Iran launched a series of coordinated attacks across
the Persian Gulf on Wednesday, striking commercial shipping routes, energy
facilities and areas near Dubai’s main airport as tensions escalated in the
conflict involving the United States and Israel.
Two Iranian drones struck close to Dubai International
Airport, the world’s busiest airport for international travel and the main hub
for Emirates. Authorities said four people were injured in the incident,
although airport operations continued.
Iran’s joint military command also warned that it
could target banks and financial institutions across the Middle East, raising
concerns in major financial centres such as Dubai and in countries including
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Earlier in the day, a projectile struck a container
ship near the coast of Oman in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, sparking a fire
and forcing most crew members to abandon the vessel, according to the United
Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.
Air defence systems were activated across several Gulf
states as incoming drones and missiles were detected. Kuwait reported shooting
down eight Iranian drones, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted five drones
headed toward the kingdom’s Shaybah Oil Field.
The latest attacks have severely disrupted maritime
traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy
corridors through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies pass from the
Persian Gulf to international markets.
At the same time, Israeli forces intensified
airstrikes on targets in Tehran, while additional attacks were reported in
Beirut and southern Lebanon, where Israel said it was targeting positions
linked to the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
One Israeli strike triggered a building fire in
Beirut’s densely populated Aicha Bakkar district, though there were no
immediate reports of casualties. In southern Lebanon, seven people were
reportedly killed in separate airstrikes.
The conflict has already caused heavy casualties
across the region. Nearly 500 people have reportedly been killed in Lebanon
since the latest escalation began following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iran has reported more than 1,300 deaths, while Israel has confirmed 12
fatalities.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said it destroyed six
ballistic missiles fired toward Prince Sultan Air Base, a facility jointly used
by Saudi and U.S. forces.
The crisis has also reached the diplomatic stage, with
the United Nations Security Council expected to vote on a resolution supported
by the Gulf Cooperation Council urging Iran to halt attacks on neighbouring
countries.
Global oil markets have reacted sharply to the
conflict. Prices for Brent crude remain about 20 percent higher than levels
recorded before the war began, fuelling concerns over possible long-term
disruptions to global energy supplies.
Shipping data also suggests a major slowdown in
traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Normally, more than 100 vessels pass
through the route daily, but monitoring firms say only a handful of ships have
crossed the corridor since early March.
Meanwhile, questions are also emerging over the health
of Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not
appeared in public since taking over leadership following the death of his
father, Ali Khamenei, in an Israeli airstrike earlier in the conflict.
As fighting intensifies, thousands of foreign
nationals have begun leaving the Gulf region. Officials in United Kingdom say
more than 45,000 British citizens have departed the area, while the United
States Department of State reported that around 40,000 Americans have already
returned home since the crisis began.
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