Iran lawmaker says Strait of Hormuz will never reopen

Ali Nikzad, deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, said on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic would not let go of Donald Trump until it had taken “revenge for the blood” of Muslims around the world.

He added that the Strait of Hormuz would “never reopen” and said no negotiations had taken place and none would take place.

Nikzad also warned that if the attacks continued, “we will leave no fuel source for the enemy.”

Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said on Wednesday that Israel’s strikes on the Islamic Republic had been “deep and systematic.”

“We achieved a combined and deadly success that, alongside the attacks of our American partners, delivered a severe blow to Iran. We destroyed a large part of their chain of command, seriously damaged their command-and-control capabilities as well as their weapons production capacity, reduced their ability to launch missiles at Israeli citizens, and created unprecedented freedom of action for the Israeli military in Iranian skies and in other arenas,” Zamir said.

In a separate summary marking the end of the first month of the war, the Israeli military said it had carried out more than 800 offensive air force sorties using around 16,000 munitions, killed more than 2,000 members of Iran’s military and command structure, and struck more than 4,000 targets.

It said the opening blow of the operation, which it described as unforgettable, included the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and about 40 other senior officials in less than a minute.

It added that simultaneous strikes were also carried out on the intelligence ministry and the defense council, and that the largest operational flight in Israeli air force history was launched on the same day.

The Israeli military said the opening phase of the operation, dubbed “Bereshit” – the first word of the Torah typically translated as "In the beginning" – involved around 200 fighter jets, hundreds of munitions and about 500 targets, and that it secured air superiority in Iran within 24 hours.

It also said it targeted a secret Revolutionary Guards meeting at a hotel in Beirut in the second week of the war, killing five senior commanders from the Guards’ Lebanon and Palestine corps, branches of the Quds Force.

According to the statement, several other key figures in the Islamic Republic were targeted in the third and fourth weeks of the war.

The Islamic Republic launched missile and drone attacks in recent hours on Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel.

Kuwait’s state news agency reported that an Iranian drone strike hit fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport, causing a large fire but no casualties. Initial reports pointed only to material damage at facilities belonging to the Kuwait Aviation Fueling Company.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said a vessel about 31 km north of Qatar’s Ras Laffan was hit by two projectiles, one of which did not explode. The other caused a fire on board that has since been brought under control.

Hours earlier, the same body said a tanker about 31 km north of Doha had been struck by an unidentified projectile, damaging the hull above the waterline. The crew was safe and no environmental impact was reported.

Bahrain’s interior ministry also reported a fire at a company facility following an Iranian attack but gave no further details.

Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said two drones had been intercepted in recent hours.

The Israeli military said several missiles had been launched from Iran toward Israel and that interception efforts were under way. It also said a missile had been fired at Israel from Yemen.

Iranian media reported that the former US Embassy building in Tehran was targeted in an attack early on Wednesday, and said the United States had struck the site.

According to witness accounts cited by the reports, the eastern side of the compound at the intersection of Taleghani and South Mofatteh streets was damaged.

Officials have not yet released details about the attack or the extent of the damage.

The former US Embassy was turned into a museum after it was seized in November 1979 and has since been largely controlled by institutions linked to the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij.

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A tanker struck off Qatar was hit by two projectiles, one of which caused a fire that has since been extinguished, while the other remained unexploded in the vessel’s engine room, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Wednesday.

The vessel was hit about 17 nautical miles north of Qatar’s Ras Laffan industrial hub, sustaining damage above the waterline.

UKMTO said the crew was safe and no environmental impact had been reported.

The incident came amid growing threats to maritime traffic as the US-Israel conflict with Iran intensifies across the region. Kuwait said on Tuesday that one of its fully loaded oil tankers was targeted off Dubai, triggering a fire.