Iran targets busiest international airport as strikes escalate

Also, an attack on Iraq’s Basra port killed at least one person and forced a halt to operations at all the country’s oil terminals

Smoke rises after an explosion at the airport in Irbil, Iraq, late Wednesday, March 11, 2026 (Leo Correa/AP)

Iran targeted the world’s busiest international airport on Wednesday and attacked commercial ships in an escalation aimed at generating global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end their ongoing war.

On Thursday, an Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Bahrain’s Muharraq Island, home to the island kingdom’s international airport.