Explosions rocked cities across the Middle East on Saturday as the US embassy in Baghdad was hit by a drone strike and Tehran warned Emiratis to stay away from ports as it targets the world’s energy supply lines.
Washington’s embassy in Iraq was hit for the second time since February 28, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran and plunged the Gulf into a conflict that has sent shockwaves through the global economy.
Waves of drone, missile and aerial bombing have displaced millions in the region and reportedly killed more than 1,200 people in Iran.
Despite facing superior US and Israeli firepower, Iran appears determined to fight on, launching missile and drone attacks against at least 10 of its neighbors and effectively barring the choke point Strait of Hormuz to sea traffic.
Iran had threatened US-linked oil and energy firms would “immediately be destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes” if the US struck its oil facilities, according to Iranian media.
President Donald Trump earlier said Friday US forces had hit Iran’s Kharg Island, its biggest oil export hub, and “obliterated” military targets while sparing its energy facilities.
Iranian media confirmed there was no damage to oil facilities on the island.
Iran’s threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have brought traffic to a virtual halt on a route that normally carries one fifth of global oil supplies.
Trump said the US Navy would start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “very soon” to restore oil exports.
Crude oil prices have surged more than 40 percent since the war began.
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said America can provide “reliable” energy supplies to Asia-Pacific as the Middle East war cripples the region’s oil and gas flow.
