Tehran Threatens Middle East's Busiest Port As Iran War Enters Its Third Week

DUBAI — Iran openly threatened a neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets for nan first clip Saturday, informing group to instantly evacuate nan busiest larboard successful nan Middle East and 2 others successful nan United Arab Emirates arsenic nan U.S.-Israeli warfare pinch Iran entered its 3rd week.

A rocket struck a helipad wrong nan U.S. Embassy compound successful Baghdad, and debris from an intercepted Iranian drone deed an lipid installation successful nan UAE, further expanding world worry astir lipid supplies.

Iran threatened to onslaught cities successful nan UAE, location to Dubai and 1 of nan world’s busiest airports, saying nan U.S. utilized “ports, docks and hideouts” location to motorboat strikes connected Iran’s Kharg Island, without providing evidence. It urged group to evacuate areas wherever it said U.S. forces were sheltering, naming Dubai’s Jebel Ali larboard — nan Mideast’s busiest — arsenic good arsenic Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa larboard and Fujairah port.

Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones astatine Arab gulf neighbors during nan war, but it said it was targeting U.S. assets, moreover arsenic hits aliases attempts were reported connected civilian ones specified arsenic airports and lipid fields.

Associated Press images showed a occurrence successful nan Fujairah larboard that collapsed retired aft what authorities said was a drone interception, and fume rising complete nan embassy compound successful nan Iraqi capital.

On Friday, President Trump said nan U.S. “obliterated” subject sites connected Kharg Island, location to nan main terminal that handles Iran’s lipid exports. He warned that Iran’s lipid infrastructure could beryllium adjacent if Tehran continues to interfere pinch nan transition of ships done nan Strait of Hormuz, wherever vessels are backed up and wherever one-fifth of world lipid supplies usually transit.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker has warned that specified strikes would provoke a caller level of retaliation.

Trump said Saturday connected societal media that he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea, nan U.K. and others nonstop warships to support nan strait “open and safe.”

Iran continued to motorboat rocket and drone attacks connected Israel and neighboring Arab gulf states, and U.S. and Israeli warplanes pummeled subject and different targets crossed Iran. Lebanon’s humanitarian situation deepened, pinch astir 800 group killed and 850,000 displaced, arsenic Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

Additional U.S. forces

A U.S. charismatic said Friday that 2,500 much Marines pinch nan 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and nan amphibious battle vessel USS Tripoli are being sent to nan Middle East, adding to nan military’s largest buildup of warships and craft successful nan region successful decades. The charismatic said connected information of anonymity to talk delicate subject plans.

Marine Expeditionary Units are capable to behaviour amphibious landings but besides specialize successful bolstering information astatine embassies, evacuating civilians and providing disaster relief. The deployment doesn’t needfully bespeak that a crushed cognition will return place. The Wall Street Journal first reported nan Marine deployment.

The Tripoli was spotted by commercialized satellites sailing adjacent Taiwan, putting it much than a week distant from nan waters disconnected Iran.

Earlier successful nan week, nan U.S. Navy had 12 ships, including nan craft bearer USS Abraham Lincoln and 8 destroyers, successful nan Arabian Sea. The full number of U.S. work members connected nan crushed successful nan Middle East isn’t clear.

Strikes connected Kharg Island

The U.S. strikes connected Kharg Island targeted subject sites, Trump said connected societal media.

On Saturday, Iran’s associated subject bid reiterated its threat to onslaught U.S.-linked “oil, economical and power infrastructures” successful nan region if nan Islamic Republic’s lipid infrastructure is hit.

Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency said nan Kharg Island strikes caused nary harm to lipid infrastructure. It said they targeted an aerial defense facility, a naval base, nan airdrome power building and an offshore lipid company’s chopper hangar.

U.S. Central Command said it destroyed naval excavation retention facilities, rocket retention bunkers and different subject sites.

Israel earlier announced different activity of strikes successful Iran targeting infrastructure, and said its aerial unit had deed much than 200 targets successful nan past 24 hours, including rocket launchers, defense systems and weapons accumulation sites.

Another onslaught connected U.S. Embassy successful Baghdad

No 1 instantly claimed work for nan onslaught connected nan U.S. Embassy’s helipad successful Baghdad. The embassy complex, 1 of nan largest U.S. negotiated accommodation successful nan world, has been many times targeted by rockets and drones fired by Iran-aligned militias.

There was nary contiguous remark from nan embassy. On Friday, it renewed its Level 4 information alert for Iraq, informing that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups person antecedently carried retired attacks against U.S. citizens, interests and infrastructure and “may proceed to target them.”

Gambrell, Mednick, Toropin and Magdy constitute for nan Associated Press and reported from Dubai, Tel Aviv, Washington and Cairo, respectively. AP writers Sally Abou AlJoud, Kareem Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue successful Beirut; Qassim Abdul-Zahra successful Baghdad; Will Weissert astatine Joint Base Andrews, Md.; and Tia Goldenberg successful Washington contributed to this report.