DUBAI/TEL AVIV/WASHINGTON, March 10 — The US and Israel launched some of the most intense airstrikes of the war on Iran yesterday, as Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks on US military bases across the Gulf region.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned it would block oil shipments from the Gulf if US and Israeli attacks continue, raising fears of further disruption to global energy supplies.
Iran said it fired missiles at the US-operated Al Udeid air base in Qatar and the Al Harir base in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Drone strikes were also reported targeting US forces at Al Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates and the Juffair naval base in Bahrain.
Early today, Iranian missiles were also launched towards central Israel, triggering air raid sirens as residents rushed to shelters.
The latest escalation comes as Israel carried out fresh strikes in Beirut targeting Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group that has launched attacks on Israel from Lebanon.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the latest assault would mark the most intense day of strikes inside Iran since the war began.
President Donald Trump later said US forces had destroyed 10 Iranian mine-laying vessels, though he did not disclose where the strikes occurred.
Residents in Tehran described one of the heaviest nights of bombardment since the conflict began.
“It was like hell. They were bombing everywhere,” one resident told Reuters, adding that many families were now afraid to sleep.
Despite the escalation, global markets appeared to bet the conflict could end soon. Oil prices, which briefly surged close to US$120 per barrel on Monday, later retreated below US$90.
Iran has vowed to continue fighting, with parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf saying the country would not seek a ceasefire.
More than 1,300 Iranian civilians have been killed since US and Israeli strikes began on February 28, according to Iran’s ambassador to the UN. Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed at least 12 people, while dozens have also died in Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
