Iran says will hit economic targets in the region
Iran's military on Wednesday vowed to strike US and Israeli banks and economic centres in the region, after overnight attacks hit a bank in Tehran.
"Last night, the American and Zionist terrorist army, after failing in their military objectives, targeted one of the country's banks," a spokesperson for the military's central operational command, Khatam al-Anbiya.
"People in the region should not be within a one kilometre radius of the banks."
Air strikes hit an administrative building linked to Bank Sepah, one of Iran's largest public banks, in the capital, killing an unspecified number of employees, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.
All HSBC branches in Qatar were closed until further notice to ensure the safety of staff and customers, a text message to customers on Wednesday read.
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Citi, the US financial services group, asked its Dubai employees to evacuate their offices on Wednesday "due to heightened security concerns".
Employees were asked to evacuate Citi offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and in the Oud Metha neighbourhood, a source with knowledge of the evacuations told AFP.
Employees at two other companies in DIFC told AFP their offices had also been evacuated as a precaution following Iran's threats.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it would launch a barrage of missiles towards Israel that would be the "most violent" and heaviest since the start of the war on 28 February.
"The war will not stop until the threat is eliminated or the enemy surrenders completely," the IRGC said in its statement.
Israel's national emergency services reported that 29 Israelis were wounded in a stampede during overnight Iranian strikes.
Iran continued its attacks on Gulf countries on Wednesday, with two drones downed in the vicinity of Dubai airport, wounding four people, Dubai's media office said.
A bulk carrier was meanwhile hit by an unknown projectile 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.
The crew were reported safe and well, and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said.
Eight drones were also shot down in Kuwait, while two drones heading towards Shaybah oil field east of Saudi Arabia were intercepted, as was a missile attack in Qatar.
A drone struck a major American diplomatic facility in Iraq on Tuesday, the Washington Post reported.
Six drones were launched toward the diplomatic support centre, located near the Baghdad airport and Iraqi military bases. One of the drones hit the facility, while the five others were intercepted.
In central Iran, Al Jazeera reported a “bloody night” of bombing targeting archaeological and historical sites in Isfahan, citing the governor of the province.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes have killed 570 people in Lebanon since the regional war spread to the country on 2 March, the health ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry provided a demographic breakdown of those killed, reporting that 439 of them were men, 45 women, and 86 children. The toll includes 14 healthcare workers.
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