Iran denied US President Donald Trump’s assertion that it wants ceasefire talks, launching fresh attacks across the Persian Gulf and forcing a suspension of flights at Dubai’s main airport.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia reported drone and missile attacks overnight into Monday. Dubai halted flights at its main airport following a fire at a fuel tank that it said was caused by an Iranian drone. It announced a gradual resumption a few hours later, though Emirates said some of its scheduled flights for the day would be canceled.
The key UAE oil-export port of Fujairah was hit again on Monday, following a strike on Saturday that forced it to suspend some shipments for about a day.
In Abu Dhabi, a Palestinian civilian was killed because of a missile falling on a car, authorities in the UAE capital said.
Israel began airstrikes on infrastructure in the Islamic Republic’s capital, Tehran, after a barrage of missiles targeting the Jewish state.
The attacks show there is no letup in the fighting, now in its 17th day, that began with the US-Israeli alliance’s bombing of Iran on Feb. 28. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, disrupting global energy flows.
Trump for the first time called on world powers, including France, the UK, Japan and China, to help the US reopen the waterway by sending warships to provide escorts to commercial vessels. None of the countries have so far said they’re yet willing to do that.
Oil prices rose again in early trading. Brent rose 2.4 percent as of 11:20 a.m. in Dubai to go past $105 a barrel, a move that will further heap pressure on Trump as US gasoline prices jump.
Trump said over the weekend that Iran is ready to make a deal to end the war, but the US wants better terms, including a commitment by Tehran to abandon nuclear activities.
“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” he said.
Yet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied seeking talks or a ceasefire with the US.
“We don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us,” Araghchi said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS. Iran will continue to defend itself until Trump accepts that he’s waging an “illegal war” with no chance of victory, he said.
Japan, which rarely wants to appear out of lockstep with the US, said through a senior official that efforts to escort ships through Hormuz face “high hurdles.” Australia ruled out sending warships.
European Union foreign ministers will discuss the idea of expanding the bloc’s Aspides naval mission from the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz when they meet Monday, but officials cautioned no decisions are imminent.
The military operation to secure shipping in the Red Sea “has not been effective so far,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told ARD television on Sunday, adding Berlin was very skeptical about any expansion of the naval mission.
The Pentagon estimates the war – which US officials said cost the country $11.3 billion in the first six days alone – would take between four and six weeks, said Kevin Hassett, head of the White House’s National Economic Council. Underscoring the domestic pressure on Trump, he was among several administration officials on Sunday asking Americans for patience as global oil prices rise.
The conflict has left close to 4,000 people dead across the region, according to tolls from governments and nongovernmental organizations. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said more than 3,000 people were killed in the last two weeks in Iran. Lebanon said 850 people were killed since Israel began attacking Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia in the country. Dozens have died across the Gulf and in Israel, while the US has lost 13 service members.
The US hit military sites over the weekend on Kharg Island, from which Iran exports almost all its oil. In announcing the strike, Trump said military facilities there had been “obliterated,” adding that he chose not to hit oil infrastructure “for reasons of decency.”
He threatened to do so should Iran “do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Trump said that even though Iran’s military was “already destroyed 100 percent,” it was “easy” for Tehran to continue threatening ships with drones, mines and short-range missiles. The US, he said, “will be bombing the hell out of” Iran’s shoreline to try to counter that.
Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said the strait was only shut to US ships and those of its allies. There have been 16 reported attacks on vessels in and around Hormuz since the war began, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations.
Araghchi said the Islamic Republic was open to talks with regional countries, but said ending the conflict would require a clear commitment by Tehran’s adversaries not to attack it again.
“We welcome any regional initiative that leads to a fair end to the war,” he told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. “Ending the war is conditional on guarantees that it won’t be repeated and on the payment of compensation.”
