Zürcher Nachrichten - Israel says Iran war entering 'decisive phase'

Black smoke rose above Washington's embassy in Iraq, AFP journalists saw, the second time it has been targeted since February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran and plunged the Gulf into a conflict that has sent shockwaves through the global economy.

Millions have been displaced by waves of drone, missile and aerial bombing, while more than 1,200 people have reportedly been killed in Iran, with little sign of the conflict slowing down as it entered its third week.

Clouds of dark black smoke were also rising Saturday from Fujairah, home to a major Emirati oil storage and export terminal, shortly after Iran's military warned UAE civilians to avoid port areas.

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said the war was entering a "decisive phase", even if he cautioned that it would "continue as long as necessary".

Yet, despite facing superior US and Israeli firepower, Iran appears determined to fight on. It has launched missile and drone attacks against at least 10 of is neighbours and has choked off traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

Israel's army warned people in an industrial zone of Tabriz in northern Iran to evacuate, signalling an imminent attack.

The hit on the US embassy in Baghdad followed strikes against the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah, killing two members including a "key figure", security sources said.

President Donald Trump said Friday that US forces had struck Iran's Kharg Island, its biggest oil export hub, and "obliterated every MILITARY target" while sparing its energy facilities.

Iranian media confirmed the island's oil facilities were unaffected. Iran had threatened US-linked oil and energy firms would be "turned into a pile of ashes" if they were hit.

- Hormuz escorts 'soon' -

Iran's threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have brought traffic to a virtual halt on a route that normally carries one fifth of global oil supplies.

Trump said the US Navy would start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz "very soon", but governments around the world fear a prolonged blow to their economies with crude oil prices up more than 40 percent since the war began.

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas called on Saturday for Iran to refrain from targeting neighbouring countries, in a rare breach between the allies, though it affirmed Tehran's right to defend itself.

Qatar said it intercepted two missiles over the capital's downtown area on Saturday and evacuated key areas after blasts were heard by AFP journalists in Doha.

Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said its forces had intercepted dozens of drones on Friday.

- 'Defeated' -

Strikes have continued in Iran, with heavy blasts shaking Tehran late Friday.

Iran's health ministry says more than 1,200 people have been killed by US and Israeli attacks, numbers that could not be independently verified.

The UN refugee agency has estimated that up to 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since the war started.

Trump described Iran as "totally defeated" and in search of a deal he was unwilling to consider.

The Pentagon says more than 15,000 targets in Iran have been hit by the US and Israel in two weeks.

A report on Thursday said the first six days alone cost the US $11.3 billion and it has lost 13 military personnel.

Israel's military said it conducted 7,600 strikes on Iran, mostly against its missile programme.

US media raised the possibility of a ground invasion, with the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporting the Pentagon had dispatched the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the region with some 2,500 Marines.

Iran's rulers appear intent on showing they will survive the war and maintain control, despite their supreme leader Ali Khamenei being killed on day one.

Khamenei's son Mojtaba Khamenei was named the new supreme leader, but has been absent from public view and is reportedly wounded.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened a heavy crackdown on any anti-government protests.

Thousands were killed in mass demonstrations in January, and a near-total internet blackout has been imposed since since the war began.

- 'Existential battle' -

Beyond the Gulf, Turkey said NATO forces shot down a ballistic missile launched from Iran -- the third such interception in the war.

Lebanon has also been drawn into the war.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel from Lebanon after Khamenei's death and its leader, Naim Qassem, has called the current conflict an "existential battle".

Israel has responded with air and ground assaults, killing at least 773 people according to the Lebanese authorities, and issuing evacuation orders that have displaced hundreds of thousands.

An overnight strike in southern Lebanon killed a dozen doctors, paramedics and nurses at a healthcare clinic, health authorities said Saturday.

T.Gerber--NZN