A missile struck the US embassy in Iraq overnight after US President Donald Trump declared Iran is ‘dead’ and all military targets on its crown jewel Kharg Island have been ‘completely obliterated’.
Iran threatened America and indicated plans to destroy any invading forces and turn the Strait of Hormuz into a war zone if US boots hit the ground in the country.
Tehran appeared to ignore Trump’s threat to ‘wipe out’ its oil industry as it struck a defiant note on Saturday, saying it would step up its use of more powerful weapons including ballistic missiles and warning parts of the UAE were a legitimate target.
A war of words over threats to the oil industry, which is already seeing fuel and energy prices skyrocket in the US, UK and wider world, escalated overnight after America launched new attacks on Iran’s Kharg Island.
It comes as Iran continued its paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, threatened US interests and attacked a major UAE oil field as it responded angrily to the strikes.
As reports emerged that the US is sending up to 5,000 marines and sailors to the region as part of a deployment of an amphibious ready group (ARG), talking heads in Iran threatened severe consequences if any attempt is made to land.
One source said that new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei – whose whereabouts and condition are the subject of intense speculation – has agreed to grave measures including turning the Strait of Hormuz into a de facto war zone in the case of an invasion.
Other options on the table are understood to include the ‘total destruction’ of any island where US forces stage a landing, even if this involves the annihilation of its oil infrastructure.
Elsewhere, Iranian MP and former Foreign Minister Manouchehr MottakiI said that if the US make landfall on the island or in Iran, the country could seize American troops.
A huge fire is seen after an Iranian drone attack on a major oil facility in Fujairah, UAE on Saturday
Footage from the US military showed strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island overnight, for which Tehran has vowed retaliation
‘If they dare to commit such an act and sit on a part of our soil, why shouldn’t we go to a part of their soil – which now exists in the form of their regional bases – carry out a helicopter landing there, and capture their forces?’ he said.
Gulf states are privately venting their anger at Trump over his escalating war in the region as the conflict enters its third week.
The joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran have led to the death of the country’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and provoked a slew of retaliatory strikes against US assets and allies across the Middle East.
Kharg Island, seen as a jewel in the crown for the Islamic Republic, was hit by a barrage of strikes which the US said completely destroyed all military infrastructure stationed there.
Taking to Truth Social last night, President Trump said: ‘Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island.’
But the President said he did not authorise attacks on the island’s oil infrastructure, through which 90 per cent of Iran’s exports of the fuel pass.
He continued: ‘I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island.
‘However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision.’
Iran has effectively halted traffic in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane that saw around 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas pass through its waters before the onset of the war.
Since the outbreak of conflict at least 16 attacks and four incidents of ‘suspicious activity’ have been reported on vessels in the region bearing various national flags, according to UKMTO.
The blockade is helping fuel spiralling prices at the pumps in Britain as the average price of diesel reached 159.2p on Friday, while petrol hit an 18-month high of 140.6p per litre.
It came as oil surged back over the grim mark of $100 a barrel for a second time this week, with fears the Iran conflict will lead to higher energy prices and drive inflation for families in the UK.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is said to have agreed to drastic measures if the US make landfall in Iran
President Donald Trump said the US had avoided hitting oil infrastructure on Kharg Island (pictured)
Meanwhile Iranian General, Mohsen Rezaei, claimed the strait is not closed at all – as in a rare exception, Iran claimed to have allowed some Indian vessels to cross it on Saturday.
Rezaei said: ‘The Strait of Hormuz is open. It is only closed to the US Navy, US oil tankers, and their coalition.
‘The end of the war is in our hands. We will consider its cessation only under two conditions: first, we must receive full compensation for the damage caused, and second, the USA must leave the Persian Gulf.’
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Saturday, former US general David Petraeus, who commanded US forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said it was ‘feasible but very, very challenging’ that the Strait of Hormuz could be opened and kept opened by force.
And he also warned that given the challenges, naval forces would have to be ‘pretty close to perfect’ to do so.
The US previously said it was considering escorting vessels through the strait, although no date has been set for when this might happen.
Asked whether such action in the Strait was possible, General Petraeus said: ‘It is feasible but very, very challenging.
‘Keep in mind that just a handful of mines in the water can slow you down enormously.
‘Keep in mind that the minesweeping capabilities are limited. But it’s [a] painstaking business.
‘As you know, there’s mines that be on the bottom of the floor of the Strait, there are those that float just below it, there’s others that can be tethered to the bottom.
‘And again, it’s a painstaking effort to do that – first to identify them and then to figure out what means are you going to use to blow it up or disable it, or what have you.
‘And the issue here really is that you have to have absolute confidence in the minds of the CEOs of the major oil companies who own these super tankers before you’re going to send them down through the Gulf and through the Strait.’
In response to the attack on Kharg Island, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards today said US interests in the United Arab Emirates, including ports, docks and military locations, are legitimate targets.
In its statement, IRGC urged residents in the UAE to evacuate these areas and US military shelters to avoid civilian casualties.
Nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones were launched from Iran towards the UAE on Saturday, the Ministry of Defence said, making a total of 294 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,600 drones launched from Iran since the war started.
It also launched an attack on a major port and energy installation on Saturday, in what appeared to be the latest strike targeting the Gulf’s petroleum facilities.
An overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted the Haret Hreik neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs, on March 14, 2026
Smoke rises from the US embassy building, after Iraqi security sources said the embassy was hit in a missile attack on Saturday
Clouds of dark black smoke were seen coming from Fujairah, where Iranian attacks have already targeted an oil storage and trading hub. The port is also home to a major oil export terminal.
A fire was reported after what the UAE described as a successful interception of a drone.
It was reported by Bloomberg that the fire led to a partial suspension in oil loading operations on Saturday.
Authorities said they are working to contain the blaze, but did not respond to reports of the suspension.
It comes after Iran threatened to turn US oil assets in the region to ‘ashes’ if oil infrastructure is targeted on the country’s Kharg Island.
The island, which was hit by a barrage of US missiles targeting military assets, sees as much as 90 per cent of Iran’s oil exports pass through it.
Ahead of the attacks, Gulf leaders are said to be privately furious with the escalating conflict.
Regional leaders have not publicly criticised Trump, but Dubai billionaire and business tycoon Khalaf Al Habtoor made a thinly veiled swipe at the president in a quickly-deleted X post.
‘We know full well why we are under attack, and we also know who dragged the entire region into this dangerous escalation without consulting those he calls his “allies” in the region,’ he said.
Elsewhere, Israel said the war against Iran was entering its ‘decisive phase’ on Saturday, as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility.
Black smoke rose above Washington’s embassy in Iraq, the second time it has been targeted 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.
Millions have been displaced by waves of drone, missile and aerial bombing with little sign of the conflict slowing down as it entered its third week.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said the war was entering a ‘decisive phase’, even if he cautioned that it would ‘continue as long as necessary’.
Iran’s health ministry says more than 1,200 people have been killed by US and Israeli attacks, numbers that could not be independently verified.
The UN refugee agency has estimated that up to 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since the war started.
In Lebanon, authorities say that more than 770 people have been killed and 800,000 displaced.
