Star Metro - Iran vows 'crushing' attacks on US after Trump threats

The war, which erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread throughout the Middle East and roiled the global economy, impacting hundreds of millions worldwide.

In a prime-time White House address, Trump said the US was "very close" to achieving its objectives but warned attacks would intensify if Iran did not reach a negotiated settlement.

"Over the next two to three weeks, we are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong," said Trump in a 19-minute speech delivered in front of American flags.

Iran's response was immediate, with Israeli air defences pressed into action and police responding to "several" impact sites, as four people were reportedly lightly injured in the Tel Aviv area.

The Iranian military command centre Khatam Al-Anbiya put out a statement carried on state TV warning the US and Israel to expect "more crushing, broader, and more destructive actions".

"With trust in Almighty God, this war will continue until your humiliation, disgrace, permanent and certain regret, and surrender," said the statement.

The latest attacks came as Jewish Israelis were celebrating Passover, which some were forced to do underground.

"This is not my first choice," said a writer who gave his name as Jeffrey, at a meal organised in a bunker in Tel Aviv.

"But at least in the shelter, we can sit here and just ride it out," he added.

- 'Resist until the end' -

Trump has recently raised the possibility of a deal to end the war, which has pushed up fuel prices in the US and around the world, and pushed down his approval ratings.

He said talks could be possible with Iran's new leadership, which he described as "less radical and much more reasonable" than their predecessors.

But Tehran has dismissed Washington's ceasefire overtures, describing US demands to end the conflict as "maximalist and irrational".

"Messages have been received through intermediaries, including Pakistan, but there is no direct negotiation with the US," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, quoted by the ISNA news agency on Thursday.

Trump warned that if no agreement with Tehran was struck, Washington had "our eyes on key targets including the country's electric generating plants".

Pro-government Iranians voiced defiance as they marched in Tehran at the funeral of a Revolutionary Guards naval commander killed in an Israeli strike.

"This war has lasted a month. However long it takes, we will continue," said Moussa Nowruzi, a 57-year-old pensioner.

"We will resist until the end."

In Lebanon, militant group Hezbollah said its fighters launched drones and rockets at northern Israel Thursday, with the Israeli military's Home Front Command saying air raid sirens were activated.

A day earlier, Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander, two sources told AFP, in a Beirut strike that the Lebanese health ministry said killed seven people.

Authorities in Lebanon say Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,300 people in the country since war erupted between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah on March 2.

- 'Oxygen for volatility' -

The conflict has drawn in Gulf countries once seen as a safe haven in a volatile region, with air defences in the United Arab Emirates responding to missile and drone "threats" Thursday.

Trump vowed the United States would not allow allies in the region -- Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain -- to "get hurt or fail in any way, shape or form".

The war has highlighted the importance of the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping lane through which one-fifth of the world's oil usually passes.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have vowed to keep it shut to the country's "enemies" while Trump has made reopening it a condition for a ceasefire.

Britain will lead a summit of 35 countries later Thursday to discuss how to restore freedom of navigation in the strait.

Trump's speech did nothing to reassure markets, as oil prices spiked and stocks tumbled.

The message was "unmistakably one of unfinished business", said Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset Management.

"And in markets, unfinished business is oxygen for volatility."

The World Bank's Managing Director Paschal Donohoe told AFP his institution was "extremely concerned" about the war's impact on inflation, jobs and food security.

The real world economic impact is being felt around the globe, with airlines in China saying they will hike fuel surcharges and Malaysian civil servants being asked to work from home.

Even the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is feeling the impact, with the government saying "external conditions beyond our control" had forced a hike in fuel prices.

AFP reporters in the capital Thimphu saw long queues at filling stations Thursday, with shortages hitting the landlocked nation of around 800,000 people.

"I don't know what to say. It's not like our government is responsible, they are trying their best despite the war in the Middle East and price hike in India," said Karma Kalden, 40, a resident of Thimphu.

"We are helpless."

burs-ric/axn

S.Belanger--SMC