The Japan Times - Iran claims aluminium plant attacks in Gulf as Houthis join war

The war that began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran has mushroomed throughout the region, sending world energy markets into a tailspin and threatening to torpedo the global economy.

With the official status of talks between Washington and Tehran uncertain, daily salvoes of strikes across the region have continued unabated.

In Iranian capital Tehran, two blasts shook northern areas of the city early Sunday, according to an AFP journalist, although it was not clear what was targeted.

Iran for its part fired a volley of missiles and drones at plants belonging to two of the world's largest aluminium producers in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the country's Revolutionary Guards said Sunday, targeting what they described as industries linked to the US military.

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said an Iranian attack wounded six and caused significant damage to its plant, while Bahraini state media said two Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) employees were injured in a second Iranian attack, without providing more details.

As the spectre of a widening conflict grew, Yemen's Houthis on Saturday claimed their first attack of the war, before the rebels said they fired "a barrage of cruise missiles and drones" at strategic sites in Israel.

The attacks raised concern about the war spreading to the Red Sea, with Saudi Arabia rerouting much of its oil exports there to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran says it has closed to shipping from hostile powers.

During Israel's recent war in Gaza, the Houthis, claiming solidarity with Palestinians, attacked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, forcing companies to take costly detours.

- 'Complete attacks' -

The Tehran blasts came a day after the Israeli military said it struck the headquarters of Iran's Marine Industries Organisation in the capital, saying the facility developed "a wide range of naval weaponry".

An Israeli military spokesman said attacks on Iranian military industry had intensified and "within a few days, we will complete attacks on all critical components."

"I miss a peaceful night's sleep," an artist in Tehran told AFP, saying the previous night's strikes were "so intense it felt like all of Tehran was shaking".

On the other side, Israel said a new wave of missiles was fired from Iran at its territory on Sunday, as Gulf nations Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates reported fresh missile and drone attacks.

For the US' part, Vice President JD Vance said in an interview with podcaster Benny Johnson published Saturday that the US has "accomplished all its military objectives" in Iran but the war must carry on "a little while longer".

His comments came as The Washington Post reported the Pentagon was preparing plans for weeks of ground operations in Iran -- potentially including raids on Kharg Island and sites near the Strait of Hormuz -- though President Donald Trump has yet to approve any deployment.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards meanwhile threatened Sunday to strike US university campuses in the Middle East unless Washington officially condemned US-Israeli attacks on two Iranian universities.

Several American institutions operate campuses across the Gulf region, including Texas A&M in Qatar and New York University in the UAE.

- Pakistan mediation -

Pakistan, acting as a go-between for Washington and Tehran, will host foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt in Islamabad on Monday for talks on the crisis.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian thanked Islamabad "for its mediation efforts to stop the aggression", while Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Friday he expected a direct US-Iran meeting in Pakistan "very soon."

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said such a meeting could take place soon, and promoted a 15-point plan that Washington says "could solve it all".

Still, the USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship carrying around 3,500 Marines and sailors, arrived in the Middle East on Friday amid speculation over a possible US ground deployment in Iran.

- Three journalists killed -

On another front, Israeli attacks have continued in Lebanon, which was drawn into the conflict when Tehran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli territory on March 2.

On Saturday, the Israeli military killed three journalists in the south, including Al Manar correspondent Ali Shoeib, one of the network's most prominent war correspondents, who had covered Israeli attacks on Lebanon for decades.

Lebanese authorities, including President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, condemned the killings as war crimes.

Israel also carried out raids in southern Lebanon that killed nine paramedics, according to the health ministry.

On Sunday the Israeli army announced the death in combat of one of its soldiers in south Lebanon, as the fighting persists.

At a vocational institute north of capital Beirut, displaced mother Nasima Ismail signed up her children for services despite a lack of resources as the war interrupts education for hundreds of thousands of students.

"I want them to complete their education, even if we are left with nothing," she said.

"I wish them days better than ours."

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K.Hashimoto--JT