DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched new attacks on Tuesday at Israel and Gulf Arab countries as it kept up pressure on the Middle East in a war that has sent oil prices surging and stunned global economies. Five pro-Iranian militiamen were killed in an airstrike in northern Iraq.
Incoming missile sirens sounded early in the morning in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and in Bahrain, while Saudi Arabia said it had destroyed two drones over its oil-rich eastern region and Kuwait's National Guard said it had shot down six drones.
Sirens sounded in Jerusalem later in the morning 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 had detected an Iranian missile launch.
In addition to firing missiles and drones at Israel and at American bases in the region, Iran has also been targeting energy infrastructure which, combined with its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, has sent oil prices soaring.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has previously said that the war could last for a month or longer, sought to downplay growing fears that it could be a long-term regional conflict, saying it was “going to be a short-term excursion.”
Trump sends contradictory messages, Tehran says it's prepared for a long war
The war has choked off major supplies of oil and gas to world markets and sent fuel prices rising across the U.S. The fighting has also led foreigners to flee from business hubs and prompted millions to seek shelter as bombs hit military bases, government buildings, oil and water installations, hotels and at least one school.
Iran has effectively stopped tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane between the Persian 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.
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.”
Source: WPLG
