Defiant Iran warns parks and tourist attractions worldwide could be targets

Source: Scripps News/AP

Posted 9:05 AM, Mar 20, 2026 and last updated 9:59 AM, Mar 20, 2026


Iran threatened to target recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisted it was still building missiles. Friday's show of defiance came nearly three weeks into U.S.-Israeli strikes that have killed a slew of Tehran’s top leaders and hammered its weapons and energy industries.

Iran fired on Israel and energy sites in neighboring Gulf Arab states as many in the region marked one of the holiest days on the Muslim calendar. Iranians were also marking the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, a normally festive holiday that is more subdued this year.

With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how much damage its arms, nuclear or energy facilities have sustained since the war began Feb. 28 or even who was truly in charge of the country. But Iran has showed it is still capable of attacks that are choking off oil supplies and denting the global economy, raising food and fuel prices far beyond the Middle East.

The U.S. and Israel have offered shifting rationales for the war, from hoping to foment an uprising that topples Iran’s leadership to eliminating its nuclear and missile programs. There have been no public signs of any such uprising, and it’s not clear what capabilities Iran retains or how the war might end.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/iran-war/defiant-iran-warns-parks-and-tourist-attractions-worldwide-could-be-targets