DUBAI, U.A.E.: Iran continued its attacks on its Middle East Arab neighbors, hitting a tanker off the coast of Qatar and Kuwait International Airport early on April 1.
Israel warned that attacks could come from both Yemen and Iran, while also carrying out its own strikes in Lebanon that killed at least five people.
Iran reduced ship movement through the strait that connects the Persian Gulf to the open sea after being attacked by the U.S. and Israel on February 28. Normally, about 20 percent of the world's oil passes through this route. Since the war began, global oil prices have risen by over 40 percent, reaching more than US$104 per barrel.
In Kuwait, a government news agency reported that a drone hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, causing a large fire that emergency teams were trying to control.
In Saudi Arabia, two drones were shot down. In Israel, air raid sirens went off, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Israel said it struck a facility in Iran that produces fentanyl, a strong synthetic drug, claiming it could be used in a chemical weapons program. Iran confirmed the attack on the Tofigh Daru factory but said it only makes medicines for hospitals. Both sides said the strike took place on Tuesday.
Fentanyl is widely used in hospitals to treat severe pain, but even a small amount can be deadly. Israel and the U.S. have accused Iran in recent years of trying to use fentanyl in weapons.
In Beirut, an Israeli airstrike killed at least five people and injured 21 others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Israel had earlier invaded southern Lebanon after the Iran-backed Hezbollah group started firing missiles into northern Israel, soon after the wider war began. Many people in Lebanon now fear a long military occupation.
According to officials, more than 1,200 people have been killed in Lebanon and over one million displaced. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.
In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 people have died in Israel.
Since the war with Iran started, 13 U.S. troops have been killed and 348 injured, including six seriously, according to U.S. Central Command.
An airstrike in Tehran on the morning of April 1 appears to have hit inside the former U.S. Embassy compound.
The compound has been under the control of Iran's Revolutionary Guard since the 1979 hostage crisis. Its Basij volunteer force now uses it for activities including running an anti-American museum.
Witnesses reported shattered windows around the large compound on Taleghani Street, but no clear signs of a missile hitting from outside. They believe the strike happened inside the compound.
