Iran-US war latest: Trump vows to ‘bomb the hell’ out of Iran shoreline as residents warned to leave UAE ports

For nearly two weeks, Lebanon has been pounded by Israeli strikes.

The brutal and relentless bombing has seen families flee their homes and take shelter in classrooms and displacement camps, forced to leave everything behind. For many, the cost of war is more than they can bear.

The Independent’s Bel Trew has this special dispatch from Tyre in south Lebanon.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed 826 people, with a further 2,009 people injured, according to the country’s health ministry.

It comes as the Israeli military issues an evacuation order for the southern suburbs of Beirut, known as the Dahiyeh, telling people to “evacuate immediately and not return to these neighbourhoods until further notice”.

Iran vowed on Saturday to attack facilities of US companies the region if its energy infrastructure is targeted.

In comments reported by state media, foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran would act with caution to avoid targeting populated areas.

A United Nations official has called for humanitarian aid to be allowed to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz.

Tom Fletcher, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator said: “When routes close and costs surge, the help we can deliver shrinks and the people who need it most are the ones who lose it first.”

“So my message to the parties to the conflict and all those with influence over them is simple: humanitarian cargo must be allowed to pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz.”

President Donald Trump said four U.S. Air Force tanker planes are “back in service” following reports of damage from an Iranian missile strike in Saudi Arabia.

Five U.S. Air Force refueling tanks were damaged, but not completely destroyed, in a strike at Prince Sultan air base in recent days, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. No one was killed, and officials are now working to repair the tankers, the outlet’s sources said.

In a Saturday morning Truth Social post, Trump railed against the “Fake News Media” and said the base was “hit a few days ago.” None of the planes were “‘struck’ or ‘destroyed,’” he added.

“Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service,” Trump wrote. “One had slightly more damage, but will be in the air shortly.”

President Donald Trump has emphasised the importance of opening the Strait of Hormuz as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to take “complete control” of the major shipping route last week.

“Many Countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Saturday.

“We have already destroyed 100 per cent of Iran’s Military capability, but it’s easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are.

“Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated.

“In the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline, and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!”

Iran has warned residents to leave areas near Jebel Ali port in Dubai, Khalifa port in Abu Dhabi and the Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates, according to Iranian news agencies.

It comes as a fire broke out at the major UAE port on Saturday, forcing the facility to suspend part of its oil operations.

President Donald Trump has appeared to admit that five US Air Force refuelling planes were damaged amid the ongoing war with Iran.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday afternoon, he wrote: “Yet again, an intentionally misleading headline by the Fake News Media about the five tanker planes that were supposedly struck down at an Airport in Saudi Arabia, and of no further use.

“In actuality, the Base was hit a few days ago, but the planes were not ‘struck’ or ‘destroyed.’

“Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service. One had slightly more damage, but will be in the air shortly.

“None were destroyed, or close to that, as the Fake News said in headlines.”

Five refueling planes were hit in Iranian strike on Saudi Arabia, according to reports by the Wall Street journal earlier today.