The U.S. State Department on Monday abruptly canceled all consular appointments in the United Arab Emirates for three days, citing a deteriorating regional security situation amid wider military tensions in the Persian Gulf.
It said that if Americans have an appointment on those dates, they "should not come to the embassy or consulate; we will contact you to reschedule."
"The U.S. Embassy and U.S. Consulate General remain on ordered-departure status, meaning that non-emergency U.S. government personnel have been relocated outside the UAE. As a result, only limited consular assistance to Americans is available," the U.S. State Department stated.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has faced renewed missile and drone attacks from Iran amid a major regional escalation.
One Indian crew member was killed, and eight others were wounded when Iranian cruise missiles struck two Emirati oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the UAE Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's shipping arm later confirmed the very large crude carriers (VLCCs) Mombasa B and Al Bahyah were hit while transiting Hormuz and had sustained "significant damage."
The mission, it said, will “further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping,” adding that its “forces employed precision munitions against Iranian coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites, and maritime capabilities.”
On July 13, Trump warned Tehran that the United States could soon target Pickaxe Mountain, an Iranian underground nuclear site.
“We’re watching it closely. We see no activity there. They’re not doing well with their nuclear situation … but we’ll probably give Pickaxe Mountain a shot relatively soon,” Trump told The Hugh Hewitt Show.
"Iran does not ‘attack.’ Iran’s strikes on U.S. military bases and assets stationed in the southern Persian Gulf constitute a legitimate and lawful exercise of its inherent right to self-defense under international law,” he said.
Baghaei said that the United Nations “should urge the countries in question to immediately cease allowing the United States to use their territories as launchpads for aggression against Iran.”