Iran launches new attacks at Israel, Gulf countries as it keeps up pressure on Middle East

Iran launched new attacks on Tuesday on Israel and Gulf Arab countries as it kept up pressure on the Middle East in a war that has impacted the region and beyond, sent oil prices surging and stunned global economies. Sirens warned of incoming missiles in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and in Bahrain, while Saudi Arabia said it destroyed two drones over its oil-rich eastern region, and Kuwait's National Guard said it shot down six drones. Later in the morning, sirens also sounded in Jerusalem, and sounds of explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv as Israel's defence systems worked to intercept incoming fire, not long after the military said it detected an Iranian missile launch. “We are definitely not looking for a ceasefire,” Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, wrote defiantly on X. "We believe that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that he learns a lesson so that he will never think of attacking our beloved Iran again.” In addition to firing missiles and drones at Israel and at American bases in the region, Iran has also been targeting energy infrastructure, which, combined with its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, sent oil prices soaring.

Brent crude, the international standard, spiked to nearly USD 120 on Monday before falling back, but was still at around USD 90 a barrel on Tuesday, nearly 24 per cent higher than when the war started on Feb. 28. US President Donald Trump, who has previously said that the war could last for a month or longer, sought to downplay growing fears that it could take even longer, saying it was “going to be a short-term excursion.” Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed the strikes on Iran would continue. “Our aim is to bring the Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny, (but) ultimately it depends on them,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israel's hospital and health system leaders. "There is no doubt that with the actions taken so far, we are breaking their bones.”

The war has choked off major supplies of oil and gas to world markets and sent fuel prices rising. The fighting has also led foreigners to flee from business hubs and prompted millions to seek shelter as bombs hit military bases, government buildings, oil and water installations, hotels and at least one school. Iran has effectively stopped tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman — the gateway to the Indian Ocean — through which 20 per cent of the world's oil is carried. Attacks on merchant ships near the strait have killed at least seven sailors, according to the International Maritime Organisation. In a post on social media, Trump seemed not to acknowledge that, saying that "If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”