The United States moved to build an international naval coalition on Saturday to counter Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with President Trump publicly calling on major world powers to dispatch warships to the region. In posts on Truth Social, Trump named China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK as nations he hoped would send vessels to help keep the critical shipping lane open. The appeal came as the US simultaneously continued an intensive air campaign against Iran, including further strikes on Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export hub.
Iran was not backing down. Its military threatened strikes on any energy or infrastructure facility across the Gulf that had ties to American companies, and its foreign minister urged neighbouring countries to eject US forces from the region. Iranian ballistic missiles struck targets in the UAE on Saturday, suspending oil operations at Fujairah — a globally important ship-refuelling port — and triggering emergency evacuations near harbour areas. The UAE said it would defend itself but remained committed to seeking a diplomatic resolution.
The war, now in its third week since it erupted on February 28, had drawn in Israel as a co-belligerent. Israeli warplanes conducted dozens of airstrikes on Saturday aimed at destroying Iran’s missile systems. A strike on a factory in Isfahan killed at least 15 people. Iran continued launching rockets at Israel in return, keeping pressure on multiple fronts. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Iranian leaders were “desperate and hiding” underground, including the newly installed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who Iran confirmed had been injured but not seriously.
Global energy markets remained on edge as the conflict showed no signs of de-escalation. Analysts warned that oil prices currently around $120 per barrel could surge toward $150 if Kharg Island’s export capacity was fully knocked out. The island processes the vast majority of Iran’s crude oil exports and sits just 15 miles off the Iranian coast. Washington had so far stopped short of fully destroying the oil facilities, though Trump made clear that continued Iranian aggression could change that calculation quickly.
Casualty figures continued to mount. More than 1,400 people had reportedly been killed in Iran, 13 in Israel, and some 20 across the wider Gulf region. In Lebanon, over 800 people had died and nearly a million had been displaced in parallel Israeli strikes on Hezbollah. The US embassy in Baghdad was struck overnight, prompting an emergency order for American citizens to leave Iraq. Six US crew members died when a military refuelling plane went down in western Iraq, marking a significant blow to US forces in the theatre.