Iran launched new attacks on Tuesday at Israel and Gulf Arab countries as it kept up pressure on the Middle East in a war started by Israel and the United States that has sent oil prices surging and stunned global economies.
Sirens warned of incoming missiles in the futuristic business hub of Dubai, and in Bahrain, authorities said an Iranian attack hit a residential building in the capital, killing a 29-year-old woman and wounding eight others. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed two drones over the Eastern Region and Kuwait's National Guard said it shot down six drones.
Later in the morning, sirens also sounded in Jerusalem, and sounds of explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv as Israel's defense systems worked to intercept incoming fire, not long after the military said it detected an Iranian missile launch.
“We are definitely not looking for a ceasefire,” Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, wrote on X. “We believe that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that he learns a lesson so that he will never think of attacking our beloved Iran again.”
Another top Iranian security official, Ali Larijani, appeared to threaten US President Donald Trump himself, writing on X that “Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.” Iran has been accused of plotting attempts to kill Trump in the past.
Witnesses reported hearing several explosions in Tehran in the afternoon as Israel commenced a new wave of airstrikes.
Attacks aimed at pressuring the US
Along with firing missiles and drones at Israel and at American bases in the region, Iran has also been targeting energy infrastructure and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for traded oil, sending oil prices soaring. The attacks appear aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the US and Israel to end their strikes.
Brent crude, the international standard, spiked to nearly $120 on Monday before falling back but was still at around $90 a barrel on Tuesday, nearly 24% higher than when the war started on Feb. 28.
Trump, who has previously said that the war could last for a month or longer, sought to downplay growing fears that it could take even longer, saying it was “going to be a short-term excursion.”
Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the strikes on Iran would continue.
“Our aim is to bring the Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny, (but) ultimately it depends on them,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israel’s hospital and health system leaders. “There is no doubt that with the actions taken so far, we are breaking their bones.”
Oil is rerouted
Iran has effectively stopped tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman — the gateway to the Indian Ocean — through which 20% of the world's oil is carried. Attacks on merchant ships near the strait have killed at least seven sailors, according to the International Maritime Organization.
A bulk carrier likely came under attack in the Gulf on Tuesday off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, with the captain reporting a splash and a loud bang nearby, according to a monitoring center run by the British military.
In a post on social media, Trump seemed not to acknowledge that, saying that “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard doubled down, saying in a statement that it “will not allow the export of even a single liter of oil from the region to the hostile side and its partners until further notice.”
Meanwhile, Amin Nasser, the president and CEO of Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco, said tankers were being rerouted to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, and that its East-West pipeline would reach its full capacity of 7 million barrels a day being brought to the Red Sea port of the Yanbu this week.
“The situation at the Strait of Hormuz is blocking sizable volumes of oil from the whole region,” he said, adding that tighter supplies would likely push the price per barrel globally even higher, translating to higher costs for gasoline and jet fuel.
“If this takes a long time, that will have serious impact on the global economy,” Nasser said.
Airstrike on Iran-linked militia in Iraq kills 5
As the conflict spread across the region, Israel launched multiple attacks on the Hezbollah group in Lebanon, which responded by firing missiles into Israel.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq have also launched attacks at US bases in the country since the beginning of the conflict.
Early Tuesday, one such militia — the 40th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces in the city of Kirkuk — was hit with an airstrike that killed at least five militiamen and wounded four, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the strikes.
Israel's military meanwhile reiterated a call for all residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes, saying it planned to “operate forcefully” there against Hezbollah.
Since the war began, at least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel, according to officials.
A total of seven US service members have been killed.
