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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — <\/span>Israel renewed its assault on southern Lebanon early Sunday as the war entered its ninth day and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a> promised \u201cmany surprises\u201d in the next phase of the conflict<\/a> rippling across the region.<\/p>\n The latest strikes in Lebanon killed 12 more people, pushing the death toll there above 300 after Israel ordered large swaths of the country to evacuate during an offensive that its military said would be aimed at stamping out Iran-supported forces there.<\/p>\n Israel and the United States launched the war on Feb. 28, saying they were targeting Iran\u2019s nuclear and missile programs and suggesting they sought to topple the government. The conflict has since spread across the region, rattling global markets, disrupting air travel and leaving Iran\u2019s leadership weakened by hundreds of Israeli and American airstrikes.<\/p>\n Iran has fired missiles and drones at neighboring countries in the Gulf, Israel has intensified attacks in Lebanon and strikes have reported from Cyprus to waters off of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out the next phase of the war late Saturday, saying Israel aims to destabilize Iran\u2019s regime and allow change in government, Israel launched another wave of strikes late Saturday, hitting an oil storage facility in Tehran \u2014 the first apparent strike on a civilian industrial site \u2014 sending pillars of fire into the night sky.<\/p>\n Iran has apologized for attacks on attacks on \u201cneighboring countries,\u201d<\/a> even as its missiles and drones continued striking sites in Gulf states \u2014 including attacks that have killed civilians \u2014 and hard-liners signaled Tehran would not change course.<\/p>\n President Masoud Pezeshkian again struck a conciliatory tone on Sunday, calling Iran\u2019s neighbors friends and brothers while accusing the United States and Israel of using \u201cmanipulation\u201d to sow discord between them in remarks aired on state television.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not bow our heads to bullying, injustice or intrusion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Pezeshkian and other Iranian leaders have underlined the limited powers exercised by the theocracy\u2019s leaders over the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard<\/a>, which controls ballistic missiles used to target Israel and other countries. It answered only to Khamenei and appears to be picking its own targets. The president is one three members of a leadership council that has overseen Iran since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a> was killed in the war\u2019s opening airstrikes.<\/p>\n A rift between politicians looking to de-escalate the war and others committed to battling the United States and Israel could complicate any diplomatic efforts.<\/p>\n Pezeshkian\u2019s remarks came a day after he said the leadership council had been in touch with the armed forces and \u201cfrom now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. strikes have not come from the Gulf Arab governments under attack, but from U.S. bases and vessels in the region.<\/p>\n But hard-line judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, another member of the three-man council, suggested that war strategy will not change.<\/p>\n \u201cThe geography of some countries in the region \u2014 both overtly and covertly \u2014 is in the hands of the enemy, and those points are used against our country in acts of aggression. Intense attacks on these targets will continue,\u201d he posted on X.<\/p>\n Pezeshkian also dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s call for Tehran to surrender unconditionally, saying: \u201cThat\u2019s a dream that they should take to their grave.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump threatened that Iran would be \u201chit very hard\u201d and more \u201careas and groups of people\u201d would become targets, without elaborating. Already, the conflict has rattled global markets<\/a> and left Iran\u2019s leadership<\/a> weakened by hundreds of Israeli and American airstrikes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not looking to settle,\u201d Trump told reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One. \u201cThey\u2019d like to settle. We\u2019re not looking to settle.\u201d<\/p>\n He described the ongoing U.S. operations in Iran as an \u201cexcursion\u201d and said issues such as rising gas prices and the safety of Americans would improve once the conflict ends.<\/p>\n The U.S. and Israel have targeted Iran\u2019s military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. The war\u2019s stated goals and timelines have repeatedly shifted<\/a> as the U.S. has at times suggested it seeks to topple Iran\u2019s government or elevate new leadership<\/a>.<\/p>\n The fighting has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 290 in Lebanon<\/a> and 11 in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops<\/a> have been killed.<\/p>\n After Pezeshkian\u2019s apology, Iranian strikes kept coming.<\/p>\n Bahrain says an Iranian drone attack caused \u201cmaterial damage\u201d to a desalination plant \u2014 the first time an Gulf country said Iran has struck a desalination plant during the nine-day war.<\/p>\n Hundreds of desalination plants sit along the Persian Gulf coast, and the region relies heavily on them for their water. <\/p>\n Earlier Sunday, the United Arab Emirates said debris from an aerial interception fell onto a vehicle and killed a driver. Four people have now been killed in the UAE since the war began. Authorities have said all were foreign nationals.<\/p>\n The UAE urged residents to stay indoors Sunday morning as its military responded to a drone attack. In Kuwait, authorities said a wave of drones targeted critical infrastructure, including fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport and a government building in Kuwait City. At least two people were killed by strikes in Iraq\u2019s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.<\/p>\n