The American people whether the conflict was truly putting “America First,” accusing Washington of war crimes and of being influenced by Israel.
In an open letter posted on social media, he also said ordinary Americans were not Iran’s enemy, “even in the face of repeated foreign interventions and pressures.”
– Passover –
Tehran announced Wednesday evening another barrage of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases in the Gulf, striking Israeli cities including Tel Aviv and Eilat as well as US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Israel’s military said early Thursday its air defences were operating to intercept the incoming fire.
As Israel prepared for the Passover holiday, which began at sunset Wednesday, air-raid sirens sounded repeatedly in the Tel Aviv area.
Emergency services said an Iranian missile attack Wednesday morning wounded 14 people, including an 11-year-old girl.
The Revolutionary Guards also confirmed hitting an oil tanker in the Gulf they said belonged to Israel; a British maritime security agency said the vessel was struck off Qatar, reporting damage but no casualties.
– ‘Cruel and ruthless’ –
An AFP journalist reported huge explosions in Tehran on Wednesday afternoon and earlier strikes near the former US embassy.
Iranian media said an airport in Isfahan province and steel complexes elsewhere in the country had been damaged.
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei — not seen publicly since his father was killed in an airstrike on the war’s first day — said “the cruel and ruthless American and Zionist enemy knows no human, moral or vital limits.”
Thousands of Iranians gathered in Tehran for the funeral of the Guards’ naval commander, killed in an Israeli airstrike. “We will resist until the end,” said Moussa Nowruzi, a 57-year-old mourner.
In Lebanon, seven people were killed in strikes around south Beirut, with the Israeli military saying it had struck a senior Hezbollah commander.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli attacks had killed more than 1,300 people in the country since war erupted between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah on March 2.
Across the Gulf, strikes caused a large fire at Kuwait’s international airport, Bahrain reported a blaze at a business facility, and Saudi Arabia said several drones were intercepted. A Bangladeshi national was killed by shrapnel from an intercepted drone in the United Arab Emirates.
