Dubai, March 31: President Donald Trump expressed frustration Tuesday with allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort, telling them to “go get your own oil” as the conflict with Iran and its closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent average US gas prices past USD 4 a gallon.
The social media post came after US strikes hit a city that is home to one of Iran’s main nuclear sites, sending a massive fireball into the sky, and Tehran attacked a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.
The attacks showed the intensity of the war more than a month after the US and Israel launched it. The conflict has left more than 3,000 dead and caused major disruptions to the world’s supply of oil and natural gas, roiling global markets.
Trump, who has vacillated between insisting there is progress in diplomatic talks with Iran and threatening to widen the war, had earlier shared footage of the attack on Isfahan. The central city is home to one of three nuclear enrichment sites attacked by the US during a previous war last June, and analysts believe much of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely stored there.
War roils oil market
Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading out of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported during peacetime, has driven up global oil prices, as have Tehran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure. That has shaken stock markets around the world and pushed up the cost of many basic goods.
Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, hovered around USD 106 a barrel Tuesday, up more than 45 per cent since the war started Feb. 28.
Trump warned this week that if a ceasefire is not reached “shortly,” and if the strait is not reopened, the US would broaden its offensive, including by attacking the Kharg Island oil export hub and possibly desalination plants.
Israel, US launch new wave of strikes
Israel and the US launched a wave of strikes on Iran, hitting Tehran in the early morning.
The video shared by Trump appeared to show a massive attack on Isfahan, and NASA fire-tracking satellites suggest explosions happened in a mountainous region on the city’s southern edge. Iran has not confirmed the attack.
A satellite image taken just before the June war suggests Tehran transferred a truckload of highly enriched uranium to a nuclear facility about 20 kilometres from Tuesday’s strikes.
Analysts believe the truck – which the image showed going into a tunnel loaded with 18 blue containers – likely carried most or all of Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity. That’s a short, technical step to weapons-grade levels.
Allies have refuse to get involved
France has allowed the US Air Force to use the Istres base in southern France because it had guarantees that planes landing there would not be involved in carrying out strikes.
Spain, which has emerged as Europe’s loudest critic of the war, said Monday that it had closed its airspace for US planes involved in the conflict.
Italy recently refused to allow US military assets to use the Sigonella air base in Sicily for an operation linked to the offensive, an official with knowledge of the matter said, confirming a local press report.
The denial was issued a few days ago and concerned American aircraft, including bombers, which were supposed to land at the base before continuing toward the Middle East, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.
Italy’s Defence Minister Guido Crosetto wrote on X that Italy is still allowing the US to use its bases, adding that there has been no cooling of relations between the two countries.
Iran hits oil tanker in waters off Dubai
An Iranian drone hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker in waters off the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai, sparking a blaze that was later put out, the Dubai Media Office said. Authorities said no oil spill resulted.
Four people were also wounded when debris from an intercepted drone fell into a residential area, and loud explosions could be heard later from another attack in Dubai.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted three ballistic missiles launched toward its capital.
Loud explosions were also heard in Israel not long after the military warned of an incoming missile barrage from Iran.
Gulf allies of the United States that have been hit hard have urged Trump to continue the conflict until Iran’s military capabilities are destroyed, according to US, Gulf and Israeli officials.
In response to that growing anger, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted Tuesday that Tehran is only targeting US forces in the region.
China, Pak to promote five points aimed at ending war
China and Pakistan agreed to promote a five-point proposal aimed at restoring peace in the Middle East after a monthlong war.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday received his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, and both agreed on the five points they’ll pursue: an immediate cessation of hostilities, the start of peace talks as soon as possible, ensuring the safety of non-military targets, guaranteeing the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and safeguarding the primacy of the UN charter.
Both countries called on all parties to follow the proposals, but they didn’t mention any other concrete steps.
Dar travelled to Beijing as Pakistan has been acting as a mediator between Iran and the United States.
The South Asian country is using its relatively good ties with both Washington and Tehran to try to help end the war. (AP)
