Iran War Update 11
Events from the last 24 hours
The US-Israeli attack on Iran is fast-moving and it’s not easy to stay on top of the volume of interconnected events. Here’s what happened in the last 24 hours…
Both Trump and Netanyahu have teased the possibility of sending in ground troops to try to find a resolution to what is increasingly looking like an intractable war. Trump: “I am not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly would not tell you.” Which is exactly how he answered a question about attacking Iran a few weeks ago.
At his Proof of Life press conference, Netanyahu said: “You can’t do revolutions from the air—that is true. There has to be a ground component. There are many possibilities for this ground component. I take the liberty of not sharing all these possibilities.”
Meanwhile Newsmax reported that the US military is speeding up the deployment of thousands of Marines and sailors. The USS Boxer group and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are leaving early, with about 4,000 personnel.
Trump has mused on two ground operations: taking Iran’s premier oil facility Kharg Island and capturing any uranium that might be used to make a nuke. Both would be incredibly risky. Trump on Kharg Island: “We can take out the island anytime we want—I call it the little island that sits there. It’s totally unprotected. We’ve taken out everything but the pipes. We left the pipes because rebuilding them would take years.”
Iran continued to attack gulf nations - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait. Strikes hit Kuwait’s main oil refineries at Mina Al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah.
Cathay Pacific cancelled all flights to Dubai and Riyadh until the end of April.
Oil prices continued to soar, hovering above $110 a barrel.
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever: “There is no desire in Belgium to be involved in the war against Iran. And I think that won’t change. I think it’s a shared sentiment among European Union member countries that we didn’t want this war, we didn’t start this war.”
Shortages of jet fuel and flight cancellations are expected as early as next month.
Former Iranian Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan has been appointed Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council to replace the assassinated Ali Larijani.
German Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told CNBC: “If (the war) lasts another month, I think we will nearly have no missiles available.” Stockpiles in America, Europe and the Middle East are empty or near-empty.
However fast Trump ends this war, the fallout is going to be around for a long time: an Iranian attack knocked out 17% of Qatar’s natural gas export capacity with repairs expected to take three to five years, according to QatarEnergy’s CEO, Reuters reports.
Secretary of Defense/War Pete Hegseth said: “The world, the Middle East, our ungrateful allies in Europe, and even segments of our own press should be saying one thing to Trump: thank you.” He added: “Ultimately, it will be the president’s decision when we say, “We’ve achieved what we need to on behalf of the American people to ensure our security”. So, no—there is no set timeline. But we are very much on track. Absolutely.”
Houthi Leader AbdulMalek al-Houthi said: “We affirm our support for Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, and our readiness at the military level to respond to whatever developments may require. All military options are on the table.”
Israel’s IDF chief has told officers “we’re not even halfway done”, Channel 12 reported.
