US attacks Iranian nuclear site while Tehran hits oil tanker off the Dubai coast

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A likely strike by 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.

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.

Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading our 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.

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 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, an area believed to have military positions. Iran has not yet confirmed the attack.

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 from an Airbus Defense and Space Pléiades Neo satellite 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%.

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 sent a contingent of 2,500 Marines to the region, and another is on its way, while ordering 1,000 paratroopers to the theatre as well.

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.

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.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

FILE - Ships sail through the Arabian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz as the sun sets in the United Arab Emirates Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP Photo, File)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at a damaged workshop struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at a damaged workshop struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at a damaged workshop struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A man inspect the wreckage of an Iranian missile that landed near the West Bank village of Marda, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Residents and Israeli security forces inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman holds a banner showing portraits of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, and his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the successor to him, during a campaign in support of the government at the Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution, square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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)

Members of the Basij paramilitary force stand at a checkpoint in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Monsignor Simon Khoury inspects a damaged house following an Iranian missile strike in Shefaram, Israel, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli authorities inspect a damaged house following an Iranian missile strike in Haifa, Israel, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, is seen, as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Portraits of Hezbollah's late leaders Hassan Nasrallah, right, and his cousin, Hashem Safieddine, are seen, as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

CAIRO (AP) — Pakistan’s interior minister was in Tehran on Sunday in a fresh bid to restart negotiations between Iran and the U.S., as the American military said it shot down two more Iranian drones over the Strait of Hormuz that threatened international maritime traffic.

The latest action came as the U.S. administration presses Iran to make a deal to end the war in the Middle East, which has strained the global economy and threatened a hunger crisis in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries.

The heaviest fighting ended with a preliminary ceasefire on April 8, but the sides have not been able to agree on a long-term end to the war.

Fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah continued, meanwhile, despite last week's announcement that a U.S.-brokered ceasefire had been extended.

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is in Tehran to deliver a message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei from Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to Iranian state-run IRNA news agency.

Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was named the Islamic Republic’s ruler after his father was killed on the first day of the war on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel lauched a bombardment campaign against Iran.

Naqvi met with Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni late Saturday, and held talks Sunday morning with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to official Iranian media.

There were no details on the contents of the message. Pakistani authorities have said Islamabad, with support from regional countries including Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, has been working to help bridge differences between the United States and Iran and encourage efforts aimed at reducing tensions and ensuring the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, the new ceasefire in Lebanon, which was announced during U.S-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington last week, did not appear to be holding.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah has rejected the U.S.-brokered deal and instead endorsed Iran’s demand that ending the war in Lebanon be part of the negotiations with the U.S.

Israel struck what it said were over 150 Hezbollah military sites over the weekend, including rocket launchers and command centers, across southern Lebanon.

Early Sunday, Israel identified at least five projectiles launched from Lebanon toward northern Israel, which were intercepted or fell in open areas. Hezbollah did not immediately claim to have fired projectiles at Israel. However, the militant group acknowledged it attacked Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon on Saturday, the Israeli military said.

The fighting in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have seized large swaths of the south in its latest ground invasion, threatens efforts to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit point for oil and gas. Its closure has jolted the world economy.

Iran has demanded that any lasting truce extend to Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections later this year, wants to press ahead with Israel’s offensive until he considers Hezbollah no longer poses a threat.

Lebanon’s army commander, Gen. Rodolphe Haikal, headed to Pakistan Saturday at the invitation of Pakistan’s army chief. The Lebanese army gave no further details and did not say whether it is related to Pakistan’s mediation between Iran and the U.S.

The U.S. military said Saturday that it had shot down several Iranian missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf Arab allies, and struck some of the Islamic Republic’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response.

“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” U.S. Central Command said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted the Ali Al Salem air base, which hosts U.S. forces in Kuwait, and the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The U.S. military said there were no reports of harm to U.S. personnel.

Earlier in the month, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport, killing one person and wounding dozens.

The U.S. military has kept up its blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s grip on the strait, a crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments.

Energy prices have spiked, posing political problems for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of midterm congressional elections in November.

Chehayeb reported from Beirut and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel.

A man walks past anti-U.S. graffiti painted on the wall of the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People walk under a banner showing portraits of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, and the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)