Iran hits UAE oil hub, vows retaliation for US strike on Kharg Island
Iran warned it could target US "hideouts" in the United Arab Emirates after a drone attack disrupted a major Emirati energy hub on Saturday, as the war entered its third week.
US forces on Friday struck Kharg Island, from which nearly all of Iran's oil is exported.
President Donald Trump said the strikes had "obliterated every MILITARY target", while sparing its energy facilities.
Iran had threatened that US-linked oil and energy firms would be "turned into a pile of ashes" if its energy facilities were hit.
Following the attack, Tehran warned that parts of the UAE were legitimate targets as they had been used to strike Kharg Island.
Iran called on residents to evacuate ports, docks and "American hideouts", naming Jebel Ali port in Dubai - the Middle East’s busiest - along with Khalifa port in Abu Dhabi and the port in Fujairah, a major Emirati oil storage and export hub.
The entire Gulf region has been gripped by the war that began with a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran. The conflict has sent shockwaves through the global economy, triggering the largest disruption to oil supplies in history.
Oil prices have surged by 40 percent as Iran has choked off the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil passes, and attacked Gulf energy facilities. Clouds of black smoke rose over Fujairah on Saturday shortly after Iran's military warned civilians to evacuate port areas.
Some oil-loading operations have been suspended in Fujairah, industry and trade sources told Reuters.
Trump appeared to call for reinforcements in the region on Saturday, urging countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. The US president had earlier vowed that the US Navy would "very soon" start escorting tankers through the strait.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said many countries would send warships to allow shipping to pass freely through the Strait of Hormuz. He did not provide details on which countries would do so, but said he hoped that China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would send ships to the area.
Trump also said that “in the meantime”, the US would continue to bomb the Iranian coast and target its navy.
"One way or another, we will soon open the Strait of Hormuz," he wrote.
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Iraq was hit by a drone in the second such attack since the war began, and the Emirati consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan was struck for the second time in a week.
Qatar evacuated downtown areas and intercepted two missiles, while Kuwait said two drones targeting an airbase housing US military staff wounded Kuwaiti staff and caused damage.
A US-Israeli attack on a factory in Isfahan, central Iran, killed at least 15 people. Iranian media reported that workers were inside the facility that manufactures heaters and refrigerators when the attack struck.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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