Dateline: Palm Beach, Florida/Dubai/Jerusalem, March 15
President Donald Trump threatened renewed strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub as the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran entered its third week. In comments broadcast on U.S. television, he said U.S. strikes had "totally demolished" much of the island and added, "We may hit it a few more times just for fun."
Those remarks represented a marked escalation from earlier statements in which the U.S. president had said American strikes were aimed only at military targets on Kharg. The tougher language came as efforts at diplomacy showed little traction, and the administration declined to pursue overtures by Middle Eastern partners seeking talks, three sources said.
Conflict and energy supply
The confrontation shows no sign of abating and has intensified pressure on energy markets. Iran’s ability to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz - the maritime gateway for roughly a fifth of global oil supplies - has moved from long-standing concern to an immediate crisis capable of roiling the global economy.
Energy prices have spiked amid what officials and market participants described as the largest disruption to oil supply on record since the start of hostilities. Trump wrote on social media that "The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help - A LOT!" He added that the U.S. would coordinate with those countries so that "everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well."
Iran’s response and regional strikes
Iran warned it would escalate any attack on its energy infrastructure. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched missile and drone strikes against targets in Israel and at three U.S. bases in the region, calling those actions the first round of retaliation for workers killed in Iran’s industrial areas. The Israeli military reported it was intercepting incoming launches.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed 10 drones over Riyadh and in the eastern region. Separately, semi-official Fars news agency reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they were not connected to another unspecified attack.
In the United Arab Emirates, oil-loading operations at the bunkering and ship-refueling hub of Fujairah resumed after a drone strike and subsequent fire on Saturday disrupted activity, according to an industry contact based in Fujairah.
Human toll and wider fallout
Washington advised U.S. citizens to leave Iraq amid the escalating violence. Reports from governments and state media indicated that the campaign launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28 has killed more than 2,000 people, with the majority of fatalities in Iran. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that at least 15 people died when an airstrike struck a refrigerator and heater factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan.
Allies urged to secure the Strait
President Trump urged China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and other partners to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help secure shipping lanes. None of those countries promptly committed to such deployments.
Japan’s ruling party policy chief, Takayuki Kobayashi, said the legal threshold to deploy forces was very high, noting Japan’s postwar constitutional constraints and the unused 2015 security law that would need invocation. South Korea’s presidential office said any decision on the request would follow a "careful review." French officials said Paris was working to assemble a coalition to protect the strait once the security situation stabilizes, while British officials said they were discussing a range of options with allies to safeguard shipping.
Despite those diplomatic discussions, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his slain father, has said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed.
Weapons flows and equipment
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia was supplying Iran with Shahed drones, which have been implicated in other regional attacks, although their manufacturers are not always clear. Zelenskiy made that remark in an interview with CNN.
Market and security implications
Markets have reacted to the heightened risk to energy flows through the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. The combination of resumed attacks, threats of further strikes, and calls for allied naval deployments has created a sustained period of uncertainty for oil markets and shipping operations. The situation remains fluid, with continued military exchanges and intermittent disruptions to maritime logistics.
Authorities and industry sources reported isolated recoveries such as the resumption of operations at Fujairah, but broader stability has not been restored.
Summary
President Trump has threatened additional strikes on Kharg Island while urging international partners to deploy warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has threatened to intensify its response to any attack on its energy facilities, and its Revolutionary Guards reported missile and drone strikes on Israel and several U.S. bases. Oil-loading at Fujairah briefly resumed after an attack, and several governments have issued travel advisories or evacuation guidance. Diplomatic attempts to de-escalate have so far made limited progress.