The war between the United States and Iran had spread across a vast geographic arc, from the Strait of Hormuz in the south to Baghdad in the north, with strikes and counter-strikes touching Iran, Israel, the UAE, Lebanon, and Iraq in a single day. On Saturday, US planes bombed Kharg Island, Iran launched missiles at the UAE and rockets at Israel, Israel conducted raids across Iran, and Iranian-aligned militias struck the US embassy in Baghdad. The war, which began on February 28, was no longer a bilateral US-Iran conflict — it had become a regional war.
President Trump responded to the sprawling conflict with a mix of escalatory threats and appeals for allied support. He claimed US strikes had effectively demolished Kharg Island and warned that Iran’s remaining oil infrastructure could be next. On social media, he called on China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had closed since the war began. His appeal was the first public acknowledgment that reopening the strait — which carries around 20 percent of global oil and gas — might require an international coalition.
Iran’s response to the military campaign was to fight on every front available. Ballistic missiles struck Fujairah in the UAE, suspending oil-loading operations at the globally important port. Iranian commanders threatened to hit any Gulf energy facility with American ties and called on Arab states to expel US forces. Iran’s foreign minister framed the conflict as one of foreign aggression, arguing that the US military presence in the region was the root cause of instability. Analysts said Iran’s strategy was to survive the bombing and prolong the conflict until better terms could be negotiated.
Israel was a central participant in the campaign, launching dozens of airstrikes on Iran on Saturday. At least 15 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a factory in Isfahan. Israel said it was targeting missile systems and security infrastructure. Iran fired rockets at Israel in return. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described Iran’s leadership as “desperate and hiding,” and claimed the new supreme leader had been wounded in an earlier strike. Iranian officials confirmed the injury but called it minor. The International Crisis Group warned the regime remained structurally intact and capable of executing a long campaign.
The war’s human and economic toll was mounting on every front. More than 1,400 Iranians had been killed in the bombing. Thirteen Israelis and around 20 Gulf residents had died. The US embassy in Baghdad was struck by missiles, and Americans in Iraq were ordered to leave. Six US troops died in a military aircraft crash in western Iraq. Lebanon’s crisis deepened, with over 800 dead and 850,000 displaced from Israeli strikes on Hezbollah. Oil prices were approaching $120 per barrel and threatening to go higher. The world was watching a conflict that had started as a targeted military operation and was becoming something far larger and more dangerous.