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A new wave of strikes lights up the night in Tehran as Netanyahu vows 'many surprises'

By JON GAMBRELL, SAM MEDNICK and SAMY MAGDY  -  AP

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Iran war exploded further late Saturday as pillars of flame rose above an oil storage facility in Tehran and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “many surprises” for the next phase of the week-old conflict.

Iranian state media confirmed the strike, as Associated Press video showed the horizon glowing against the night sky. Israel’s military confirmed a new wave of strikes that shook neighborhoods in Tehran’s east and south but did not immediately comment on targets.

It appeared to be the first time a civil industrial facility has been targeted in the war.

Earlier, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized for attacks on “neighboring countries," even as its missiles and drones flew toward Gulf Arab states and hard-liners asserted that Tehran's war strategy wouldn't budge.

A rift between more pragmatic politicians looking to de-escalate the week-old war and others committed to battling the United States and Israel could complicate efforts to end the fighting. Conflicting statements involved two of the three members of the leadership council overseeing Iran since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the war's opening airstrikes.

U.S. allies in the Gulf have said the Trump administration did not give them adequate time to prepare for the war.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened that Iran would be “hit very hard” and more “areas and groups of people” would become targets, without elaborating. Already, the conflict has rattled global markets and left Iran’s leadership weakened by hundreds of Israeli and American airstrikes.

Along with his apology, Pezeshkian dismissed Trump’s call for Tehran to surrender unconditionally, saying: “That’s a dream that they should take to their grave.”

Iran makes varying statements on attacks

Pezeshkian’s message, seemingly filmed in a hurry, underlined the limited powers exercised by the theocracy’s leaders over the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which controls the hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel and other countries. It answered only to Khamenei and appears to be picking its own targets.

Pezeshkian’s statement said Iran's leadership council had been in touch with the armed forces over the attacks.

“I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” he said. “From now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy.”

The U.S. strikes haven’t been coming from the Gulf Arab governments under attack, but from U.S. bases and vessels in the region.

But hard-line judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, another member of the three-man leadership council, suggested that war strategy will not change.

“The geography of some countries in the region — both overtly and covertly — is in the hands of the enemy, and those points are used against our country in acts of aggression. Intense attacks on these targets will continue,” he posted on X.

“As long as the presence of U.S. bases in the region continue, the countries will not enjoy peace,” Iran’s Parliament speaker and a former Revolutionary Guard general, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on X. He called defense policies in line with the late supreme leader’s guidance.

Iran's U.N. mission later suggested, without offering evidence, that strikes on nonmilitary sites “may have resulted from interception by U.S. electronic defense systems.”

Iran's next supreme leader is yet to be named. Prominent cleric Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi urged Iran's Assembly of Experts responsible for that decision to act quickly.

US says more intense bombing lies ahead

Earlier, AP video showed explosions over western Tehran as Israel said it carried out another wave of strikes and struck a Tehran airport it said was used to transfer weapons and cash to militant groups.

“Tehran is under severe bombardment" and even people far from military and government targets are living in fear, said a university student in western Tehran, speaking on condition of anonymity for security concerns.

The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran, targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. The war's stated goals and timelines have repeatedly shifted as the U.S. has at times suggested it seeks to topple Iran’s government or elevate new leadership from within.

The fighting has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 290 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed.

Incoming missiles from Iran had people heading to bomb shelters again across Israel. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Strikes target Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Dubai

U.S. allies in the Gulf have said the Trump administration did not give them adequate time to prepare for the war.On Saturday, hours after Pezeshkian’s message, the United Arab Emirates said debris from an aerial interception fell onto a vehicle and killed an “Asian driver.” Four people have now been killed in the UAE since the war began. Authorities have said all were foreign nationals.

Sirens sounded early Saturday in Bahrain as Iran targeted the island kingdom. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed drones headed toward its vast Shaybah oil field and shot down a ballistic missile launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts U.S. forces.

In Dubai, several blasts were heard Saturday morning and the government said it had activated air defenses. Passengers waiting for flights at Dubai International Airport were ushered into train tunnels.

Long-haul carrier Emirates later said all flights to and from Dubai were suspended until further notice, but then said it would resume operations.

Fighting in Lebanon kills dozens

The Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with an Israeli force that landed late Friday in eastern Lebanon's mountains, and intense clashes and airstrikes lasted into Saturday.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes on Nabi Chit and nearby areas left at least 41 people dead and 40 wounded. The Lebanese army said the dead included three of its troops.

Israel did not acknowledge the fighting, and its military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Israel also has carried out waves of airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a large presence. It is home to hundreds of thousands of civilians.

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Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Magdy from Cairo, Egypt. Associated Press journalists Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo, Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, and Aamer Madhani in Doral, Florida, contributed reporting.

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