CAIRO (AP) — Iran targeted a joint U.K.-U.S. base in the Indian Ocean, and Iran’s main nuclear enrichment site was struck again, as the war in the Middle East entered its fourth week.
Iran’s attack on the Diego Garcia air base — about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) away — suggested Tehran has missiles that can go farther than it had previously acknowledged, or that it had used its space program for an improvised launch.
Iran’s capital saw heavy airstrikes overnight and into the morning, residents said, as thousands of worshippers converged on Tehran’s grand mosque to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said attacks would “increase significantly” next week. He spoke shortly after fragments from an Iranian missile slammed into an empty kindergarten near Tel Aviv.
The war shows no sign of abating as its effects are felt far beyond the Middle East, raising food and fuel prices.
The U.S. and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, from hoping to foment an uprising that topples Iran’s leadership to eliminating its nuclear and missile programs and its support for armed proxies in the region. There have been no public signs of an uprising, while internet restrictions in Iran complicate communications.
With little information coming out of Iran, it is not clear how much damage its arms, nuclear or energy facilities have sustained in the U.S. and Israeli strikes that began Feb. 28 — or even who is truly in charge. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since being named to the role.
Iran attempts to hit Diego Garcia air base
U.K. officials did not give details of the strike that targeted the Diego Garcia base Friday, which was unsuccessful. Britain’s Ministry of Defense called Iran’s “lashing out across the region and holding hostage the Strait of Hormuz” a threat to British interests and allies.
It’s unclear how close the missiles came to the island. Iran previously asserted that it has limited its missile range to below 2,000 kilometers (over 1,200 miles).
But military experts said Iran may have used its space launch vehicle for an improvised firing.
“If you’ve got a space program, you’ve got a ballistic missile program,” said Steve Prest, a retired Royal Navy commodore.
Britain has not participated in U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran but has allowed U.S. bombers to use its bases to attack Iran’s missile sites. On Friday, the U.K. government said U.S. bombers could use Diego Garcia to attack sites used to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel denies responsibility for attack on Natanz
Iran’s official news agency, Mizan, said there was no leakage after the strike on the Natanz nuclear facility, nearly 220 kilometers (135 miles) southeast of Tehran.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said the bulk of Iran’s estimated 970 pounds (440 kilograms) of enriched uranium is elsewhere, beneath the rubble at its Isfahan facility, with a lesser amount at Natanz. The International Atomic Energy Agency said on X it was informed by Iran about the strike and was looking into it.
Israel’s military said it was “not aware” of a strike by it there.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said such strikes posed a “real risk of catastrophic disaster throughout the Middle East.”
The Natanz facility was hit in the first week of the war and several buildings appeared damaged, according to satellite images. Natanz also was targeted in the 12-day war last June.
Global pressure increases on the Strait of Hormuz
As Iran targets energy facilities in the region while threatening shipping on the Strait of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates joined 21 other countries including the U.K., Germany, France and Japan in expressing “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage.”
The Trump administration announced it is lifting sanctions on Iranian oil that was already loaded on ships as of Friday and will end the pause on April 19. Restrictions include sales involving anyone in North Korea or Cuba.
The decision does not increase the flow of oil production, a central factor in surging prices. Iran has evaded U.S. sanctions for years, suggesting that much of what it exports already reaches buyers.
The head of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, asserted that Iran’s ability to attack vessels on the strait had been “degraded.” He said multiple 5,000-pound bombs were dropped earlier in the week on an underground facility along Iran’s coast that was used to store anti-ship cruise missiles and mobile missile launchers.
The U.S. is deploying three more amphibious assault ships and roughly 2,500 additional Marines to the Middle East, an official told The Associated Press. Two other U.S. officials confirmed that ships were deploying, without saying where they were headed. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the military operations.
Gulf countries reported more attacks. A missile alert sounded Saturday night in Dubai. Saudi Arabia said it downed 20 drones over a couple of hours in its east, home to major oil installations.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran during the war. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missiles and four others have died in the occupied West Bank. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, along with civilians in Gulf nations.
Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants clash in Lebanon
Israel’s military said its forces were conducting a “targeted ground operation” Saturday with the support of Israeli aircraft and at least four militants were killed. Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with Israeli troops in the southern village of Khiam.
Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than 1 million, according to the Lebanese government. Hezbollah’s civilian assets also have been targeted.
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Lawless reported from London and Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.
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