In its retaliatory attack, Iran attacked its US-allied neighbors in the region, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The war has also drawn attention to European powers, after a drone strike on Sunday against a British military base in Cyprus, a European Union member state off the coast of Turkey.
After the Sun newspaper published a photo showing a hole in the side of the plane’s hangar, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the strike at RAF Akrotiri, a so-called British Overseas Territory, caused “casualties and a thorough assessment determined that the damage was minimal.”
Spain’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday it would send a frigate to defend Cyprus. Italy and France have also confirmed they will send defense forces to the region, while Britain says it plans to send a warship next week.
Olivia O’Sullivan, director of the UK Global Program at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, said the risk of escalation would pose a challenge to America’s historic allies in Europe.
“American presidents have acted inconsistently in the past, so it’s not a completely new problem,” he told NBC News, but President Donald Trump “has really accelerated that trend, and is forcing European partners to reevaluate, when and how we support American actions in the world.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said on Thursday that it has lodged a formal protest with the Iranian Embassy after four people were injured in drone attacks.
Azerbaijan said one of the planes hit an airport building, while the other crashed near a school in a nearby village in the Nakhchivan region.
The Iranian military has denied attacking Azerbaijan, saying in a statement that the Islamic Republic “respects the sovereignty of all countries.”
“The Iranians have only one punch left,” said Col. Steve Warren, NBC News military analyst and former Pentagon spokesman, told “TODAY.”
“They want to bring these other nations into conflict, in the hope that these nations will pressure the United States to stop our action,” he said.
The conflict threatens to have a major economic impact around the world.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast, provides access to one-fifth of the world’s oil and is a key route for other commodities such as aluminum, sugar and fertilizers.
Usually full of oil tankers and cargo ships, they have been almost completely wiped out by Iran’s threat to attack the ships, sending oil and gas prices skyrocketing.
Few places reveal the global reach of the conflict more dramatically than Sri Lanka, thousands of kilometers from the Middle East but deeply connected by shipping lanes, energy markets and migrant labor ties.
“One of the biggest concerns is economic vulnerability,” Welivitiya said. “Disruption of global shipping routes and electricity supplies would have direct effects on our economy, especially given Sri Lanka’s recent economic challenges.”
Officials in Sri Lanka are warning that the rescue of the IRIS Dena may not be a one-off event, after a second Iranian vessel entered Sri Lankan waters.
Sri Lanka is not allowing the ship to dock at the airport but is providing humanitarian aid, Cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa said on Wednesday, without specifying whether the ship was a commercial or naval vessel.
“We are doing everything possible to protect lives,” said Jayatissa.
Kasun Jayawardana, who is the director of tourism in Galle, said that the residents are not satisfied to see the result of the war reaching their shores in a country that is still marked by decades of conflict.
After nearly 30 years of civil war in Sri Lanka, which ended in 2009, Jayawardana told NBC News, the city had no desire to see violence return, even indirectly.
“We all hate war,” he told NBC News.
