Iran assaults worldwide airport and port in enormous blow to US as battle heats up
Iran has attacked Bahrain’s international airport and Iraq’s Basra port, killing at least one person, as the country escalates conflict to pressure the US and Israel
Blaze close to the US Consulate in Dubai(Image: @TheAlexJacob/X)
A major international airport has been struck by Iran as escalations persist throughout the Middle East.
The transport hub came under attack on Wednesday alongside commercial vessels as the nation intensified tensions in a bid to inflict further global economic damage whilst pressuring the United States and Israel to cease the war.
Bahrain’s Muharraq Island, housing the island kingdom’s international airport, was engulfed in flames on Thursday following an Iranian strike. Residents were advised by officials to remain indoors and shut windows to prevent smoke inhalation, reports the Mirror.
The airport contains jet fuel storage facilities, whilst additional tanks in the vicinity support the kingdom’s oil sector.
A separate assault launched by Iran on Iraq’s Basra port resulted in at least one fatality and compelled operations to cease at all the nation’s oil terminals.
Farhan al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, confirmed the strike targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer zone at the Persian Gulf port.
Whilst the oil terminals were closed, the country’s commercial ports continued operating. The Pentagon has disclosed that the first week of conflict with Iran cost the United States a staggering 11.3 billion dollars (£8.47 billion), according to an individual familiar with the situation who wished to remain anonymous, as this information was shared during a private meeting with Congress earlier this week.
Both parties are aiming to outlast each other as the conflict disrupts trade routes, restricts supplies of fuel and fertiliser from the Gulf, and jeopardises air traffic through one of the world’s busiest regions.
Iran has targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations and effectively halted cargo traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for a fifth of all traded oil.
In response, the International Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil, marking the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in an attempt to mitigate the war’s impact on energy markets.
Next week, the US plans to release 172 million barrels of oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat soaring prices.
