MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/. Iran retains a large ballistic missile arsenal and is resuming production, raising concerns that the conflict with the United States and Israel could escalate further; the United States may attempt to destabilize Cuba to prompt a change of power on the island; and the European Union may delay its planned ban on Russian LNG imports if supply shortages jeopardize energy security. These stories topped Wednesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Iran still possesses an arsenal of up to 2,500 ballistic missiles of various ranges and continues to restore their production. An Israeli military source told Izvestia that such a volume of weaponry could prolong the operation against Tehran far longer than its initiators had anticipated. The conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran has already turned within days from a localized confrontation into a full-fledged regional crisis.
On March 3, Israel expanded the geography of the conflict by announcing the start of a ground operation in Lebanon and launching strikes on more than 160 Hezbollah targets. Meanwhile, Donald Trump effectively acknowledged the failure of a plan to reshape Iran: according to him, individuals whom the United States had seen as an alternative to the current authorities were killed in US strikes. Nevertheless, he still announced a "third wave" of attacks.
