.png?locale=en)
Alsharq Tribune- Ahmed Essam
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said Saturday the war with Tehran was entering a "decisive phase", praising US strikes on what Washington called military targets on Iran's Kharg Island oil export hub.
"The global and regional struggle against Iran, led by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is escalating and entering the decisive phase that will continue as long as necessary," Katz told military top brass in a televised statement.
United States forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island in Iran on Friday night, the US Central Command said on Saturday.
"US Forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets," CENTCOM said. The Pentagon says more than 15,000 targets in Iran have been hit by the US and Israel in two weeks.
A report on Thursday said the first six days alone cost the US $11.3 billion and it has lost 13 military personnel. Israel's military said it conducted 7,600 strikes on Iran, mostly against its missile program.
US media raised the possibility of a ground invasion, with the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporting the Pentagon had dispatched the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the region with some 2,500 Marines.
