An Iranian missile has hit the Al Minhad Air Base within the United Arab Emirates, which is home to US, UK and Australian troops.
Recent attacks were reported in multiple Gulf countries early today, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a projectile caused a small fire at its base within the UAE near Dubai, but caused no injuries.
It hasn’t been confirmed if the attack was targeting the bottom, but Albanese added: ‘The Iranian regime is engaging in random attacks right across the region. We all know that’s the case.’
Explosions were heard near the military base, which is utilized by Western nations as a transit hub inside the region.
Metro has contacted the UK MOD and US Air Force for further information.
The missile strike, which hit a road right outside the bottom, caused ‘minor damage’ after a hearth broke out near an accommodation block and medical centre.
Australia’s Defence Department said in an announcement: ‘Defence’s focus is on ensuring the security and security of our people and we are going to proceed to revise force protection measures because the situation within the Middle East evolves.’
Missile alerts sounded again later in Dubai because the sound of interceptors exploding overhead boomed across the city-state.
Today, Saudi Arabia also shot down a ballistic missile targeting the Prince Sultan air base, which hosts American forces and aircraft, and a drone targeting Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter, which houses the US embassy and other foreign missions.
Iran has vowed to proceed to throttle shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open sea.
Because the conflict began, a couple of ships have gotten through with their cargoes, a few of which were Iranian, but also from India, Turkey and elsewhere.
Iran says that the waterway is open, just to not the US or a lot of its allies.
Because the United States and Israel attacked Iran to start out the war on February 28, Iran has been targeting the energy infrastructure of its Gulf Arab neighbours.
They’re also targeting military bases, as a part of a technique to drive up oil prices and put pressure on Washington to back down.
Iran has shown no sign of relenting in its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits, giving rise to growing concerns of a worldwide energy crisis.
Iran’s attacks on neighbouring Gulf States have prompted major energy corporations, like QatarEnergy, to halt the production of liquefied natural gas, and global prices have already spiked.
UK retailers are bracing for knock-on effects that would reach British shoppers in the shape of higher prices and fewer discounts.
Again, the impact will rely on how long the conflict lasts, but rising oil and shipping costs alongside disruption to provide routes and raw materials could begin to filter through to buy prices within the months ahead.
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