Iran launches missiles and drones across Gulf as tankers struck near Hormuz; oil prices surge
Iran fired missiles and drones at targets across the Gulf on Wednesday, including what it said were two missiles aimed at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, as regional militaries scrambled to intercept incoming threats and maritime authorities reported commercial ships hit near the Strait of Hormuz. The escalation, which Tehran described as the 37th wave of attacks on day 12 of the U.S.-Israel war “on Iran,” deepened fears over energy supplies and global markets ahead of a U.N. Security Council vote on a Gulf Cooperation Council resolution demanding Iran halt strikes on its Arab neighbors.
- Advertisement -
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched four missiles at headquarters of U.S. forces in the Middle East. Kuwaiti authorities did not confirm any impact on Camp Arifjan, but the National Guard said eight drones targeting the country were downed.
In Doha, several explosions echoed over the Qatari capital as the Ministry of Defence said the military intercepted a new missile attack aimed at the country. “A little west of the city, we saw interceptions—those smoke clouds when the defensive weapons that Qatar has make contact with those incoming missiles,” Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi reported from Doha, noting such scenes have become common across the GCC.
Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said it destroyed five drones headed for the kingdom’s vast Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert and intercepted two more over the Eastern Province.
In Bahrain, officials said Iranian attacks wounded dozens, including children, in Sitra near Manama. A fire broke out at a Ma’ameer facility after a drone strike. Earlier, a woman was killed and eight people were injured when a drone hit a residential building in Manama.
The United Arab Emirates said it responded to incoming missiles and drone threats. Dubai’s Media Office said two drones fell near Dubai International Airport, wounding four people.
Ships hit near critical energy chokepoint
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said a container vessel was set ablaze after being struck by an unknown projectile about 25 nautical miles (46 kilometers) northwest of the UAE’s Ras Al-Khaimah emirate. “There is no report of any environmental impact. The crew are reported safe and well,” UKMTO said.
The British military later reported another incident, saying a bulk carrier was hit by an unknown projectile some 50 nautical miles (93 kilometers) northwest of Dubai. UKMTO said the crew were safe and authorities were investigating.
The incidents heightened concern that conflict could choke traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passageway that handles a significant share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Brent crude has climbed about 20 percent since the fighting began, lifting pump prices worldwide and rattling financial markets on fears of prolonged disruption.
On Tuesday, the U.S. military said it destroyed 16 Iranian minelayers near the strait. President Donald Trump said there were no confirmed reports that Iran had begun mining the waterway itself, a scenario analysts had warned about in the run-up to the war. Amin Nasser, president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, warned that any sustained inability of tankers to pass Hormuz “will have a serious impact on the global economy.”
Diplomacy and risk calculus
The U.N. Security Council was expected to vote later Wednesday on a GCC-sponsored resolution demanding Iran cease attacks on neighboring states. The proposal comes as Gulf capitals, already under intense military and cyber pressure, try to contain spillover from a widening conflict involving regional and global powers.
Independent verification of several battlefield claims remained limited amid ongoing strikes and widespread air defense activity. But the pattern of intercepts, reported casualties in Bahrain and aviation disruptions near Dubai underscored the risk of miscalculation in a corridor central to global energy flows—a risk that is now reverberating from Gulf skies to shipping lanes and commodity markets.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
