Trump seeks global backing to secure vital Gulf oil route

• A drone strike targeted the US Embassy in Baghdad, while separate attacks hit the Port of Fujairah in the UAE and damaged the radar system at Kuwait International Airport.
• President Trump called for an international naval coalition—including China, Japan, and France—to help the US Navy escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as oil prices sit 40% higher than pre-war levels.

US President Donald Trump urged other nations to help secure a vital shipping lane choked off by the war with Iran that showed no signs of slowing on Saturday, as strikes hit the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility.

Two weeks after the United States and ‘Israel’ attacked Iran, the entire Gulf region remained in the grip of a conflict that has sent shockwaves through the global economy.

The war has also spilled into Lebanon, where the health ministry says ‘Israeli’ strikes have killed hundreds as ‘Israel’ battles the Tehran-backed group Hezbollah.

Oil prices have surged 40 percent as Iran has choked off the vital Strait of Hormuz and attacked Gulf energy facilities.

Clouds of black smoke rose over Fujairah, home to a major Emirati oil storage and export terminal, shortly after Iran's military warned UAE civilians to avoid port areas.

Washington's embassy in Iraq was hit by a drone, security sources told AFP -- the second such strike during the war -- while the Emirati consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan was targeted for the second time in a week.

US officials in Baghdad urged citizens to "leave now," but warned them not to approach the embassy or the consulate in Erbil "in light of the ongoing risk of missiles, drones, and rockets in Iraqi airspace."

In Kuwait, a drone strike damaged the international airport's radar system but caused no injuries, the civil aviation authority said.

After earlier vowing that the US Navy would "very soon" begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump called for reinforcements on Saturday.

"Many countries... will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe," he posted on social media, saying China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain would "hopefully" be among them.

He later said that although the United States had "beaten" Iran, countries dependent on the strait for oil "must take care of that passage, and we will help."