Iran escalated attacks on parts of Dubai and shipping assets, heightening concern about the length of the Middle East war and the impact on already volatile energy markets.

Dubai authorities reported at least two strikes on Thursday after residents received missile alerts overnight, underlining the threat to the financial and tourist hub long seen as a safe haven.

One drone fell on a building in Creek Harbour, a new development of residential towers. Banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. told staffers in Dubai to stay away from their offices.

The latest Iranian attacks, which included several drones fired at Kuwait’s international airport, came as Israel began a fresh wave of large-scale strikes across the Islamic Republic. Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military is also preparing to expand its operations in Lebanon, where it’s fighting the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia.

The war began on Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran with airstrikes, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and triggering a response from Tehran that’s seen missiles and drones fired across the Gulf. Besides jolting energy and financial markets, the conflict has resulted in thousands of flight cancellations and disrupted the flows of fertilizer and other goods.

Two crude tankers were hit in Iraqi waters and Oman temporarily evacuated a key oil-export terminal of Mina Al Fahal as risks to global energy supply deepened.

The Strait of Hormuz — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas flows — has been all but impassable since the opening salvos of the war. Countries from Saudi Arabia to Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have had to curb crude production.

The International Energy Agency warned on Thursday that the current oil supply disruption is the largest in the history of the oil market, underscoring days of wild price moves. The war has hit 7.5% of global output and an even bigger swath of exports, it said.

Brent crude rose above $100 in early trading on Thursday, before paring gains. It’s up around 60% this year.

The war shows no sign of abating, with leaders on both sides seemingly far apart in what they are demanding for any de-escalation to take place.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian gave the most specific comments yet as to what it would take for his country to accept a ceasefire. Tehran needs “firm int’l guarantees against future aggression” as well as reparations, he said on X on Wednesday, after speaking to “leaders of Russia and Pakistan.”

Bloomberg reported that Iran is particularly concerned Israel will attack again after the current war ends. It’s unclear if the U.S. is willing to give Iran such a pledge and if it would be able to insist on Israel doing the same.

U.S. military and Israeli officials are suggesting the conflict could continue for weeks, rather than days. Katz said the campaign will continue until “victory is achieved.”

President Donald Trump gave mixed messages as to how long the U.S. is prepared to keep the war going. He told Axios there is “practically nothing left to target” in the Islamic Republic. Yet he also signaled in a speech that it would be unwise for the U.S. to wind up hostilities too soon.

“We don’t want to leave early, right?” he told a crowd in Kentucky.

Trump again tried to reassure Americans and traders about energy prices, saying a massive release of emergency oil reserves approved by the IEA on Wednesday would ease price pressures.

The move to discharge a record 400 million barrels would “substantially reduce oil prices as we end this threat to America and this threat to the world,” he said.

His comments and the announcement of the release of reserves did little to calm volatile markets.

The U.S. national average cost for a gallon of gasoline rose to $3.58 on Wednesday, its highest since May 2024, American Automobile Association data shows.

Trump is preparing to invoke Cold War-era powers to clear the way for renewed oil production off the southern California coast, according to a person familiar with the matter. The U.S. International Development Finance Corp. also announced that Chubb Ltd. is partnering with the agency on a $20 billion reinsurance backstop aimed at reviving shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.K. Navy said three vessels were hit with suspected projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Oman reported that a Thai-flagged cargo vessel was

Around 2,500 people have been killed across the Middle East since the war began, official tolls and those from non-government agencies show.

At least 1,825 Iranians have been killed so far, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Seven U.S. service members have died, most of them in the first two days of fighting. There have been several deaths in Gulf countries and Israel.

Some 634 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, which began on March 2, the Lebanese state-run National News Agency said.

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