US President Donald Trump urged other nations to help secure a vital shipping lane choked off by the war with Iran that showed no signs of slowing on Saturday as strikes hit the US embassy in Baghdad and a major Emirati energy facility.

Having earlier vowed that the US Navy would "very soon" start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump appeared to call for reinforcements on Saturday.

"Many countries... will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe," he wrote on Truth Social, saying China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK would "hopefully" be among them.

He later repeated the call on social media, saying that although the US "has beaten" Iran, countries that received oil via the strait "must take care of that passage, and we will help".

US forces struck Kharg Island on Friday, from which nearly all of Iran's oil is exported, with Trump saying they had "obliterated every MILITARY target", though sparing its energy facilities.

Iran had threatened that US-linked oil and energy firms would be "turned into a pile of ashes" if they were hit, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later repeating the warning and accusing the US of firing rockets at Kharg from its bases in the UAE.

He then called on Iran's neighbours to expel American forces, saying the US security umbrella was "inviting rather than deterring trouble".

Two weeks after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, the entire Gulf region remained in the grip of a conflict that has sent shockwaves through the global economy. (AFP)


Edited by Tony Sabine