MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Iran is allowing some ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, but the vast majority of oil and gas tankers remain trapped.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
And despite thousands of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, Iran is still launching dozens of missiles and drones daily at Gulf countries. In a few minutes, we'll ask a longtime supporter of military intervention in Iran, Ambassador John Bolton, for his take on how this war is going.
MARTIN: Joining us to talk about the latest from the Gulf is NPR international correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Aya, good morning. Thanks for joining us.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So what's it like there today, more than a month into the war?
BATRAWY: Well, to begin with, this is supposed to be the peak tourism season here, but the hotels are pretty empty. You know, the government did approve a financial package to help businesses here that are suffering just yesterday. And the central bank is also allowing local banks here to draw from cash reserves to help with liquidity as people move their money out or defer on payments or maybe even require more loans. And then there's what we call the new normal here. You know, this is a safe haven. People are not accustomed to coming under attack, and this city does not have shelters because Dubai was never attacked by missiles before this war. But this is what it sounded like this morning, just a few hours ago, from my balcony.
(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSION)
BATRAWY: So that was the sound of missiles overhead being intercepted. There's also fighter jets overhead chasing and shooting down Iranian-made Shahed drones, which are relatively cheap to make and have caused extensive damage. Interceptors are expensive and in limited supply, and they're being saved to shoot down those missiles you just heard. And then there's the smaller things I've noticed, Michel, like restaurants still offering premium wagyu beef and other luxury items on their menus, but then I had to go to a few different grocery stores yesterday to find carrots. Dubai imports most of its food, and the main port here has been inaccessible because the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed now for the past month.
MARTIN: Wow. That sounds really scary, though. So President Trump said in an online post yesterday that if a deal isn't reached soon with Iran to open the strait, the U.S. would blow up and obliterate Iran's electricity plants. So what can you tell us about efforts to open the strait?
BATRAWY: Pakistan says it's ready to host the U.S. and Iran for a meeting in the coming days, but there is no sign that a meeting is actually happening. If anything, a couple thousand Marines are now in the area, and the 82nd Airborne Division was deployed last week. It's unclear if Trump will order them to take Iran's Kharg Island. That holds most of Iran's oil. But the Trump administration says U.S. diplomacy is working, and they say that's why some ships are moving through the strait. Iran, though, says there are no talks with the U.S., and it is controlling the strait. Pakistan says Iran agreed to let an additional 20 Pakistani ships pass through the strait, but that's just two a day. That's a fraction of what was passing before this war.
MARTIN: And, Aya, you just played us that sound of missiles being intercepted above you in Dubai. What can you tell us about Iran's counterattacks on other parts of the Gulf?
BATRAWY: So key aluminum plants here were hit, and there was extensive damage to the one in the UAE and then also in Bahrain. And in recent days, authorities in Kuwait say Iran attacked a water desalination and power plant, damaging a service building there. Now, Kuwait, like other Gulf countries, relies almost entirely on desalination to draw seawater out and then turn that into drinking water. And that attack came after Iran says there were power outages in parts of Tehran over the past two days from U.S.-Israeli strikes. Also, NPR has confirmed from a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly that more than a dozen U.S. service members were wounded in a Friday night attack that also damaged two aircraft at Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan Air Base. Now, these aircraft were equipped with radars that are key to detecting incoming threats, and they were damaged.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Aya, thank you.
BATRAWY: Thanks, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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