Explosions rock Tehran as Trump presses reluctant allies to help secure oil shipping lanes amid a widening Middle East conflict that is disrupting global energy markets.
TEHRAN: Loud explosions shook the Iranian capital following a night of heavy bombardment.
The strikes came as US President Donald Trump pressed allies to join a naval mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil transit route.
Oil prices surged more than 5% as several nations distanced themselves from Trump’s call for military assistance.
The conflict, now in its third week, has killed hundreds and drawn in multiple regional actors.
Iran has launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf nations, while a front has opened in Lebanon with Israel battling Hezbollah.
Blasts were heard in Tehran, though the specific targets were not immediately clear.
Israel’s army stated it had launched strikes “against Iranian terror regime infrastructure across Tehran”, as well as in Lebanon.
In Beirut, Israeli strikes hit a residential building in a Hezbollah stronghold, with an AFP photographer seeing firefighters tackle a blaze.
Millions have been displaced, notably in Lebanon and Iran, and the war is impacting the global economy.
Iran has targeted energy facilities in neighbouring crude-producing countries and threatened tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump demanded allies join with “great enthusiasm” to escort tankers through the strait.
He warned it would be “very bad” for NATO’s future if allies refused to help.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London was working on a “viable” plan but ruled out a NATO mission.
Germany, Japan, Australia and several European nations also distanced themselves from military involvement.
EU foreign ministers showed “no appetite” for extending their Red Sea naval mission to the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts said allies were unenthusiastic about joining a war they were not consulted on.
“The United States had launched a war without consulting allies, expecting them to mop up the mess, and that’s not going fly,” said Erwan Lagadec of George Washington University.
Trump admitted he was “shocked” at Iran’s widespread retaliatory strikes across the Gulf.
“They weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries,” he said.
Falling debris from a missile intercept killed one person in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Iran’s foreign minister struck a defiant tone, stating the nation “does not hesitate to defend itself”.
Western allies also urged Israel to show restraint in its “limited” ground operations in Lebanon.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog told AFP that Europe should support “any effort to eradicate Hezbollah now”.
Authorities in Lebanon say more than one million people have registered as displaced.
Iraq is also being drawn into the conflict, with a drone and rocket attack targeting the US embassy in Baghdad.
Security officials said a separate strike killed four people at a house reportedly hosting Iranian advisors.
