BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Fears of a global energy crisis rose Monday as the war in the Middle East raged on, with more U.S.-Israeli strikes on the Iranian capital and Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon. An Iranian drone strike temporarily shut Dubai’s airport, a crucial global travel hub, underscoring the threats to the world economy.
Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran more than two weeks ago, Tehran has regularly fired on Israel, American bases in the region, and Gulf Arab countries’ energy infrastructure with drones and missiles.
It has also effectively stopped shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported, dramatically increasing the price of oil and putting pressure on Washington to do something to ease the pain consumers are feeling.
Brent crude, the international standard, remained stubbornly over $100 a barrel on Monday. It was at $104 in early trading, up nearly 45% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. It has spiked as high as about $120 during the conflict.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he has demanded that about seven countries to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, but his appeals have brought no commitments.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called claims that his country may be seeking a negotiated end to the war “delusional,” saying in a social media post early Monday that Iran was seeking neither “truce nor talks.”
Iran hits Dubai airport, forcing temporary closure
As morning broke Monday, a drone hit a fuel tank near Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international passenger traffic, causing a large fire.
Firefighters contained the blaze and there were no injuries reported, but the airport suspended all flights before resuming them a few hours later.
Later, a person was killed in the capital of the United Arab Emirates when an Iranian missile hit a vehicle, the Abu Dhabi media office said. Fire also broke out at an oil facility in Fujairah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, following a drone attack.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it intercepted a wave of 35 Iranian drones sent to its eastern region, home to major oil installations.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones toward countries in the region hosting U.S. military assets since the war began. Emirati authorities say most have been intercepted by air defenses, though debris and some drones have fallen inside the country.
Israel’s military said early Monday that Iran launched missiles toward Israel as well.
The conflict is battering the world economy, driving up energy and fertilizer prices; threatening food shortages in poor countries; destabilizing fragile states; and complicating efforts by central banks to drive down prices for consumers. Much of the difficulty stems from the virtual shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump threatens to ‘remember’ which allies do not help
Trump said Sunday he wants to police the strait to make it safe for shipping, with his party increasingly concerned that rising prices for American consumers will hurt the Republicans in elections this fall.
He did not identify the countries he said he asked to help with those efforts, but he said he won’t forget the countries that decline. He has previously appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain.
“Whether we get support or not, but I can say this, and I said to them: We will remember,” Trump said.
Ahead of a meeting in Brussels, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc’s foreign ministers would discuss possibly extending a naval mission that protects ships in the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, without giving any details.
Europeans have been critical of the U.S. and Israel for failing to provide clarity on their objectives in the war, and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Sunday questioned EU involvement, saying security for the strait can only come “if there is a negotiated solution.”
“Europe always gives constructive support when it comes to securing sea routes, but I see neither an immediate necessity nor above all Germany participating,” he said on ARD television.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament Monday that her government “has not heard anything” from Washington about Trump’s call for help protecting the strait. Still, she said there had been discussions about what could be done to protect Japanese ships, but Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said he has no plans to send warships to the strait under current conditions.
Japan, which imports more than 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East, began releasing its oil reserves Monday to address supply shortages and rising prices.
Israel hits Beirut and launches new attacks on Tehran
Massive explosions were heard in Beirut as Israel launched new attacks on the Lebanese capital before dawn, saying it was striking infrastructure related to the Iran-linked Hezbollah militia group.
The Israeli army has issued evacuation orders for many neighborhoods in Beirut as well as southern Lebanon. To date, more than 800,000 people have been displaced by Israel’s campaign in Lebanon.
In southern Lebanon, one person was killed in an Israeli airstrike early Monday and then two paramedics were killed as they arrived at the scene, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency
At least 850 people have been killed by Israeli strikes so far.
Not long after Israel’s military announced it had launched new strikes on Tehran targeting infrastructure, explosions were heard in the Iranian capital and outlying areas.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran so far, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.
Israel has carried out some 7,600 strikes on Iran so far, knocking out 85% of its air defenses, military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters Monday. It has also destroyed 70% of Iran’s missile launchers, but Shoshani said Israel still has thousands of targets to hit and would continue attacks “for as long as needed.”
In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.
