<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Explosions echoed across Beirut early on Monday as Israel struck the Lebanese capital. It also launched a new wave of attacks on Tehran, while Dubai was forced to temporarily close its airport after an Iranian drone hit a fuel tank.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Since being attacked by the United States and Israel more than two weeks ago, Iran has been regularly hitting Israel, American bases and its Gulf Arab neighbours' energy infrastructure with drones and missiles.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It has also effectively stopped shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, giving rise to growing fears of a global energy crisis and putting pressure on Washington as consumers are already feeling the pain at the pump.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/iran-israel-us-war-trump-suggests-he-may-delay-china-trip/e2e013f7-990a-40bc-aedf-8ed4049ced22"><strong><span>Trump suggests he may delay China trip as he pressures Beijing for help</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brent crude, the international standard, remained stubbornly over $100 a barrel on Monday. It was at $104 in early trading, up nearly 45 per cent since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. It has spiked as high as about $120 during the conflict.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US President Donald Trump said he has made demands to about seven countries to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, but his appeals have brought no commitments. His party is increasingly concerned that rising prices for American consumers will hurt the Republicans in elections this fall.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their own territory," Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington from Florida aboard Air Force One. He did not identify the countries, but has previously appealed to China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attack-iran-dubai-airport-hit-as-iran-targets-gulf-neighbours-keeps-stranglehold-on-oil-shipping/787cc401-96a3-42fb-842b-374f4a3fb6d1" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called claims that his country may be seeking a negotiated end to the war "delusional", saying in a social media post early on Monday that his country was seeking neither "truce nor talks".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/uluru-wettest-day-in-decade-rain-australia-states/bfbff471-f082-4049-b89f-578e95f4f8f7"><strong><span>Uluru sees heaviest rainfall in a decade, all states set to be hit</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Our Powerful Armed Forces will keep firing until POTUS realizes that illegal war he's imposing on both Americans and Iranians is wrong and must never be repeated," he wrote on X.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Iran hits Dubai airport, forcing temporary closure</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As morning broke on Monday, a drone hit a fuel tank near Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international passenger traffic, causing a large fire.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Firefighters were able to contain the blaze and there were no injuries reported but the airport temporarily suspended all flights before resuming them a few hours later.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Later, a person was killed in the capital when an Iranian missile hit a vehicle, the Abu Dhabi media office said. Fire also broke out at an oil facility in Fujairah, one of the UAE's seven emirates, following a drone attack.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones toward Gulf countries hosting US military assets since the war began. Emirati authorities say most have been intercepted by air defences, though debris and some drones have fallen inside the country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Iranian officials have recently accused the UAE of allowing its territory to be used for attacks against Iran. Emirati officials have rejected the allegations as misleading and said the country's actions have been defensive.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Saudi Arabia, meantime, said it had intercepted a wave of 35 Iranian drones sent at its eastern region, home to major oil installations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Israel's military said early on Monday that Iran launched missiles toward Israel as well.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Israel's military says Iran is firing cluster bombs that can evade some air defences and scatter submunitions across multiple locations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Israel hits Beirut and launches new attacks on Tehran</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Massive explosions were heard in Beirut as Israel launched new attacks on the Lebanese capital before dawn, saying it was striking infrastructure related to the Iran-linked Hezbollah militia group.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Israeli army has issued evacuation orders for many neighbourhoods in Beirut as well as southern Lebanon. To date, more than 800,000 people have been displaced by Israel's campaign in Lebanon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At least 850 people have been killed by Israeli strikes so far, including 107 children and 66 women.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Not long after Israel's military announced it had launched new strikes on Tehran targeting infrastructure, explosions were heard in the Iranian capital and outlying areas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More than 1300 people have been killed in Iran so far, according to the Red Cross.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire and more have been injured, including three on Sunday. At least 13 US military members have been killed, six in a plane crash in Iraq last week.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Trump threatens to 'remember' which allies do not help</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Air Force One, Trump wouldn't say which countries could be part of the coalition he wants to police the Strait of Hormuz to provide security for oil tankers and other commercial ships passing through.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But he said he won't forget the countries that decline to help. He named British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who he said initially declined to put British aircraft carriers "into harm's way".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Whether we get support or not, but I can say this, and I said to them: We will remember," Trump said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ahead of a meeting in Brussels, the European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc's foreign ministers would discuss possibly extending its Aspides naval mission, which protects ships in the Red Sea, to the Strait of Hormuz, without giving any details on how such a mission would work or how long it would take to decide on it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Europeans have been critical of the US and Israel for failing to provide clarity on their objectives in the war, and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Sunday questioned EU involvement, saying security for the Strait of Hormuz can only come "if there is a negotiated solution".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Europe always gives constructive support when it comes to securing sea routes, but I see neither an immediate necessity nor above all Germany participating," he said on ARD television.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Monday Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament that her government "has not heard anything" from Washington about Trump's call help protecting the Strait of Hormuz.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Japan imports more than 90 per cent of its crude oil from the Middle East, however, and she said there had been discussions about what could be done to protect Japanese ships "regardless of a US request".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Japan on Monday began releasing its oil reserves to address concerns about supply shortages and rising prices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump has speculated that prices would fall, but wouldn't directly answer whether his administration is talking about selling oil futures as a way to cap surging oil prices, something his interior secretary had mentioned as a possibility.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The prices are going to come tumbling down as soon as it's over. And it's going to be over pretty quickly," he told reporters.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>