(March 15): US President Donald Trump said Iran is ready to make a deal to end the war but the US wants better terms, signalling no let up in a conflict that has brought shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill and upended energy markets.
Trump also called on other countries to send warships to keep open the waterway through which about a fifth of the world’s oil exports flow. He said he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK would take part.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” Trump told NBC in an interview Saturday, adding that a “very solid” agreement would have to include a commitment by Tehran to abandon nuclear ambitions.
The Islamic Republic’s retaliatory attacks on Israel and Arab states in the Persian Gulf continued overnight into Sunday, after the US struck military sites on Kharg Island, home to key export facilities for Iranian oil.
The United Arab Emirates said Sunday that it was intercepting missiles and drones from Iran, telling residents that blasts heard in parts of Dubai were the projectiles being shot down. The UAE said it has engaged 1,600 drones and more than 300 missiles launched by Iran since the conflict began.
See also: Hong Kong vessel makes rare Hormuz transit into Persian Gulf
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told MS NOW that “it is clear” the missiles that hit Kharg Island came from the UAE.
Anwar Gargash, a senior foreign policy advisor to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, said the country “has the right to self-defence in the face of this terrorist aggression imposed upon it, yet it continues to prioritise reason.”
Oil-loading operations at Fujairah — a key UAE port — resumed on Sunday after a drone strike and fire forced a halt to exports the day before, according to people familiar with the situation. They asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorised to comment.
See also: Trump demands help to secure Strait of Hormuz, threatens more strikes on Iran's Kharg Island
Fujairah, which lies just outside the Strait of Hormuz, is a major hub for both crude and fuel products, and has taken on increased significance for both the UAE and global markets because it is one of the few Gulf export outlets that bypasses the waterway. Loading had been halted as a precaution while damage was being assessed.
Abu Dhabi authorities also said they contained a fire that broke out at the Ruwais Industrial Complex following a drone strike on March 10.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia reported intercepting at least 10 drones near the capital, Riyadh, and in the kingdom’s eastern region. Bahrain sounded sirens and urged residents to remain in safe areas.
Iran said it launched a new wave of missile attacks on Israel, where Foreign Minister Israel Katz has described the war as entering its “victory phase”. He also said the war, now in its third week, would last “as long as required”.
Domestic pressure is building on Trump as the war causes chaos in the Middle East and global oil prices rise to about US$100 a barrel because of Iran’s effective closure of Hormuz. Trump has dismissed concerns over rising gasoline prices in the US, saying they will fall once the fighting ends.
The conflict has left about 3,750 people dead across the region since it began on Feb 28, with the US and Israeli bombing of Iran, according to tolls from governments and non-governmental organisations.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said more than 3,000 people were killed in the last two weeks in Iran. Dozens have died across the Gulf and in Israel, while the US has lost 11 service members.
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Israel and the US continued striking Iran on Saturday, and Washington told Americans to leave Iraq immediately — citing the “significant threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militia groups.” That came after the Associated Press reported a missile hit a helipad within the compound of the US embassy in Baghdad.
In announcing the strike on Kharg Island, Trump said military facilities there had been “obliterated,” adding that he chose not to hit oil infrastructure “for reasons of decency”. He threatened to do so should Iran “do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Trump said that even though Iran’s military was “already destroyed 100%,” it was “easy” for Tehran to continue threatening ships with drones, mines and short-range missiles. The US, he said, “will be bombing the hell out of” Iran’s shoreline to try to counter that.
Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said the strait was only shut to ships from “enemies”. There have been 16 reported attacks on vessels in and around Hormuz since the war began, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations.
Lebanon’s government said around 700 people have died in Israeli attacks on the country in a parallel war the Jewish state is waging against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
France has drafted a plan to end the war in Lebanon that would require the government there to recognise Israel, Axios reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. It said Lebanon accepted the proposal as a starting point, while Israel and the US are reviewing it.
Jordan, which also houses US troops and aircraft, said on Saturday that it intercepted 79 ballistic missiles and drones in the past week. Air defences failed to stop another six projectiles. Nine people were injured over that period, the Jordanian military said.
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait have all had to curb crude production because of Hormuz’s de facto closure, while Qatar has halted operations for liquefied natural gas. It’s one of the world’s top three suppliers of the fuel.
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