Saudi Arabia is latest target

IRAN expanded its military targets yesterday, striking the United States embassy in Saudi Arabia as Washington began to pull many staff out of the Middle East.

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The US and Israel battered Iran with air strikes in what US President Donald Trump suggested was just the start of a war that has severely disrupted the world’s supply of oil and gas, international shipping, and air travel.

The conflict escalated further on its fourth day, with Israel sending new ground troops into Lebanon and explosions ringing out in Iran’s capital, Tehran.

Hundreds of people have been killed, the vast majority in Iran. The spiralling nature of the war raised questions about when and how it would end. Mr Trump said it could last four to five weeks - but that the US was prepared to go longer. He seemed to leave open the possibility for more extensive US military involvement, telling the New York Post on Monday that he was not ruling out the possibility of boots on the ground.

Still, the US administration’s objectives remain unclear. The initial US-Israeli strikes last Saturday killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Mr Trump urged Iranians to overthrow their government.