Early attacks were traded as the US and Israeli war on Iran pushed through into day 18. The UAE reported that its air defences were working to intercept Iranian fire as Israel announced new strikes on Tehran and expanded operations targeting Iran’s Lebanon-based proxy, Hezbollah.
Explosions sounded over Dubai early on Tuesday as the United Arab Emirates’ military worked to intercept incoming Iranian fire that caused the country to briefly close its airspace as Israel launched new strikes, taking the war into its 18th consecutive day.
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The Israeli military said early Tuesday it had begun a “wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran’s capital, adding that it was also stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. It announced the new strikes as Israel reported two incoming salvos from Iran.
Fears of a global energy crisis loomed even as a small number of ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally travels.
Iranian strikes on commercial ships in and around the strait have slowed shipping to a trickle, dramatically increasing oil prices and pressuring Washington to do something to ease the pain for consumers and the global economy.
US President Donald Trump said he had demanded that roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to keep the chokepoint waterway open, but his appeals brought no immediate commitments. The US president previously threatened that a lack of cooperation could spell a “very bad future” for NATO.
UAE briefly closes airspace
Abu Dhabi shut down its airspace early on Tuesday after its military reported it was “responding to missile and drone threats from Iran."
The closure was soon lifted, according to the state-run WAM news agency, which quoted the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority as saying.
Authorities said “the situation stabilised,” allowing flights to resume. Shortly after, missile warning alerts were sent to residents of Dubai. The sound of explosions could be heard in city as the military worked to intercept the incoming fire.
The agency says a drone attack again sparked a fire in an oil tank farm in Fujairah, a UAE emirate that has been repeatedly targeted on the country’s east coast with the Gulf of Oman. It said no one had been injured in the blast.
Israel beefs up strikes on Lebanon, launches new strikes on Iran
The Israeli military said in an announcement early on Tuesday that it had launched new attacks across Tehran in addition to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, targeting what it says are Iran and its proxies in the region.
Israeli strikes have so far displaced more than 1 million Lebanese people – roughly 20% of the population – according to the government, which also noted that some 850 people were killed in the attacks.
Some Israeli troops have pushed into southern Lebanon on Monday, after the IDF announced it was conducted “limited and targeted ground operations” into the area to “enhance the security buffer” between southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
In Israel, an intercepted Iranian missile attack sprayed shrapnel through Jerusalem’s Old City, hitting the rooftop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, just meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on what is revered by many Christians as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
Shrapnel also fell near the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, and within the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, the third-holiest site in Islam. Missile strikes on Jerusalem have been rare in the past.
Israel also reported two Iranian salvos early Tuesday fired toward Tel Aviv and an area south of the Sea of Galilee. No injuries were reported.
US and Israeli attacks have so far killed more than 1,300 people in Iran, around 500 of which are believed to be women and children, according to government figures.
The Israeli military says it has struck close to 8,000 targets across Iran, knocking out more than 85% of the country’s air defences and approximately 70% of their missile launchers.
Iran’s retaliatory attacks have also killed at least 12 people in Israel, 13 US service members as well as several people in Gulf Arab states.
Trump seeks allies' help to police the Strait of Hormuz
The virtual shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz is unnerving the world economy, driving up energy prices, threatening food shortages in poor countries, destabilising fragile states and complicating efforts by central banks to drive down prices for consumers.
On Monday, Trump said “numerous countries” have told him “they’re on the way” to help police the Strait of Hormuz, but he also suggested some countries' reluctance showed a lack of reciprocity in defence agreements with Washington.
Europeans have been critical of the US and Israel for failing to provide clarity on their objectives in the war. “The level of enthusiasm matters to me,” Trump said. He didn't specify the countries, but has previously appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK.
Brent crude fell to around $100 per barrel on Monday, but remained up roughly 40% since the war began.
Officials have been scrambling to ease prices. Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said its 32 member countries still have additional reserves of 1.4 billion barrels on top of the record 400 million they agreed to release last week to address supply issues.
On Monday, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said shortly before a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels that the bloc was exploring the deployment of additional naval missions to assist in securing vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking about the strait, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz remains open from Tehran’s perspective to most countries, with an exception for the United States, Israel and their allies. He also shut down allegations that his country was seeking a negotiated end to the war, which Trump has been claiming for several days.
“From our perspective it is open” — just not for the United States, Israel and its allies. Araghchi also rejected as “delusional” claims that Iran was looking for a negotiated end to the war.