Drones and missiles struck targets in Baghdad and the United Arab Emirates on 14 March, at the same time Tehran said oil exports from its key terminal on Kharg Island continued despite US strikes there.
Iraqi security officials said a drone hit the grounds of the US embassy in Baghdad on the morning of 14 March, while smoke rose from the Emirati port of Fujairah after debris from an intercepted drone caused a fire near energy facilities.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported that crude oil exports from Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil terminal, continued despite US airstrikes.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency quoted a senior provincial official as saying crude oil exports from the strategic island terminal were flowing uninterrupted despite US President Donald Trump’s claims that US forces had “completely destroyed” Iranian military targets there.
The strike on Kharg Island marked a major development in the conflict, which began on 28 February following large-scale US-Israeli strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities.
Trump said US forces had carried out “one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East” targeting military installations on the island, bypassing its vital oil export terminals.
US Central Command later said troops struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg Island while preserving its oil infrastructure.
Kharg Island handles about 90 per cent of Iran’s crude oil exports, making it one of the most strategically sensitive energy targets in the region.
Trump warned that containment could end if Iran impedes shipping through the neighbouring Strait of Hormuz. He also said the US Navy would soon begin escorting ships through the strait.
The narrow waterway normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s offshore oil reserves, but tanker traffic has largely ceased since the conflict began.
Regional officials say that despite the military might of the US and Israel, Iran continues to launch missile and drone strikes across the Middle East, targeting energy facilities and military installations.
On 14 March, smoke was seen in the port of Fujairah, UAE, after debris from an intercepted drone caused a fire near energy facilities.
Authorities said civil defence teams were working to contain the fire.
Some oil transfer operations at the port – one of the world’s largest refuelling centres outside the Strait of Hormuz – were reportedly suspended after the incident.
Earlier, the Iranian military warned residents of the United Arab Emirates to stay away from port areas, saying they could become targets.
Since the war began, Iranian strikes have targeted energy facilities across the Persian Gulf, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.