West Asia war: Iran's Kharg Island bombed, Trump says US to escort ships through Hormuz soon

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States had heavily bombed military targets on Irans oil hub Kharg Island and the US Navy would soon begin escorting tankers through the Strait of HormuzSeveral top Iranian officials joined a defiant progovernment rally in Tehran meanwhile marching alongside demonstrators waving banners reading Death to America and Death to IsraelAs the United States intensified its bombing of Iran Tehran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Israel and its Gulf neighboursThe war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon continued to rage and the Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli strike on a primary healthcare center in southern Lebanon had killed at least 12 medical personnel on FridayAccording to the Lebanese authorities at least 773 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon aimed at wiping out Iranian ally HezbollahIn a post on Truth Social Trump said military targets on Kharg Island which handles almost all of Irans crude exports had been totally obliterated in one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle EastHe said he had chosen not to target oil infrastructure on the island for nowHowever should Iran or anyone else do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz I will immediately reconsider this decision the US president saidWith oil prices spiking Trump was asked when the US Navy would begin escorting tankers through the Gulfs critical Strait of Hormuz Itll happen soon very soon he saidIranian strikes have all but halted maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally passUS Marines dispatchedThe United States and Israel have treaded carefully around Kharg Island until now but US officials have been reported as saying that capturing the island was potentially on the tableThe Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported on Friday that the Pentagon had dispatched the Japanbased amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the region along with its complement of some 2500 MarinesHeavy blasts shook Tehran late Friday after the United States vowed to step up air strikes and Iranian state media said a fresh round of missiles had been launched towards Israel Israeli rescue workers said no casualties were reportedBlasts were heard in Doha early Saturday and Qatars defense ministry said its military had intercepted missiles targeting the Gulf stateSaudi Arabias defense ministry said its forces had intercepted dozens of drones on Friday and Turkey said NATO forces shot down a ballistic missile launched from Iran the third such interception in the warThe Islamic republic is intent on showing it will come through the war intact and in control despite its supreme leader Ali Khamenei being killed at the start of the USIsraeli campaign on February 28Khameneis son Mojtaba Khamenei was named the new supreme leader but has been absent from public view and said to be woundedThe US government unveiled a USD 10million reward for information about Mojtaba Khameneis whereaboutsUSD 100 a barrelUS Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a news conference the US military would bombard Iran more heavily on Friday than any other day so far in the warAccording to the Pentagon the US and Israel have struck more than 15000 targets in Iran over the past two weeks Israels military said it conducted 7600 strikes on the country most of them against its missile programThe conflict has sparked chaos in global markets and sent oil prices soaringBrent contracts for a barrel of crude have soared more than 42 percent leaving markets and governments everywhere skittish about energy supply and higher inflation On Friday oil stayed above USD 100 a barrelWithin Iran the Revolutionary Guards have warned of an even stronger response to any antigovernment protests after ones in January in which several thousand people were killedIranian authorities have maintained an internet blackout since the war startedIranians speaking to AFP under cover of anonymity have described a grim picture of cities in ruins and cash running shortA woman in Kermanshah western Iran told AFP that countless people from Tehran had come to seek refuge from the air strikes adding to demand for food and scarce medicine with prices nearly doublingThe UN refugee agency has estimated that up to 32 million people have been displaced inside Iran since the war startedIrans health ministry said on March 8 that more than 1200 people have been killed a figure AFP has not been able to verify independentlyThe US military has lost 13 personnel since the war started including six members of a refuelling aircraft that crashed in Iraq after an incident officials said was not caused by hostile fireThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday 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