The Strait of Hormuz remained closed on Saturday as Iran showed no signs of reopening the vital waterway despite intense US and Israeli military pressure now stretching into a third week. The closure of the strait — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas normally passes — had driven energy prices toward $120 per barrel and threatened to push them higher still. The combination of the Hormuz blockade, US strikes on Kharg Island, and Iranian missile attacks on Gulf energy hubs was creating what analysts described as a multi-layered threat to global economic stability.
US warplanes maintained their assault on Kharg Island on Saturday following a massive attack on Friday. President Trump said in public statements the island had been effectively destroyed, while threatening that Iran’s remaining oil infrastructure could face destruction if Tehran did not allow free maritime passage. He simultaneously called on allied nations to contribute warships to a coalition effort to reopen the strait, naming China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK. Analysts described the appeal as the first clear public acknowledgment that the US might not be able to unilaterally force the waterway open.
Iran escalated on multiple fronts. Ballistic missiles struck the UAE, hitting near Fujairah’s major oil port and forcing a suspension of loading operations. Iran’s military warned civilians near UAE ports and US installations to evacuate and threatened strikes on any Gulf energy facility with American ownership. The foreign minister called on Arab governments to expel US forces, arguing that the American military footprint in the region was the source of destabilisation. The UAE condemned the attacks as terrorism but maintained its commitment to restraint and diplomacy.
Israeli warplanes continued their air campaign inside Iran, launching dozens of strikes on Saturday. At least 15 people were killed in Isfahan when a strike hit a factory. Iran continued firing rockets at Israel in return. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Iran’s leadership was hiding underground, including a wounded supreme leader. Iranian officials confirmed Khamenei’s injury but disputed its severity. The International Crisis Group described Iran’s approach as a calculated three-part strategy of survival, retaliation, and prolonged conflict.
The war’s human costs were accumulating steadily. More than 1,400 Iranians had been reported killed. Thirteen Israelis had died, along with roughly 20 people across Gulf states. Lebanon remained in deep crisis, with 800 killed and 850,000 displaced from Israeli strikes on Hezbollah. The US embassy in Baghdad was struck overnight, triggering an immediate evacuation order for Americans in Iraq. Six US troops died in a military aircraft crash in western Iraq. With no diplomatic talks under way and no timeline offered, the world watched and waited for a war that showed no signs of ending.