Trump urges allies to send warships to secure Strait of Hormuz amid tensions

Gulf states reported new missile and drone attacks Sunday after Tehran threatened to widen its campaign and called for the evacuation of three major ports in the United Arab Emirates as Iranian strikes there part of a broader war with the United States and Israel progress into their third weekBahrain Saudi Arabia and the UAE warned people that they were working to intercept incoming projectiles a day after Iran called for the port evacuations threatening for the first time a neighbouring countrys nonUS assetsIran earlier accused the United States of using ports docks and hideouts in the UAE to launch strikes on Kharg Island home to the main terminal handling Irans oil exports without providing evidence The UAE and other Gulf countries that host US bases have denied allowing their land or airspace to be used for military operations against IranIranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf states most of them migrant workers At least 13 members of the US military have been killed since the war began including seven in combat and six who died in a plane crash over Iraq last weekUS President Donald Trump said he hoped allies would send warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz Meanwhile Lebanons humanitarian crisis deepened with over 800 people killed and 850000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iranbacked Hezbollah militantsIran says the US attacked from close to DubaiIrans foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said the US attacked Kharg Island and Abu Musa Island from two locations in the UAE Ras Al Khaimah and a place very close to Dubai calling that dangerous and saying Iran will try to be careful not to attack any populated area thereUS Central Command said it had no response to Irans claim A diplomatic adviser to the UAEs president Anwar Gargash rejected accusations that the US used its land or air as a base for its attacks on Kharg IslandIran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Arab Gulf neighbours during the war but it has said it was targeting US assets even as hits or attempts were reported on civilian ones such as airports and oil fields Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz was closed only to those who are attacking us and their alliesTrump urges allies to send warships to the Strait of HormuzAs global anxiety soars over oil prices and supplies Trump said Saturday that he hopes China France Japan South Korea the UK and others send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and safe Britain in response said it was discussing with allies a range of options to secure shippingAraghchi in a social media post urged neighbours to expel foreign aggressors and described Trumps call as begging On Saturday Irans joint military command reiterated its threat to attack USlinked oil economic and energy infrastructures in the region if the Islamic Republics oil infrastructure is hitIrans semiofficial Fars news agency said the Kharg Island strikes caused no damage to oil infrastructure It said they targeted an air defence facility a naval base the airport control tower and an offshore oil companys helicopter hangarUS identifies 6 killed in military aircraft crashThe US Department of Defence on Saturday identified six service members who died when the military refuelling aircraft they were aboard crashed on Thursday while supporting operations against Iran The service members were Maj John A Klinner 33 Capt Ariana G Savino 31 Tech Sgt Ashley B Pruitt 34 Capt Seth R Koval 38 Capt Curtis J Angst 30 and Tech Sgt Tyler H Simmons 28 according to US officialsThe crash in western Iraq followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in friendly airspace according to US Central Command The other plane landed safelyAnother attack on the US Embassy in BaghdadA missile struck a helipad inside the US Embassy compound in Baghdad on Saturday No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack The embassy complex one of the largest US diplomatic facilities in the world has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones fired by Iranaligned militiasThe State Department again warned citizens in Iraq to leave now and by land since commercial flights were not available It noted that Iran and Iranaligned militia groups may continue to target US citizens interests and infrastructureThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever