic strain, Saudi Arabia has moved to declare Iran's military officials and three other embassy staff as "personae non gratae" and ordered them to leave the country within 24 hours, according to a statement from the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs published by Saudi Press Agency.
The statement said that the continued targeting by Iran of the kingdom's sovereignty, economic interests, diplomatic premises, civilian assets and civilians "constitutes a flagrant violation of all relevant international conventions, the principles of good neighborliness and respect for states' sovereignty, the Beijing Agreement, and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2817".
Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com
TEHRAN - Iran's primary military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, issued a statement on Sunday warning that power plants in countries hosting US bases would be considered legitimate targets if the United States attacks Iran's power facilities.
The statement came in response to remarks by US President Donald Trump threatening to target Iran's power infrastructure, according to Iranian state media Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
The Strait of Hormuz has not been fully closed and remains under Iran's "smart control," with non-harmful transit continuing under specific regulations to ensure national security and interests, the statement said.
If US threats are carried out, Iran would immediately adopt several punitive measures, including the full closure of the Strait of Hormuz until damaged Iranian facilities are rebuilt, it said.
Other measures would include large-scale strikes on Israel's power, energy and communications infrastructure, attacks on regional companies with US capital ties, and targeting power facilities in countries hosting US military bases.
The statement stressed that Iran would take "all necessary measures" to defend its national interests and would continue operations against US and allied economic and energy infrastructure in the region.
Surging fertilizer prices are raising concerns over food security across Asia as the same geopolitical shock rattling energy markets is squeezing supplies of crop nutrients.
The Middle East is a major fertilizer exporter, accounting for about 30 percent of the global fertilizer trade, as liquefied natural gas is a feedstock for making fertilizer.
Seaborne fertilizer travels through the Strait of Hormuz, but the critical waterway remains effectively closed as the United States-Israel attacks on Iran entered their fourth week.
The volatility in energy prices has spilled over into fertilizer prices. The Middle East granular urea was trading at $665 per metric ton on Friday, or nearly 40 percent more compared with $485 a ton late last month.
Urea, a nitrogen-rich fertilizer, is widely used in planting rice and wheat. The two food crops are staples across the Asia-Pacific.
"As fertilizer becomes more expensive, farmers may use less of it, which can lower crop yields," said Marie Annette Galvez-Dacul, executive director of the Center for Food and Agri Business at the University of Asia and the Pacific in Manila.
"This can lead to higher food prices and make food less affordable, even if supply is still available," she said.
In the Philippines, the world's biggest rice importer, the government assured that rice supply is stable thanks to existing stocks.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr said at a briefing on Thursday that the country has sufficient supply of agricultural products for at least the next 90 days. The state-owned National Food Authority has about 400,000 tons of rice in its warehouses, he added.
Elyssa Kaur Ludher, visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said key rice exporters in India, Vietnam and Thailand are dependent on imported fertilizers from the Gulf countries. If rice production in these countries decreases, it will also limit the supply of tradable rice, she said.
Rice is a thinly traded commodity, with only 10 percent of global production traded internationally.
"In the past, such shortages have triggered food-item export bans," Ludher said. "It is hoped that (exporting) countries will not resort to that as it destabilizes markets and further pushes up prices."
A rice export ban will also exacerbate global food insecurity, she added.
Unlike fuel prices, which immediately shoot up in line with global oil prices, the effect of fertilizer on food prices is delayed, she said.
'Medium-term risk'
The International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines said higher fertilizer prices are the "bigger medium-term risk" for the global rice trade. In India alone, at least three local fertilizer manufacturing plants have cut down production because of the limited supply of liquefied natural gas, the institute said.
Paul Teng, a visiting senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said it is fortunate that most of the current rice crop in Southeast Asia has already been planted and fertilizers were bought well before the conflict erupted.
"But if the choke point persists, then it is likely that both supply and prices of rice will be affected for Southeast Asian farmers," Teng said. He expects higher prices to push farmers into reducing fertilizer usage, which will translate to lower output not only of rice but also other crops, including vegetables, palm oil and cacao.
prime@chinadailyapac.com
Iran's parliament speaker says energy and oil infrastructure across region would be "irreversibly" destroyed if Iran's energy facilities attacked.
TEHRAN -- An Iranian international affairs expert said on Saturday that Iran attacked the nuclear site in the southern Israeli city of Dimona earlier in the day in response to an Israeli strike on Iran's Natanz atomic facility.
Morteza Simiari made the remarks in a live interview with state-run IRIB TV while elaborating on Iran's retaliatory missile attack on the Israeli city.
He noted that the attack was carried out less than 24 hours after Israel "insanely" struck the Natanz facility in the central province of Isfahan.
Simiari said that Iran's new "eye for an eye" strategy entails delivering reciprocal responses, but with greater intensity, to any military actions taken by Israel. According to Israeli medical officials, more than 30 people were injured in Iran's missile strike on Dimona.
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said there was no indication of damage to Israel's nuclear research center - Negev following a missile attack on Dimona.
"Information from regional states indicates that no abnormal radiation levels have been detected," the IAEA said on social media on Saturday evening.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the IAEA, has been closely monitoring the situation and stressed that "maximum military restraint should be observed, in particular in the vicinity of nuclear facilities."
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the Middle East.
TEHRAN -- Iran's primary military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned on Sunday that it would strike "all energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure belonging to the US and the regime in the region" if its energy infrastructure was attacked, according to Fars News Agency.
US President Donald Trump vowed earlier to "hit and obliterate" Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened within 48 hours.
JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military said in a brief statement that Israeli forces were currently conducting strikes early Sunday on "Iranian terror regime targets" in central Tehran.
The Iranian capital is currently under the most intense attacks, according to local media.
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump threatened on Saturday to "hit and obliterate" Iranian power plants if the country fails to fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
"If Iran doesn't FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!" He wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy corridor bordered by Iran to the north, through which around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supply passed, has become a key flashpoint in the war.
In response, Iran's primary military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned on Sunday that it would strike US and Israeli "energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure" in the region if its energy infrastructure was attacked, according to Fars News Agency.
Trump's ultimatum against Iran signaled an escalation one day after he said Washington was considering "winding down" military efforts in the region.
"We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great military efforts in the Middle East" with respect to Iran, he said Friday on social media. Meanwhile, Trump refused to reach a ceasefire with Tehran.
His warning also came as the joint US-Israeli campaign against Iran entered the fourth week, which has disrupted global shipping and sent oil prices soaring.
Oil prices have surged by about 50 percent since the United States and Israel launched their attacks on Feb. 28, bringing increasing pressure on Washington. The White House worries that the surge in oil prices will hurt US businesses and consumers ahead of the November midterm elections, when Republicans hope to retain control of Congress.
The US Treasury Department on Friday issued a general license temporarily lifting sanctions on Iranian oil at sea for 30 days to address the supply shortage amid shipping interruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Iran has not closed the waterway, but has imposed restrictions on vessels belonging to countries involved in anti-Iran attacks.
Araghchi said Iran is ready to ensure safe passage for other states' vessels through the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with Tehran.
JERUSALEM -- Israel's national emergency service Magen David Adom (MDA) said in a statement that at least 64 people were injured on Saturday night in the southern Israeli city of Arad by a missile fired from Iran.
According to the MDA, seven people were seriously injured, 15 moderately injured, and the rest lightly injured.
It added that searches continue at the scene to find more injured people.
Israel's state-owned Kan TV News reported that it was a direct missile hit at a residential building, causing many casualties and extensive destruction.
It added that emergency services have declared a "mass casualty incident," and army and MDA helicopters were rushed to the scene.
According to the channel, the Israeli air force has launched an investigation to examine why the missile was not intercepted by the air defense system.
Earlier in the evening, a missile fired from Iran injured 47 people in the southern city of Dimona, including a 10-year-old boy in serious condition, according to the MDA.
The developments came amid heightened tensions following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting on Feb 28, to which Iran and its regional allies responded with attacks on Israeli and US interests across the Middle East.
