Iranian fired drones towards Saudi Arabia and Kuwait early Tuesday as US President Donald Trump sent contradictory signals about how long the war could last, fueling uncertainty that’s causing markets to swing.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said it has destroyed drones over the kingdom’s oil-rich eastern region, while in Kuwait, the National Guard said it shot some down in the county’s northern and southern areas.
Iran’s latest attacks on neighboring Gulf States come as Trump late Monday told Republican lawmakers that the war was likely to be a “short excursion.”
"It's going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again they'll be hit even harder," Trump told a news conference in Florida, after telling lawmakers that the campaign would be a "short-term excursion."
Yet, hours later, he threatened in a post on social media that US would dramatically increase attacks if Iran tried to close the Strait of Hormuz.
"If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!" the US President added.
Meanwhile, in an apparent response to Trump’s remarks published in Iranian state media, a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Guard, Ali Mohammad Naini, said “Iran will determine when the war ends.”
Trump's remarks came on the first day in power for the 56-year-old son of slain leader Ali Khamenei, with Iranian forces launching a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Israel.
Another missile was also fired at NATO member Turkey, the second such incident in five days, with the alliance's air defenses intercepting it before it could reach its target.
Diplomatic efforts focused Monday on the highly strategic Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked to nearly all oil tankers -- sending shockwaves across the global economy
Rallies
Iran faced a fresh blitz of US and Israeli strikes after its Assembly of Experts, the top clerical body, appointed its first new supreme leader in 37 years.
Iranian state media carried images of tens of thousands of people celebrating Mojtaba Khamenei's selection in central Tehran, many carrying his picture.
Iran's rebel Houthi allies in Yemen and the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon pledged allegiance, while Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday promised "unwavering support."
Trump told reporters he was "disappointed" about Khamenei's appointment, but remained open to a replacement from inside the Islamic republic, citing the recent transition of power in Venezuela as "a formula that has been very good so far."
Ali Ansari, a professor of Iranian history at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, told AFP the new supreme leader was a hardliner who had "been involved in all the most violent repressions that have taken place over the last 15-16 years."
Oil risks
Oil traders, policymakers and central bankers are all watching the Middle East for news about Gulf energy infrastructure, which is crucial for the world economy.
About 10 vessels in or near the Strait of Hormuz have come under attack since Iran blocked the waterway in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes, shipping experts say.
Global shipping giant MSC announced it was formally halting some export shipments from the Gulf, meaning goods sitting on ships would be unloaded.
Following strikes on Bahrain's Al Ma'ameer oil facility that ignited a fire, the country's state-owned energy company Bapco joined its counterparts in Qatar and Kuwait in declaring "force majeure" -- a warning that events beyond its control may lead it to miss export targets.
The Saudi defence ministry said Monday it had thwarted a drone attack targeting an oil field in the kingdom's east, near the Emirati border.
'Resistance'
In Bahrain, the interior ministry said early Tuesday an Iranian attack on a residential area in the capital Manama killed one person and injured others.
In Israel earlier, around 10 explosions were audible in Tel Aviv after the military announced it had detected missiles inbound from Iran.
At least one Israeli was killed when he was hit by shrapnel, emergency services said.
Israel said Tuesday that it had struck an Iranian missile launcher shortly after a barrage fired from the Islamic republic triggered air raid warnings in several Israeli areas.
The multi-front war also intensified in Lebanon, where Israeli and Hezbollah exchanges of fire since March 2 have killed at least 486 people and wounded more than 1,300.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Hezbollah of working to "collapse" the state, while the head of the group's parliamentary bloc said it had "no other option...than the option of resistance."
(With inputs from AP and AFP)