Live. US rallies allies to secure Strait of Hormuz as Tehran's attacks persist

Euronews spoke with Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Minister of State and Foreign Ministry’s Special Envoy to the EU on the ongoing attacks against the country as Iran continues to fire barrages of dozens of missiles and drones in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks.

“I think the priority right now is defending the country against these attacks and ensuring it doesn't disrupt normal life, but of course, we have been preparing for various scenarios in a very turbulent region for decades, so these are not new plans,” said Nusseibeh.

Speaking to Euronews in an exclusive interview, Nusseibeh, who previously also served as Abu Dhabi’s Ambassador to the UN, underscored the country’s efforts at ensuring the safety of the roughly half-a-million Europeans who reside across the UAE.  

“We have had contingency plans in place since prior to this point. We take the safety and security of the 500,000 European residents, for example, who reside here, and I know that's a domestic audience that we are also speaking to, incredibly seriously.”

The Emirati official also noted that her country hopes to expand relations with Brussels further, indicating a desire to boost trade volume and strike a free trade agreement.

“And I think our trade ties with Europe at €65 billion a year is a robust signal that we are also open for investment. So we are negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union at the moment,” she added.

“European partners have come in to assist us and to also protect their own communities here in the UAE, and it is Iran that is very clearly isolated on the international stage.”

The IDF says it has destroyed an estimated 70% of Iran’s missile launchers during the first two weeks of the war.

Military spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters on Monday that while Tehran continues to fire missiles at Israel, the number of launches has been greatly reduced.

He says Israel has carried out some 7,600 strikes in Iran, knocking out 85% of the country’s air defences and targeting a number of Iranian nuclear sites previously struck in a joint operation with the US last year.

Shoshani says the war will go on “for as long as needed” and says Israel has thousands of targets it is prepared to strike and continues to produce new targets every day.

A Chinese government spokesperson did not respond directly to questions about Trump’s request for military support from several countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Foreign Ministry’s Lin Jian, at a daily briefing in Beijing, instead repeated China’s calls for an end to the fighting, noting the impact on energy and goods trade.

Trump said in an interview with The Financial Times that Washington would like an answer from Beijing before his planned trip to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping in about two weeks, and that “we may delay.”

Lin said China and the US have maintained communication on Trump’s visit.

“Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–US relations,” he said.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that NATO faces a "very bad" future if Washington’s allies fail to help open the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil transport conduit effectively shut by Tehran amid the war in Iran.

In a brief interview with The Financial Times, Trump said that as the United States has aided Ukraine in the war with Russia, he expects Europe to help on the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has sent energy prices soaring around the world.

"If there's no response or if it's a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO," said Trump, who over the years has criticised the alliance as freeloading on US largesse.

Trump also said an upcoming summit in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could be delayed as he presses for China's help to open the strait. Beijing is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the strategic waterway, as they purchase around 80% of Iran’s oil exports.

"We'd like to know before (the summit),” Trump said, noting that China as well as many European countries rely on the strait more than the United States on oil flowing from the Gulf.

"It's only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there," said the US president.

He separately told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One that the US was in discussions with "about seven" countries on getting help to reopen the Hormuz Strait.

Asked about specific help he was looking for, Trump told the FT he wanted minesweepers as well as "people who are going to knock out some bad actors that are along the (Iranian) shore."

A Palestinian civilian was killed in a missile attack early on Monday in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, authorities said.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office said a missile fell on a civilian vehicle in the al-Bahyah area. The death raises the toll to seven people in the UAE since the US and Israel fired the war’s opening salvo on 28 February.

A fire broke out on Monday following a drone attack on an industrial oil facility in Fujairah, one of the United Arab Emirates’ seven emirates, according to authorities.

The Media Office in Fujairah said a drone targeted the city’s Oil Industry Zone, causing an “advanced” fire, but reported no casualties.

Saudi Arabia says it intercepted three drones on Monday morning over its capital, Riyadh, and the nation’s oil-rich western region.

The Saudi Defence Ministry says no casualties or damage were reported.

The ministry added that more than 60 drones targeted the country within a few hours.

United Arab Emirates officials say Dubai International Airport has gradually resumed some flights at hours after a drone strike.

Dubai Media Office, which speaks on behalf of authorities in the city-state, quoting Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, announced that flights are operating to select destinations.

“Dubai Civil Aviation Authority announces the gradual resumption of some flights to and from Dubai International Airport to selected destinations, following the temporary suspension implemented as a precautionary measure,” said the media office in a post on X.

“Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for the latest updates regarding their flights.”

It comes after Emirates airline announced that it had suspended all flights to and from Dubai following an attack on a fuel tank at the city’s main airport.

=Brent crude oil is trading near the $105 per barrel level on Monday.

A barrel of Brent, the international standard, was up 1.6% at $104.73, dipping slightly after opening above $106 per barrel. It’s up more than 40% since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on 28 February.

Share prices in Asia were mixed and US futures advanced.

Hours after a drone strike sparked a fire at Dubai’s main airport, Emirates – one of the UAE’s leading carriers – said in its latest update that all of its flights “to and from Dubai have been temporarily suspended.”

In a statement shared on X on Monday, the airline says it is working with authorities to restart operations when possible, urging passengers not to travel to the airport.

“The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and will not be compromised.”

Dubai International Airport is the world’s busiest airport for international travel and a key hub for many routes linking the East and West.

The United Arab Emirates’ Defence Ministry said its forces were intercepting Iranian missiles and drones fired early on Monday morning.

It comes just hours after authorities in Dubai confirmed that a drone hit a fuel tank at the Dubai International Airport, prompting roads leading to the international hub to be temporarily closed. 

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a phone call to discuss regional developments with the UAE’s President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to a statement released by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry early on Monday.

The two leaders said the continued “Iranian attacks against Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries represent a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security and stability,” adding that GCC states will continue efforts to defend their countries

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have closed the main road and tunnel leading to Dubai International Airport after it was earlier reported that an Iranian drone hit a fuel tank at the airport, causing fire with no casualties.         

Dubai Police urged drivers to use alternative roads.

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said early on Monday that it downed an additional large barrage of 35 drones in the country’s eastern region, one of the kingdom’s least dense, close to Iran and home to major oil installations.

This brings the total number of drones intercepted to at least 60 in the last few hours.

The ministry did not immediately report casualties or damage.

US President Donald Trump says he has demanded seven countries to join an international coalition aimed at policing the chokepoint Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, sending warships and military assets to help escort oil vessels through as global crude prices continue to reel from the war in Iran.

The US president declined to name the countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude that his administration is negotiating with to join the initiative amid Iranian attacks, which have effectively closed the crucial waterway.

“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.

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Trump says he is assembling coalition to police Strait of Hormuz

Trump says attacks on Iran could last several more weeks despite soaring energy costs. The US president says he is assembling a coalition to help police the St…

The Australian government says warships won’t be sent to the Middle East to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to international shipping following US President Donald Trump’s demands.

US President Donald Trump said that he has demanded “about seven countries” send warships to keep the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil exports pass, open, as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf Arab countries.

Australia’s Transport Minister Catherine King told local media outlets on Monday that she was not aware of Canberra receiving such a request.

“We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that’s not something that we’ve been asked or that we’re contributing to,” she said.

Australia said last week it was providing the UAE with an air force surveillance jet and air-to-air missiles to help defend against Iranian attacks, but a government statement said Australia was “not taking offensive action against Iran.”