Israel, Iran trade threats, fire

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israel struck Iran's nuclear facilities hours after threatening to "escalate and expand" its campaign against Tehran on Friday. Iran vowed to retaliate and struck a base in Saudi Arabia, wounding U.S. service members and damaging planes. A month into the war, however, there appeared to be a breakthrough as Tehran agreed to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, accepting a request from the U.N. Ali Bahreini, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said Iran agreed to "facilitate and expedite" such movement, even as it endures strikes on its nuclear facilities.

The vital waterway usually handles one-fifth of the world's oil shipments and nearly a third of the world's fertilizer trade. While markets and governments have largely focused on blocked supplies of oil and natural gas, the restriction of fertilizer ingredients and trade threatens farming and food security around the world. "

This measure reflects Iran's continued commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts and ensuring that essential aid reaches those in need without delay," Bahreini said on the social platform X. The U.N. earlier announced a task force to address the ripple effects the Iran war has had on aid delivery. The Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base wounded at least 10 American troops, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the situation. Two of them were seriously hurt, according to one of the officials.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. Several refueling aircraft were damaged.

Infrastructure Strikes

Bahreini's announcement came just hours after Iranian state media said two nuclear facilities had come under attack. Israel, which had threatened to "escalate and expand" its campaign against Tehran, claimed responsibility, and Iran quickly threatened to retaliate. ”

Iran will exact HEAVY price for Israeli crimes," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said the Shahid Khondab Heavy Water Complex in Arak and the Ardakan yellowcake production plant in Yazd Province were targeted, IRNA reported. The strikes did not cause any casualties and there was no risk of contamination, it said. The Arak plant has not been operational since Israel attacked it last June.

Yellowcake is a concentrated form of uranium after impurities are removed from the raw ore. Heavy water is used as a moderator in nuclear reactors. The Israeli military later said raw materials are processed for enrichment at the Yazd plant and that the strike was a major blow to Iran's nuclear program.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that Iran would retaliate, IRNA reported. Seyed Majid Moosavi, IRGC's Aerospace Force commander, posted on X that employees of companies tied to the U.S. and Israel should abandon their workplaces. "

This time, the equation will no longer be 'an eye for an eye,' just wait," he said. Late Friday, Israeli authorities said Iran had launched missiles at the country that killed a 52-year-old man in Tel Aviv. Sirens alerted people to seek shelter in and around Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Beer Sheba and areas near the country's main nuclear research center, which were targeted by Iranian strikes that injured dozens last weekend.

Us Diplomatic Efforts

Speaking in Miami at an event sponsored by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Trump reiterated his desire for Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize relations. The president has been pressing the two biggest powers in the Middle East for years to normalize ties as part of his Abraham Accords efforts, and he said the time will be right when hostilities end with Iran. "

It's now time," he said. "

We've now taken them out, and they are out bigly. We got to get into the Abraham Accords." Significant headwinds remain, including Saudi Arabia's insistence that there needs to be a credible path to a Palestinian state before it normalizes commercial and diplomatic ties with Israel.

Word of the attacks on Iran came after Trump claimed talks on ending the war were going "very well" and that he had given Tehran more time to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran maintains it has not engaged in any negotiations. With stock markets reeling and economic fallout from the war extending far beyond the Middle East, Trump is under growing pressure to end Iran's chokehold on the strategic waterway.

A Gulf Arab bloc said Thursday that Iran has been exacting tolls from ships to ensure safe passage. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington delivered a 15-point "action list" to Iran for a possible ceasefire, using Pakistan as an intermediary. It proposes restricting Iran's nuclear program and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran rejected the U.S. offer and presented its own five-point proposal that included reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the vital strait. Trump has said if Iran doesn't reopen the strait to all traffic by April 6, he will order the destruction of Iran's energy plants. Uncertainty surrounding the conflict prompted a further drop in U.S. stocks Friday.

The S&P 500 sank 1.7% to close out its worst week since the Iran war started and its 5th losing week in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.7%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.1%.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices continued to soar. With U.S. gas prices approaching $4 a gallon, members of Congress have been pushing to suspend the federal gasoline tax, set at 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel fuel. Trump said he has "thought about" suspending it but suggested states should look at suspending their taxes on fuel.

Escalating Attacks

Witnesses in eastern Tehran reported a partial power outage following airstrikes, and in Israel, loud explosions filled the air in Tel Aviv and emergency crews responded to nearly a dozen impact sites. An Associated Press journalist heard loud explosions in Tel Aviv, and Israel's Fire and Rescue Service said it was responding to 11 different impact sites across the metro area. A man in his 60s was pronounced dead late Friday after suffering severe injuries amid the strikes, emergency services said.

Defense Minister Israel Katz had earlier vowed that Iran "will pay heavy, increasing prices for this war crime." Israel focused its attacks Friday on sites "in the heart of Tehran" where ballistic missiles and other weapons are produced, the military said. It said it also hit missile launchers and storage sites in Western Iran.

Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry meanwhile said it shot down missiles and drones targeting the capital, Riyadh. In Lebanon, the Health Ministry said two people were killed. Kuwait said its Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City and the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port to the north, which is under construction as part of China's "

Belt and Road" initiative, sustained "material damage" in attacks. It appeared to be one of the first times a Chinese-affiliated project in the Gulf Arab states has come under assault in the war. China has continued to purchase Iranian crude.

Calls For Talks

Diplomats from several countries including Pakistan and Turkey have tried to organize a direct meeting between U.S. and Iranian envoys. Separately, G7 foreign ministers meeting in France formally asked for an immediate halt to attacks against populations and infrastructure. Meanwhile, U.S.