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In Brief
- Oil prices have surged by 40 percent as Iran has choked off the vital shipping lane.
- Despite facing superior US and Israeli firepower, Iran appears determined to fight on.
Amid escalating tensions in the Gulf, President Donald Trump has called on international allies to assist in safeguarding a crucial maritime passage threatened by the ongoing conflict with Iran. The situation remains volatile, with recent attacks targeting the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and a significant energy site in the United Arab Emirates.
Just a fortnight after joint military operations by the United States and Israel against Iran, the entire Gulf region finds itself entrenched in a crisis that continues to ripple across the global economy. The conflict has not only disrupted oil supply chains but also sent shockwaves through markets worldwide, affecting oil and fuel prices significantly.
The turmoil has further extended into Lebanon, where the country’s health ministry reports that Israeli airstrikes, amidst renewed confrontations with the Iran-supported Hezbollah, have resulted in hundreds of casualties. This development underscores the regional instability and the mounting humanitarian concerns as the violence spills beyond Iran’s borders.
Amidst these developments, global oil prices have spiked by an alarming 40 percent, largely due to Iran’s strategic blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and its assaults on Gulf energy infrastructures. This disruption forebodes potential fuel shortages and broader economic implications.
In a stark display of the conflict’s impact, plumes of black smoke were seen billowing over Fujairah on Saturday, a site critical to the UAE’s oil storage and export operations. This incident came shortly after Iran’s military issued a stark warning to UAE civilians, advising them to steer clear of port areas, signaling the gravity and reach of the current hostilities.
Washington’s embassy in Iraq was hit by a drone, security sources told Agence France-Presse, the second time it has been targeted in the war, and the Emirati consulate in the Kurdistan region of Iraq was also struck for the second time in a week.
And in Kuwait, the international airport was targeted with several drones “which struck its radar system” but caused no injuries, the Kuwaiti civil aviation authority said.
Having earlier vowed that the US Navy would “very soon” start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump appeared to call for reinforcements on Sunday AEDT.
“Many countries … will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” he wrote on Truth Social, saying China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK would “hopefully” be among them.
He later repeated the call on social media, saying that although the US “has beaten” Iran, countries that received oil via the strait “must take care of that passage, and we will help”.
‘As long as necessary’
US forces struck Kharg Island on Friday, from which nearly all of Iran’s oil is exported, with Trump saying they had “obliterated every MILITARY target”, though sparing its energy facilities.
Iran had threatened that US-linked oil and energy firms would be “turned into a pile of ashes” if they were hit, with foreign minister Abbas Araghchi later repeating the warning and accusing the US of firing rockets at Kharg from its bases in the UAE.
He then called on Iran’s neighbours to expel American forces, saying the US security umbrella was “inviting rather than deterring trouble”.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said the war was entering a “decisive phase”, though he cautioned it would “continue as long as necessary”.
Despite facing superior US and Israeli firepower, Iran appeared determined to fight on.
Blasts were heard over Jerusalem after the military detected missiles launched from Iran on Saturday.
Iran later said it had launched another missile salvo, with the Israeli military saying it had detected the launches.
Qatar evacuated downtown areas and intercepted two missiles, with blasts heard.
Meanwhile, Hamas urged Iran to refrain from targeting Gulf neighbours, many of which have supported its cause. It was a rare breach between the allies, though Hamas affirmed Tehran’s right to defend itself.
Iran continued to face heavy bombardment with local media reporting strikes in several provinces through Saturday local time, including one on an industrial site in Isfahan that killed 15 people, according to Fars news agency.
Iran’s health ministry says more than 1,200 people have been killed by US and Israeli attacks, while up to 3.2 million people have been displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.
More than 15,000 targets in Iran have been hit by the US and Israel, the Pentagon claims. A report this week said the first six days alone cost the US$11.3 billion ($16.1 billion), while 13 US military personnel have died in the war.
US media raised the possibility of American troops on the ground in Iran, with the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporting the Pentagon had dispatched the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the region along with around 2,500 Marines.
In Iran, the government appeared intent on showing they would survive the war and maintain control, despite their supreme leader Ali Khamenei being killed on the opening day.
Khamenei’s son Mojtaba Khamenei was named the new supreme leader, but has been absent from public view and is reportedly wounded.
Araghchi insisted on Saturday that “there is no problem with the new supreme leader”.
‘Existential battle’
The war has also sparked another devastating round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The group attacked Israel after Khamenei’s death and its leader, Naim Qassem, has called the current conflict an “existential battle”.
Israel has responded with air and ground assaults, killing at least 826 people according to the Lebanese authorities.
It has also issued evacuation orders covering hundreds of square kilometres of Lebanon, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and prompting warnings of a humanitarian disaster.
An overnight strike in southern Lebanon killed more than a dozen health workers at a clinic, health authorities said and put the total number of paramedics killed this month by Israel at 31.
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