ADRIAN MA, HOST:
President Trump has ordered a marine, rapid response force to the Middle East. That's basically a group of marines and warships. Now, the U.S. has destroyed Iranian oil facilities. Iran has intensified attacks in the United Arab Emirates and in Iraq, where it struck the U.S. embassy. The embassy there has issued a new warning saying Americans should leave Iraq now. To help break this down, we're joined by NPR's Jane Arraf who joins us from Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Jane, thanks for being here.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Thank you, Adrian.
MA: And, Jane, can you first tell us about the embassy attack? What happened there?
ARRAF: Yeah, this one targeted radar and the embassy helipad, according to Iraqi officials. They were speaking to us anonymously because they're not authorized to speak publicly. Those attacks by Iran and its proxies in Iraq have been affecting evacuation operations. This latest strike was after heavy attacks on Iran-backed militia bases and offices. In Baghdad, there was a funeral today for three members of Khatam Hezbollah (ph). That's one of the main Iran-backed groups who were killed in a strike.
Their coffins were paraded through the streets. The target seems to have been their top leader, but he is believed to have escaped. The U.S. has demanded that Iraq rein in these militias. It hasn't or it can't, so it has been upping its attacks on them.
MA: And shifting over to Erbil, where you are - and normally, it's one of the calmer places in Iraq.
ARRAF: Yeah, that's definitely not the case anymore. There have been repeated attacks here on the U.S. consulate and on military bases. There was also an attack today on a consulate of the United Arab Emirates. The Emirates host U.S. bases, and they've normalized (ph) ties with Israel, so they're a major target of Iranian strikes. So, Adrian, it's tense, but there are signs of life going on. You know, on the road today, we saw Iranian truck drivers. They're carrying American used cars that are still coming in from the Gulf to an Iranian port and then overland to markets in Iraq. Here's what one of them told us just the other day.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: He said things were difficult, particularly the economy, but the people were united. He says, they're demonstrating at night against the U.S. attacks. He wouldn't give his name because he was afraid of retaliation for speaking to foreigners.
MA: So that is the view from the ground in Iraq. Zooming out for a second, I think it's worth mentioning that both Iran and the U.S. seem very focused on oil as a part of this fighting.
ARRAF: Yeah, well, next to military sites and military action, it's probably the most effective weapon of war, and particularly here in the Middle East, because a lot of these countries are almost completely dependent on oil.
MA: Going off that, we hear a lot about one of the main pathways where oil goes through, the Strait of Hormuz. What's happening there now?
ARRAF: Iran is continuing to demonstrate its control of that strategic waterway, and it's allowing friendly countries passage and attacking hostile ones. But it doesn't end there. It's not just attacks on ships in the strait. I spoke with the owner of the Seasafe Vishnu, a New Jersey tanker, around this week while in an Iraqi port, so far from the Strait. An Indian crew member was killed in that attack. And the owner, S.V. Anchan, told me that unmanned boats with explosives rammed the side of the vessel as it was loading with fuel. So it really serves as a warning to ship owners not to even think about going there.
MA: We've been hearing from NPR's Jane Arraf reporting on this developing situation. Thanks for being here, Jane.
ARRAF: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
