Strikes escalate in Lebanon and Iraq, UAE briefly closes airspace, Chalmers blames war for inflation driving up cash rate
Updated . First published at
The conflict in the Middle East is dragging on throughout March, as the persistant retaliatory strikes escalating in Iraq, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and campaign of US-led offensives in Iran threaten to spill over into Easter.
US President Donald Trump ramped up his pressure on key allies earlier today, particularly the United Kingdom, to send help to the Middle East to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for oil shipments.
Global oil prices are yet to stagnate, which is continuing to send petrol and diesel costs soaring in Australia – htiting regional communities and farmers the hardest.
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The US Embassy is seen across the Tigris River in Baghdad. AP
Australia's economy has not been immune to the conflict either, with the Reserve Bank's decision to raise the cash rate to 4.10 per cent blamed partly on inflation biting due to the ongoing war.
Trump puts pressure on allies to help in Middle East
Trump redoubled his push for allies to send ships to secure a critical oil transport route as the war in the Middle East sends petrol prices souring.
In a press conference today he said he was "not happy" with the UK, labelled France "not perfect" and said he would be "disappointed" in some other allies.
Trump has said he's called on "about seven" countries to send ships to the Middle East to secure the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has effectively shut down with threats since the US and Israel attacked Iran and killed former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
"We'll give you a list. Some are very enthusiastic, and some are less than enthusiastic, and I assume some will not do it," Trump said, implying he was keeping score of when and how allies would come to the party in the strait.
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Trump redoubled his push for allies to send ships to secure a critical oil transport route. AP
Attacks in Israel, UAE, Iraq and Lebanon
Several pieces of missile shrapnel, some as large as three or four metres in diameter, fell near holy sites across the Old City of Jerusalem overnight, according to police.
Some shrapnel landed near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which contains the biblical site at which Jesus Christ was buried.
In Abu Dhabi, firefighters responded to a blaze that started when a drone struck the Shah oil field.
It was the second attack on an oil facility in the UAE, after a fire broke out in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone on Monday following a drone attack.
Israel also expanded its ground operations in Lebanon to deter Hezbollah attacks against northern Israel.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah have displaced more than one million people, the Lebanese Disaster Risk Management Unit said.
And a hotel in central Baghdad's Green Zone was damaged in a drone attack, Iraq's Ministry of Interior said.
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A drone strike lights up the skies Baghdad. X/@Osinttechnical
Social media videos show smoke and flames rising from the Al-Rasheed Hotel, which is located in an area housing government offices and diplomatic buildings, including the US Embassy.
"The ministry wishes to clarify that, after specialised forensic teams conducted an on-site and technical inspection, it was found that a drone had struck the upper fence of the hotel, without resulting in any loss of life or significant material damage," the interior ministry said in a statement.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) later said it had launched a "wide scale wave" of attacks against Iran.
It said the strikes targeted infrastructure in Tehran.
An additional wave of strikes was also launched in Beirut, the IDF said.
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An Israeli artillery unit fires towards Southern Lebanon as seen from a position on the Israeli side of the border on March 15, 2026. Getty
UAE briefly closes all airspace
The UAE announced the temporary and complete closure of its airspace in an "exceptional precautionary measure" today.
The airspace closure was lifted within a few hours.
Air traffic in the region returned to normal, which included commercial flights out of the region to Australia.
However, the GCAA warned that "continuous real-time monitoring remains in place to ensure the highest levels of safety of air navigation".
Air traffic in the region returned to normal, which included commercial flights out of the region to Australia. AP
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the escalating conflict in the Middle East has contributed to inflation, which was already headed for troubled waters. 9News
Chalmers blames war for inflation biting
On Australian soil, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surprised precisely no one by increasing the cash rate to 4.10 per cent.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the escalating conflict in the Middle East has contributed to inflation, which was already headed for troubled waters.
"The impacts of what we're seeing in that part of the world are already substantial, but we don't know yet how enduring those very substantial economic pressures will be," he said.
"It depends very heavily on how long the conflict in the Middle East continues for."
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