Iran war enters week three as 2,500 more U.S. Marines are sent to the region, but a strike near the Baghdad embassy raises new fears
Image by sina drakhshani on Unsplash.
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The war in Iran entered its third week on Saturday with new attacks in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, adding to fears of a broader regional escalation. As reported by AP News, a missile struck a helipad inside the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad while an intercepted Iranian drone caused a fire at an oil facility in Fujairah.
Associated Press footage showed smoke rising over the Baghdad embassy compound, which has repeatedly been targeted by Iran-aligned militias. The embassy had also renewed its Level 4 security alert for Iraq, warning that U.S. citizens and interests could be targeted.
No casualties were reported in either incident, but the attacks landed as the U.S. moved to send 2,500 more Marines to the region. The latest escalation has also intensified concerns over oil supplies and the security of major shipping routes.
The war is expanding the risks far beyond Iran
Iran’s joint military command directly threatened non-U.S. assets in neighboring countries for the first time since the war began. It warned that cities in the UAE, including Dubai and its airport, could be targeted because the U.S. allegedly uses ports and other sites there for strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, amid commercial shipping fears.
The threat specifically referenced Jebel Ali port in Dubai, Khalifa port in Abu Dhabi, and Fujairah port. That marked a sharper turn in Iran’s rhetoric as the conflict widened beyond direct exchanges with the U.S. and Israel.
President Trump said U.S. forces had “obliterated” military sites on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s main oil export terminal. He also warned that Iran’s oil infrastructure had been spared for now, but that could change if Tehran continued to interfere with shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait normally handles about one-fifth of global oil supplies, and vessels were already backed up as the conflict deepened. Iran’s parliament speaker had previously warned that strikes on Kharg Island would trigger a new level of retaliation.
A U.S. official said elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli were headed to the Middle East. Those units can support embassy security, evacuations, and amphibious operations, with tanker crash fallout adding to the pressure on U.S. operations.
Iraq is increasingly caught in the middle as strikes from both sides raise the risk of a wider crisis inside the country. In Lebanon, the humanitarian toll is also worsening, with nearly 800 people reported killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel continues striking Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said more than 15,000 enemy targets had been struck since the war began, averaging over 1,000 a day. Israel also said it hit more than 200 targets in Iran over 24 hours, while the U.S. temporarily eased some sanctions on Russian oil shipments as concerns over crude supply intensified.
Published: Mar 14, 2026 11:30 am