US president says other countries must participate in effort to prevent attacks on shipping; US embassy in Iraq and UAE oil facility targeted by Iran and allies

By Agencies and ToI Staff14 March 2026, 7:47 pm  

  A fire and plume of smoke rise after, according to authorities. debris from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026.(AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) The US-Israel war with Iran entered its third week on Saturday as a missile struck a helipad inside the US Embassy compound in Baghdad and debris from an intercepted Iranian drone hit an oil facility in the United Arab Emirates, further increasing global anxiety about oil supplies. Iran has targeted countries across the region and said it would choke off the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery for the world’s oil supply. In response, US President Donald Trump claimed that “many countries” would send warships to the strait to defend shipping. In a post on Truth Social, Trump then said that “hopefully” China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would send vessels. It was unclear whether other nations were already confirmed to be sending ships beyond those. He also claimed that “we have already destroyed 100 percent of Iran’s military capability.” Meanwhile, he warned, the US “will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline” and “one way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait open, safe and free.” Later on Saturday Trump said that “countries of the world that receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — a lot! The US will also coordinate with those countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well. “This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be — It will bring the World together toward harmony, security, and everlasting peace!” he added. Iran’s joint military command threatened to attack cities in the UAE, home to Dubai and one of the world’s busiest airports, saying the US used “ports, docks and hideouts” there to launch its overnight strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, without providing evidence. It called on people to immediately evacuate areas where it said US forces were sheltering, naming Jebel Ali port in Dubai — the Mideast’s busiest — as well as Khalifa port in Abu Dhabi and Fujairah port. It was the first time Iran has directly threatened non-US assets, in this case commercial ports, in a neighboring country since the war began with US-Israeli strikes on February 28. Images showed smoke rising over the US Embassy compound in the Iraqi capital and a fire in the UAE’s Fujairah port that broke out after what authorities said was a drone interception. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the strike on the embassy’s helipad. The embassy complex, one of the largest US diplomatic facilities in the world, has been repeatedly targeted by rockets and drones fired by Iran-aligned militias. There was no immediate comment from the embassy. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Iran would also target the facilities of American companies in the region if its energy facilities are attacked. “Iran will respond to any attack on its energy facilities,” state television quoted him as saying, after the US attacks on military infrastructure on Iran’s crude oil export hub on Kharg. “If Iranian facilities are targeted, our forces will target American companies’ facilities in the region, or companies in which the US holds shares,” he warned, while vowing that Tehran would “act cautiously to ensure that densely populated areas are not targeted.” Trump had said that the US strikes destroyed military sites on Kharg Island vital to Iran’s oil network, and warned that Iran’s oil infrastructure could be next if Tehran continues to interfere with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, where vessels are backed up and where one-fifth of global oil supplies usually transit.

Trump said US forces on Friday “obliterated” targets on Kharg Island, which is home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s oil exports. Iran’s parliament speaker had warned that such strikes would provoke a new level of retaliation. Meanwhile, a US official said 2,500 more Marines and an amphibious assault ship were being sent to the Middle East, adding to the military’s largest buildup of warships and aircraft in the region in decades. Iran continued to launch missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states, and US and Israeli warplanes pummeled military and other targets across Iran. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that over 15,000 enemy targets had been struck — more than 1,000 a day since the war began. Israel announced another wave of strikes in Iran targeting infrastructure, and said its air force had hit more than 200 targets in the last 24 hours, including missile launchers, defense systems and weapons production sites.

Marines and assault ship add to US forces

Elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the Middle East, according to the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans. Marine Expeditionary Units are able to conduct amphibious landings but also specialize in bolstering security at embassies, evacuating civilians and providing disaster relief. The deployment does not necessarily indicate that a ground operation will take place.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the Marine deployment. The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well as the Tripoli and other amphibious assault ships carrying the Marines, are based in Japan and have been in the Pacific Ocean for several days, according to images released by the military. The Tripoli was spotted by commercial satellites sailing alone near Taiwan, putting it more than a week away from waters off Iran. Earlier in the week, the Navy had 12 ships, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and eight destroyers, in the Arabian Sea. Should the Tripoli join, it would be the second-largest ship behind the Lincoln there. The total number of US service members on the ground in the Middle East is not clear. Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, one of the largest in the region, typically houses some 8,000 US troops.

US strikes a key Iranian island after Tehran warning

The US strikes on Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf targeted military sites but left Iran’s oil infrastructure alone for now, Trump said on social media. But he warned that if Iran or anyone else interferes with the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, he will reconsider his decision not to “wipe out the Oil Infrastructure.” US Central Command released a video showing the strikes and saying it destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and other military sites in a large-scale precision strike on the island. “US Forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets,” CENTCOM said. On Saturday, Iran’s joint military command reiterated its threat to attack US-linked oil and energy facilities in the region if the Islamic Republic’s oil infrastructure is hit. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned they will target “all oil, economic and energy infrastructures belonging to oil companies across the region that have American shares or cooperate with America.” Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency said Saturday the US strikes caused no damage to the island’s oil infrastructure. It said at least 15 explosions followed the strikes, which it said targeted an air defense facility, a naval base, the airport control tower and an offshore oil company’s helicopter hangar.

Report: Trump was warned Iran could close Strait of Hormuz

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine warned Trump before the United States launched the war with Iran that Tehran could try to close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Caine told the president in several briefings that US officials long believed Iran might attempt to block the critical shipping lane using naval mines, drones and missiles if conflict erupted, according to the report. Trump reportedly acknowledged the risk but decided to move forward with the military campaign, telling advisers he believed Tehran would likely capitulate before taking such a step, and that the US military would be capable of reopening the waterway if necessary.

During the ongoing fighting, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have all but closed the strait. Since the start of March, 20 commercial vessels, including nine oil tankers, have been attacked or reported incidents, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency. The strategy is aimed at harming the global economy in order to exert pressure on the United States. Hegseth sought to address concerns about the bottling of the strait, telling reporters on Saturday: “We have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.” Iran has allowed some Indian vessels to sail through the strait, Tehran’s Ambassador to India Mohammad Fathali said Saturday, ​confirming a rare exception to the blockade. Fathali did not confirm the number of vessels that have been provided safe passage. He was speaking at broadcaster India Today’s conclave in New Delhi.

Military pressure, economic risk, and the language of Daniel reveal a deeper struggle behind the conflict.

“The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me… but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me.” — Daniel 10:13

A PERSONAL REFLECTION

Last night, around three o’clock in the morning, I woke with a heavy burden in my heart. I found myself crying out to the God of Israel — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — asking Him to remember His promises to His people and to send His angels to protect Israel in this war.

I walked quietly through the house and stepped outside. The night was still. Looking up at the sky, I thought about Abraham when the Lord told him to lift his eyes toward heaven and count the stars if he could. Standing there beneath that same sky above the Middle East, it became clear to me that something far larger than the daily news cycle is unfolding in our time.

People speak constantly today about prophecy and the end times. There is certainly a place for those discussions. Yet what pressed on my heart in that moment was something simpler and deeper.

Israel must never rely only on the strength of nations.

America can help. Alliances matter. Strategy matters. But ultimately Israel must rely on the Lion of Judah — the God of Israel Himself.

He is the One who turned Gideon’s three hundred men into a force capable of defeating armies. He is the One who can send help from heaven when human strength is not enough.

And so my prayer that night was not only for Israel. It was also for the Church — that believers would awaken, seek God again, and long for the coming of the Bridegroom, Yeshua the Messiah.

THE WAR IS MOVING INTO A DIFFERENT STAGE

Over the past week the conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States has changed in character.

In the opening days the picture seemed relatively straightforward. Missile bases were struck, military facilities targeted, and efforts were made to reduce Iran’s ability to fire rockets and drones across the region.

But wars rarely remain simple.

What we are witnessing now is something broader and more complex. The conflict is touching several layers at once: military pressure on Iran’s infrastructure, political pressure inside the Iranian system, shifting alliances across the region, and growing economic consequences that extend far beyond the battlefield itself.

These are the moments in history when events begin to accelerate and the deeper structure of power begins to change.

What is unfolding in these days is not simply another regional conflict; it is the exposure of a system of power that has shaped the Middle East for decades and whose consequences reach far beyond the battlefield.

NETANYAHU’S MESSAGE

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu captured that sense of transformation in his recent press conference.

“We have achieved major accomplishments that will change the balance in the Middle East,” he said.

Those words reflect something deeper than a battlefield report — the possibility that the system Iran built over decades to pressure Israel is now being challenged in ways it has not faced before.

“The Iranian regime has built a system to annihilate Israel through its proxies, ballistic missiles, and nuclear project,” Netanyahu said.

From Israel’s perspective, the purpose of the current campaign is not simply retaliation but the dismantling of that entire system before it becomes irreversible.

Netanyahu also emphasized the historic depth of coordination with the United States, noting that he speaks regularly with President Trump and that the alliance between the two nations has reached an unprecedented level of strategic cooperation.

THE SYSTEM IRAN BUILT

For more than four decades Iran has pursued a strategy that relies less on direct confrontation and more on strategic positioning.

Rather than confronting Israel openly through conventional military power, Tehran gradually constructed a network capable of projecting influence across the region — Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Syria and Iraq, missile programs able to reach across borders, drone systems designed to evade air defenses, and pressure on maritime routes and energy infrastructure.

Through this network Iran extended its influence far beyond its borders while often remaining one step removed from direct confrontation.

But systems like this contain a hidden weakness.

Once they are exposed and placed under sustained pressure from multiple directions, they can begin to weaken far more quickly than they were built.

THE POWER BEHIND THE PROXIES

For many years the world focused on individual groups — Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, militias in Iraq and Syria. Yet those organizations did not emerge in isolation.

Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the regime in Tehran invested enormous resources in building a network of armed movements across the Middle East. Through funding, weapons, training, and ideological influence, Iran supported groups capable of confronting Israel and challenge U.S. influence throughout the region.

Over time this network developed into one of the most powerful strategic systems in the Middle East.

That is why the present conflict carries such weight. It is not simply a war against a single organization like Hamas, for which believers around the world prayed for two years during the hostage crisis.

What we are witnessing now reaches much deeper.

It is a confrontation with a structure of power that has been developing for more than four decades.

THE NUCLEAR QUESTION

Another layer of the conflict lies beneath the visible battlefield.

Satellite imagery suggests that while numerous Iranian military targets have been struck across the country, certain nuclear facilities — particularly the complex at Isfahan — have not been attacked in the same way.

That raises an important strategic question.

Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is believed to be concentrated in a small number of facilities. Destroying those facilities through air strikes alone might bury the material underground without eliminating it permanently.

Reports circulating among analysts suggest that some of this material may have been moved to extremely hardened underground locations sometimes referred to as “Pickaxe Mountain,” a facility believed to be carved deep into granite.

If that is the case, the challenge becomes far more complex.

Destroying infrastructure is one thing. Securing nuclear material is another matter entirely.

THE ECONOMIC PRESSURE BUILDING

While the military campaign continues, another pressure is quietly forming beneath the surface.

The Persian Gulf is not only a strategic military region. It is also one of the most important energy corridors in the world. Nearly twenty percent of global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

If instability spreads there, the consequences move rapidly through the global system. Oil prices rise. Transportation costs increase. Manufacturing becomes more expensive. Inflation pressures spread through economies far from the Middle East.

This is why wars in this region rarely remain local conflicts. They almost always ripple outward into the global economic system.

TRUMP’S WARNING ABOUT THE ECONOMY

President Donald Trump recently signaled concern about the economic dimension of the conflict in a message posted on Truth Social.

“Where is the Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell, today? He should be dropping interest rates immediately, not waiting for the next meeting.”

Trump has long criticized the Federal Reserve for reacting too slowly to economic developments. But the timing of this message is notable.

In the midst of a geopolitical conflict that could affect oil markets, shipping routes, and global trade, the comment reflects concern that financial pressure could build quickly if economic policy fails to respond.

The war is therefore touching not only the battlefield but the global economic system as well.

A REGION IN TRANSITION

Perhaps the most striking development is the quiet shift taking place across the Middle East.

For years Israel faced missile threats largely on its own. Today several countries in the region are experiencing the same dangers directly: missiles crossing borders, threats to shipping routes, and pressure on energy infrastructure.

These are no longer distant risks. They are realities.

And when nations begin to experience the same pressures, alliances often begin to change. The Middle East may be entering a new strategic alignment.

THE LANGUAGE OF DANIEL

For that reason I see the present moment as more than a geopolitical struggle.

In Daniel 10:13 the angel speaking to Daniel explains that he was delayed because of a confrontation with what the text calls the “prince of the kingdom of Persia.”

The Hebrew word used there is sar (שַׂר), meaning a prince or ruler.

Later the angel says again in Daniel 10:20, “Now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia.”

Yet when the prophecy continues, the text also speaks about the “kings of Persia.” In Daniel 11:2 the Hebrew word used is melakhim (מְלָכִים), referring to literal human kings.

Scripture therefore describes both visible rulers and a deeper struggle connected with nations.

A CALL TO PRAYER

Scripture reminds us that the struggles we see are not always the only battles being fought.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” — Ephesians 6:12

For moments like this, prayer led by the Holy Spirit becomes something far greater than a human response to events. It becomes participation in the unfolding of God’s purposes and in the fulfillment of the prophecies written long ago.

A MOMENT THAT WILL BE REMEMBERED

The events we are witnessing are not only military developments. They represent a moment where political power, economic pressure, and spiritual realities intersect.

For nearly half a century the system that emerged from the Iranian revolution of 1979 has shaped the strategic landscape of the Middle East. Today that system is being tested in ways that few imagined even a short time ago.

For believers, the response is clear. We seek wisdom, remain watchful, and pray that the God of Israel will guide the outcome of events larger than any nation or leader.

And tonight, as Abraham once lifted his eyes and counted the stars, we look at the same heavens above the Middle East knowing that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still rules over the nations and continues to move history toward the fulfillment of His Word, bringing His prophetic purposes to pass, just as He did in the days of Daniel when the struggle over Persia was already unfolding before His throne.