Iran targets ships, Dubai airport, oil facilities as economic concerns mount

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran fired on commercial ships Wednesday and targeted Dubai International Airport, escalating a campaign of bottling up the oil-rich Persian Gulf as global energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes pounded the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s response to the surprise Israeli and U.S. bombardment that started 12 days ago has upended trade routes, choked supplies of fuel and fertilizer coming out of the Gulf and threatened air traffic through one of the world’s most-traveled regions. Both sides have dug in, hoping to outlast the other.

In other developments, the Pentagon told Congress the first week of the Iran war cost $11.3 billion, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

Meanwhile, an Israeli intelligence assessment found Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was wounded...