Washington | The number of Americans wounded in the Iran war has grown beyond 300, with more than two dozen troops injured this week from attacks on a Saudi air base.
Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan air base in an attack Friday that injured at least 15 troops, including five seriously, according to two people briefed on the matter.
US officials initially reported that at least 10 US troops were injured, including two who were seriously wounded.
More American forces are reaching the Middle East, with a Navy ship carrying about 2,500 Marines having now arrived in the region, US Central Command announced Saturday.
The USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship, as well as the elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit that are aboard, are based in Japan. They were conducting exercises in the area around Taiwan when the order came to deploy to the Middle East almost two weeks ago.
Central Command said that in addition to the Marines, the Tripoli also brings transport and strike fighter aircraft, as well as amphibious assault assets to the region. The USS Boxer and two other ships, along with another Marine Expeditionary Unit, have also been ordered to the region from San Diego.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday the United States can meet its objectives “without any ground troops”.
But he also said Trump “has to be prepared for multiple contingencies” and that American forces are available “to give the president maximum optionality and maximum, opportunity to adjust to contingencies should they emerge.”
The Saudi base had come under come attack twice earlier in week, including an incident that injured 14 US troops, according to the people, who were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The base, which is about 96 kilometers (60 miles) from the Saudi capital of Riyadh, is run by the Royal Saudi Air Force, but also used by US troops. The installation has been targeted almost since the beginning of the war, which on Saturday reached the one-month mark.
Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, was wounded during a March 1 attack on the base and died days later. He is one of the 13 service members who have been killed in the war.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday regarding the American casualties at the Saudi base.
Central Command said Friday that more than 300 service members have been wounded in the war. Most have returned to duty, while 30 remained out of action and 10 were considered seriously wounded.
Iran has responded to attacks by the United States and Israel with strikes against Israel and neighbouring Gulf Arab states. The war has upended global air travel, disrupted oil exports and caused fuel prices to soar. Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway, has exacerbated the economic fallout.
With the economic repercussions extending far beyond the Middle East, President Donald Trump is under growing pressure to end Iran's choke-hold on the strait. The latest attacks on the Saudi air base happened after Trump claimed talks on ending the war were going “very well”.
Trump said he had given Tehran until April 6 to reopen the strait. Iran says it has not engaged in any negotiations.
Kyiv | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday made unannounced visits to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as Ukraine seeks to use its drone expertise to help Gulf Arab states blunt Iran's attacks during the war in the Middle East.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has already signed 10-year security agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and expects to shortly finalise a similar agreement with the UAE.
Ukraine has quickly grown into one of the world's leading producers of cutting-edge, battle-tested drone interceptors that are cheap and effective. They are playing a key part in its defence against Russia's full-scale invasion, which began on February 24, 2022.
In return for its aid to Gulf countries, Ukraine is seeking more high-end air-defence missiles that they possess and that Kyiv needs to counter Russia's attacks. On Thursday, Zelenskyy visited Saudi Arabia, and last week, he said that Ukraine is looking into whether it can play a role in restoring security in the Strait of Hormuz.
On Saturday, Zelenskyy and Emirati state media reported on a meeting between the Ukrainian president and his Emirati counterpart, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to discuss regional security amid the Iran war.
Later that day, Zelenskyy posted on X to say he had arrived in Qatar.
“Real security is built on partnership, we value everyone and remain open to supporting all those who are ready to work together for this goal,” he wrote alongside a video of himself disembarking a plane and shaking hands with Qatari officials.
The war in the Middle East erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran. The Islamic Republic retaliated with strikes against Israel and the Gulf Arab States and the blockading of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway.
The war has upended global travel and sent oil prices soaring as its economic fallout extended well beyond the region.
Last week, Zelenskyy revealed that Kyiv is helping five countries — the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan — counter Tehran's drone strikes on their territory.
“For Ukraine, this is also a matter of principle: terror must not prevail anywhere in the world. Protection must be sufficient everywhere,” he said on X following his meeting with the Emirati leader.
He added they had discussed “the security situation in the Emirates, Iranian strikes, and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which directly affects the global oil market”.
Zelenskyy told reporters that his government is seeking to build long-term strategic ties with Middle Eastern countries, including joint production, investment, energy cooperation and the sharing of battlefield experience.
“Simple sales do not interest us,” he said at a live briefing held on Zoom.
While Ukraine remains short of high-end air defence systems, such as Patriot missiles, Zelenskyy said that Kyiv has developed an “integrated” defence model that effectively protects against Iranian-made Shahed drones.
Tehran sent large numbers of the attack drones to Russia early in the war. Since then, Moscow has modified them to improve their effectiveness, begun domestic production, and repeatedly launched the drones in waves at Ukrainian cities.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is offering Gulf Arab partners “combat-tested” expertise, and has already signed 10-year security deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He didn't specify what the contracts involve, but said that he expects a similar agreement with the UAE to be finalised shortly.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had received “no signals" from the US about potential diversions of weapons, including those funded by Kyiv's European partners, from Ukraine to the Middle East.
His comments followed weeks of speculation that the Iran war could detract attention from Ukraine, deplete Western arsenals and force NATO allies to reduce military support for Kyiv.
Russia is already profiting from a surge in global energy prices, brought on by damage to oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf and Iran's blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil choke point.
Russia launched more than 270 drones at Ukraine overnight, killing at least five people, Ukrainian authorities reported on Saturday.
Two people were killed and at least 11 more were wounded in a nighttime Russian drone strike on Odesa, according to the head of the region, Serhii Lysak. According to Lysak's Telegram posts, the attack damaged a maternity hospital and private houses in the major Black Sea port city.
Zelenskyy said that the “massive” strike on Odesa involved more than 60 drones.
Russia's overnight strikes also killed two men and wounded two other people in Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy's hometown in central Ukraine, after a drone hit an industrial facility, regional head Oleksandr Gandzha said in a Telegram update. He didn't specify what the industrial building was.
One person was killed overnight in the Poltava region, also in central Ukraine, as Russia struck industrial sites there, regional authorities reported on Saturday. Ukrainian state gas company Naftogaz said that a production facility was hit.
According to Ukraine's air force, Russia launched 273 drones at Ukraine during the night, 252 of which were downed or electronically jammed.
In Russia, a child died after a Ukrainian drone hit a private house in Russia's western Yaroslavl region, local Gov. Mikhail Evraev reported early Saturday. According to Evraev's Telegram post, the child's parents were hospitalised with serious injuries after the attack.
Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that 155 Ukrainian drones were shot down during the night over Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula.