Daily brief about U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran: Day 11

CAIRO, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The deadly conflict in the Middle East entered its 11th day on Tuesday, with no letup in military exchanges between Iran, Israel and the United States. Meanwhile, there has been no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough among the relevant parties.

Here's a quick overview of the latest developments and the impact of the retaliatory attacks on countries directly caught up in the regional crisis:

The United States

-- U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News that it is still possible for Washington to negotiate with Tehran.

"It's possible, depends on what terms, possible, only possible ... You know, we sort of don't have to speak anymore, you know, if you really think about it, but it's possible," Trump said. The remarks came after Trump said Monday that the U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran would be over "very soon."

-- U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Tuesday will bring the "most intense" strikes against Iran since the war began, noting that "we will not relent" until Iran is "totally and decisively defeated."

Israel

-- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel is "not done yet" with its offensive against Iran, saying the attacks have severely weakened the capabilities of the Iranian government.

-- The Israeli military said it has begun a new series of airstrikes against Iranian government targets in Tehran. It said later that new missile salvos from Iran targeted the country, with air raid sirens activated in the north, center and south of the country, including Tel Aviv.

-- The Israeli military said Monday night that it struck the drone headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which was used to launch drones toward Israel.

Iran

-- Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the country is well-prepared to continue missile attacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the West Asia region for as long as needed.

Commenting on the selection of the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Araghchi said it showed the continuity of Iran's anti-U.S. and anti-Israel policies and the nation's stability.

Resuming negotiations with the United States is not an option, he said, citing "every bitter experience of talking with Americans" and saying he does not think it "would be on our agenda anymore."

-- Araghchi also held a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the situation in the Middle East.

-- Iran will use missiles and submarines to stop the movement of the fleet of the United States and its allies passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri said Tuesday in a post on social media platform X.

The post dismissed previous U.S. claims that its navy escorted oil tankers passing through the crucial waterway.

Iraq

-- The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority announced a new 72-hour extension of the country's airspace closure amid ongoing regional tensions.

-- Six members of Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) were killed and three others wounded in an unidentified airstrike in northern Iraq's Dibis district.

-- The Iraqi Foreign Ministry condemned recent attacks targeting diplomatic and consular missions in Baghdad and Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, considering these acts "reprehensible." The condemnation came after the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was targeted by rockets on Saturday evening, and three explosive-laden drones were shot down over the Kurdistan region's capital Erbil on Monday.

-- Two Iraqi airbases, Victoria base at Baghdad International Airport and Balad Airbase north of the capital, were targeted Tuesday evening by drone attacks, causing material damage, according to army sources.

Bahrain

-- The Bahrain Defense Force said its air defenses have intercepted and destroyed 105 missiles and 176 drones launched against it by Iran.

The United Arab Emirates

-- The Ruwais oil refinery, considered the largest single-site refinery in the Middle East and among the top four largest in the world, has been closed as part of precautionary measures following a drone attack, Bloomberg reported.

Earlier in the day, authorities in Abu Dhabi said a fire broke out at a facility in the Ruwais industrial complex after a drone attack, with no injuries reported so far.

-- The UAE's Defense Ministry said its air defense systems have detected 262 ballistic missiles, 1,475 drones, and eight cruise missiles since the start of what it described as Iranian attacks. Six nationals of the UAE, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh have been killed, and 122 residents of multiple nationalities have suffered moderate to minor injuries in the country.

Qatar

-- Qatar's Ministry of Defense said that the country had been targeted by five ballistic missiles launched from Iran in the afternoon, which were all intercepted and neutralized by its armed forces.

Saudi Arabia

-- Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned that the regional military escalation has caused a severe chain reaction in shipping and insurance, saying that prolonged disruption will worsen consequences for global oil markets and the wider economy.

About 17 percent of global oil supply normally transits the affected region, with disruptions so far amounting to nearly 80 million barrels, Nasser said, adding that the company's Ras Tanura oil refinery was shut down as a precaution after attacks, and that a small fire was extinguished quickly and the company is restarting the facility.

Jordan

-- Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held a phone conversation with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein to discuss the repercussions of the dangerous escalation in the region and ways to restore calm, with both sides stressing the need to intensify coordination and cooperation to protect regional security and stability.

Lebanon

-- Several points along the border area in southern Lebanon witnessed intense clashes in the morning hours between the Israeli army and Hezbollah members, according to Lebanese security and military sources.

-- Hezbollah said in Israel, it struck a military base southeast of Tel Aviv, the Giv'a drone control base east of the city of Safed, Yiftah barracks, and Tziporit base east of Haifa.

-- The death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon has risen to 570, with 1,444 others wounded since the escalation began on March 2, figures released on Tuesday by the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Lebanese Council of Ministers showed.

The conflict has triggered large-scale displacement across the country. About 759,300 people have been registered as displaced, according to government data.

Cyprus

-- Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos met with visiting German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, during which he said Europe should play an active diplomatic role in promoting de-escalation, stressing that Cyprus is "part of the answers and not part of any problem."

Türkiye

-- The Turkish defense ministry said a Patriot air defense system assigned by NATO to support the country's airspace has been deployed in the eastern province of Malatya and is being prepared for operational readiness.

-- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that any violation of Turkish airspace "cannot be excused." ■