Flames and thick smoke billow over an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, after wreckage from an Iranian drone intercepted earlier this month fell onto the site.
The latest major escalation in the U.S.-Israel war against Iran came with an Iranian military strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia that wounded 12 U.S. troops, including two seriously, according several U.S. media reports. The latest attack pushed the total number of U.S. service members wounded in the wider conflict to more than 300, while 13 have been killed since the war began.
The war began on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. It has since expanded into a regional conflict that has spread beyond Iran and Israel, drawing in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the Gulf, while intensifying pressure on global energy markets. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saturday launched their first missile attack on Israel since the war began, further widening the conflict.
The economic fallout continues to mount. Brent crude has risen more than 50% since the war started and briefly topped $119 a barrel. Analysts surveyed by Reuters said prices are expected to remain elevated across a range of scenarios and could climb substantially higher if more export infrastructure is hit or if disruption through the Strait of Hormuz continues. Roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies normally transit Hormuz, giving the conflict consequences far beyond the battlefield.
On the military front, Iran has continued retaliatory missile attacks on Israel and Gulf states, including the strike on the Saudi base that hit U.S. personnel. U.S. and Israeli forces are continuing strikes inside Iran, including attacks on infrastructure and universities.
Inside Iran, the reported human toll has become staggering. According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and figures provided by the Iranian Red Crescent, that more than 1,900 people have been reported dead and at least 20,000 injured since the start of the U.S.-Israeli strikes.
U.N. rights chief Volker Turk has urged the United States to swiftly conclude its investigation into a strike on Iran’s Shajareh Tayyebeh School, which reportedly killed more than 175 children and teachers at the outset of the war. The World Health Organization verified 18 attacks on healthcare sites in Iran, resulting in eight health worker deaths.
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