Iran targets busy international airport as top UN body demands halt to attacks on Gulf neighbors

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — Iran on Wednesday targeted the world’s busiest international airport and attacked commercial ships as US and Israeli strikes rocked Tehran, while the United Nations’ most powerful body urged the Islamic Republic to halt strikes on its Gulf neighbors that threaten global oil supplies.

The latest attacks are an escalation in Iran’s campaign aimed at causing enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end the war that began 12 days ago. But there were no signs of abating the conflict.

On Thursday, an Iranian attack sparked a huge fire on Bahrain’s Muharraq Island, home to the island kingdom’s international airport. Authorities urged people to stay indoors and close windows to avoid the smoke. The airport has jet fuel tanks and other tanks in the area serve the kingdom’s oil industry.

Also, an attack on Iraq’s Basra port left at least one person dead and halted operations at all of the country’s oil terminals. Farhan al-Fartawsi, Director General of the General Company of Iraqi Ports, said the attack targeted the ship in the ship-to-ship transfer area of ​​the Persian Gulf port. Iraq’s commercial ports were open, although oil terminals were closed, according to his statement, carried by the Iraqi News Agency.

The first week of the war with Iran cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to a Pentagon estimate provided to Congress in a briefing earlier this week, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting. The military reported spending $5 billion on munitions alone in the first weekend of the war.

Both sides hope to outdo the other as the conflict swells trade routes, chokes off fuel and fertilizer supplies from the Gulf and threatens air traffic through the world’s most heavily traveled region.

Iran has targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab states and effectively halted cargo traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of all traded oil passes.

In response, the International Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil, the largest emergency oil reserve in its history, in an effort to counter the effects of war on energy markets. The US plans to release 172 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve next week to combat steeper prices.

The UN Security Council voted on Wednesday to pass a resolution urging Iran to stop its “excessive attacks” on its Gulf neighbours.

In the latest attacks, four people were injured after two Iranian drones were shot down near Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates, although the flights continued, according to Dubai’s media office. Firefighters put out a fire early Thursday morning at a luxury apartment tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after an Iranian drone strike.

In Oman’s Salalah port, crews battled a fire in fuel storage tanks there, the Oman News Agency said.

“The international community is resolute in rejecting these Iranian attacks against sovereign nations that threaten people’s stability, especially in an area of ​​strategic importance to the global economy, energy, security and global trade,” said Bahrain’s UN Ambassador Jamal Alrowai.

The 13-0 vote in the UN’s most powerful body reflects Iran’s isolated position as it has responded aggressively to Israeli and US strikes. China and Russia – two Iranian allies – abstained from the vote.

Their UN envoys called the proposal “grossly unbalanced” without mentioning the strikes against Tehran that started the war.

Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said it could leave the impression that Iran “launched an unprovoked attack on Arab states of its own volition and malice”. Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeed Irawani said the resolution “deliberately ignores the root causes of the current crisis”.

Meanwhile, more attacks have been reported in Gulf countries.

The drones were launched towards the cities of Irbil and Sulaymaniyah in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, while in the south of the country, they shot down an Australian-flagged oil tanker near the port of Khor al-Zubair, two Iraqi navy officials said.

Officials said 25 crew members were rescued. It was not immediately clear if others were missing.

On Thursday, sirens wailed and loud explosions were heard in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel after midnight. The Israeli military said it was responding with another “large-scale wave” in Tehran.

The fallout extended across the Middle East as Israel targeted targets linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

An Israeli strike on Thursday hit a car in Ramlet al-Baida, Beirut’s main seaside tourist area, where dozens of displaced people have taken refuge. Seven people were killed and 21 injured, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said. The Israeli military press office told The Associated Press it was “not aware” of a strike at that location.

Explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday, producing plumes of fire and smoke. Israel’s military said the strikes were in response to a Hezbollah attack that simultaneously fired dozens of rockets across northern Israel. This marked some of the heaviest fighting between the two since the start of the war.

A rocket hit a house near the Israeli town of Karmiel, injuring two people lightly, according to Israeli rescue services.

At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese health ministry said on Wednesday.

The UN refugee agency says at least 759,000 people are internally displaced in Lebanon.

Iranian officials say more than 1,300 people have died there, and Israel reports 12 deaths. The US lost seven soldiers and eight were seriously injured.

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This story corrected the name of Bahrain’s UN ambassador and the location of the Beirut strike by removing the word “East.”

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Abou Aljoud reported from Beirut. Mascaro reports from Washington. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, also contributed to this report, along with AP journalists around the world.