Another night of war in the Middle East unfolded yesterday, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announcing they conducted a new wave of airstrikes on Tehran in the early hours of Friday (March 20), following the launch of ballistic missiles from Iran targeting northern Israel.
According to their announcements, the raids targeted “infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime throughout Tehran,” highlighting the intensity of the confrontation between the two sides. After the Israeli military announced new missile barrages launched from Iran and the activation of alarm sirens in the city, explosions were heard in Jerusalem.
Gulf states face new attacks
In the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, alarms sounded in the early morning hours of Friday as their anti-aircraft defenses were activated to counter missile attacks. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry reported that air defense sirens were activated, and Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry spoke of intercepting drones in the eastern part of the country.
It should be noted that yesterday, Thursday, Iran continued its attacks against energy infrastructure in the Gulf, with drones striking a refinery in Saudi Arabia and two others in Kuwait, the day after strikes that caused major damage to Qatar’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility, in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Iran’s South Pars natural gas field, which is shared between Tehran and Doha.
Attacks on Israel
Meanwhile, Hezbollah reports that it attacked the Israeli town of Margaliot in northern Israel with a missile barrage in recent hours. It also reported attacking a group of Israeli soldiers in the town of Maroun al-Ras, in Nabatieh province. Following statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that the Islamic Republic has been “destroyed” by the war, Iran launched multiple missiles toward Israel.
At the same time, United Arab Emirates authorities announced the dismantling of a “terrorist network,” which they claim was financed and directed by Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. According to the state news agency, the network was allegedly involved in money laundering, terrorism financing, and activities that threatened the country’s national security. So far, there has been no immediate reaction or comment from Iran or Hezbollah regarding the allegations.
