SEOUL, March 09 (AJP) - South Korea has raised its travel alert for parts of the Middle East to Level 3 — “leave immediately” — as the U.S.–Israel war with Iran widens across the Gulf region and threatens key energy infrastructure.
The Foreign Ministry said Sunday it upgraded a special travel advisory for Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, urging South Korean citizens to leave areas where the new alert applies.
Under the revision, Level 3 warnings now cover the entirety of Bahrain, the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, replacing the previous special travel advisory.
In Saudi Arabia, the warning applies to the Ras Tanura area, home to major Saudi Aramco refining facilities, as well as a 20-kilometer radius around the Shaybah oil field and Prince Sultan Air Base. In Jordan, the Level 3 alert was adjusted to cover the eastern region along the boundary of Zarqa city.
The ministry urged South Koreans planning to travel to the affected areas to cancel or postpone visits, while those already there were advised to leave unless their stay is essential.
The warning reflects rapidly escalating regional tensions nine days after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, triggering a widening military confrontation across the Middle East.
The war’s targets have increasingly expanded beyond military facilities.
Israeli strikes hit fuel storage depots near Tehran, sending large fires across the skyline, while Bahrain reported damage to a desalination plant following a drone strike blamed on Iran. Desalination facilities are critical infrastructure for Gulf states, which rely heavily on processed seawater for drinking supplies.
Iran has also launched missiles and drones toward Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, though several attacks were intercepted by regional air defenses.
Saudi Arabia reported its first civilian deaths, saying a projectile struck a residential area and killed two foreign workers while injuring several others.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — the key shipping lane carrying roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies — has effectively halted, with shipping companies avoiding the route amid military threats.
Iraq said its crude production has plunged to about 1.3 million barrels per day, less than one-third of its normal output, after Baghdad cut production amid storage constraints following the disruption of tanker traffic.
Oil prices have surged sharply, with Brent crude jumping about 27 percent in the first week of the war, marking the fastest weekly gain since the pandemic shock in 2020.
State media reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the slain leader, has been selected as the country’s next supreme leader — a move that appears to contradict U.S. President Donald Trump’s public insistence that Washington should have a say in Iran’s postwar leadership.
Trump has vowed to continue the military campaign, describing it as going “unbelievably good,” while warning that Iran’s new leadership “is not going to last long” without U.S. approval.
The White House has indicated the war could last four to six weeks, while U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Tehran that attacks on Americans would trigger direct retaliation.
The conflict has already expanded beyond Iran.
In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes on Beirut targeted commanders linked to Iran’s Quds Force while fighting resumed with Hezbollah in the south.
In Israel, air raid sirens sounded across southern regions after new Iranian missile launches, while the Israeli military reported its first combat deaths since the war began.
The conflict has so far killed more than 1,300 people in Iran, nearly 400 in Lebanon and at least 11 in Israel, according to official tallies.
U.S. casualties have also risen, with the Pentagon confirming seven American service members killed in attacks on U.S. forces in the region.
The widening war has also triggered diplomatic backlash across the Arab world.
The Arab League condemned Iran’s strikes on neighboring countries as “reckless,” while the Gulf Cooperation Council warned that attacks on member states threaten regional stability.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian apologized for some cross-border attacks but other senior officials signaled the strikes could continue as long as Gulf countries host U.S. military bases.
With missiles and drones already striking across the Gulf, Seoul’s decision to raise its travel warning underscores concerns that the conflict — now entering its second week — could spill further across the region.
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