Iran hits Gulf neighbors and keeps stranglehold on oil shipping as
concerns rise of energy crisis
[March 16, 2026]
By DAVID RISING, SALLY ABOU ALJOUD and WILL WEISSERT
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Explosions echoed across Beirut early Monday as
Israel struck the Lebanese capital. It also launched a new wave of
attacks on Tehran, while Dubai was forced to temporarily close its
airport after an Iranian drone hit a fuel tank.
Since being attacked by the United States and Israel more than two weeks
ago, Iran has been regularly hitting Israel, American bases and its Gulf
Arab neighbors' energy infrastructure with drones and missiles.
It has also effectively stopped shipping traffic in the Strait of
Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, giving
rise to growing fears of a global energy crisis and putting pressure on
Washington as consumers are already feeling the pain at the pump.
Brent crude, the international standard, remained stubbornly over $100 a
barrel on Monday. It was at $104 in early trading, up nearly 45% since
the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. It has spiked as high as
about $120 during the conflict.
President Donald Trump said he has made demands to about seven countries
to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, but his appeals have
brought no commitments. His party is increasingly concerned that rising
prices for American consumers will hurt the Republicans in elections
this fall.
“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own
territory, because it is their own territory,” Trump told reporters as
he flew back to Washington from Florida aboard Air Force One. He did not
identify the countries, but has previously appealed to China, France,
Japan, South Korea and Britain.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called claims that his country
may be seeking a negotiated end to the war “delusional,” saying in a
social media post early Monday that his country was seeking neither
“truce nor talks.”
“Our Powerful Armed Forces will keep firing until POTUS realizes that
illegal war he's imposing on both Americans and Iranians is wrong and
must never be repeated,” he wrote on X.
Iran hits Dubai airport, forcing temporary closure
As morning broke Monday, a drone hit a fuel tank near Dubai
International Airport, the world's busiest for international passenger
traffic, causing a large fire.
Firefighters were able to contain the blaze and there were no injuries
reported but the airport temporarily suspended all flights before
resuming them a few hours later.
Later, a person was killed in the capital when an Iranian missile hit a
vehicle, the Abu Dhabi media office said. Fire also broke out at an oil
facility in Fujairah, one of the UAE's seven emirates, following a drone
attack.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones toward Gulf countries
hosting U.S. military assets since the war began. Emirati authorities
say most have been intercepted by air defenses, though debris and some
drones have fallen inside the country.
Iranian officials have recently accused the UAE of allowing its
territory to be used for attacks against Iran. Emirati officials have
rejected the allegations as misleading and said the country’s actions
have been defensive.
Saudi Arabia, meantime, said it had intercepted a wave of 35 Iranian
drones sent at its eastern region, home to major oil installations.
Israel’s military said early Monday that Iran launched missiles toward
Israel as well.
Israel’s military says Iran is firing cluster bombs that can evade some
air defenses and scatter submunitions across multiple locations.
Israel hits Beirut and launches new attacks on Tehran
Massive explosions were heard in Beirut as Israel launched new attacks
on the Lebanese capital before dawn, saying it was striking
infrastructure related to the Iran-linked Hezbollah militia group.
The Israeli army has issued evacuation orders for many neighborhoods in
Beirut as well as southern Lebanon. To date, over 800,000 people have
been displaced by Israel's campaign in Lebanon.
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People shout slogans during an anti U.S. and Israeli rally outside
the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, March 15, 2026. The
sign reads in Turkish: "Leave NATO, close the bases." (AP Photo/Emrah
Gurel)
At least 850 people have been killed by Israeli strikes so far,
including 107 children and 66 women.
Not long after Israel's military announced it had launched new
strikes on Tehran targeting infrastructure, explosions were heard in
the Iranian capital and outlying areas.
More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran so far, according to
the Red Cross.
In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire and
more have been injured, including three on Sunday. At least 13 U.S.
military members have been killed, six in a plane crash in Iraq last
week.
Trump threatens to ‘remember’ which allies do not help
On Air Force One, Trump wouldn’t say which countries could be part
of the coalition he wants to police the Strait of Hormuz to provide
security for oil tankers and other commercial ships passing through.
But he said he won’t forget the countries that decline to help. He
named British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who he said initially
declined to put British aircraft carriers “into harm’s way.”
“Whether we get support or not, but I can say this, and I said to
them: We will remember,” Trump said.
Ahead of a meeting in Brussels, the European Union's foreign policy
chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc's foreign ministers would discuss
possibly extending its Aspides naval mission, which protects ships
in the Red Sea, to the Strait of Hormuz, without giving any details
on how such a mission would work or how long it would take to decide
on it.
Europeans have been critical of the U.S. and Israel for failing to
provide clarity on their objectives in the war, and German Foreign
Minister Johann Wadephul on Sunday questioned EU involvement, saying
security for the Strait of Hormuz can only come “if there is a
negotiated solution.”
“Europe always gives constructive support when it comes to securing
sea routes, but I see neither an immediate necessity nor above all
Germany participating,” he said on ARD television.
Monday Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament that
her government “has not heard anything” from Washington about
Trump’s call help protecting the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan imports more than 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East,
however, and she said there had been discussions about what could be
done to protect Japanese ships “regardless of a U.S. request.”
Japan on Monday began releasing its oil reserves to address concerns
about supply shortages and rising prices.
Trump has speculated that prices would fall, but wouldn't directly
answer whether his administration is talking about selling oil
futures as a way to cap surging oil prices, something his interior
secretary had mentioned as a possibility.
“The prices are going to come tumbling down as soon as it’s over.
And it’s going to be over pretty quickly,” he told reporters.
___
Rising reported from Bangkok and Weissert from aboard Air Force One.
Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Sam McNeil in Brussels, Samy Magdy in Cairo
and Adam Schreck in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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