Iran vows retaliation for U.S. attack on Kharg Island oil hub as war enters 3rd week

Thomson Reuters 

The latest:

• Iran threatens to target "American hideouts" in the U.A.E. in retaliation for U.S. strikes on its Kharg Island oil hub that hit military targets but preserved oil infrastructure.
• The strikes follow threats by U.S. President Donald Trump, who warned on Friday that he would target Kharg Island if Iran doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
• Debris from a drone interception over the U.A.E.'s Fujairah oil industry zone resulted in a fire and billows of smoke.
• The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad urged Americans to leave Iraq immediately following an overnight attack on the embassy's building.
• The war has killed more than 2,000 people so far, mostly in Iran, and created the biggest oil supply disruption in history.

Iran warned it could target U.S. "hideouts" in the United Arab Emirates as a major U.A.E. energy hub suffered disruption after a drone attack on Saturday, and U.S. President Donald Trump said "many countries" would send warships to ‌the region.

As the war — which began with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran — entered its third week, Tehran projected defiance after U.S. forces hit military sites at its own main oil hub, warning that parts of the U.A.E. were a legitimate target and urging civilians to evacuate.

American forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island in Iran on Friday night, the U.S. Central Command said on Saturday.

The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and multiple other military sites while preserving the oil infrastructure, the U.S. military said in a post on social media platform X.

Trump had threatened on Friday to strike the oil infrastructure on Kharg Island unless Tehran stopped attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran, however, played down the extent of the damage while threatening to step up ‌its use of more powerful weapons and warning that parts of the U.A.E. were a legitimate target.

"We declare to the leaders of the U.A.E. that Iran considers it a legitimate right to defend its national sovereignty and territory by targeting the origin of American enemy missile launches in the shipping ports, docks, and military shelters of the U.S. hidden in some cities of the U.A.E.," a spokesperson for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said.

In a statement, the IRGC urged residents in the U.A.E. to evacuate ports, docks and U.S. military shelters to avoid civilian casualties.

Nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones were launched from Iran toward the U.A.E. on Saturday, the Ministry of Defence said, bringing a total of 294 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,600 drones launched from Iran since the war started.

The war has killed more than 2,000 people, mostly in Iran, and created the biggest oil supply disruption in history — pushing prices sharply higher as maritime traffic has halted in a region that delivers a fifth of the world's oil.

Behind the scenes, resentment had already been mounting in Gulf Arab capitals at being drawn into a war they neither initiated nor endorsed but are now paying for economically and militarily, regional sources have told Reuters.

Regional fallout has also affected motorsports, with Formula 1 announcing on Sunday that the Bahrain Grand Prix on April 12 and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on April 19 will be cancelled on safety grounds.

European countries have also been increasingly implicated in the war, even as a former NATO chief said he doesn't believe allies will be pulled into the conflict further.

Battle continues over Strait of Hormuz

Iran also vowed to increase its usage of upgraded weapons, particularly ballistic missiles and other missiles with greater destructive power, a Defence Ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying in state media.

On Saturday, Trump suggested that other countries may provide military support to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran's attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe," he wrote in a Truth Social post.

It marks the first time Trump has publicly suggested the U.S. may not be able to reopen the waterway on its own, and without international support. But it was not clear if that effort was set to begin or if Trump only hoped it might.

The White House did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on whether any countries had ‌agreed to send ships.

The British government is talking to allies and partners about "a ⁠range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region," a ministry of defence spokesperson said on ⁠Saturday.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his slain father, has said the strategic waterway should ​remain closed as ​a tool of pressure.

Iran's armed forces responded to the Kharg attack by saying any strike on the country's oil and energy infrastructure would lead to strikes on facilities owned by oil companies co-operating with the U.S. in the region, Iranian media reported.

Some oil loading operations have been suspended in the U.A.E.'s Fujairah emirate, a major bunkering hub, industry and trade sources said, after a fire broke out there on Saturday.

The fire occurred after debris fell during the interception of a drone, but no injuries were reported, the emirate's media office said.