Iran said that if its infrastructure is attacked again, it will no longer exercise restraint and shoot down a US F-35 fighter jet. The US military may seize the island and force Iran to open Hormuz.

# Li Dan

Source: Wall Street CN

Iran stated that the 64th wave of offensives targeted facilities including oil refineries and troop assembly areas in Israel’s Haifa region, and its missiles also precisely struck the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet; it has only used “a small portion of its capabilities” in response to Israeli attacks on Iranian infrastructure so far. Reports indicate a 2,200-strong U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit has been deployed to the Middle East, potentially to seize Kharg Island and other islands near the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military said an F-35 fighter jet conducting missions over Iran made an emergency landing. The Israeli military launched airstrikes on Bandar Anzali, a port city on Iran’s Caspian Sea coast, for the first time, destroying several naval vessels. The Israeli prime minister said military operations against Iran will continue as long as necessary, and the war will end much faster than people expect. The Israeli military chief of staff said Israel’s military operations against Iran are “not even halfway done.” The U.S. defense secretary said he has requested the White House to approve more than $200 billion in funding for operations against Iran.

On Thursday, March 19, the 20th day of U.S. and Israeli military strikes against Iran, the intensity of the conflict continued to rise. Multiple media outlets noted that the current strikes have evolved from “military suppression” to a “high-intensity war of attrition,” with the impact on social systems and civilian infrastructure continuing to expand.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran announced on Thursday that the war between Iran and the United States and Israel has entered a “new stage.” According to CCTV, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi warned that if domestic infrastructure is attacked again, Iran will exercise “zero restraint”; satellite images released by Iran show that U.S. military facilities and equipment in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Iraq have been damaged.

Meanwhile, according to Xinhua News Agency, Israeli military spokesman Efi Devlin said on Wednesday that Israel will continue to “hunt down” all senior Iranian officials; on Thursday, the Israeli military launched airstrikes on Bandar Anzali, a port city on Iran’s Caspian Sea coast, destroying several naval vessels—marking the first strike on this region in the current conflict and extending the scope of attacks further north. Citing U.S. media, CCTV reported that the U.S. military may seize Kharg Island, Iran’s key oil export hub, to force Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Neither Israel nor the United States has shown signs of ending military operations in the near term, but leaders of both countries have made some remarks to calm the markets.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said at a press conference on Thursday that after 20 days of U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, Iran no longer has the capability to enrich uranium or manufacture ballistic missiles, but military operations against Iran will continue until necessary. According to CCTV, Israeli military chief of staff Zamir said in an internal discussion that Israel’s military operations against Iran have “not even reached the halfway point.”

However, according to Xinhua News Agency, Netanyahu said at the aforementioned press conference that Israel will “comply” with U.S. President Trump’s request to suspend airstrikes on Iran’s energy facilities. Reports added that Netanyahu also said the war will end much faster than people expect. Earlier, Trump said he had told Israel not to attack energy facilities inside Iran anymore and that he would not deploy troops anywhere.

International vigilance has also risen in tandem. UN Secretary-General Guterres made an urgent call for a ceasefire at the EU summit in Brussels, and the EU explicitly refused to provide legal support for relevant military operations. As the conflict enters its 20th day, without effective diplomatic intervention, the Middle East risks falling into prolonged high-intensity confrontation and even triggering a larger regional war.

## Iran: 64th Wave of Offensives Precisely Strikes U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet; U.S. F-35 Fighter Jet Hit and Severely Damaged

According to Xinhua News Agency, the IRGC issued a statement on Thursday, March 19, announcing the launch of the 63rd wave of offensives under **Operation True Promise-4**, which “set fire” to a series of U.S.-related oil facilities in the Middle East. The statement clearly stated that the war between Iran and the United States and Israel has entered a “new stage.”

The IRGC said in the statement that Iran had no intention of expanding the war to oil facilities or harming the economies of friendly neighboring countries, but “due to the enemy’s attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure,” it had to take reciprocal countermeasures. The statement warned that if such attacks occur again, Iran will “continue to attack your energy infrastructure and that of your allies until they are completely destroyed.”

The IRGC subsequently announced that starting early Thursday morning, it launched the 64th wave of offensives under **Operation True Promise-4** against central and northern Israel.

According to Xinhua News Agency, citing a statement posted by the IRGC on social media, targets of this wave of attacks include Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel, oil refineries and troop assembly areas in the Haifa region, fuel supply facilities, and logistics assembly zones. Multiple types of missiles, including **Karrar**, **Emad**, and **Khorramshahr**, were used, and the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet was also precisely struck.

The statement also noted that the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet was hit by its missiles and emphasized that the operation is still ongoing.

According to CCTV News, the IRGC stated that at 2:50 a.m. Thursday, a U.S. F-35 fighter jet was hit and severely damaged by the IRGC’s new advanced air defense system in central Iranian airspace.

## U.S. Defense Secretary: Requested White House Approval for Over $200 Billion in Funding for Iran Operations

Reports indicate that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday, March 19, that since launching military strikes against Iran on February 28, the U.S. objectives in the war against Iran have remained unchanged—“consistent, precise, and proceeding as planned.”

The reports mentioned that Pentagon data shows the United States has struck more than 7,000 targets inside Iran so far, hitting more than 40 Iranian mine-laying boats and 11 submarines. Separately, U.S. Central Command statistics show that as of the 18th, U.S. forces have launched strikes on more than 7,800 Iranian targets.

Regarding military expenditure, according to CCTV News, at a briefing on U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran on Thursday, Hegseth confirmed that the U.S. Department of Defense has requested the White House to approve a funding application totaling more than $200 billion for military operations against Iran.

At the briefing, Hegseth declined to say when or how U.S. military operations would end, stating he “does not want to set a timeline” but that “U.S. forces are proceeding as planned”; Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said the United States will continue large-scale combat operations in Iran. Iran possessed a large arsenal at the start of the conflict and still retains some missile capabilities.

Earlier, citing U.S. media reports on Wednesday, Xinhua News Agency reported that the U.S. Department of Defense had requested the White House to approve a funding application totaling more than $200 billion for military operations against Iran, aimed at “urgently increasing production of key weapons and equipment” to replenish expended ammunition.

The United States previously disclosed that in the first six days of military operations, U.S. forces spent more than $11.3 billion, with ammunition consumption far exceeding publicly announced levels. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said U.S. Apache AH-64 helicopters have continued to strike Iranian-backed militia groups inside Iraq.

However, signals from within the United States are not unified. Citing U.S. media reports on Wednesday, Xinhua News Agency reported that U.S. officials revealed Trump wants Israel to stop launching airstrikes on Iran’s energy facilities. Trump himself said on social media on Wednesday that the United States “knew nothing” about Israel’s attacks on Iranian oil and gas facilities and that Qatar was not involved in the attacks in any way. But according to U.S. media reports on Wednesday, Trump was informed of Israel’s relevant attack plans in advance and expressed support.

According to CCTV News, CIA Director Ratcliffe said on Thursday that Israel did not force the United States to take action regarding the attacks on Iran. According to Xinhua News Agency, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Gabbard said on Wednesday that after the United States bombed Iranian nuclear facilities in June last year, Iran did not attempt to rebuild its uranium enrichment capabilities, and the Iranian regime “remains intact but severely weakened.”

## International Community: Calls for Ceasefire, Refusal to Be Involved

International concerns over the escalating conflict continue to deepen.

According to Xinhua News Agency, UN Secretary-General Guterres, while attending the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, March 19, called on the United States and Israel to immediately end the war against Iran, warning that the war “is at risk of spiraling completely out of control,” causing immense suffering to civilians and severely impacting the global economy, particularly affecting the least developed countries. Guterres also noted that Iran must stop attacks on neighboring countries that are not parties to the conflict, and the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz has brought great suffering to countless innocent people.

The EU has taken a clear stance. According to Xinhua News Agency, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell said on Thursday that the use of force against Iran lacks legal basis under international law—neither based on the need for self-defense nor authorized by the UN Security Council—and EU member states “have no interest in being involved in this war” and have no intention of expanding the Red Sea escort operation to the Strait of Hormuz.

Xinhua News Agency reported that French President Macron called for an immediate halt to attacks on civilian infrastructure such as energy and water facilities in Middle Eastern countries. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova said Russia condemns the attacks on the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in southern Iran.

At the regional level, according to Xinhua News Agency, foreign ministers of 12 countries—Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates—held a ministerial consultation meeting in Riyadh, calling on Iran to immediately stop attacks.

Saudi Arabia said its capital Riyadh was hit by ballistic missiles late Wednesday, with its air defense system intercepting and destroying four ballistic missiles—marking the first widespread air defense alert in Riyadh’s urban area since the current conflict began.

According to Huanqiu.com, citing U.S. media, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in an interview on Thursday that he called on Trump to immediately implement a ceasefire and end the war in the Middle East.

QatarEnergy said on Wednesday that the Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar caught fire due to Iranian missile attacks, causing extensive damage. The Qatari Foreign Ministry has officially declared the military attaché and relevant personnel of the Iranian Embassy in Qatar as “persona non grata” and ordered them to leave the country within 24 hours.

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