The conflict in West Asia is escalating rapidly as several countries are becoming involved. The United States and Israel are carrying out joint airstrikes against Iran while Tehran is responding with missiles and drones. Fighting is spreading across different parts of the region, and Iran-backed armed groups, including Hezbollah, have joined the attacks. Many countries are expressing concern and are calling for de-escalation, as the situation is threatening regional stability and global security.
As per the latest reports, Azerbaijan today accused Iran of carrying out a drone attack against its exclave of Nakhchivan. The country’s Foreign Ministry said one drone crashed near the airport in Nakhchivan and another near a school. Two civilians were injured. Qatar said the country was subjected to a missile attack, and its air defence systems are intercepting the missiles. Amid strikes from Iran, Qatar has said that the local authorities are evacuating residents living in the vicinity of the US Embassy as a temporary precautionary measure. Saudi Arabia has also said that its air defense system intercepted and destroyed several drones. The UAE’s Ministry of Defence also claimed that its air defence systems successfully intercepted ballistic missiles.
Earlier in the day, Iran launched a new wave of attacks at Israeli and American bases and threatened that the United States would regret torpedoing an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean. The US Navy sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena on Tuesday night in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Sri Lankan city of Galle, killing 87 Iranian sailors and marking a significant escalation of hostilities at sea.
Sri Lankan government today said another Iranian vessel has been detected near the island’s maritime boundary, but stressed that it is not within the country’s territorial waters. In the meantime, Israel announced multiple incoming missile attacks, and air sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Iran has also threatened to target Israel’s Dimona nuclear site if Israel and the US seek to topple the Iranian regime.
On the other hand, the Israeli military said it has launched another wave of strikes on Iran as explosions were heard in multiple locations in Tehran. In addition to this, Israel also conducted targeted attacks in Lebanon at several command centers of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, including one being used by the air unit of the armed group.
The US and Israel launched the military operation on Saturday, targeting Iran’s leadership and killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as its missile arsenal and nuclear program.
According to media reports, the war has so far claimed over one thousand lives in Iran; more than 70 people have been killed in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel. It has disrupted the supply of the world’s oil and gas, snarled international shipping and stranded hundreds of thousands of travellers in the West Asia.
