Representational.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Explosions sounded over Dubai early Tuesday as the United Arab Emirates' military worked to intercept incoming Iranian fire that caused the country to briefly close its airspace as war in the Middle East continued to escalate, the Associated Press reported.
The Israeli military said early Tuesday it had begun a "wide-scale wave of strikes" across Iran's capital and was also stepping up strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. It announced the new strikes as Israel reported two incoming salvos from Iran.
Fears of a global energy crisis loomed even as a small number of ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil normally travels.
Iranian strikes on commercial ships in and around the strait have slowed shipping to a trickle, dramatically increasing oil prices and pressuring Washington to do something to ease the pain for consumers and the global economy.
Brent crude, the international standard, remained over $100 a barrel. U.S. President Donald Trump said he had demanded that roughly a half-dozen countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. But his appeals brought no immediate commitments.
Speaking of the strait, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: "From our perspective it is open" - just not for the United States, Israel and its allies. Araghchi also rejected as "delusional" claims that Iran was looking for a negotiated end to the war.
Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran more than two weeks ago, Tehran has regularly fired drones and missiles at Israel, American bases in the region and Gulf Arab countries' energy infrastructure.
The UAE shut down its airspace early Tuesday as its military reported it was "responding to missile and drone threats from Iran." The closure was soon lifted, the state-run WAM news agency quoted the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority as saying.
Authorities said "the situation stabilized," allowing flights to resume.