Israel said it was attacking Tehran and defending against missiles fired from Iran on Saturday, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. expected to conclude military operations within weeks, not months.
An Iranian attack on an air base in Saudi Arabia wounded 12 U.S. military personnel, two seriously, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday, as drones and missiles continued to strike around the Gulf.
Strikes Continue
A month after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran, the war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands and causing the biggest disruption ever to energy supplies, hitting the global economy and fuelling inflation fears.
While Israel said it was hitting targets across Iran’s capital, it said it had identified a missile launched from Yemen. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, who had previously disrupted shipping with missile attacks, have not been active in the Iran war.
The Houthis said on Friday they were ready to intervene militarily under certain conditions, including if new allies joined the U.S. and Israel in the war or if the Red Sea was used to launch attacks on Iran.
Rubio told reporters after meeting Group of Seven counterparts in France that Washington was “on or ahead of schedule in that operation, and expect to conclude it at the appropriate time here – a matter of weeks, not months”.
The NATO Question
The war has driven a wedge between the U.S. and its traditional allies, who have stayed on the sidelines. President Donald Trump said this lack of support had implications for NATO, the West’s most important alliance.
“We would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?” Trump told an investment forum in Miami on Friday. “Why would we be there for them if they’re not there for us? They weren’t there for us.”
The charter underlying the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which has long been led by the U.S., says an attack on one member is an attack on all, requiring them to support one another.
Rubio said European and Asian countries that benefit from trade through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital choke point largely blocked by Iran, should contribute to efforts to secure free passage.
While he said the U.S. could achieve its aims without ground troops, he acknowledged it was deploying some to the region “to give the president maximum optionality and maximum opportunity to adjust the contingencies, should they emerge”.
(With inputs from Reuters)
