On Saturday, Iran issued an evacuation warning for three key ports in the United Arab Emirates—including the busiest in the Middle East—marking its first public threat against a neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets as its conflict with the U.S. and Israel entered its third week.
Iran claimed the U.S. had utilized “ports, docks, and hideouts” in the UAE to launch attacks on its Kharg Island, though it provided no evidence. It called on people to leave areas where it alleged U.S. forces were taking shelter.
Hours following the threat, there were no signs of an attack on Dubai’s Jebel Ali port (the Middle East’s busiest) or Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa port. However, Associated Press photos showed a fire at the third port, in Fujairah, caused by debris from an intercepted Iranian drone striking an oil facility.
Iran says the US attacked from close to Dubai
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told MS NOW that the U.S. attacked Kharg Island and Abu Musa Island using low-range artillery from two locations in the UAE: Ras Al-Khaimah and a spot “very close to Dubai.” He described this as dangerous and stated Iran “will strive to be careful not to target any populated areas” in those locations.
Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbors since the conflict began, but it has maintained it was targeting U.S. assets—even as reports emerged of hits or attempted strikes on civilian targets like airports and oil fields.
On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump stated the U.S. had “obliterated” military sites on Kharg Island—home to the primary terminal handling Iran’s oil exports. He added that oil infrastructure could be targeted next if Tehran continues to disrupt ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz, where vessels are currently backed up and one-fifth of global oil supplies typically transit.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker has warned that attacks on the country’s oil infrastructure would provoke a new tier of retaliation.
As global concern over oil prices and supplies surges, Trump said Saturday he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea, the U.K., and other nations send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe.” Britain, in response, noted it is discussing a “range of options” with allies to safeguard shipping.
Iran repeats threat against US-linked oil assets
On Saturday, Iran’s joint military command reaffirmed its threat to target U.S.-linked “oil, economic, and energy infrastructures” in the region should the Islamic Republic’s oil infrastructure be attacked.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that the Kharg Island strikes caused no damage to oil infrastructure. It stated the attacks targeted an air defense facility, a naval base, the airport control tower, and an offshore oil company’s helicopter hangar.
U.S. Central Command confirmed it had destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers, and other military sites.
Israel earlier announced a new wave of strikes in Iran targeting infrastructure, noting its air force had struck more than 200 targets in the past 24 hours—including missile launchers, defense systems, and weapons production facilities.
Marines and an assault ship will add to US forces
A U.S. official said Friday that 2,500 additional Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli are being deployed to the Middle East, augmenting the military’s largest buildup of warships and aircraft in the region in decades. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.
Marine Expeditionary Units are capable of conducting amphibious landings but also specialize in enhancing embassy security, evacuating civilians, and providing disaster relief. The deployment does not necessarily signal a ground operation will occur. The Wall Street Journal first broke the news of the Marine deployment.
Commercial satellites spotted the Tripoli sailing near Taiwan, putting it more than a week away from waters off Iran’s coast.
Earlier in the week, the Navy had 12 ships—including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and eight destroyers—operating in the Arabian Sea. The total number of U.S. service members on the ground in the Middle East remains unclear.
Another attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad
A missile struck a helipad within the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Saturday. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The embassy complex—one of the largest U.S. diplomatic facilities globally—has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones fired by Iran-aligned militias.
There was no immediate comment from the embassy. On Friday, it renewed its Level 4 security alert for Iraq, warning that Iran and Iran-aligned militia groups have previously carried out attacks against U.S. citizens, interests, and infrastructure and “may continue to target them.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s humanitarian crisis has deepened: more than 800 people have been killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.