08 March,2026 04:50 PM IST | Dubai | AP
Bahrain said an Iranian drone attack caused “material damage” to a desalination plant. PIC/ AFP
Israel renewed its assault on southern Lebanon early Sunday as the war entered its ninth day, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised "many surprises" in the next phase of the conflict rippling across the region.
The latest strikes in Lebanon killed 12 more people, pushing the death toll there above 300 after Israel ordered large swaths of the country to evacuate during an offensive that its military said was aimed at stamping out Iran-supported forces there.
Israel and the United States launched the war on Feb. 28, saying they were targeting Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and suggesting they sought to topple the government. The conflict has since spread across the region, rattling global markets, disrupting air travel and leaving Iran's leadership weakened by hundreds of Israeli and American airstrikes.
Iran has fired missiles and drones at neighbouring countries in the Gulf. Israel has intensified attacks in Lebanon, and strikes have been reported from Cyprus to waters off Sri Lanka.
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out the next phase of the war late Saturday, saying Israel aims to destabilise Iran's regime and allow change in government, Israel launched another wave of strikes, hitting an oil storage facility in Tehran - the first apparent strike on a civilian industrial site - sending pillars of fire into the night sky.
The Iranian president apologises for the attacks but has limited power over them
Iran has apologised for attacks on "neighbouring countries," even as its missiles and drones continued striking sites in Gulf states - including attacks that have killed civilians - and hardliners signalled Tehran would not change course.
President Masoud Pezeshkian again struck a conciliatory tone on Sunday, calling Iran's neighbours "friends and brothers" while accusing the United States and Israel of using "manipulation" to sow discord between them in remarks aired on state television.
"We will not bow our heads to bullying, injustice or intrusion," he said.
Pezeshkian and other Iranian leaders have underlined the limited power exercised by the political leadership over the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which controls the ballistic missiles used to target Israel and other countries.
The force answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and appears to be picking its own targets.
The president is one of three members of a leadership council that has overseen Iran since Khamenei was killed in the war's opening airstrikes.
A rift between politicians seeking to de-escalate the war and others committed to battling the United States and Israel could complicate diplomatic efforts.
Pezeshkian's remarks came a day after he said the leadership council had been in touch with the armed forces and that "from now on, they should not attack neighbouring countries or fire missiles at them unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy."
The US strikes have not come from the Gulf Arab governments under attack but from US bases and vessels in the region.
However, hardline judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, another member of the three-man council, suggested that the war strategy would not change.
"The geography of some countries in the region - both overtly and covertly - is in the hands of the enemy, and those points are used against our country in acts of aggression. Intense attacks on these targets will continue," he posted on X.
Pezeshkian also dismissed US President Donald Trump's call for Tehran to surrender unconditionally, saying: "That's a dream they should take to their grave."
Trump threatened that Iran would be "hit very hard" and that more "areas and groups of people" would become targets, without elaborating. Already, the conflict has rattled global markets and left Iran's leadership weakened by hundreds of Israeli and American airstrikes.
"We're not looking to settle," Trump told reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One. "They'd like to settle. We're not looking to settle."
He described the ongoing US operations in Iran as an "excursion" and said issues such as rising gas prices and the safety of Americans would improve once the conflict ends.
The United States and Israel have targeted Iran's military capabilities, leadership and nuclear programme. The war's stated goals and timelines have repeatedly shifted, with the US at times suggesting it seeks to topple Iran's government or elevate new leadership.
The fighting has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 290 in Lebanon, and 11 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six US troops have also been killed.
After Pezeshkian's apology, Iranian strikes continued.
Bahrain said an Iranian drone attack caused "material damage" to a desalination plant - the first time a Gulf country has reported Iran striking such a facility during the nine-day war.
Hundreds of desalination plants line the Persian Gulf coast, and the region relies heavily on them for water.
Earlier Sunday, the United Arab Emirates said debris from an aerial interception fell onto a vehicle and killed a driver. Four people have now been killed in the UAE since the war began. Authorities said all were foreign nationals.
The UAE urged residents to stay indoors Sunday morning as its military responded to a drone attack.
In Kuwait, authorities said a wave of drones targeted critical infrastructure, including fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport and a government building in Kuwait City.
At least two people were killed by strikes in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a drone headed toward its vast Shaybah oil field on Sunday and shot down four drones over the capital, Riyadh, including one aimed at the diplomatic quarter.
Meanwhile, Bahrain's Interior Ministry said missile fragments fell onto a road in Manama, injuring one person and damaging several shops.
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