War on Iran ignites broader Wasia blaze, region teeters

From Lebanon to Gulf, Hezbollah joins war as bases, energy sites hit

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Plumes of smoke from two simultaneous strikes rise over Tehran, Iran | AP

(AP)

THE war in the West Asia spiraled further into uncertainty on Monday as Israel and the US pounded Iran after Tehran hit Israel, neighbouring Gulf states, and targets critical to the world’s oil and natural gas supply.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah entered the fray and the top commander in Lebanon of the Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, was reportedly killed by an Israeli airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut.

Tehran’s streets have been largely deserted with people sheltering during airstrikes. The paramilitary Basij force, which has played a central role in crushing recent nationwide protests, set up checkpoints across the city, according to witnesses.

Washington's senior military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, told reporters that US forces had achieved air superiority over Iran to “allow them to continue the work”.

A black smoke rose from the US embassy complex in Kuwait as Iran pressed on with attacks it launched in retaliation for the US and Israeli campaign that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Also in Kuwait, a US base and a power station were targeted, while three US F-15e Strike Eagle jets were downed by friendly fire. The pilots and weapons officers survived.