JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Thursday that Hezbollah would "pay a heavy price for its aggression."

Speaking at his first press conference after nearly two weeks of the war with Iran, Netanyahu said the Iran-aligned armed group and political party was already feeling "the force of our blows, and it will feel them even more strongly."

His remarks came as Israel pounded Beirut and southern Lebanon and Hezbollah fired dozens of projectiles toward northern Israel amid the conflict with Iran.

During his speech, warning sirens sounded across central Israel, alerting to a missile attack from Iran.

Netanyahu said Iran was suffering "crushing blows" from Israeli strikes, adding that the goals of the operation were to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, among others.

On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East.

BEIRUT -- The Israeli military announced on Thursday afternoon that it launched a new series of airstrikes in Beirut targeting Hezbollah targets.

Warnings were issued urging residents to evacuate specific buildings in the Bachoura and Zkak al-Blat areas before the strikes. The targeted building in the latter houses a branch of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, which Israel claims Hezbollah uses as a financial arm to fund weapons purchases and pay its fighters.

The warnings and subsequent strikes caused panic among residents and displaced families who had fled earlier Israeli attacks and taken refuge in central Beirut.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's Public Health Ministry reported Thursday that the death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon has risen to 687 since March 2, with 1,774 injuries.

It added that the number of paramedics killed reached 18, with 45 others injured.

Also on Thursday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the government is working to halt the ongoing war and ensure the safe return of displaced residents.

"We will work around the clock to stop this war and enable you to return to your homes as soon as possible, to a safe and dignified return," Salam said in a speech addressing the country's worsening humanitarian situation.

He also thanked Lebanese communities for hosting displaced families and expressed appreciation to friendly countries for providing humanitarian assistance to ease civilians' suffering.

Hezbollah announced the launch of rockets from Lebanon toward Israel at dawn on March 2 for the first time since a ceasefire was declared on Nov 27, 2024.

Israel subsequently launched what it described as an "offensive military campaign" against the group, including heavy airstrikes targeting Beirut's southern suburbs and areas in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as border ground incursions.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East, saying the international community broadly agrees that the fighting must stop, and urging all sides to press the parties involved to halt military operations.

Wang made the remarks during a phone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Thursday.

Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, warned that prolonging the conflict would only bring greater suffering to the people in the region, deal a heavy blow to regional economies and further undermine international and regional security and stability.

Wang said China and Egypt, as responsible countries, both advocate resolving regional issues through dialogue and consultation and oppose the frequent use of force.

China is willing to maintain communication and coordination with regional countries, including Egypt, and continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace, he added.

Abdelatty said Egypt is deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict and appreciates China's balanced and fair position as well as the role it has played. Egypt is ready to maintain close communication with China and work together to help ease tensions as soon as possible, he said.

Meanwhile, the United States and Iran both signaled that there will be no quick end to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which was triggered by joint US and Israeli strikes against Iran nearly two weeks ago, killing nearly 2,000 people so far and throwing the entire Gulf region, global energy markets and international shipping into disarray.

Despite what the US described as the most intense wave of airstrikes since the war began on Feb 28, Iran launched a new round of attacks on Gulf energy targets on Thursday. The strikes came hours after two oil tankers were hit off the coast of Iraq, sending crude prices surging amid a record release of emergency oil reserves by the International Energy Agency.

Iranian authorities reported over 1,300 fatalities on their side, while Israel has confirmed 12 deaths. The US has lost seven soldiers, with another eight suffering serious injuries.

In a message posted on social media on Wednesday night, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the war could only be resolved through a clear set of conditions. "The only way to end this war … is recognizing Iran's legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression," he wrote.

However, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US has already won the conflict and that US forces would "finish the job".

Earlier on Wednesday, Iran's military vowed to launch strikes against US and Israeli economic interests in the region, including banks, while an Iranian news agency listed tech giants as possible "future targets", prompting some international companies to evacuate staff members.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil supplies pass, has effectively been closed after Iran vowed not to allow even a single liter of oil to be exported from the Gulf as long as the US-Israeli offensive continued.

Oil prices surged past $100 a barrel on Thursday, despite the IEA authorizing a record release of strategic crude reserves, pledging to make 400 million barrels available from stockpiles of member nations. IEA member countries currently hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of emergency oil stocks, with an additional 600 million barrels in industry stocks held under government obligation. The previous largest collective emergency stock release by the IEA was 182.7 million barrels after Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in 2022.

Contact the writers at cuihaipei@chinadaily.com.cn

The majority of the American public disapproves of US President Donald Trump's decision to attack Iran, with many among his support base saying he broke his campaign promises.

"He ran on no more wars, end these stupid, senseless wars, and then we have one that we can't even really clearly define why we did it," Joe Rogan, a Trump supporter in 2024 and an influential podcaster with more than 16 million followers, said on Tuesday.

"I mean, this is why a lot of people feel betrayed, right?" Rogan said.

Trump campaigned largely on an "America First" policy and called US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan "forever wars".

Rogan expressed concern that Iran might employ terrorist attacks within the United States to cause massive harm to Americans in retaliation.

Tucker Carlson, a conservative activist who visits the White House regularly, was reported to have described the airstrike on Iran "absolutely disgusting and evil". He had lobbied Trump against attack on Iran.

A podcast titled Donald Trump has Betrayed America by Candace Owens garnered 2.3 million views with more than 27,000 comments in two days.

Unpopular action

Polls have indicated that public support for a prolonged war with Iran is low.

A CNN poll conducted Feb 28 - March 1 showed that 41 percent of Americans approve of military action against Iran with 59 percent against. In addition, 54 percent Americans believe that US military action in Iran will make Iran more of a threat to the US. Only 28 percent believe the opposite.

More Americans — 60 percent — are against the US sending ground troops into Iran. The support for US military action against Iran dropped to less than 10 percent if such an operation will result in a broader conflict in the Middle East, higher oil and gas prices, or US troops getting killed.

An NPR/PBS survey of about 1,600 people in the week following the initial strikes showed that 56 percent of Americans were against the military action and only 36 percent approved of Trump's handling of the Iran War.

Some Americans are worried that by initiating this attack on Iran, Trump has put the US in an impossible situation no matter what he subsequently chooses to do. They are worried that the US might be sliding into another "endless war" if a quick end can't be achieved.

"If the US withdraws soon, we would look weak because Iran would be able to recoup with more vengeance against the US," said a Houstonian named Michael. "The public, including many of Trump's base, are against boots on the ground in Iran because not much good came out of our expensive occupations in Iraq or Afghanistan. We can't eliminate the Iran threat without considerable military involvement or a new regime friendly to the US. What to do?"

Costs rising

Pentagon officials told lawmakers in a briefing on Capitol Hill that the first week of attacks on Iran had cost $11.3 billion, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Citing people familiar with the briefing, the Times said the estimate did not include costs related to the initial military buildup or personnel before the strikes.

"I've heard the $1 billion a day number," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told USA TODAY, adding he couldn't fully confirm its veracity.

"I've asked this question before, and it's been avoided by the top Pentagon officials. They have been totally unforthcoming about the cost. So I'm not holding my breath," he added.

That cost is higher than previous estimates, with the Center for Strategic and International Studies having calculated that the first 100 hours of the operation cost $3.7 billion.

It's possible that Trump could ask Congress for an emergency funding measure, though such a request has not been submitted, USA TODAY reported.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com

UNITED NATIONS -- The UN Security Council on Wednesday failed to pass a draft resolution urging all parties to immediately stop their military activities and refrain from further escalation in the Middle East and beyond and condemning all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The council rejected the draft resolution, sponsored by Russia, with four votes in favor, two against and nine abstentions. Russia, China, Pakistan and Somalia voted for the draft resolution, while the United States and Latvia voted against it.

"We're deeply disappointed," said Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, noting that many council members were not able to muster enough strength and wisdom to pass the text his country proposed.

Earlier, the Security Council adopted a draft resolution regarding the current crisis in the Middle East, which was triggered by the joint US-Israeli military strikes on Iran that began on Feb 28 and Iran's subsequent retaliation across the region.

The draft resolution, presented by Bahrain on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), was adopted with 13 votes in favor and two abstentions to condemn the attacks by Iran against GCC countries as well as Jordan, demand Iran immediately cease attacks against them, and determine such acts constitute a breach of international law and a serious threat to international security.

"Let me make it clear: This resolution is a manifest injustice against my country, the main victim of a clear act of aggression," said Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations. "We consider it unjust and unlawful, inconsistent with the United Nations Charter and international law."

More than a week into the strikes in the Middle East, Iran alleged that the United States and Israel had bombed nearly 10,000 civilian sites, seemingly contradicting their framing of the attacks as an effort to "free" the Iranian people.

Twelve days into the conflict, Iran widened its warning of legitimate targets to include top US firms with Israeli links whose technology is used for military applications, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday.

Some of the companies reportedly include Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia and Oracle, as well as cloud-based services in various Israeli cities, and in some Gulf countries.

Tehran also said it might target US and Israeli economic and banking entities in the region after what it called an attack on an Iranian bank. It was reported that a staff member at a bank in Tehran had been killed in the US-Israeli strikes.

According to Al Jazeera, a spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters said "the enemy left our hands open to targeting economic centers and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime in the region", adding that "people of the region should not be within a 1-kilometer radius of banks".

Earlier this week, Tehran residents were warned of potential exposure to toxic "black rain" after the oil storage attacks over the weekend and were advised to stay indoors.

Iran's Red Crescent Society said rainfall in Tehran, home to about 10 million people, could be "highly dangerous and acidic" and issued guidelines for residents in case they were exposed.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had earlier warned that the escalating conflict in the Middle East, and the effects on public health, "are of great concern".

He said damage to petroleum facilities in Iran risks contaminating food, water and air — hazards that can have severe health impacts, especially on children, older people and people with preexisting medical conditions. The WHO chief noted that rain laden with oil had been reported in parts of the country.

"I urge all parties to de-escalate and prevent further risks to people's health, impacts on health facilities and workers, and a further expansion of the conflict across the region. Peace is always the best medicine," he added.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on the global community to condemn US and Israeli aggression in international forums during his phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin late on Tuesday.

In the United Arab Emirates, air defenses continued to respond to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran on Wednesday, the Ministry of Defense said.

Mobile alerts

Before dawn, residents of Dubai received mobile alerts warning of a potential missile strike and urging them to seek shelter. The alerts were later lifted.

The Dubai Media Office reported on Wednesday that at least four people were injured after two drones fell in the vicinity of Dubai airport.

On Tuesday, Zhai Jun, China's special envoy on the Middle East issue, visited the UAE and met with the country's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as part of efforts to help de-escalate tensions.

Abdullah briefed Zhai on the current regional situation, saying the UAE is not a party to the conflict and should not be targeted by attacks. He said the UAE appreciates China's fair stance and attaches great importance to China's role in shuttle diplomacy efforts, and stands ready to work with China to de-escalate tensions.

China maintains that the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of all countries in the Gulf must be respected, Zhai said. Any attacks on civilians and nonmilitary targets should be condemned, he added.

War and chaos serve no one's interests, and a ceasefire is the fundamental way out of the current crisis, he said.

Elsewhere, Israel pressed its attacks across Lebanon on Wednesday, hitting an apartment building in central Beirut.

The health ministry said on Wednesday that 14 healthcare workers are among the 570 people killed in Israeli strikes since the war came to Lebanon on March 2.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said at least two vessels — a bulk carrier and a cargo ship — were hit by unknown projectiles near Dubai and another in the Strait of Hormuz.

US-Israeli strikes on Iran reached their most intense day yet on Tuesday as mixed signals from Washington fueled uncertainty over when the conflict might end.

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Tuesday that operations would continue "on our timeline" until "the enemy is totally and decisively defeated". Hours earlier, President Donald Trump said the war was "very complete, pretty much" and that the US was "very far ahead of schedule".

Meanwhile, Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of its slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, as its new supreme leader on Monday.

Jack Midgley, principal consultant at Midgley & Company and an adjunct associate professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University in Washington, said the conflicting messages appeared deliberate.

"The administration is sending many different messages to avoid being held accountable for any bad outcomes," Midgley said. "Hegseth's message pleases the Israelis and the US hardcore right, while Trump's message is intended for the international community and markets."

At a Brookings Institution webinar on March 3, Philip Gordon, a Sydney Stein Jr. Scholar at the institution and national security adviser to former US vice-president Kamala Harris, said the administration had struggled to articulate consistent goals, shifting from nuclear concerns to regime change and other aims.

"It's been a moving target," Gordon said.

A day earlier, at a Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion, Seth Jones, president of the Defense and Security Department and holder of the Harold Brown Chair at the center, warned that causing major damage to Iran from air and naval assets alone would be "very difficult".

Midgley said the US and Israel should de-escalate immediately to avoid further regional instability."The goal of denying nuclear weapons to Iran can only be reached with a negotiated settlement, and negotiations are unlikely to resume while Iran is under attack."

Tehran now lacks trust after the scale of the strikes, he said. "The barrier is that Iran cannot trust the US or Israel to negotiate in good faith. (It) was created by the massive scale and aggressive objectives of the US-Israel attack and not by the Iranian side."

On the question of naval protection through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump has said repeatedly in recent days that the US is prepared to escort tankers through the strategic waterway when necessary.

Midgley called the idea impractical because it would "place navy ships directly in range of Iranian anti-ship missiles and guns, potentially trading American lives for oil".

"The idea is both unworkable and politically unacceptable for Americans," he said.

The White House said on Tuesday that the US has not escorted any oil tanker through the strait, after Energy Secretary Chris Wright's social media account posted and deleted a claim that it did so.

At the Center for Strategic and International Studies event, Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow and James R. Schlesinger Chair in Energy and Geopolitics at the center, warned of serious energy risks even if fighting eased.

"We have seen both vectors for supply disruptions," he said, citing attacks on shipping and infrastructure such as Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery and Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG terminal.

Strain on munitions

At the Brookings event, Mara Karlin, a visiting fellow at the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy and Technology, highlighted the strain on US munitions and readiness, saying prolonged operations could limit options elsewhere.

Midgley said the biggest long-term cost was eroding international trust in US leadership. "NATO European members and regional partners like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are suffering real damage and were not consulted on American military moves," he said.

The US had set aside international law, including the United Nations Charter, he added. "As the US acts unilaterally, international confidence in US leadership continues to decline."

As of late Tuesday afternoon in Washington, no ceasefire was in sight. The Pentagon said strikes would continue, while the administration maintained the war was nearing its end. Oil markets remained volatile, and the risk of miscalculation in the Strait of Hormuz lingered.

The mixed signals from Washington could prolong the conflict "by creating confusion among allies and adversaries alike", Midgley said.

"Until there is a clear, unified US position on de-escalation, the path to a negotiated end remains blocked."

Agencies contributed to this story.

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Wednesday the US military operation in Iran is both a war and a short-term "excursion," sending mixed messages on when the strikes will end.

"You just said it is a little excursion and you said it is a war. So, which one is it?" Trump was asked by one of the reporters traveling with him in the US state of Ohio.

"Well, it's both," Trump answered. "It's an excursion that will keep us out of a war, and the war is going to be, I mean for them it's a war."

Addressing House Republicans on Monday, Trump described the military operation against Iran as a "short-term excursion" while later vowing to "go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory." He has also demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender."

Though Trump said earlier on Wednesday that the US-Israeli war with Iran will end "soon" because there is "practically nothing left to target," Axios reported.

US and Israeli officials said that they are preparing for at least two more weeks of strikes in Iran, and that there has been no internal directive on when such strikes might stop, according to the report.

More than 1,300 civilians have been killed and 9,669 civilian sites destroyed in Iran in US-Israeli strikes since Feb 28, Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, said Tuesday.

TEHRAN -- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that "the only way" to end its war with the United States and Israel "is recognizing Iran's legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm international guarantees against future aggression."

In a post on social media platform X, Pezeshkian voiced "Iran's commitment to peace in the region."

Earlier in the day, Iranian armed forces warned that they would launch massive retaliation if the United States were to strike Iran's ports.

Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for Iran's armed forces, made the remarks in an interview with state-run IRIB TV after the US Central Command published a post on its Persian page on X, calling on civilians in Iran to immediately stay away from the port facilities in which Iranian naval forces are carrying out operations.

"If the United States carries out its threat against Iran's ports, no port, economic center, or point in the Persian Gulf will be out of our reach," Shekarchi said.

On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and US assets in the Middle East.

PARIS -- The International Energy Agency (IEA) has recommended a release of 400 million barrels of oil from stockpiles, the largest such move in IEA history, Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Wednesday.

The 32 member countries unanimously agreed to make available to the market 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves, Birol said at a press conference.

The release would take place over a timeframe appropriate to the national circumstances of each member country, he added.

According to Birol, the IEA secretariat will provide further details of how this collective action will be implemented in due course, and the agency will continue to closely monitor global oil and gas markets.

IEA members hold emergency stockpiles of over 1.2 billion barrels, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation.

The conflict in the Middle East has impeded oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, with export volumes of crude and refined products currently falling to less than 10 percent of pre-conflict levels, according to the IEA.

The move to release emergency oil reserves came ahead of an online meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) leaders, scheduled later in the day, to discuss the economic consequences of the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.

The G7 energy ministers, under the French presidency, met via videoconference on Tuesday against a backdrop of heightened volatility in oil prices. On Monday, the price for Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly climbed to around $119 per barrel, its highest level since mid-2022.

In a statement released earlier on Wednesday, the ministers said they in principle support the implementation of proactive measures to address the situation, including the use of strategic reserves.

TEHRAN - Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "safe and sound," said Yousef Pezeshkian, son of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, on Wednesday.

Some friends who "had connections" had told him that the supreme leader is safe and sound, said Yousef Pezeshkian in a post on his Telegram channel.

Earlier media reports said that Mojtaba Khamenei was injured in the joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Beijing "will continue to strengthen communication with all relevant parties, including the parties directly involved in the conflict", and play a constructive role in easing tensions and restoring peace in the Middle East, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

When asked about China's recent efforts to ease tensions in the Middle East, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said: "From the very first day of this conflict, China has clearly called for a ceasefire and an end to the fighting, for a return to dialogue and negotiations, and for a political solution."

"China's special envoy on Middle East affairs is currently engaged in shuttle diplomacy in the region," he added.

He noted that Foreign Minister Wang Yi has recently continued diplomatic mediation on the situation in Iran, holding further phone conversations with foreign ministers from countries in the region to promote peace, push for a ceasefire and help defuse tensions.

"As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a sincere friend of Middle East countries, China will not stop its efforts for peace, nor will it stop speaking out for fairness and justice," he said.

UNITED NATIONS -- More than 1,300 civilians have been killed and 9,669 civilian sites destroyed in Iran in the military strikes launched by the United States and Israel since Feb 28, Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations, said Tuesday.

The civilian sites included 7,943 residential homes, 1,617 commercial and service centers, 32 medical and pharmaceutical facilities, 65 schools and educational institutions, 13 Red Crescent buildings, and several energy supply facilities, Iravani told the press in a statement.

"They are deliberately and indiscriminately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure across my country. They show no respect for international law and no restraint in committing these crimes," he said.

"Densely populated residential areas and critical civilian infrastructure are deliberately targeted," he said, adding that the figures continue to rise as the US-Israeli military attacks continue.

Iravani listed several instances in which civilian targets were attacked, including heavy strikes on fuel storage facilities in Tehran and other cities on Saturday night, releasing large quantities of hazardous and toxic pollutants into the atmosphere.

The explosions caused severe air pollution and serious health risks for civilians, especially children, women, the elderly, and those with critical health conditions, he said, citing the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

"These heinous attacks also violate international environmental obligations, including those under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity," he said.

Iravani noted that other instances included attacks on Mehrabad Airport in Tehran early Saturday morning, destroying or severely damaging several civilian aircraft and airport facilities, and attacks on a freshwater desalination plant on Qeshm Island in Hormozgan province, disrupting water supplies to 30 villages.

He also said that in the early hours of Sunday, Israel carried out "a deliberate terrorist attack" against the Ramada Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, killing four Iranian diplomats. "The targeted killing of diplomats on the territory of another sovereign State is a grave terrorist act, a war crime, and a flagrant violation of international law."

"The international community must act now to stop this bloody war against the Iranian people. We will take all necessary measures to defend our people, our territory, and our independence," he said.

DUBAI -- The UAE Ministry of Defense said early Wednesday that its air defense systems were responding to incoming missile and drone threats originating from Iran.

Residents in Dubai received mobile alerts warning of a potential missile strike and were urged to seek shelter. The alerts were later lifted.

The incidents come amid rising regional tensions following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began Feb 28. Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli and US assets across the Middle East.

On Tuesday, the UAE Ministry of Defense said its air defenses remain "vigilant, strengthened by cooperation with our partners," citing a 94% intercept rate on 1,475 drone attacks and a 92% intercept rate on 270 missile attacks over the past 11 days.

France said it is dispatching warships, led by its aircraft carrier strike group, to the Mediterranean and Red Sea and, if required, into the Strait of Hormuz, as part of a defensive move to bolster allies in the ongoing Middle East conflict, which reached its 11th day on Tuesday.

The deployment was announced on Monday as the United States dispatched more of its assets to Europe with three B-52 bombers arriving at the RAF Fairford military base in the United Kingdom, after London cleared US use of British bases.

While in Cyprus ahead of a visit to the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, which reached the eastern Mediterranean on the weekend, France President Emmanuel Macron reassured his Cypriot counterpart after drones approached the island last week.

"When Cyprus is attacked, then Europe is attacked," Macron said following a meeting with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos.

European powers have found themselves largely on the sidelines as the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, has intensified. But as Middle East shipping lanes have been disrupted, causing oil prices to surge past $100 a barrel, European states have been forced to rethink how to safeguard their interests, reported Reuters.

Macron said: "Our objective is to maintain a strictly defensive stance, standing alongside all countries attacked by Iran in its retaliation, to ensure our credibility, and to contribute to regional de-escalation. Ultimately, we aim to guarantee freedom of navigation and maritime security."

In all, France would deploy eight warships, the aircraft carrier group and two helicopter carriers to the region, he added.

After the meeting with Macron, Mitsotakis, confirmed that the European Union's naval mission Aspides, or Shields in Greek, is also being reinforced with additional vessels.

The US B-52s that arrived at the UK base Fairford add to a growing bomber footprint in the UK following weekend B-1 arrivals. These long-range aircraft are able to carry large payloads of advanced cruise missiles.

A C-5 Super Galaxy transport aircraft was photographed at the base on Friday. The largest aircraft in the US inventory, it can carry loads such as two M1 Abrams tanks, six Apache attack helicopters, or up to 36 military vehicles.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US will use British RAF bases to "dramatically" step up strikes on Iran after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer authorized defensive operations from UK-US bases. The UK government said it is unlikely to dispatch one of its two aircraft carriers to the Middle East despite France's "unprecedented" naval deployment as the Iran crisis intensifies. However, the UK's HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier was put on advanced readiness on Saturday, cutting time to sail to five days from 14, sparking speculation about a Mediterranean mission to help shield the RAF Akrotiri military base in Cyprus or a Gulf deployment to protect UK interests.

JERUSALEM -- Israel said on Tuesday afternoon that new missile salvos from Iran targeted the country, with air raid sirens activated in the north, center and south of the country, including Tel Aviv.

The Israeli military said in a statement that air defense systems are working to intercept the missiles.

Sirens were heard in the northern cities of Metula and Haifa, the southern city of Ashkelon, as well as in Jerusalem and several settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Debris fell in the Umm Al Faham area in southern Israel, causing damage. There were no immediate reports of injuries, the country's Magen David Adom rescue service said.

The development came as the deadly regional conflict entered its 11th day. 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 Israeli and US assets in the Middle East.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had begun a new series of airstrikes against Iranian government targets in Tehran, whereas Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Iran is well-prepared to continue missile attacks against Israel and US bases in the West Asia region for as long as needed.

ABU DHABI -- The Ruwais oil refinery, considered the largest single-site refinery in the Middle East and among the top four largest in the world, has been closed as part of precautionary measures following a drone attack, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, authorities in Abu Dhabi said a fire broke out at a facility in the Ruwais industrial complex after a drone attack, with no injuries reported so far.

There was no immediate report on whether the refinery itself, situated in the complex, was hit.

JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military said on Tuesday it has begun a new series of airstrikes against Iranian government targets in Tehran, as the deadly regional conflict entered its 11th day.

Trump says strikes on Iran would be over "very soon".

Trump holds first press conference since strikes on Iran.