Summary

Smoke rises after airstrikes in Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2026. /VCG Smoke rises after airstrikes in Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2026. /VCG Israel said the war against Iran was entering its "decisive phase" on Saturday, as explosions rocked cities across the Middle East, with strikes on the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility. Speaking during a situation assessment with army chief Eyal Zamir and other senior officers, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that this decisive phase "will last as long as necessary." On Saturday, black smoke rose above Washington's embassy in Iraq, the second time it has been targeted since February 28, when the United States and Israel launched their joint attack on Iran and plunged the Middle East into a conflict that has sent shockwaves through the global economy. Millions have been displaced by waves of drone, missile and aerial bombardment, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), while more than 1,200 people have reportedly been killed in Iran, with little sign of the conflict slowing down as it entered its third week. Clouds of dark black smoke were also seen rising on Saturday from Fujairah, home to a major Emirati oil storage and export terminal, shortly after Iran's military warned UAE civilians off port areas. US threatens to strike oil infrastructure of Kharg Island US President Donald Trump said on Friday that US forces had struck Iran's Kharg Island, its biggest oil export hub, and "obliterated every MILITARY target" while sparing its energy facilities. But Trump threatened to strike the oil infrastructure there unless Tehran stopped attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a warning that could further roil markets coping with a historic supply disruption. "Should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision," Trump wrote. Trump also said the US Navy would start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz "very soon." US media raised the possibility of a ground invasion, with the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporting the Pentagon had dispatched the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the region with some 2,500 Marines. Plumes of smoke and fire rise after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026. /VCG Plumes of smoke and fire rise after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, March 14, 2026. /VCG Defiant Iran Iran, however, struck a defiant note, playing down the extent of the damage on Kharg Island while threatening to step up its use of more powerful weapons and issuing warnings that parts of the United Arab Emirates were a legitimate target. Iranian media confirmed the Kharg Island's oil facilities were unaffected. Iran had threatened US-linked oil and energy firms would be "turned into a pile of ashes" if they were hit. Nine ballistic missiles and 33 drones were launched from Iran towards the UAE on Saturday, the UAE Ministry of Defense said, making a total of 294 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,600 drones launched from Iran since the war started. Iran also vowed to increase its usage of upgraded weapons, particularly ballistic missiles and other missiles with greater destructive power, Iranian defense ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying in state media. Iranian General, Mohsen Rezaei, was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying that "the end of the war is in our hands. We will consider its cessation only under two conditions: first, we must receive full compensation for the damage caused, and second, the USA must leave the Persian Gulf." Rescue workers inspect an apartment damaged in an Israeli airstrike as thick smoke fills the building in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, March 14, 2026. /VCG Rescue workers inspect an apartment damaged in an Israeli airstrike as thick smoke fills the building in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, March 14, 2026. /VCG 'Existential battle' Beyond the Gulf, Türkiye said NATO forces shot down a ballistic missile launched from Iran – the third such interception in the war. The conflict has also engulfed Lebanon, where Hezbollah has launched attacks on Israel, pledging to "fulfill its duty" after the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hezbollah's leader, Naim Qassem, has called the current conflict an "existential battle." Israel has responded with air and ground assaults, killing at least 773 people according to the Lebanese authorities, and issuing evacuation orders that have displaced hundreds of thousands. An overnight strike in southern Lebanon killed a dozen doctors, paramedics and nurses at a healthcare clinic, Lebanese health authorities said Saturday.