Iran's Pezeshkian says Trump's 'Stone Age' threat amounts to war crime

TEHRAN: Iranian President Dr Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday that threats by United States President Donald Trump to send his country back to the "Stone Age" amounted to a war crime.

In a post on X, he said: "Does threatening to send an entire nation back to the Stone Age mean anything other than a massive war crime? This was the question I asked my Finnish counterpart, who is a jurist. History is full of those who paid a heavy price for their silence in the face of criminals."

Meanwhile, the US president said in a post on Truth Social that the country could easily take the Strait of Hormuz "with a little more time".

Iranian missiles hit Israel's oil hub Haifa, injuring six

Six people were injured, and several houses were damaged in northern Israel in an Iranian missile attack on Friday, Israeli media reported.

A 79-year-old individual was wounded as the missile hit Haifa and Kiryat Ata, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Al Jazeera reports that Israeli medical sources say six people were injured, and another was hit by stones from the shockwave of an explosion.

The attack came after the Lebanese group Hezbollah launched 15 rocket attacks, triggering sirens in northern Israel.

Haifa is a strategically important city in Israel with a large number of residents. It is also home to Israel’s most important oil refinery, processing 70% of the country’s refining capacity.

It has already been hit twice during the war.

Strikes in Gulf countries

Kuwait said an Iranian attack damaged a desalination plant, and the attack came after an oil refinery was hit by drones on Friday morning. About 90% of drinking water in Kuwait comes from desalination.

The attack comes some days after US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb the remaining desalination plants in Iran. Last month, the US attacked an Iranian desalination plant.

Falling debris from an intercepted projectile has caused a fire at the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Habshan gas facility, a gas processing complex, the Abu Dhabi Media Office says.

“Operations have been suspended while authorities respond to a fire. No injuries have been reported,” it added in a post on X.

Anadolu Agency reports that the UAE and Saudi Arabia came under a new wave of drone attacks Friday, with both countries reporting interceptions.

The UAE Defence Ministry said air defence systems were “actively engaging” incoming missiles and drones.

“The sounds heard across the country are the result of ongoing engaging operations of missiles and UAVs,” it said in a post on the US social media platform X.

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said in separate X posts that its forces intercepted and destroyed 14 drones during the latest attacks.

Iran said Friday it carried out a ballistic missile strike targeting a gathering of US aviation personnel in the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Guard said it conducted a “precise strike” on what it described as a secret meeting site for American aviation engineers and military pilots outside a base in the UAE, without providing further details.

The statement said field reports and heavy ambulance activity indicated the attack caused “a large number of deaths and injuries,” but did not specify figures.