Unclear if Iran’s leader Mojtaba Khamenei is ‘dead or not,’ Trump tells reporters

The leaders of five Western countries said in a joint statement on Monday that a large-scale Israeli ground operation in Lebanon « must be averted. »

« A significant Israeli ground offensive would have devastating humanitarian consequences and could lead to a protracted conflict, » said the joint statement from the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

The statement said that the leaders were « gravely concerned by the escalating violence in Lebanon » and called for « meaningful engagement by Israeli and Lebanese representatives to negotiate a sustainable political solution. »

Earlier on Monday Israel’s military said it had launched « limited » ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

A fire broke out late on Monday on the roof of a hotel in Baghdad’s Green Zone, with the interior ministry saying there were no casualties or damage after a « projectile » landed on the building.

Two Iraqi security sources said a drone attack had targeted the US embassy, located in the same area as the al-Rasheed Hotel, inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses diplomatic missions and government institutions.

The luxury hotel also houses several other diplomatic missions. Its street was blocked by a large security deployment, with firefighters and ambulances present.

US President Donald Trump has called on allies to send ships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, effectively closed since the war in Iran started last month, and responsible for one-fifth of global oil traffic.

If allies do not respond to the US or react negatively, Trump has threatened a « bad future » for NATO.

But why is securing passage so crucial? L’Observatoire de l’Europe explains.

A drone strike on Monday caused a fire at a major oil field in the United Arab Emirates, authorities said, as Iran continued its drone and missile strikes across the Gulf.

Authorities in the emirate of Abu Dhabi said they were still responding to the fire at the Shah oil field, without reporting injuries.

The Shah oil field, located 230 kilometres south of Abu Dhabi city, has a production capacity of approximately 70,000 barrels of crude oil per day, according to the UAE’s state-owned energy giant ADNOC.

A loud explosion was heard in Iraq’s capital Baghdad late Monday, journalists with the AFP news agency said, with smoke seen near the city’s heavily fortified Green Zone.

The zone houses the US embassy and other diplomatic missions, as well as international institutions and government offices. High-ranking officials and politicians also live there.

As the Iran war sends energy costs higher across the 27-nation European Union, Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen said EU energy ministers met in Brussels on Monday to discuss targeted, temporary steps to lower bills for businesses and vulnerable households.

Over the longer term, he said the EU will double down on clean energy and domestic production to reduce reliance on volatile global markets, referencing the EU’s push to cut dependence on Russian energy after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

“Now Europe faces again an existential choice: Stay dependent on volatile global energy markets, or finally take control of our own energy future,” he said.

The Iran war is already proving costly: on Friday, a Trump administration official said the conflict had so far cost $12 billion (€10.4bn), or just under $1 billion a day.

Iran has reacted to the US-Israeli intervention by launching its own bombardment campaign against its regional neighbours, using cheap drones like the Tehran-designed and made Shahed 136, costing $20,000-50,000 each (€17,400-€43,500).

Meanwhile, the US has been shooting them down with Patriot interceptor missiles, which cost $3 million to $4 million (€2.6m-€3.5m), and THAAD interceptors, which cost $10 million (€8.7m).

Even though Washington’s military budget of $900 billion (€783.8bn) blows Iran’s out of the water, this is clearly not a cost-effective way for the US to wage war.

Jonathan Benton breaks down the numbers.

The Iran war is entering its third week with no clear end in sight, as military strikes intersect with deepening uncertainty over Tehran’s leadership and looming cultural celebrations that could spark unrest.

Conflicting reports continue to circulate about the condition of Mojtaba Khamenei, who was named supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the opening US-Israeli strikes on 28 February.

Babak Kamiar has a full analysis in the article below.

About 200 US service personnel have been wounded since the start of the Iran war though more than 180 service members have returned to duty, Captain Tim Hawkins, the spokesman for Central Command, said on Monday.

Hawkins said 10 service members are considered seriously wounded.

The previous update released last week by the Pentagon put the number of wounded personnel at around 140 and eight as “severely injured.”

CENTCOM has not said when or where those troops were wounded, or given details on the type of injuries.

Since the war in Iran began, 13 US service members have been killed.

There’s an “evident” buildup of Israeli troops inside Lebanese territory in at least six locations near the Blue Line, the border with Israel, the UN peacekeeping force spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said on Monday.

UNIFIL peacekeepers have also seen clashes around the villages of Odaisseh and Khiam in the region.

In some cases, she said, Israeli ground incursions reached at least 5 kilometres into Lebanese territory, although forces have not established permanent positions that deep.

The Israeli military has said it is moving more troops into Lebanon as it attempts to push Hezbollah away from the border but has not given numbers.

UN peacekeepers have not been able to move around or monitor the situation fully because of the current fighting, Ardiel noted.

Two drones targeted a major southern Iraqi oil field late on Monday, an oil ministry spokesperson said, after the second attack in four days.

Majnoon oil field was « targeted by two drones, one hit a telecommunication tower, » oil ministry spokesperson Saheb Bazoun said, adding that there had been no damage.

A security official confirmed the attack and said the second drone had targeted the offices of an American firm operating at the site.

Qatar has rejected Iranian claims that its strikes do not target civilian locations, as missile and drone attacks on the country continue despite appearing less intense in recent days, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Dr Majed Al-Ansari said in a briefing on Monday.

You can read the full report by Mohamed Elashi and Aadel Haleem below.

European Union foreign ministers showed « no appetite » for extending the bloc’s Red Sea naval mission to help re-open the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said after talks in Brussels on Monday.

Restarting the flow of shipments of « fertilizers, food and energy » was an « urgent priority », Kaja Kallas said, but a proposal to change the mandate of the EU’s Operation Aspides to help with securing the strait drew little enthusiasm from member states.

« There was in our discussions a clear wish to strengthen this operation, but for the time being, there was no appetite in changing the mandate, » Kallas said, after a meeting with foreign ministers from the EU’s 27 nations in the Belgian capital.

The United Arab Emirates Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh launched an appeal to the world to force Tehran to lift its stranglehold on the vital shipping waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, and hailed the support provided by the European Union since the start of the Iran war.

You can check out the full interview with Lana Nusseibeh in this edition of 12 Minutes With at the link below.

Israeli police said they found missile and interceptor fragments at holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday, including areas near the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

« During the recent missile salvo fired from Iran toward Jerusalem, several intercepts occurred over the city, » the police said.

The force said it had located « fragments of missiles and interceptor debris, some of significant size, at multiple sites in the Old City, including the Temple Mount complex, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre complex and the Jewish Quarter. »

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned on Monday that an Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon was an « error » which would « further exacerbate the already highly tense humanitarian situation » in the country.

« We urgently call on our Israeli friends: Do not take this path – it would be an error, » Merz said after Israeli military announced what it described as « limited ground operations » in Lebanon.

The German chancellor condemned Hezbollah for entering the conflict “on behalf of Iran” and called on the Lebanese militant group to stop attacking Israel and to disarm.

The United Arab Emirates’ state-owned energy giant ADNOC halted the loading of oil into storage tanks at their Fujairah facility, a source with knowledge of the operations said on Monday, following repeated strikes on the energy installation.

« ADNOC oil loading at Fujairah is suspended, » the source told the AFP news agency.

Fujairah is home to a major port where Iranian attacks have already targeted oil storage tanks. The port is also home to a key oil export terminal just at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened on Monday to target US companies across the region, calling on employees to evacuate the sites.

« Employees of American companies…are requested to leave these areas immediately. These areas will soon be targeted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, » the Guards said on their official Sepah News website.

It was not immediately clear which companies would be targeted but last week, the Tasnim news agency published a list of potential targets on Telegram that included the offices of tech giants such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Nvidia in Gulf countries.

A day after Trump demanded other countries join a coalition to police the Strait of Hormuz, Israel’s envoy to the UN tried to make the case that the burden shouldn’t be just on America’s closest ally in the region.

“We understand the need to support the effort of the US and it should be a global effort,” Danny Danon said.

“You look at Israel, a tiny country and you know Iran is I think 80 times bigger than Israel and we take a lot of the burden for the world.”

Turkey on Monday condemned Israel’s ground operation in Lebanon, cautioning against « another humanitarian catastrophe » unfolding in the Middle East.

« We firmly condemn the Israeli ground operation in Lebanon, which is worsening instability in the region, » the ministry said in a statement.

« The implementation by the (Benjamin) Netanyahu government of genocidal and collective punishment policies, this time in Lebanon, will lead to yet another humanitarian catastrophe in the region, » it said.

Israel said on Monday it had “destroyed” a compound used by the Iranian military to develop space capabilities.

The IDF said the building in Tehran was used to “develop military space programmes,” including the Chamran-1 satellite which Iran first launched in 2024.

Photos posted to social media showed what appeared to be damage to the Tarasht Space Research Institute.

On the 14 March the IDF said it had struck the “primary research centre” of the Iranian Space Agency.

Romania’s foreign ministry said on Monday that it is not a party to the war in Iran, adding that the “priority is the diplomatic effort for de-escalation, for which we have advocated since the first day of the conflict.”

That statement came in response to comments from Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson who accused the NATO country of becoming involved after agreeing to allow the United States to use Romanian airbases.

Romania’s foreign ministry said that a 2006 bilateral access agreement “provides the US with the guaranteed legal framework to use military bases in Romania on an ongoing basis.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said on Iranian television that if Romania allows the US to use its airbases, it would “certainly amount to Romania’s participation in the military aggression against Iran.”

Sri Lanka has decided to close government offices, universities and schools every Wednesday as a part of measures to save energy and manage a potential fuel crisis due to the war in Iran.

The move came a day after the government imposed a strict fuel rationing system which is aimed at preventing panic buying.

Sri Lanka last week increased fuel prices by 8%.

International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said on Monday more strategic oil stocks could be released if necessary to limit the fallout of the virtual blockage of supplies through the Strait of Hormuz owing to the war on Iran.

« In terms of government stocks and industry stocks held under government obligation, if you combine them, there will be still over 1.4 billion barrels remaining, which means we can do more later as and if needed, » Birol said in a video statement.

A strike near Iraq’s western border with Syria killed at least four fighters from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, two security officials said.

The fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi (PMF), now part of Iraq’s regular army, « were killed and three others were wounded » in the attack on a checkpoint at the entrance to the city of al-Qaim, a local security official said.

An official put the toll at five dead, blaming the United States for the strike targeting a checkpoint housing PMF personnel alongside army and police forces.

Iran vowed at the United Nations on Monday that it would not submit to « lawless aggression, » and said its citizens were in « grave danger » from US and Israeli strikes.

At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where countries were discussing the rights situation in Iran, Tehran said the focus instead should be on the Middle East war.

« The most urgent and fundamental human rights issue concerning Iran is the imminent threat to the lives of 90 million people whose lives are in immediate and grave danger under the shadow of reckless military aggression, » Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, said.

He called it « an aggression that is carried out by some of the most lawless and unscrupulous actors on the international stage ».

Lebanon’s foreign ministry has criticised the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah for allegedly opening fire at UN peacekeepers based in the country.

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL said on Sunday that peacekeepers were fired upon, “likely by non-state armed groups” on three separate occasions while conducting patrols around their bases in three villages in the south.

The UN peacekeeping force did not say Hebzollah was behind the attacks.

The ministry said the government’s position is clear that “no armed group operating outside the authority of the state” will be permitted to draw Lebanon further into instability in service of agendas that run counter to Lebanon’s national interests.

A drone attack caused a fire in a building in the north of the UAE on Monday, authorities said, amid a slew of nationwide attacks that disrupted Dubai’s airport, hit an oil hub and killed a civilian.

« A building in the emirate of Umm Al Quwain was targeted by a drone, causing a fire but resulting in no injuries, » the Umm Al Quwain Government Media Office said in a statement published by the official WAM news agency, without naming the building.

The United Arab Emirates was attacked on Monday with six ballistic missiles and 21 drones coming from Iran, the Defence Ministry said.

The ministry has tallied 304 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,627 drones since the start of the war.

The attacks have killed seven people, including two troops, it said.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani said in a video statement on Monday that a pipeline from the northern city of Kirkuk to Turkey will be operational within a week, allowing the country to resume oil exports interrupted by the ongoing war.

Iraq previously exported around 3.4 million barrels of oil a day through its southern port of Basra, he said, but “in light of the military operations and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iraqi oil exports stopped two or three days after the beginning of the war in the region.”

Abdul-Ghani said the pipeline from Kirkuk to Turkey, with a capacity of 200,000 to 250,000 barrels a day, is currently undergoing hydrostatic testing.

The route will bypass the semi-autonomous Kurdish area in northern Iraq after Baghdad could not reach an agreement with local authorities over conditions for exporting via another pipeline in the region.

The top US military commander in the Middle East says American forces are zeroing in on Iran’s threats to freighters carrying oil and natural gas through a vital chokepoint in the Persian Gulf.

“We will continue to rapidly deplete Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, said in a video posted to X on Monday.

Iranian strikes on commercial vessels have effectively stopped shipping traffic in the waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.

That has dramatically increased the price of oil and put pressure on Washington to do something to ease the pain for consumers.

Speaking to L’Observatoire de l’Europe, UAE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lana Nusseibeh said European governments have been among the most engaged international partners since the crisis began.

“We’ve been in frequent contact with different governments around the world since this has started, but I would say the Europeans have been incredibly supportive,” she said.

You can read the full interview by Jane Witherspoon and Toby Gregory below.

An air raid alert has been issued in Doha, L’Observatoire de l’Europe journalists in the Qatari capital are reporting.

It’s the first such alert in the city in 48 hours.

« Qatar announces that its armed forces intercepted a missile attack which targeted the State of Qatar, » the defence ministry said in a statement.

The Interior Ministry urged people to remain indoors.

US President Donald Trump said he may delay his China trip due to the Iran war, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday it’s not to pressure Beijing on the Strait of Hormuz.

Bessent said any delay to Trump’s trip to Beijing wouldn’t be because of disagreements over the Iran war or efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“If the meeting for some reason was rescheduled, it would be rescheduled because of logistics,” he said. “The president wants to remain in DC to coordinate the war and travelling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal.”

India’s shipping ministry said on Monday that an Indian-flagged vessel carrying liquefied petroleum gas is expected to arrive at port later in the day with more than 40,000 metric tons of fuel.

Local media reported that the vessel sailed from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

A second ship is scheduled to dock on Tuesday, the ministry said. Both vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.

Officials said 22 Indian-flagged vessels remain west of the strait.

Italy is the latest country to react cautiously to Trump’s demand that allies help open the Strait of Hormuz.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters in Brussels on Monday that Italy backs reinforcing EU naval missions in the Red Sea.

But he added: “However, I don’t think these missions can be expanded to include the Strait of Hormuz, especially since they are anti-piracy and defensive missions.”

US President Donald Trump said he has demanded about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf countries.

Diplomatic talks with Iran are only possible if it ceases its attacks, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, as Tehran presses its missile and drone campaign against Gulf states.

« If they stop the attacks, then we can find a way out with diplomacy. But as long as our countries are being attacked, this is not the time to establish committees, it’s the time to take a very principled position (on) protecting our countries and for them to stop attacking us immediately, » foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that a plan the UK is working on with allies to reopen the Strait of Hormuz during the Middle East war would not involve NATO.

« Let me be clear, that won’t be and it’s never been envisioned to be a NATO mission, » Starmer told reporters.

His comments came after President Donald Trump said NATO faces a « very bad » future if US allies fail to help open the key oil transport route.

A non-Iranian oil tanker transited the Strait of Hormuz with its automatic transponder system activated, despite major disruption to shipping in the crucial waterway from the Middle East war, monitor Marine Traffic said on Monday.

« The Aframax tanker Karachi, carrying Abu Dhabi’s Das crude, has become the first non-Iranian cargo to transit the chokepoint while broadcasting its AIS signal, suggesting that select shipments may be receiving negotiated safe passage, » Marine Traffic said in a statement.

Iran’s top diplomat has said that the key Strait of Hormuz is only cut off for vessels of the United States, Israel and their allies.

“From our perspective it is open,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said of the strait. “It is only closed to our enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”

Araghchi spoke at a press conference in Tehran on Monday.

The war in Iran has « nothing to do with NATO » and is « not NATO’s war, » German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s spokesperson said on Monday.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called for nations including South Korea, France, China and the UK to help ensure safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has declared closed to US and US-allied traffic.

He later upped the pressure on NATO allies, telling the Financial Times newspaper that the alliance faced a « very bad » future if its members did not do their bit to reopen the strait.

« NATO is an alliance for the defence of territory » and « the mandate to deploy NATO is lacking » in the current situation, Merz’s spokesman Stefan Kornelius told a regular press briefing.

Germany needed to know from Israel and the United States « at what point the military objectives in Iran will have been achieved, » a foreign ministry spokesperson said at the same briefing.

At a separate briefing on Monday, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany wanted all those involved to prevent « further military escalation. »

« There will be no military participation » from Germany but Berlin is prepared to support diplomatic efforts to « to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, » he said.

« What does Donald Trump expect from a handful of European frigates in the Strait of Hormuz that the mighty US navy cannot manage alone? This is the question I find myself asking, » Pistorius said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that Tehran had shown it was ready to take the war as far as necessary.

« I think by now they (US and Israel) have learned a good lesson and understood what kind of nation they are dealing with, one that does not hesitate to defend itself and is ready to continue the war wherever it may lead, and take it as far as necessary, » said Araghchi during a weekly foreign ministry briefing.

Since the beginning of the war on 28 February, Tehran has been launching daily missile and drone salvos on neighbouring countries, claiming it only targets US military facilities in the region.

Evidence on the ground, including that seen by L’Observatoire de l’Europe journalists, shows that Tehran’s attacks have also been striking civilian targets, including airports, schools, residential buildings and hotels, as well as energy infrastructure in the Gulf.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that Britain was working with allies to develop a « viable » plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the vital oil transport conduit that Iran effectively shut during the ongoing war.

« We’re working with all of our allies, including our European partners, to bring together a viable collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible and ease the economic impacts, » Starmer told reporters, adding he had discussed the situation with US President Donald Trump.

The UK leader added that while Britain was « taking the necessary action to defend ourselves and our allies, we will not be drawn into the wider war ».

Germany’s top diplomat Johann Wadephul said on Monday it will be important for the US and Israel to define “when they consider the military aims of their deployment to have been reached” in the ongoing Iran war, now in its third week.

Before meeting his EU counterparts in Brussels, Wadephul said he told US and Israel more clarity was needed.

He also said the Iranian government poses a significant danger to the region, the freedom of shipping and the global economy and “this danger definitely must not continue.”

Wadephul said without elaborating that he would back sanctions against those responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

He said that once there is clarity on the US-Israeli aims, it will be time for a phase in which “a security architecture for this whole region” is defined – a process that will entail speaking to Tehran.

The UK is sending £5 million pounds (€5.8 million) to humanitarian organisations in Lebanon.

The funds are intended to help provide food, water and shelter for some of the more than 800,000 people displaced by Israel’s offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah targets.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says she is “gravely concerned about the developing conflict in Lebanon and the scale of the humanitarian impact.”

She condemned Hezbollah’s strikes on Israel and also says the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese people by Israeli operations “is completely unacceptable.”

Cooper says London is working with European allies and the US to prevent the conflict from escalating.

Bahrain’s Defence Ministry says air defence systems have responded to attacks on Monday morning to engage with a freshly fired barrage from Tehran.

The ministry says four missiles and three drones were fired and have been intercepted. No casualties or damage were immediately reported. 

The Israeli Defence Forces says it sent additional ground troops into Lebanon for what it calls a “limited and targeted ground operation.”

Military spokesman Nadav Shoshani says the latest deployment is meant to defend Israeli border communities against attacks from the Hezbollah militant group.

He added that Hezbollah has sent hundreds of fighters from its elite Radwan unit towards the border since the Iran-backed group entered the war two weeks ago.

In a post on X, the IDF says the operation aims to “strengthen a forward defensive posture, which includes the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and the elimination of terrorists operating in the area, to create an additional layer of security for residents of northern Israel.”

“We are grateful to the community of Europeans living here who call this place home. We are proud of the resilience and the adaptability that you have shown in this challenging times,” said Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as she spoke to L’Observatoire de l’Europe in an exclusive interview.

Speaking on global turbulence as crude prices continue to soar amid the war in Iran, Nusseibeh stressed that everything from energy bills to food prices are expected to surge, including in Europe.

“Unless UN Security Council Resolution 2817 is enforced, and it is binding on Iran that they abide by it, there are going to be ramifications, there are going to be implications for global energy prices, and that will also impact bills in grocery stores, bills in petrol stations, the price of food,” she said.

“So it’s important today that Europe understand, and this would be my message to my European friends and partners.”

Addressing the European expat community residing in the UAE, Nusseibeh noted that their continued presence is not only a display of solidarity during the country’s challenging times, but also defending of a model of peace, laws and coexistence.

“What you are defending here is not only the UAE. What you are defending here is a model. It’s a model of coexistence, of tolerance, of peace for the wider region, but it’s a model that also wants to export stabilisation in commodities, in energy, and in security and peace.”

Nusseibeh says those who oppose that model are ideologically aligning themselves with Iran, a regime she described as a “rogue actor” that aims to “export nihilism to the whole international system.” 

L’Observatoire de l’Europe spoke with Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and special envoy to the EU on the ongoing attacks against the country as Iran continues to fire barrages of dozens of missiles and drones in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks.

“I think the priority right now is defending the country against these attacks and ensuring it doesn’t disrupt normal life, but of course, we have been preparing for various scenarios in a very turbulent region for decades, so these are not new plans,” said Nusseibeh.

Speaking to L’Observatoire de l’Europe in an exclusive interview, Nusseibeh, who previously also served as Abu Dhabi’s Ambassador to the UN, underscored the country’s efforts at ensuring the safety of the roughly half-a-million Europeans who reside across the UAE. 

“We have had contingency plans in place since prior to this point. We take the safety and security of the 500,000 European residents, for example, who reside here, and I know that’s a domestic audience that we are also speaking to, incredibly seriously.”

The Emirati official also noted that her country hopes to expand relations with Brussels further, indicating a desire to boost trade volume and strike a free trade agreement.

“And I think our trade ties with Europe at €65 billion a year is a robust signal that we are also open for investment. So we are negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union at the moment,” she added.

“European partners have come in to assist us and to also protect their own communities here in the UAE, and it is Iran that is very clearly isolated on the international stage.”

The IDF says it has destroyed an estimated 70% of Iran’s missile launchers during the first two weeks of the war.

Military spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters on Monday that while Tehran continues to fire missiles at Israel, the number of launches has been greatly reduced.

He says Israel has carried out some 7,600 strikes in Iran, knocking out 85% of the country’s air defences and targeting a number of Iranian nuclear sites previously struck in a joint operation with the US last year.

Shoshani says the war will go on “for as long as needed” and says Israel has thousands of targets it is prepared to strike and continues to produce new targets every day.

A Chinese government spokesperson did not respond directly to questions about Trump’s request for military support from several countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Foreign Ministry’s Lin Jian, at a daily briefing in Beijing, instead repeated China’s calls for an end to the fighting, noting the impact on energy and goods trade.

Trump said in an interview with The Financial Times that Washington would like an answer from Beijing before his planned trip to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping in about two weeks, and that “we may delay.”

Lin said China and the US have maintained communication on Trump’s visit.

“Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–US relations,” he said.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that NATO faces a « very bad » future if Washington’s allies fail to help open the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil transport conduit effectively shut by Tehran amid the war in Iran.

In a brief interview with The Financial Times, Trump said that as the United States has aided Ukraine in the war with Russia, he expects Europe to help on the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has sent energy prices soaring around the world.

« If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO, » said Trump, who over the years has criticised the alliance as freeloading on US largesse.

Trump also said an upcoming summit in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could be delayed as he presses for China’s help to open the strait. Beijing is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the strategic waterway, as they purchase around 80% of Iran’s oil exports.

« We’d like to know before (the summit),” Trump said, noting that China as well as many European countries rely on the strait more than the United States on oil flowing from the Gulf.

« It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there, » said the US president.

He separately told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One that the US was in discussions with « about seven » countries on getting help to reopen the Hormuz Strait.

Asked about specific help he was looking for, Trump told the FT he wanted minesweepers as well as « people who are going to knock out some bad actors that are along the (Iranian) shore. »

A Palestinian civilian was killed in a missile attack early on Monday in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, authorities said.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office said a missile fell on a civilian vehicle in the al-Bahyah area. The death raises the toll to seven people in the UAE since the US and Israel fired the war’s opening salvo on 28 February.

A fire broke out on Monday following a drone attack on an industrial oil facility in Fujairah, one of the United Arab Emirates’ seven emirates, according to authorities.

The Media Office in Fujairah said a drone targeted the city’s Oil Industry Zone, causing an “advanced” fire, but reported no casualties.

The European Union is weighing two types of naval missions to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump demanded international collaboration in the effort to resume oil exports and end surges in crude prices.

“It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and that’s why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief.

She made the announcement ahead of a gathering of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

Rising prices for energy and fertilisers has brought the war in Iran to the top of their agenda, she said.

Kallas said the EU could expand its Aspides naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea up into the Persian Gulf or form a “coalition of the willing” with member nations contributing military capacity on an ad hoc basis.

Saudi Arabia says it intercepted three drones on Monday morning over its capital, Riyadh, and the nation’s oil-rich western region.

The Saudi Defence Ministry says no casualties or damage were reported.

The ministry added that more than 60 drones targeted the country within a few hours.

United Arab Emirates officials say Dubai International Airport has gradually resumed some flights at hours after a drone strike.

Dubai Media Office, which speaks on behalf of authorities in the city-state, quoting Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, announced that flights are operating to select destinations.

“Dubai Civil Aviation Authority announces the gradual resumption of some flights to and from Dubai International Airport to selected destinations, following the temporary suspension implemented as a precautionary measure,” said the media office in a post on X.

“Passengers are advised to check with their airlines for the latest updates regarding their flights.”

It comes after Emirates airline announced that it had suspended all flights to and from Dubai following an attack on a fuel tank at the city’s main airport.

=Brent crude oil is trading near the $105 per barrel level on Monday.

A barrel of Brent, the international standard, was up 1.6% at $104.73, dipping slightly after opening above $106 per barrel. It’s up more than 40% since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on 28 February.

Share prices in Asia were mixed and US futures advanced.

Hours after a drone strike sparked a fire at Dubai’s main airport, Emirates – one of the UAE’s leading carriers – said in its latest update that all of its flights “to and from Dubai have been temporarily suspended.”

In a statement shared on X on Monday, the airline says it is working with authorities to restart operations when possible, urging passengers not to travel to the airport.

“The safety of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and will not be compromised.”

Dubai International Airport is the world’s busiest airport for international travel and a key hub for many routes linking the East and West.

The United Arab Emirates’ Defence Ministry said its forces were intercepting Iranian missiles and drones fired early on Monday morning.

It comes just hours after authorities in Dubai confirmed that a drone hit a fuel tank at the Dubai International Airport, prompting roads leading to the international hub to be temporarily closed. 

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a phone call to discuss regional developments with the UAE’s President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to a statement released by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry early on Monday.

The two leaders said the continued “Iranian attacks against Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries represent a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security and stability,” adding that GCC states will continue efforts to defend their countries

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have closed the main road and tunnel leading to Dubai International Airport after it was earlier reported that an Iranian drone hit a fuel tank at the airport, causing fire with no casualties.         

Dubai Police urged drivers to use alternative roads.

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said early on Monday that it downed an additional large barrage of 35 drones in the country’s eastern region, one of the kingdom’s least dense, close to Iran and home to major oil installations.

This brings the total number of drones intercepted to at least 60 in the last few hours.

The ministry did not immediately report casualties or damage.

US President Donald Trump says he has demanded seven countries to join an international coalition aimed at policing the chokepoint Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, sending warships and military assets to help escort oil vessels through as global crude prices continue to reel from the war in Iran.

The US president declined to name the countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude that his administration is negotiating with to join the initiative amid Iranian attacks, which have effectively closed the crucial waterway.

“I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.

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The Australian government says warships won’t be sent to the Middle East to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to international shipping following US President Donald Trump’s demands.

US President Donald Trump said that he has demanded “about seven countries” send warships to keep the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil exports pass, open, as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf Arab countries.

Australia’s Transport Minister Catherine King told local media outlets on Monday that she was not aware of Canberra receiving such a request.

“We won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is, but that’s not something that we’ve been asked or that we’re contributing to,” she said.

Australia said last week it was providing the UAE with an air force surveillance jet and air-to-air missiles to help defend against Iranian attacks, but a government statement said Australia was “not taking offensive action against Iran.”