The conflict, now entering its third week, has shut down shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime corridor through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes, sending oil prices higher and raising fears of renewed global inflation.

Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said the military had detailed operational plans covering at least the next three weeks, with additional scenarios prepared for a longer campaign.

“We want to make sure that they are as weak as possible, this regime, and that we degrade all their capabilities, all parts and all wings of their security establishment,” Shoshani told reporters.

The Israeli military has framed the campaign as focused on degrading Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure, nuclear facilities and broader security apparatus. Officials say thousands of potential targets remain inside Iran.

Iran launched drone attacks targeting regional sites, temporarily shutting down Dubai airport and striking a key oil facility in the United Arab Emirates, according to reports cited by regional authorities.

The incidents underscored the widening regional impact of the conflict, which has drawn concern from energy markets and governments reliant on Gulf shipping lanes.

Air traffic at Dubai airport was briefly halted following the drone threat before operations resumed.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has become one of the most significant economic consequences of the war.

The narrow waterway between Iran and Oman handles roughly 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, making it one of the most strategically important energy chokepoints in the world.

The disruption has already pushed oil prices upward and intensified concerns among policymakers about inflationary pressure on global economies.

U.S. President Donald Trump called on Sunday for an international coalition to help reopen the shipping route, warning that the NATO alliance could face a “very bad” future if members fail to support Washington’s efforts.

Allies responded cautiously, expressing support for diplomatic initiatives to restore navigation through the Strait while signaling reluctance to commit to military action.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had not requested a ceasefire and had exchanged no messages with Washington, according to Iran’s semi-official Student News Network.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported that overnight Israeli strikes killed five people and wounded seven others in Markazi province in central Iran. The report said attacks struck a residential area on the outskirts of Arak city and a residential building in Mahallat county.

Israel has said its campaign remains focused on military and strategic infrastructure linked to Iran’s security apparatus.

Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said the attacks began shortly after midnight, with 48 drones launched in roughly two hours.

In a series of posts on X starting at 2:22 a.m. local time, he said Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed all the drones before they reached their intended targets.The strikes form part of a broader pattern of nightly drone operations attributed to Iran, which Saudi officials say have intensified in recent weeks.

The drone barrage came hours after Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, shared a notice attributed to Iran’s military command asserting that the aircraft being used in attacks were not Iranian systems.

According to the statement cited by Enayati, “the enemy” was deploying drones disguised as Iranian-made Shahed drone under the name “Lucas drone,” an allegation that appeared aimed at deflecting responsibility for the strikes.

Saudi authorities did not comment on the claim.

Saudi defense officials said the latest attacks raised the number of drones intercepted in the kingdom to more than 230 since the campaign began.

Defense Ministry statements also show that more than 30 missiles have been shot down during the same period.Other Gulf states have reported similar increases in aerial threats.

Authorities in Bahrain said their air defenses had intercepted 125 missiles and 203 drones, with two people killed there and 24 others across the region.

The United Arab Emirates said its military had engaged 294 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and approximately 1,600 drones during the conflict, reporting six fatalities.

Officials across the Gulf say the attacks have followed a recurring pattern of overnight drone launches followed by relative calm during daylight hours.

Trump said U.S. strikes had already “totally demolished” much of the island’s infrastructure and signaled the possibility of additional attacks, telling NBC News on Saturday that Washington could “hit it a few more times just for fun.”

The remarks marked a sharp escalation from earlier statements by the administration that had framed operations as limited to military facilities on the island.

Kharg Island is Iran’s primary oil export terminal and a critical node in global energy markets. Any prolonged disruption to its facilities risks tightening global crude supply at a time when energy prices are already climbing sharply due to the conflict.

The fighting has heightened concerns over the security of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow maritime corridor through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. Tehran has long maintained the capability to disrupt shipping in the waterway, a scenario that analysts say could amplify volatility in global energy markets.

Trump called on countries that rely on oil shipments through the strait to take a more active role in securing it. In a social media post on Saturday, he said nations receiving oil through the passage “must take care of that passage,” adding that the United States would coordinate with them to ensure maritime transit remained secure.

The push for allied naval deployments comes as oil markets face what industry observers have described as the largest disruption to global supply flows in modern history, according to recent market assessments cited by Reuters.

The war launched on Feb. 28 by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expanded beyond direct strikes on Iranian targets. Missile and drone attacks continued across the region on Sunday, underscoring the conflict’s widening geographic scope.

Saudi Arabia said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed 10 drones over Riyadh and eastern regions of the kingdom, according to the Saudi defense ministry. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied involvement in the attacks, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

A separate drone strike disrupted a major energy hub in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, while Washington advised American citizens to leave Iraq amid rising security risks.

Despite signs that Tehran may be open to negotiations, prospects for a diplomatic resolution remain uncertain. Trump said Iran appeared willing to consider a deal to end the conflict but added that “the terms aren’t good enough yet.

”At the same time, three sources told Reuters that the U.S. administration had rejected attempts by Middle Eastern allies to initiate talks, a move that has complicated diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting.

More than 2,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, most of them in Iran, according to figures reported by governments and state media. In one of the latest incidents, an airstrike struck a refrigerator and heater factory in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, killing at least 15 people, the Fars news agency reported.

Wong said several nations that were not directly involved in the conflict had come under Iranian attack during the widening Middle East confrontation and had sought help from partners including Australia.“We’ve had many countries, which are non participants, (that) have been attacked by Iran through this,” Wong said in televised remarks. “You would anticipate as a consequence that we have been asked for assistance, and we will work through that carefully.”The comments came as fighting intensified across the Middle East following U.S. and Israeli strikes on targets in Iran and retaliatory Iranian attacks against countries hosting U.S. military facilities.Limited military roleWong said Australia would examine requests for assistance in line with its existing position that it would not join offensive military operations against Iran.Asked whether Australia could help defend countries targeted by Iranian missile and drone strikes, Wong responded: “Correct.”She said any support would be considered carefully and would remain consistent with the government’s policy of avoiding direct involvement in combat operations inside Iran.“We will work through that in accordance with the position that I have outlined, which is we are not participating in offensive action against Iran and we have made clear we will not participate in any ground troop deployment,” Wong said.Australia, a longstanding ally of the United States and a member of several regional security partnerships, has previously contributed forces to international missions in the Middle East but has ruled out sending troops in the current conflict.Australian personnel and naval incidentPrime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday that three Australian defence personnel had been on board a U.S. submarine that sank an Iranian warship with a torpedo in the Indian Ocean.Albanese stressed that the Australians present during the incident did not take part in the attack itself.The disclosure came as the military confrontation between Iran and a U.S.-Israeli coalition escalated sharply over the past week, drawing in multiple countries across the Gulf region.U.S. and Israeli aircraft have conducted strikes across Iranian territory, while several Gulf cities, including locations in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, have come under Iranian bombardment.Australians stranded in regionThe escalating conflict has also disrupted commercial flights and regional travel, leaving thousands of Australians stranded in parts of the Middle East.Wong said the government was working with airlines and other authorities to assist citizens attempting to leave affected areas.Australia’s foreign ministry has been monitoring the security situation across the region and coordinating efforts to help nationals return home safely as hostilities continue.The crisis has increased pressure on governments globally to respond to the widening conflict while balancing security commitments, diplomatic relations and the safety of their citizens abroad.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologised to neighbouring states affected by Iranian strikes on U.S. military facilities in the region, urging them not to participate in the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.“I personally apologize to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Pezeshkian said, according to remarks reported on Saturday.He rejected Trump’s demand for Iran’s unconditional surrender, describing it as unrealistic. Pezeshkian said Iran’s temporary leadership council had approved suspending attacks on nearby countries unless military strikes against Iran were launched from their territory.The comments drew criticism from hardline factions within Iran, prompting Pezeshkian’s office to clarify that Iran’s military would respond decisively to any attacks originating from U.S. bases in the region.Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on state television there was no division among Iranian officials over how the war was being managed.The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The conflict has intensified tensions across the Gulf, where several countries host U.S. military installations.Saudi Arabia warned Tehran that continued attacks on the kingdom or its energy infrastructure could prompt retaliation, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters.The governments of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates reported Iranian drone strikes on Saturday and early Sunday. Officials said the attacks caused varying degrees of damage but no fatalities.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also targeted U.S. forces at a military base in Bahrain, Iranian state media reported.The escalating exchanges have raised concerns among Gulf states that the conflict could broaden further across the region, threatening energy infrastructure and key shipping routes.Global impact and security concernsThe war has also triggered wider international repercussions. Rising tensions in the region have contributed to higher energy prices and disrupted global logistics and commercial activity tied to Middle Eastern shipping and oil production.In Europe, a blast struck the U.S. embassy in Oslo, though authorities said the cause remained unknown.As military operations continued, governments across the region have sought to balance security concerns with efforts to prevent the conflict from expanding into a broader regional war involving additional states and armed groups.

.The message was conveyed to Tehran ahead of remarks on Saturday by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who apologised to Gulf states for recent Iranian actions that have heightened regional tensions.Two days earlier, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and outlined Riyadh’s position, according to the sources. Saudi Arabia said it favours a diplomatic settlement to Iran’s conflict with the United States but warned that further attacks on Saudi territory or energy facilities could compel the kingdom to respond.The sources said Prince Faisal stressed that Riyadh remained open to mediation efforts aimed at de-escalation and a negotiated resolution to the crisis. He also underlined that neither Saudi Arabia nor other Gulf states had allowed the United States to use their airspace or territory to conduct strikes on Iran.However, the minister cautioned that if Iranian strikes continued against Saudi territory or critical energy infrastructure, Riyadh could permit U.S. forces to use their bases for operations and would consider retaliatory measures.Saudi and Iranian foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The warning comes amid heightened regional tensions following drone and missile strikes launched by Iran against several Gulf states over the past week.Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain have all been targeted by attacks linked to Tehran, according to the sources. The strikes followed the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war that erupted after U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran.Iran responded by launching attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab states that host U.S. military facilities, while Israel has also targeted Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group as part of the expanding conflict.

Despite the escalating violence, diplomatic channels between Riyadh and Tehran remain open. The sources said Saudi Arabia has maintained regular contact with Iranian officials through its ambassador since the U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran began on Feb. 28 following the collapse of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear programme.Araqchi said in an interview on Saturday that he had remained in constant communication with Prince Faisal and other Saudi officials. He said Riyadh had assured Tehran it would not allow its territory, waters or airspace to be used for attacks on Iran.In his remarks, Pezeshkian said Iran’s temporary leadership council had approved a suspension of attacks on neighbouring countries unless those states were used as a launch point for strikes against Iran.The apology appeared aimed at easing tensions with Gulf governments concerned about the risk of the conflict spreading further across the region and threatening energy infrastructure and shipping routes.The exchanges highlight the delicate position faced by Gulf states seeking to avoid deeper involvement in the conflict while balancing security ties with Washington and growing regional instability.