Smoke rises from Tehran's oil refinery after airstrikes in Tehran, Iran, March 7. EPA-Yonhap
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Iran war exploded further late Saturday as pillars of flame rose above an oil storage facility in Tehran, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “many surprises” for the next phase of the week-old conflict.
Israel's military confirmed that it hit the fuel storage facilities in Tehran. Associated Press video showed the horizon glowing against the night sky above Tehran.
It appeared to be the first time a civil industrial facility has been targeted in the war. State media blamed “an attack from the U.S. and the Zionist regime” at the facility that supplies the capital and neighboring provinces in the north.
Earlier in the day, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized for attacks on “neighboring countries," even as his country's missiles and drones flew toward Gulf Arab states and hard-liners asserted that Tehran's war strategy would not change.
A rift between politicians looking to de-escalate the war and others committed to battling the United States and Israel could complicate any diplomatic efforts. Conflicting Iranian statements came from two of the three members of the leadership council overseeing Iran since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the war's opening airstrikes.
Pezeshkian also dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Tehran to surrender unconditionally, saying: “That’s a dream that they should take to their grave.”
Trump threatened that Iran would be “hit very hard” and 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.
An explosion erupts following strikes near Azadi Tower close to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, March 7. AFP-Yonhap
Iran makes varying statements on attacks
Source: Korea Times News
