US attacks Iranian nuclear site while Tehran hits oil tanker off the
Dubai coast
[March 31, 2026]
By JON GAMBRELL and DAVID RISING
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States hit the central
Iranian city of Isfahan early Tuesday, sending a massive fireball into
the sky, and Tehran struck a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the
Persian Gulf.
The attacks were testament to the intensity of the monthlong war the
U.S. and Israel launched against Iran, which has maintained its
chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, closing off the vital waterway for
global energy shipments, sending oil prices skyrocketing and roiling
world markets.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been insisting there is progress in
diplomatic talks toward a ceasefire, shared video of the attack on
Isfahan, with fiery explosions lighting up the night sky. Isfahan is
home to one of three sites earlier attacked by the U.S. military in June
and some of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely stored or buried or
there.
Meanwhile, Israel said another four soldiers had been killed in its
invasion of Lebanon, as were two more United Nations peacekeepers,
prompting the U.N. Security Council to schedule an emergency session for
later Tuesday.
Iran launches new attacks on Gulf neighbors and hits oil tanker in
Dubai waters
Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, hovered around
$107 a barrel in early trading, up more than 45% since the war started
Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. U.S. gas prices jumped
past an average $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022.
Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading out of
Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported
during peacetime, has driven up global oil prices, as have its attacks
on Gulf regional energy infrastructure.
In response to growing Gulf Arab anger, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas
Araghchi insisted Tuesday that Tehran is only targeting U.S. forces.
Several states have been encouraging Washington to continue the war
until Iran's military capabilities are destroyed.
“Our operations are aimed at enemy aggressors who have no respect for
Arabs or Iranians, nor can provide any security," Araghchi wrote on X.
"High time to eject U.S. forces.”
Despite these words, attacks on civilian targets continued as an Iranian
drone hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker in Dubai waters, sparking a blaze that
was later put out, the Dubai Media Office said.
Four people in Dubai were also wounded when debris from an intercepted
drone fell into a residential area and loud explosions could be heard
later from another attack on the city.
Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, while Saudi Arabia's Defense
Ministry said it had intercepted three ballistic missiles launched
toward Riyadh, and falling debris from a drone intercepted southeast of
the capital caused minor damage to six homes.
Sirens were also heard in Jerusalem and loud explosions were heard not
long after Israel's military warned of an incoming missile barrage from
Iran.
Israel and US launch new wave of strikes on Iran
Israel and the U.S. launched a new wave of strikes on Iran, hitting
Tehran in the early morning hours.
The video shared by Trump appeared to show a massive attack on Isfahan,
where NASA fire-tracking satellites suggest the explosions happened near
Mount Soffeh. Iran has not yet confirmed the attack.
[to top of second column]
|
A firefighter battles flames at a damaged workshop after an alert of
incoming missiles in Petah Tikva, Israel, Tuesday, March 31, 2026.
(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A satellite image taken just before the 12-day war in June between Iran
and Israel suggests Tehran transferred a truckload of highly enriched
uranium to its nuclear facility at Isfahan.
The image shows a truck loaded with 18 blue containers going into a
tunnel at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center about two weeks before
the U.S. bombed the site.
Analysts determined that the truck likely carried most or all of Iran's
stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% purity. That’s a short,
technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Eyes on Kharg Island as more US assault troops head to region
Trump has said this week that “great progress is being made” in talks
with Iran to end military operations. But he said if a deal is not
reached “shortly,” and if the Strait of Hormuz is not immediately
reopened, the U.S. would broaden its offensive by “completely
obliterating” power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island and possibly even
desalination plants.
The U.S. has also ordered an additional 5,000 Marines and 1,000
paratroopers to the region, joining tens of thousands of troops already
there.
Trump has openly talked about the possibility of trying to seize Kharg
Island, Iran's main oil export hub, and Iran has accused the U.S. of
using diplomacy to stall until more troops can be brought in.
The U.S. already has targeted military positions on Kharg. Iran has
threatened to launch its own ground invasion of Gulf Arab countries and
to mine the Persian Gulf if U.S. troops set foot on its territory.
Twice during Trump’s second term, the U.S. has attacked Iran during
high-level diplomatic talks, including with the Feb. 28 strikes that
started the current war.
Peacekeepers killed in Lebanon as Israel battles Hezbollah
The U.N. Security Council planned to convene an emergency session
Tuesday after officials said three peacekeepers in southern Lebanon had
been killed in less than 24 hours.
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in the region where Israel is battling the
Iran-backed Hezbollah did not say who was responsible for the deaths.
In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while
19 have been reported dead in Israel.
Two dozen people have been killed in Gulf states and the occupied West
Bank. In Lebanon, officials said more than 1,200 people have been
killed, and more than 1 million have been displaced.
Ten Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon, including the four announced
Tuesday, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed in the war.
___
Rising reported from Bangkok. Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed to
this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
