The Pentagon dispatched 2,500 additional marines and the amphibious assault vessel USS Tripoli to the Middle East on Saturday, as the war between the United States and Iran showed signs of drawing in an ever-wider circle of nations. President Trump publicly called on China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help force the waterway open after Iran shut it at the beginning of the conflict. The US military was simultaneously conducting continued airstrikes on Iran, including further bombing of Kharg Island.
The conflict began on February 28 and had rapidly expanded into one of the most complex and dangerous military engagements in the Middle East in decades. Iran had responded to the joint US-Israeli offensive with daily missile and rocket attacks on Gulf infrastructure and on Israeli territory. On Saturday, ballistic missiles struck the UAE, hitting near Fujairah’s major energy facilities and prompting warnings from Iranian military officials for people near ports to evacuate. Some oil-loading operations at Fujairah were suspended as a result.
Trump painted an optimistic public picture of US military progress, claiming that American strikes had effectively destroyed most of Kharg Island and warning that Iran’s remaining oil infrastructure could be targeted next. At the same time, his call for allied warships acknowledged that reopening the Strait of Hormuz might require a collective international effort. Energy analysts warned that further damage to Kharg Island could push oil prices from $120 per barrel toward $150, with devastating consequences for economies globally.
Iran appeared determined to fight on. The regime’s foreign minister called on Arab nations to expel US forces, and Iranian military commanders threatened to attack any regional facility with American ties. The International Crisis Group’s Iran expert described Tehran’s approach as a three-pronged strategy: ensure the regime’s survival, maintain enough military power to keep fighting, and prolong the conflict in hopes of securing better terms. Trump showed no willingness to negotiate, saying the current terms were not good enough.
Human suffering was spreading rapidly across the region. More than 1,400 Iranians had been reported dead, 13 Israelis killed, and some 20 people across the Gulf. In Lebanon, Israeli strikes on Hezbollah had killed over 800 people and forced nearly a million from their homes. The US embassy in Baghdad was struck by missiles overnight, and Americans were told to leave Iraq immediately. Six US service members perished when a military plane crashed in western Iraq, adding to the American toll in a conflict with no publicly stated end date.