US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US had disabled 42 Iranian navy ships, its air force and all communications amid the ongoing conflict between Israel, Iran and the US. He further claimed that “they are bad” and that the strikes “had to be done”.
POTUS made the remarks while speaking at the Shield of Americas Summit on Saturday.
On Saturday, Israel’s military said it had shot down 16 Iranian planes at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport, which it said was a key hub for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
“The Israeli Air Force… overnight completed a broad wave of strikes across Tehran and on military infrastructure located at the ‘Merabad Airport’ in Tehran,” AFP said, citing an Israeli military statement.
The latest development comes amid the ongoing Israeli-Iranian-US conflict, which entered its eighth day on Saturday.
Israel-Iran-US conflict
Iran launched retaliatory strikes after the US and Israel jointly attacked the Islamic Republic on Saturday, February 28. Blasts were reported across Abu Dhabi, Doha, Qatar and other key Middle Eastern centers – which are also home to US military bases.
Dubai airports were closed, most flights to and from Middle Eastern cities were canceled and thousands of travelers around the world were left stranded.
Fresh military activity was reported in the UAE in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
UAE intercepts 15 missiles, 119 drones
The United Arab Emirates said it intercepted 15 ballistic missiles and 119 drones as Iran continued its attacks, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted four drones targeting the country’s huge Shaybah oil field, the second attempted attack in a matter of hours, the AP reported.
Hours after the wiretapping, an Emirati official said the United Arab Emirates wanted Iran’s aggression against the Gulf states to end immediately.
“Any escalation is worrisome. We want to limit the war. We don’t want the war to expand. We want to start with the Iranians realizing that they are not helping themselves by attacking their entire neighborhood and stop there and realize that,” the official said, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Trump warned earlier in the day that Iran “will be hit very hard today” and promised “total destruction, death”.
