Iran escalated its economic warfare on Saturday by threatening to strike not just government infrastructure but any private energy or economic facility in the Gulf region with ties to American companies. The threat effectively put multinational corporations with operations in the Gulf on notice that their installations could become military targets. Iranian military spokespeople singled out “oil companies across the region that have American shares or cooperate with America” as potential targets, a framing that covered a vast range of commercial entities across multiple countries.
The threat added a new dimension of risk to an already precarious situation for global energy companies. Many of the Gulf’s largest energy facilities were operated by international corporations with American shareholders, American joint venture partners, or commercial relationships with US companies. If Iran acted on its threat, the potential scope of destruction extended far beyond government or state-owned infrastructure to encompass the private sector assets that underpin much of the global energy economy. Insurance and shipping companies were already reassessing their exposure across the region.
US warplanes continued striking Kharg Island on Saturday. President Trump said in public remarks the island had been effectively demolished and called on allied nations to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz. He named China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK, framing the effort as a collective defence of global energy commerce. Iran had closed the strait since the war began on February 28, pushing oil prices toward $120 per barrel. Analysts warned prices could reach $150 if the conflict continued its current trajectory.
Iran backed its threats with action, launching ballistic missiles at the UAE’s Fujairah oil port and suspending loading operations. Israeli warplanes conducted dozens of raids inside Iran, killing at least 15 people in Isfahan. Iran fired rockets at Israel in return. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Iran’s leaders were “desperate and hiding” and wounded. Iranian officials confirmed the injury but called it minor. The International Crisis Group described the regime as structurally intact and executing a deliberate long-term strategy.
The human and economic toll of the war was vast and growing. More than 1,400 Iranians had been killed in sustained bombing. Thirteen Israelis and roughly 20 Gulf residents had died. Lebanon’s crisis continued, with 800 killed and 850,000 displaced from Israeli strikes on Hezbollah. Six US troops died in an aircraft crash in Iraq. The US embassy in Baghdad was struck, and Americans in Iraq were ordered to leave. Iran’s threat against American-linked commercial interests added a new front to a conflict that was already spreading in too many directions to contain.