DUBAI — An Iranian drone attack ignited a fuel tank at Dubai International Airport early Monday, authorities said, as Tehran continued to strike civilian infrastructure across the Persian Gulf and Israel said it would keep hitting Iran “as long as needed” — suggesting there would be no quick end to the Middle East war now in its 17th day.
Israel also announced an expansion Monday of operations by its ground forces in Lebanon, where it has mounted a fierce response to missile, rocket, and drone attacks by Hezbollah, the militant group aligned with Iran.
The drone attack at Dubai International Airport set off a massive fire and forced the brief suspension of flights at what is normally among the busiest hubs in the world.
Hours later, Israeli officials detailed their strikes on Iran and said ground troops were stepping up operations in Lebanon, where a bombing campaign against Hezbollah has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
With oil prices spiking to more than $104 per barrel, cargo traffic largely stalled in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and millions of people living in fear across the Middle East, world leaders are scrambling for solutions but divided on a path forward.
President Donald Trump suggested over the weekend that nations relying on oil from the Persian Gulf form a “coalition” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively shut by targeting commercial vessels that it says are connected to the United States or Israel. But nations including Japan and Australia said Monday that they did not plan to send ships to the narrow waterway, which serves as a vital transit hub for about 20 percent of the global oil supply.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday night that he had spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and called on him “to put an immediate end to the unacceptable attacks Iran is carrying out against countries in the region.”
“Freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be restored as soon as possible,” Macron said in a post on X.
“The unchecked escalation we are witnessing is plunging the entire region into chaos, with major consequences today and for the years to come,” Macron added. “The people of Iran, like those across the region, are paying the price.”
European Union foreign ministers were set to meet on Monday in Brussels to discuss the situation in the Middle East.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan — who had been locked in a feud — spoke by telephone on Monday and “stressed the need for the immediate cessation of military escalation, which poses a threat to stability and security in the region and the world at large,” according to a UAE government statement.
Both sides underscored the importance of “prioritizing serious dialogue and diplomatic means” in addressing the conflict.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said that Israel’s goal was “maximum accomplishments in a minimum time frame” and that Israel’s army was “ready to operate as long as needed.”
Israel has launched 4,700 strikes on Iran’s missile programs, destroying 70 percent of its missile launchers and 85 percent of its air defense and radar systems, Shoshani told reporters at a briefing Monday.
Israel’s military moved deeper into Lebanon with ground operations by the 91st “Galilee” Division over the weekend, he said, in pursuit of Hezbollah operatives. Shoshani declined to specify how far into Lebanon Israeli troops advanced.
At least 850 people have been killed in Lebanon since Israel launched its offensive in the country, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. Israel says its operations are intended to eradicate Hezbollah, which has been firing at Israel in retaliation for the strikes on Iran and the death of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
Among the dead in Lebanon were 66 women, 107 children and 32 health workers, the Health Ministry said. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Iran since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war, according to the Iranian Health Ministry, and at least 15 have been killed in Israel, according to authorities there.
Despite reports that the number of missiles and drones fired daily by Iran has plummeted, Tehran continued to strike targets across the Persian Gulf on Monday, including oil infrastructure. In the United Arab Emirates, the port of Fujairah — a key export hub for oil — was hit by a drone, authorities said, setting off a massive fire.
The port is the country’s only export route outside of the Strait of Hormuz. Oil loadings, which had been suspended and then resumed over the weekend, were halted again Monday as authorities assessed damage, news agencies reported.
The hits came after warnings by Iran over the weekend that it considered Fujairah and other ports in the UAE to be legitimate targets because of the U.S. military presence at the facilities. Iran has also warned that banks and other businesses in the Gulf region are at risk, and it has targeted Dubai’s financial district, a symbol of the region’s success.
In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, officials said Monday that a Palestinian civilian was killed when a missile landed in a civilian area.
Some flights were resuming at Dubai’s airport following the drone strike Monday, and no injuries were reported. But authorities said the resumption of flights at the airport — which served more than 95 million people last year — would be gradual.
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