<p>U.S. and Israeli forces expanded their bombardment of Iran late Saturday, including with strikes on fuel depots near Tehran, as Iran's de facto leader vowed to continue retaliatory strikes and to make the nation's enemies "pay the price" for attacking it.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the attacks on fuel depots, which appeared to be the first on Iran's energy infrastructure since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran last weekend, were part of Israel's attempts to reach "many more targets" in order to destabilize Iran's government and "allow for change."</p>.More strikes aimed at Iran after Khamenei's death, Trump issues new warning.<p>The Israeli military said it had targeted the fuel depots because they were being used by Iran's military. U.S. forces on Saturday intensified strikes into Iran against a swath of military targets, including Iran's Revolutionary Guard, air defenses and missiles, a senior U.S. military official said.</p>.<p>Iran's de facto leader, Ali Larijani, a close confidant of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's, said that Iran was determined to avenge the killing of the leader, who died Feb. 28, the first day of the U.S.-Israeli campaign of airstrikes against Iran. Larijani said the United States "must pay the price."</p>.<p>"Americans must know that we will not let them go," Larijani said on national television, as the war entered a second week. "Our people are with us, our leadership is united, there is no division in fighting Israel and America."</p>.<p>Earlier, President Donald Trump blamed Iran for an airstrike that hit an elementary school in Iran on Feb. 28, killing scores of children. "In my opinion, based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran," he said, adding, "They have no accuracy whatsoever."</p>.Iran attacks breach international law, Swiss Defence Minister says.<p>A New York Times visual investigation indicates that the school was most likely hit by a U.S. airstrike.</p>.<p>Trump also said aboard Air Force One on Saturday that he had ruled out involving Kurdish forces in the war against Iran, telling reporters "we don't want to make the war any more complex." Two days ago, he said that he would be "all in" for the Kurds launching an offensive.</p>.<p>When asked whether he would consider sending ground troops into Iran to secure its nuclear facilities, Trump said that "at some point maybe we will." He added: "It would be a great thing, but right now we're just decimating them. We haven't gone after it, but it's something we could do later on. We wouldn't do it now, maybe we'd do it later on."</p>.<p>Iran kept up its retaliatory strikes, sending missiles and drones into Arab states on the Persian Gulf. Air-raid sirens rang out in Bahrain and Qatar. The United Arab Emirates reported Saturday evening that the country's forces were intercepting Iranian missiles and drones entering its territory.</p>.<p>Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it intercepted over 30 drones, many around the capital, Riyadh, in a series of social media statements early Sunday. It did not name the source of the attacks.</p>.<p>Iran's Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that it had launched attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets, including sites in Haifa, Israel, and in the marina area of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.</p>.<p><strong>Sad homecoming</strong></p><p>Trump watched solemnly as the remains of U.S. service members killed in the war with Iran arrived in the United States on Saturday in Delaware. The six Americans were Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien; Capt. Cody Khork; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens; and Sgt. Declan Coady. They were killed last Sunday in an Iranian drone attack in the Shuaiba port in Kuwait.</p>.<p><strong>Death toll</strong></p><p>The death toll in Iran also remained shrouded in uncertainty. Last week, the Red Crescent Society had said nearly 800 people had been killed, but it has not provided an official update to that figure in recent days. On Friday, Iran's ambassador to the U.N. put the number of dead at over 1,300.</p>.<p><strong>Beirut attacks</strong></p><p>Hezbollah fired a string of rocket and drone attacks into northern Israel on Saturday, and Israel said it had begun a new wave of airstrikes in Lebanon's Dahiya neighborhood, a Hezbollah stronghold. In Beirut's seaside neighborhood of Raouché, Lebanon's Ministry of Health said four people were killed and 10 wounded in an attack.</p>.<p><strong>Intelligence report</strong></p><p>A report by the National Intelligence Council completed before the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran predicted that even a large-scale military assault on the country would be unlikely to topple its theocratic government, according to U.S. officials briefed on the work.</p>.<p><strong>Iranian president's comments</strong></p><p>In a speech Saturday, the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, sought to blunt anger at Iran in the Arab world by apologizing to Persian Gulf nations for launching strikes into their territories. That comment appeared to prompt Trump to claim Iran had "surrendered to its Middle East neighbors." It also drew criticism from hard-liners in Iran, opening a window on a divide among Iran's ruling elite. Pezeshkian later modified his position. "We have not attacked our friendly and neighboring countries," he said on social media. "Rather, we have targeted U.S. military bases, facilities and installations in the region."</p>
<p>U.S. and Israeli forces expanded their bombardment of Iran late Saturday, including with strikes on fuel depots near Tehran, as Iran's de facto leader vowed to continue retaliatory strikes and to make the nation's enemies "pay the price" for attacking it.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the attacks on fuel depots, which appeared to be the first on Iran's energy infrastructure since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran last weekend, were part of Israel's attempts to reach "many more targets" in order to destabilize Iran's government and "allow for change."</p>.More strikes aimed at Iran after Khamenei's death, Trump issues new warning.<p>The Israeli military said it had targeted the fuel depots because they were being used by Iran's military. U.S. forces on Saturday intensified strikes into Iran against a swath of military targets, including Iran's Revolutionary Guard, air defenses and missiles, a senior U.S. military official said.</p>.<p>Iran's de facto leader, Ali Larijani, a close confidant of the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's, said that Iran was determined to avenge the killing of the leader, who died Feb. 28, the first day of the U.S.-Israeli campaign of airstrikes against Iran. Larijani said the United States "must pay the price."</p>.<p>"Americans must know that we will not let them go," Larijani said on national television, as the war entered a second week. "Our people are with us, our leadership is united, there is no division in fighting Israel and America."</p>.<p>Earlier, President Donald Trump blamed Iran for an airstrike that hit an elementary school in Iran on Feb. 28, killing scores of children. "In my opinion, based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran," he said, adding, "They have no accuracy whatsoever."</p>.Iran attacks breach international law, Swiss Defence Minister says.<p>A New York Times visual investigation indicates that the school was most likely hit by a U.S. airstrike.</p>.<p>Trump also said aboard Air Force One on Saturday that he had ruled out involving Kurdish forces in the war against Iran, telling reporters "we don't want to make the war any more complex." Two days ago, he said that he would be "all in" for the Kurds launching an offensive.</p>.<p>When asked whether he would consider sending ground troops into Iran to secure its nuclear facilities, Trump said that "at some point maybe we will." He added: "It would be a great thing, but right now we're just decimating them. We haven't gone after it, but it's something we could do later on. We wouldn't do it now, maybe we'd do it later on."</p>.<p>Iran kept up its retaliatory strikes, sending missiles and drones into Arab states on the Persian Gulf. Air-raid sirens rang out in Bahrain and Qatar. The United Arab Emirates reported Saturday evening that the country's forces were intercepting Iranian missiles and drones entering its territory.</p>.<p>Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it intercepted over 30 drones, many around the capital, Riyadh, in a series of social media statements early Sunday. It did not name the source of the attacks.</p>.<p>Iran's Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that it had launched attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets, including sites in Haifa, Israel, and in the marina area of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.</p>.<p><strong>Sad homecoming</strong></p><p>Trump watched solemnly as the remains of U.S. service members killed in the war with Iran arrived in the United States on Saturday in Delaware. The six Americans were Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien; Capt. Cody Khork; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens; and Sgt. Declan Coady. They were killed last Sunday in an Iranian drone attack in the Shuaiba port in Kuwait.</p>.<p><strong>Death toll</strong></p><p>The death toll in Iran also remained shrouded in uncertainty. Last week, the Red Crescent Society had said nearly 800 people had been killed, but it has not provided an official update to that figure in recent days. On Friday, Iran's ambassador to the U.N. put the number of dead at over 1,300.</p>.<p><strong>Beirut attacks</strong></p><p>Hezbollah fired a string of rocket and drone attacks into northern Israel on Saturday, and Israel said it had begun a new wave of airstrikes in Lebanon's Dahiya neighborhood, a Hezbollah stronghold. In Beirut's seaside neighborhood of Raouché, Lebanon's Ministry of Health said four people were killed and 10 wounded in an attack.</p>.<p><strong>Intelligence report</strong></p><p>A report by the National Intelligence Council completed before the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran predicted that even a large-scale military assault on the country would be unlikely to topple its theocratic government, according to U.S. officials briefed on the work.</p>.<p><strong>Iranian president's comments</strong></p><p>In a speech Saturday, the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, sought to blunt anger at Iran in the Arab world by apologizing to Persian Gulf nations for launching strikes into their territories. That comment appeared to prompt Trump to claim Iran had "surrendered to its Middle East neighbors." It also drew criticism from hard-liners in Iran, opening a window on a divide among Iran's ruling elite. Pezeshkian later modified his position. "We have not attacked our friendly and neighboring countries," he said on social media. "Rather, we have targeted U.S. military bases, facilities and installations in the region."</p>