The war in the Middle East continues to claim more casualties. President Donald Trump’s claim of an ongoing negotiation for a ceasefire agreement has been repeatedly dismissed by Iran, which has vowed to continue fighting.
Thousands of people have been killed in the region, and an even higher number have been injured or displaced across Iran, Lebanon, Israel, and other parts of the region.
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Attacks on major gas facilities in four Middle Eastern countries worsened the war’s economic impact.
The war entered its 29th day on Saturday (today).
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PREMIUM TIMES brings you the key events around the war on the 28th day.
Houthis attack Israel
Yemen’s Houthis, on Saturday, launched an attack on Israel— a move likely to escalate the war.
The attack signals group’s entry into the war.
It also portends a potential third front of the US-Israel war on Iran.
The NBC reports that the Israeli military confirmed identifying a missile launched from Yemen.
The ballistic missile is reported to have targeted Israeli military sites in the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, Houthis said the attack was retaliation for the continued attacks on Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, and Palestine.
The group said the operations would continue until the US and Israel end their act of “aggression.”
Trump says he’s disappointed in NATO
US President Donald Trump is displeased with how NATO members responded to his request for support to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Trump, on Friday, criticised the alliance for providing no meaningful support to the US and Israel in the war.
Mr Trump, speaking at a business conference, said: “I’ve always said NATO is a paper tiger. And I always said we help NATO, but they’ll never help us.”
Israel attacks Iran’s industrial and nuclear sites
Israel struck Iranian infrastructure linked to the production of civilian nuclear energy and uranium enrichment, according to Al Jazeera.
Israel struck a uranium processing facility in the central Iranian city of Yazd.
The Israeli Air Force also reported that it hit a plant used to extract raw materials for the uranium enrichment process.
Explosions were also reported in Isfahan, which is home to Iranian nuclear facilities.
IEA says no radioactive leakage
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation also confirmed the strike, and disclosed there were no casualties or radiation leaks.
According to the organisation, the projectile also hit an area near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, but the attack caused “no casualties, financial, or technical damage.”
Iran vows retaliation
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has promised to have Israel pay a “HEAVY price” for the attack on its nuclear facilities.
“Israel has hit 2 of Iran’s largest steel factories, a power plant, and civilian nuclear sites, among other infrastructure. Israel claims it acted in coordination with the US,” he said in a social media post.
Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also asked employees of industrial sites in the Gulf “that have American shareholders as well as heavy industries allied with the Zionist regime… to leave their workplaces immediately” as it prepares to carry out retaliatory strikes.
Rubio says war to end in weeks, no ground troops
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said the US does not need to send group troops to the frontlines in Iran.
He also said the country is right on schedule and could achieve its objectives in a matter of weeks.
“We are ahead of schedule on most of them, and we can achieve them without any ground troops, without any,” Mr Rubio said, according to Reuters.
12 American soldiers injured as casualties rise
Iranian strikes on a military base in Saudi Arabia injured 12 American soldiers.
Reuters reports that the Iranian strikes hit Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
This increases the American casualties of this war. So far, at least 13 soldiers have been killed and over 300 others wounded.
Casualties across the Middle East have also been rising. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, around 1,142 people have been killed and 3,315 injured.
At least 1,937 Iranians have now been killed, with about 24,800 others injured by US and Israel strikes.
UN creates task force for Hormuz
The UN has also introduced a new task force to ease passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the UN chief, António Guterres, announced the creation of a task force.
READ ALSO: US/Israel-Iran War (Day 28): Israel’s military could ‘collapse’, top officials warn
The goal is to create a supply route for humanitarian goods through the Strait.
The UN undersecretary, Jorge Moreira, who leads the task force, said there’s a plan to develop a “mechanism to have safe, orderly, and predictable maritime transit for humanitarian purposes through” the Strait.
“The disruptions in maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz risk creating ripple effects impacting humanitarian needs and agricultural production in the coming months.
“Our focus is to facilitate the trade of commercial fertilisers and the movement of related raw materials. We are standing by to support this lifesaving operation,” he said in a post on X.
