March 13 (UPI) — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth downplayed the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz during a press briefing Friday and claimed 15,000 Iranian targets have been struck.
Hegseth said the U.S. and Israeli air forces are flying over Iran and Tehran Friday, the 13th day of the operation. He claimed that Iran’s air defenses, navy and munitions supply have been defeated.
Iran’s missile volume was down by 90% and its one-way attack drones were down by 95% on Thursday, Hegseth said.
“Today as we speak we fly over the top of Iran and Tehran,” Hegseth said. “Fighters and bombers, all day picking targets as they choose.”
The defense secretary opened Friday’s briefing at the Pentagon, joined again by Gen. Dan Caine, saying that the United States is “decimating the radical Iranian regime’s military in a way the world has never seen before.”
“We said it would not be a fair fight and it has not been,” he said.
Caine lauded the use of the first precision-strike missiles used in combat by the United States, praising the troops that fired them. One of those soldiers was 20 years old and has only been in the U.S. Army for six months.
Caine’s comments on the precision of U.S. strikes come as the military is investigating a deadly strike on an elementary school for girls in Iran that took place on Feb. 28. The preliminary investigation has found that the United States is likely responsible for the attack that killed more than 170 people, most of them children.
“They’ve done all of this with the precision and determination that comes from relentless training and trust in each other and their weapons systems,” Caine said.
Hegseth said the United States is “dealing with” Iran’s attacks on vessels on the Strait of Hormuz, which has dramatically disrupted the oil trade.
“It’s something we’re dealing with, we have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it,” Hegseth said. “We’re on plan to defeat, destroy and disable all of their meaningful military capabilities on a pace the world has never seen before.”
Caine later said that there is some traffic moving through the strait.
As Iran’s military capabilities weaken, Hegseth said, more importantly, it does not possess the capability to build more weapons.
“Soon and very soon all of Iran’s defense companies will be destroyed,” Hegseth. “For example, as of two days ago, all of Iran’s ballistic missile production capacity, every company that builds every component of those missiles, has been functionally defeated, destroyed.”
As for Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, Hegseth said he is “likely disfigured.” Khamenei was wounded during the initial strikes by the United States and Israel on Tehran on Feb. 28, which killed his father, former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
President Donald Trump shared similar speculation about the new supreme leader on Fox News on Friday, saying he believes he is alive but “damaged.”
“I think he probably is,” Trump said. “I think he’s damaged but I think he’s probably alive in some form.”
President Donald Trump speaks during an event celebrating Women’s History Month in the East Room of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
If you’re looking for the most elegant way to wrap up our “little excursion” in Iran, it’s this: President Trump should follow what might politely be called the “declare victory and head for the airport” strategy.
You know the drill: Announce that we’ve set back Iran’s nuclear programs a decade, pounded their navy into submission, and turned the ayatollah into a fine mist. Mission accomplished! Thank you for flying the friendly skies, and please return your seat backs to their full upright and locked position.
Don’t get me wrong. This “cut and run” routine is less than ideal. Trump will have signaled to the world he (we) can’t endure any insurgent resistance, empowered the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to run the country and likely angered Israel in the process.
But his domestic political base will believe he won, and fan service has always been his top political priority.
Besides, once you’ve entered a war without a coherent justification, clearly defined goals or a credible exit strategy, you’re lucky to get out at all. A salutary outcome no longer exists; that ship has already sailed.
Speaking of which, as I write this, we are drifting toward what feels like a point of no return. Mining the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is now attempting to do, is the ultimate trump card.
Using mines to shut down this narrow shipping lane — which contributes about 20% of the world’s oil supply, not to mention natural gas and fertilizer — could result in a crippled global economy, mass casualties and a situation in which the president can no longer save face while cutting and running.
As retired U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis writes, “Iran has been planning a Strait of Hormuz closure operation for decades and probably has more than 5,000 mines; just one hit can severely damage a thin-skinned tanker.”
Yes, once laid, minefields can be cleared. But Stavridis predicts it would take “weeks, if not a month or two” to clear thousands of mines. He warns: “The global economy needs to be prepared for a month or two shutdown.” (Complicating matters is the fact that our dedicated minesweepers were recently decommissioned.)
The Iranians are not idiots. They watch American politics. They understand that Trump’s pressure point isn’t Tehran — it’s the S&P 500. A bad week on Wall Street makes him jumpier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
Trump, whatever else you say about him, is a transactional materialist who approaches geopolitics the way a real estate developer approaches zoning disputes: What’s the angle, where’s the leverage, and can everybody just settle already?
Unfortunately, the fellows running Iran are religious zealots who believe — deeply, sincerely and somewhat alarmingly — in something larger than quarterly economic indicators. Their strategic plan appears to consist of two options: survive (which they see as tantamount to victory), or die gloriously while insisting they meant to do that all along.
Which makes their current behavior grimly logical.
The Iranian regime, such as it is, doesn’t have much to lose. But they know exactly what Trump has to lose: His popularity and political legacy are now tied to the price of oil.
Releasing U.S. strategic oil reserves will help to some extent, but this is not a long-term solution. And Iran is betting that when the price at the pump for U.S. consumers starts looking like a luxury car payment, Trump will do what critics like to summarize as TACO — “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
Lots of American political observers agree. And it’s not just moderates or RINOs who are teasing this.
Referring to the U.S. military, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told Larry Kudlow on Fox Business: “They have to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. I don’t care what it costs.”
“If they can’t keep it open,” Gingrich continued, “this war will, in fact, be an American defeat before very long, because the entire world, including the American people, will react to the price of oil if the strait stays closed very long.”
Perhaps the U.S. military can pull off a delicate trick: keep our “armada” in the region, keep the Strait of Hormuz open, clear any mines that are laid and prevent some unlucky tanker from being hit by a mine — or, for that matter, by a drone or missile fired from the Iranian coast. That final risk is why some military analysts believe reopening the strait would require a ground operation.
Imagine that the U.S. manages to thread these needles. Then what?
Total and complete surrender? Regime change? Boots on the ground?
Absent a swift exit (like, tomorrow), we’re left with the two classic options of power politics: a delayed and more ignominious retreat or increased escalation.
And, historically speaking, American presidents are more likely to double down — with tragic results.
Energy markets remain on tenterhooks as the prospect of prolonged war in the Middle East grows.
Published On 13 Mar 202613 Mar 2026
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Oil prices have again risen above $100 per barrel as energy markets see little relief amid the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in a generation.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, surged more than 9 percent on Thursday as traders weighed the prospect of weeks, or even months, of turmoil in energy markets as the United States and Israel wage war on Iran.
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Brent futures, which are traded outside of regular market hours, were priced at $101.13 as of 03:00 GMT.
Asian stock markets, including exchanges in Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong, opened sharply lower on Friday, following steep losses on Wall Street overnight.
The latest surge in oil prices came after Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei pledged to maintain the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which normally transports about one-fifth of global oil supplies.
In a statement read out on his behalf on Iranian state television, Khamenei described Tehran’s threats against shipping in the waterway as a “lever” that “must continue to be used”.
US President Donald Trump struck a similarly defiant tone on Thursday, posting on Truth Social that stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons was of “far greater interest and importance” than rising oil prices.
‘Lack of tangible goals in this war’
Traffic through the strait has effectively ground to a halt due to Iranian threats, with only a handful of vessels passing through each day, many of them claiming links to China, Iran’s key economic partner.
According to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre, no more than five ships have passed through the waterway each day since the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28, compared with an average of 138 daily transits before the war. At least 16 commercial vessels have been attacked in the region since the start of the conflict, according to the UKMTO.
Tehran has claimed responsibility for several of the attacks, including a strike on Wednesday that crippled a Thai-flagged vessel off the coast of Oman.
Efforts to bring calm to the market have so far done little to tame prices, which are up nearly 40 percent compared with before the start of the war.
The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) announcement on Wednesday that member countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles drew a tepid response among traders eyeing a daily shortfall in global supplies estimated at 15-20 million barrels.
The US Department of the Treasury’s issuance on Thursday of a temporary licence authorising countries to purchase sanctioned Russian oil that has been stranded at sea also failed to move the market, with Brent crude staying above $100 a barrel after the Treasury announcement.
“The key problem is a lack of tangible goals in this war,” said Adi Imsirovic, an energy security expert at the University of Oxford.
“It makes it hard for oil traders to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly floated the possibility of using the US Navy to escort commercial shipping through the strait, but the Pentagon has yet to conduct such operations amid concerns about the risks posed by Iranian attacks in the narrow waterway.
In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that Washington was “not ready” to provide navy escorts but that such operations could begin by the end of the month.
“It’ll happen relatively soon but it can’t happen now,” Wright said.
Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said Tehran will not close the Strait of Hormuz and remains committed to freedom of navigation. His remarks came after Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the waterway would remain closed to pressure Iran’s enemies.
WASHINGTON — Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed retaliation Thursday against the United States and Israel and signaled that Tehran will continue to choke off the world’s most critical oil route, as the war strained global energy markets and raised new security concerns in the United States.
In his first public remarks since U.S.–Israeli strikes killed his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba Khamenei swore revenge. The new leader, notably, did not appear in person for the televised statement. Instead, his written words were read aloud on Iranian state media.
“We will never retreat and vow to avenge the blood of our martyrs,” he said. “Our revenge will be never ending, not only for the late supreme leader, but also for the blood of all of our martyrs. … Those who killed our children will pay the price.”
The new leader expressed condolences to families who lost children in a strike on a girls school in Minab that killed more than 165 people, many of them children. He also warned that the war could expand, declaring that the continuation of the conflict “depends on the interests of the parties.”
The Associated Press, citing two sources, reported that outdated intelligence likely led to the United States carrying out the deadly missile strike on the elementary school. U.S. Central Command relied on target coordinates for the strike using outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency, according to a person familiar with the preliminary finding.
Khamenei indicated that Tehran would maintain its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a key choke point through which 20% of the world’s oil supply is shipped. He also said he believes in friendship with his country’s neighbors, but that attacks on U.S. military installations in the region will continue. He described maintaining pressure on the passage as a necessary part of Iran’s war strategy.
His remarks came as attacks continued to disrupt shipping and energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf. The war sent oil up 10% Thursday as hostilities in Iran drag on.
Reports from the region said Iranian forces have intensified strikes on vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving hundreds of ships stranded at its entrances and rattling global oil markets.
Two oil tankers were struck by explosives in Iraqi waters near the port of Basra. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the attacks, which killed at least one crew member and set both vessels ablaze, according to the Associated Press. A third unnamed vessel was reported to have been struck by an “unknown projectile” near Dubai and Jebel Ali, causing a small fire, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported.
The latest incidents come after drone strikes targeted fuel storage facilities across the Gulf, including at energy sites in Bahrain and at the port of Salalah in Oman, an important hub for tankers seeking to bypass the Strait.
“They will pay the price. We will destroy their facilities,” Khamenei said. “It is necessary to continue our defensive activity, including continuing to close the Strait of Hormuz.”
Each were hit in separate incidents by an “unknown projectile,” according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a monitoring agency that is part of the U.K. Royal Navy. One was a cargo ship traveling north of Oman. Another was a bulk carrier hit north of Dubai. The third was a container vessel struck near Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, The Washington Post noted.
A Thai-flagged cargo vessel, Mayuree Naree Bangkok, was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz on March 11, leaving 3 of its 23 crew missing. The ship had departed Dubai and was heading to India when struck near its stern. #Iranpic.twitter.com/0BYBjqJIt1
Since Epic Fury was launched on Feb. 28, UKMTO “has received 17 reports of incidents affecting vessels operating in and around the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz (SOH) and Gulf of Oman,” the organization stated. That figure includes 13 attacks and four suspicious incident reports.
Iran said it is increasing these attacks to serve as an economic weapon against the U.S., Israel and allies.
The U.S. “will not be able to control oil prices,” the spokesperson for Tehran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters vowed on Wednesday.
“We won’t allow even one liter of oil to reach the U.S., Zionists and their partners,” Ebrahim Zolfaqari proclaimed. “Any vessel or tanker bound to them will be a legitimate target.”
“Get ready for the oil barrel to be at $200 because the oil price depends on the regional security which you have destabilized,” Zolfaqari added.
As one example of market volatility, Brent Crude was trading at just over $90 a barrel as of Wednesday morning Eastern Day Light time, according to OilPrice.com. The prices have fluctuated wildly, surging to a recent high of more than $116 a barrel on March 8 and dropping to a little more than $84 a barrel yesterday.
🚨Iran is threatening to not allow ships through the Strait of Hormuz, also saying they will force oil to $200 per barrel.
“Not a single liter of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz for the benefit of the U.S., Israel, or their partners.”
Even as it cuts off the Strait for others, Iran is “exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war, showing it is in control of a strategic waterway that it has closed off to the rest of the region’s oil producers,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
Iran is exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war, showing it is in control of a strategic waterway that it has closed off to the rest of the region’s oil producers https://t.co/CeZTClmHBa
The world’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Qatar hasn’t exported a shipment for five days, Bloomberg News reported. It marks the longest streak in data going back to 2008.
“A loaded tanker hasn’t left the Ras Laffan facility in five days,” according to a Bloomberg analysis of Kpler ship-tracking data. “No LNG ship traversed the Strait of Hormuz after Feb. 28, when the US and Israel began strikes on Iran.”
The unprecedented closure of the liquefaction plant, which supplies nearly 20% of the world’s LNG, came after an Iranian drone attack early last week — resulting in a jump in gas prices in Europe and Asia, the news organization noted. Ras Laffan did load a handful of shipments after stopping output, likely using fuel from storage tanks, the last of which was on Friday.
The world’s biggest LNG export plant in Qatar hasn’t exported a shipment for five days — the longest streak in data going back to 2008 — threatening to further boost prices for the fuel https://t.co/BKFTpIV0dH
Two pipelines were built – one in Saudi Arabia, the other in UAE – just to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. This conflict, The Wall Street Journal posited, has highlighted their importance since they are the only ways to get a significant amount of oil out of the Persian Gulf and into world markets.
The blockage in the Strait of Hormuz has suddenly made Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure in the world https://t.co/6bwxev9vKc
Iran’s closure of the Strait to most foreign shipping has thrown the world energy market into chaos, causing oil and gas prices to fluctuate dramatically.
“Japan, Germany and Austria will release oil from their strategic reserves in response to disruptions in the supply from the Middle East, officials in those countries said on Wednesday,” according to the Post. “They made the announcements hours before a meeting of leaders of the Group of 7 industrialized nations, including the United States, to discuss jointly releasing oil in consultation with the International Energy Agency.”
Japan will begin releasing oil from its reserves as early as Monday to offset disruptions in Middle Eastern supply, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Wednesday in Tokyo.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war, the largest such action in the organization’s history, CNBC reported.
“The IEA did not set out a timeline for when the stocks would hit the market,” the news outlet noted. “It said that the reserves would be released over a timeframe that is appropriate to the circumstances of each of its 32 member countries.”
The U.S., meanwhile, has yet to tap into its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a network of salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana that can hold up to 714 million barrels of crude.
PARIS/LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) – The International Energy Agency is to recommend the release of 400 million barrels of oil, the largest such move in IEA history, to try to restrain soaring crude prices amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Iran is not preventing all ships from passing through the Strait. Tehran has agreed to provide Bangladeshi oil vessels with safe passage. The move comes as the Bangladesh government has intensified efforts to maintain a stable fuel supply through multiple strategic measures amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Bangladesh has sought assurances from Iran for the safe passage of its oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG)-carrying vessels through the Strait of Hormuz as escalating conflict in the Middle East threatens one of the world’s most critical energy shipping routes.
Iran has officially agreed to grant safe passage to Bangladeshi oil and LNG vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. Under the new agreement, Bangladeshi ships must notify Iranian authorities before entering the strategic waterway to ensure secure transit.
Some vessels are also using their AIS system to identify as Chinese owned, shipping expert Sal Mercogliano noted. Iran’s closure of the Strait does not pertain to Chinese-owned ships.
The Marshal Islands-bulker KSL Laiyang is running the Strait.
She is broadcasting on AIS “China Owners & Crew”.
This is EXACTLY what we saw happen in the Red Sea against the Houthis. Expect to see more of this. pic.twitter.com/LSCESnEDKI
— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴☠️ (@mercoglianos) March 10, 2026
The New York Times claimed that Iran’s ongoing attacks on shipping, as well as its continuing missile and drone barrages are an example of how the Trump administration miscalculated Iran’s response to Epic Fury.
The Trump administration has said it will send U.S. Navy warships to escort commercial vessels through the Strait, but that plan has yet to be implemented. Such a deployment would put American warships at far greater risk than they are facing now at standoff distances from Iran. It remains unclear how much longer Epic Fury will continue. The longer it does, however, the more Iran can bring economic pain around the globe with even just threats against Strait shipping. The Iranian attacks have led to Trump proposing that the U.S. provide political risk insurance for seaborne trade in the Gulf. “However, Lloyd’s of London, the heart of maritime insurance globally, emphasizes it has not stopped providing contracts to those who ask – although at the right tariff,” The Guardian reported.
Though no escorts have been set up, the U.S. is continuing to strike Iran’s Navy, including the sinking of the last of Iran’s Soleimani class catamaran warships, the head of U.S. Central Command said in a video statement on Wednesday morning.
“To date, we have struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, including more than 60 ships using a variety of precision weapon systems,” Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video. “Just yesterday, we had strike waves nearly every hour from different locations and directions going into Iran. We also took out the last of four Soleimani class warships. That’s an entire class of Iranian ships now out of the fight.”
Cooper did not name which of the catamarans was hit, but the video shows one from the Soleimani class and one from a smaller class. The hull number on the smaller ship – PC313-01 – indicates it was the IRIS Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The ship was unveiled in a ceremony at Bandar Abbas in January 2024, the Iranian Press TV news outlet reported at the time.
The now-sunk IRIS Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis at its unveiling in January 2024. (Iranian media)
U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Cory Hicks told ABC News about the Iranian drone attack on a command center in Kuwait that killed six soldiers on March 1.
Sgt. First Class Cory Hicks described the horrific moment a drone struck a U.S. command center in Kuwait and killed six service members: “I turned to my right, and that’s when it blew up and just blew the whole building apart.”
The deadly attack was more severe than previously known, with dozens of troops suffering injuries that included brain trauma, burns and severe injuries from shrapnel, according to CBS News.
NEWS via @CBSNews: An Iranian drone attack in Kuwait that killed U.S. service members in the early hours of the war with Iran was more severe than previously known, with dozens suffering injuries that included brain trauma, shrapnel trauma and burns, per sources. More than 30…
“I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections,” Pezeshkian stated on Telegram. “They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound.”
State television had called Khamenei, 56, a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” but never specified his injury.
BREAKING Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound” despite reports of an injury during the war with Israel and the United States, the son of the Iranian president said on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/97ofF4dS1G
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened to attack “economic centers and banks” related to United States and Israeli entities in the region after what it called an attack on an Iranian bank, Al Jazeera reported.
A spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, a group described as IRGC-owned by the United Nations, said on Wednesday that “the enemy left our hands open to targeting economic centres and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime in the region.”
To the people of Bahrain, the UAE, and Kuwait: Do not remain within one kilometer of banks
Khatam al‑Anbiya Headquarters spokesperson: After the U.S. and Israeli attack on an Iranian bank, we are now free to target U.S. and Israeli economic centers and banks across the region.
The warning came after a reported attack on a Bank Sepah branch north of Iran, which is said to have killed many putting in extra hours ahead of the Persian New Year.
The Khatam Al-Anbiya Air Defense HQs warns people in the entire region to stay away for 1km from banks after American-Zionists attacked a Bank Sepah branch in north of Tehran, killing a lot of personnel working extra hours ahead of Persian New Year. pic.twitter.com/JYcAaCQlLI
Iranian officials claimed to have hit several other U.S. targets in the region on Wednesday.
(Reuters) – The Iranian military said on Tuesday it had launched missiles at a U.S. base in northern Iraq, the U.S. naval headquarters for the Middle East in Bahrain, and at Be’er Ya’akov city in central Israel.
Explosions rang out in Bahrain, while in Dubai four people were…
IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir claimed that “many thousands” of Iranian soldiers and commanders have been killed so far in this war.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says “many thousands” of Iranian soldiers and commanders have been killed in Israeli strikes in Iran, warning that “no one is immune.”
“We are in a campaign that is deepening the damage to the Iranian regime and its foundations and pushing… pic.twitter.com/0C5XvjBFTy
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 11, 2026
The IDF released new video showing airstrikes on what it claims were Iranian troops preparing to launch drones.
The IDF releases footage showing airstrikes on Iranian soldiers who were preparing to launch drones at Israel from western Iran this week.
According to the military, the Iranian soldiers were identified on Monday at a drone launching site. A short while later, an Israeli Air… pic.twitter.com/XRWXO7YVaq
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 11, 2026
The IDF completed another wave of strikes in Dahiyeh in Beirut against what it claims were Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage sites. IDF said it issued a warning to residents before the attacks and also struck a Hezbollah command post in the coastal area of Tyre.
צה”ל השלים גל תקיפות נוסף בביירות
הבוקר , צה”ל השלים גל תקיפות נוסף בדאחייה שבביירות נגד מפקדות טרור ואתרים בהם אוכסנו אמצעי לחימה של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה.
בנוסף, צה”ל תקף אתמול , מפקדה של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב צור שבלבנון.
The IDF justified the strike by claiming the Lebanon-based Iranian proxy is hiding missiles, drones and other weapons in the heart of the Dahieh neighborhood in Beirut.
INTELLIGENCE REVEALS: Hezbollah is hiding its strategic weapons in the heart of the Dahieh in Beirut, beneath the residential buildings of Lebanese residents. These are missiles, drones and additional weapons funded by the Iranian terror regime and designed to harm Israeli…
The owner of this white pickup may be the luckiest person in the Middle East. Video emerged on social media showing Lebanese Army troops removing an unexploded bomb from the vehicle’s cargo bed.
Faced with growing threats from Hezbollah, Zamir ordered the Golani Brigade to be transferred from the Southern Command to operations in the Northern Command sector.
Zamir added that a decision will be made regarding additional reinforcements.
🚨NEW: The IDF says Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has ordered significant reinforcements to Israel’s northern front, shifting the Golani Brigade combat team from the south to Northern Command following a new operational assessment.
In a post on X, the UAE Defense Ministry (MoD) said its air defenses “are currently dealing with missile attacks and incoming drones originating from Iran, and the Ministry of Defense confirms that the sounds heard in scattered areas of the country are the result of the air defense systems intercepting ballistic missiles, as well as fighter jets intercepting drones and loitering munitions.”
تتعامل حالياً الدفاعات الجوية الإماراتية مع اعتداءات صاروخية وطائرات مسيرة قادمة من إيران وتؤكد وزارة الدفاع أن الأصوات المسموعة في مناطق متفرقة من الدولة هي نتيجة اعتراض كل من منظومات الدفاع الجوي للصواريخ البالستية، والمقاتلات للطائرات المسيرة والجوالة.
Reuters posted a photograph on X of a building in Manama, Bahrain, reportedly damaged by an Iranian drone strike.
A building damaged in a reported Iranian drone strike, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Seef, Manama, Bahrain, March 10, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer pic.twitter.com/luPTavYyJT
With Bahrain also being battered by Iranian attacks, Gulf Air has relocated its fleet of aircraft from there to Saudi Arabia, according to Al Jazeera.
Iranian Armed Forces spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi “called on regional Muslims and countries to reveal the locations of U.S. and Israeli military assets to enable Tehran to conduct more accurate attacks,” the Jerusalem Post reported, citing official Iranian media.
Shekarchi also framed the request as a way to ensure the safety of the people in the region.
“I call on the Muslim people of the region and the countries of the region to show us the hideouts of US and Zionist forces so that they themselves will not be harmed, and so that we can strike them more precisely,” Shekarchi proclaimed.
Iranian Armed Forces spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi called on regional Muslims and countries to reveal the locations of US and Israeli military assets to enable Tehran to conduct more accurate attacks.https://t.co/YSSDWmIZ8s
In the wake of the joint U.S.-Israeli attack, The New York Times “has identified at least 17 damaged U.S. sites and other installations, several of which have been struck more than once since the war began,” the publication reported. “Our analysis is based on high-resolution, commercial satellite imagery, verified social media videos and statements by U.S. officials and Iranian state media.”
U.S. Air Force maintainers can be seen in the X post below loading weapons onto B-1B Lancer bombers, which have arrived at Fairford Air Base in the U.K.
US Airforce ground crew work under hatches of a B1 Lancer at RAF Fairford today. What appear to be cruise missiles sit by the warplane. Three B1 bombers returned this morning, on what is believed to be the first attack on Iran from a British base during this conflict. @AJENewspic.twitter.com/80YkxHL5rT
Romanian President Nicusor Dan said that U.S. refueling planes, monitoring equipment and satellite communications systems can use his country’s military bases.
BUCHAREST, March 11 (Reuters) – American refueling planes, monitoring equipment and satellite communications could use Romanian military bases during the U.S.’ offensive in Iran, Romanian President Nicusor Dan said on Wednesday.
Turkey has reportedly deployed an ASELSAN’s ŞAHİN 40mm anti-drone system to Northern Cyprus, where it is now operational to defend against low-flying mini and micro UAVs using airburst smart grenades.
Türkiye deployed ASELSAN’s ŞAHİN 40mm anti-drone system to Northern Cyprus, where it is now operational to defend against low-flying mini and micro UAVs using airburst smart grenades. pic.twitter.com/HT641qe6w7
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims that Russia may send troops to Iran. That would be in addition to the support Moscow is already providing in the form of drones and air defenses, Zelensky said. He added that Russia will likely send missiles in the not-far-off future.
Ukraine, which has long sought interceptors to help fend off waves of Russian missile and drone attacks, took to social media to note the discrepancy in how much it has been supplied over the course of four years versus how much the U.S. and allies have used during 11 days of Epic Fury.
800 Patriot missiles were used for air defense in just 3 days in the Middle East. Ukraine received 600 in 4 years of full-scale war.
Russia, Iran and North Korea form a new Axis of Evil. Ukraine was the first to confront this Axis. We continue to fight, but we need support.
Add Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to the list of world leaders proclaiming that an Ayatollah-led regime in Iran should never obtain nuclear weapons.
Italy’s Meloni on Iran:
We cannot afford an Ayatollah regime in possession of a nuclear weapon, combined, moreover, with a missile capability that could soon be able to directly strike Italy and Europe. pic.twitter.com/gdQE6HlckA
We have concluded our rolling coverage in this piece.
UPDATE: 5:11 PM EST –
Video has emerged showing a reported attack on an oil tanker near Iraq. Information at this point is scarce. The Ambrey martime security firm said it is investigating the matter.
The U.S. used as much as $4 billion worth of munitions in the first 72 hours of its attacks against Iran, including about 400 cruise missiles and 800 air defense interceptors, Bloomberg News reported, citing estimates from German defense giant Rheinmetall AG.
“The numbers, released in the company’s earnings presentation on Wednesday, were drawn from ‘publicly available sources and in-house assumptions,’ the slides said,” according to the news outlet. “Other reports have put the munitions cost for the first two days of the conflict higher, at as much as $5.6 billion.”
The US used as much as $4 billion worth of munitions in the first 72 hours of its attacks against Iran, including about 400 cruise missiles and 800 air defense interceptors, according to estimates from German defense giant Rheinmetall https://t.co/7xiR8WNbtM
Trump said that he picked the name Epic Fury from a list of about 20 and that the U.S. has already won.
“You know, you can only do it if you win — and we’ve won,” the American leader proclaimed. “Let me say: we’ve won. You never like to say it too early, but we won the bet in the first hour. It was over.”
Trump on Iran:
Operation Epic Fury — is that a great name? Well, it’s only good if you win.
You know, you can only do it if you win — and we’ve won. Let me say: we’ve won. You never like to say it too early, but we won the bet in the first hour. It was over.
Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system “could not stop about half the 100 rockets Hezbollah launched at Israel just a few hours ago,” New York Post reporter Caitlin Doornbos posted on X.
Exclusive: The Iron Dome could not stop about half the 100 rockets Hezbollah launched at Israel just a few hours ago.
The leaders of the G7 group of nations – the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany and France – “agreed to examine the option of providing escort for ships so they can navigate freely in the Gulf,” according to a statement from the G7 Presidency on Wednesday.
(Reuters) – The leaders of the G7 group of nations – the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany and France – agreed to examine the option of providing escort for ships so they can navigate freely in the Gulf, said a statement from the G7 Presidency on Wednesday.…
Despite threats from the regime to stay home, anti-government protestors are reportedly continuing to take to the streets in Iran demanding change.
For 12 consecutive night, without missing a single day, Iranian people have hit the streets to express their anger over Israel/US attacks on Iran & its leader.
They express support for armed forces & demand harsh revenge.
The U.K. Defense Ministry (MoD) provided its latest update on Middle East operations.
The UAE MoD said its air defenses “dealt with 6 ballistic missiles, 7 cruise missiles, and 39 drones coming from Iran” today. “Since the start of the brazen Iranian aggression, UAE air defenses have dealt with 268 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,514 drones.”
الدفاعات الجوية الإماراتية تتعامل مع 6 صواريخ باليستية و7 صواريخ جوالة و 39 طائرة مسيرة.
تعاملت الدفاعات الجوية الإماراتية (11 مارس 2026) مع 6 صواريخ باليستية، و7 صواريخ جوالة، و 39 طائرة مسيرة قادمة من إيران.
The IRGC posted video it claims shows missile launches toward U.S., Israeli and allied military bases housing American forces in the region.
Iran’s IRGC published footage of its missile launches towards “Israel” and US bases.
The missiles include Qadr, Emad, Kheybar Shekan, and Fattah missiles against targets in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and US bases in the region such as the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan & Prince Sultan… pic.twitter.com/Jkb8JRO04q
Kuwaiti air defenses are currently confronting hostile missile and drone attacks, the nation’s army announced on X.
“The General Staff of the Army notes that if explosion sounds are heard, they are the result of air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks,” the announcement added.
تتصدى حالياً الدفاعات الجوية الكويتية لهجمات صاروخية وطائرات مسيرة معادية.
تنوه رئاسة الأركان العامة للجيش أن أصوات الانفجارات إن سمعت فهي نتيجة اعتراض منظومات الدفاع الجوي للهجمات المعادية.
— KUWAIT ARMY – الجيش الكويتي (@KuwaitArmyGHQ) March 11, 2026
UPDATE: 4:18 PM EST –
Three Ukrainian teams of military personnel and engineers have gone to the Middle East to help the U.S. and allies in the fight against Iran, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on X.
After four years of fending off daily bombardment by Russian missiles and drones, Ukraine has a lot of hardearned expertise to share.
Three Ukrainian teams have gone to the Middle East. Strong teams – with experts, military personnel, and engineers. The military are already communicating and working today. The NSDC Secretary, Rustem Umerov, has arrived in the UAE today to discuss areas of cooperation. He will…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 11, 2026
Al Jazeera said a senior Iranian military official claimed that if “Washington commits a strategic mistake, another strait will be in a situation similar to the Strait of Hormuz,” the publication posted on X. “The region may enter a regional war soon, and we still have many cards to play. Any American mistake will complicate the situation in the region, and Iran has phased and graduated military plans.”
#عاجل| مسؤول عسكري إيراني رفيع للجزيرة: إذا ارتكبت واشنطن خطأ استراتيجيا فإن مضيقا آخر سيكون في وضع مماثل لمضيق هرمز – المنطقة قد تدخل حربا إقليمية قريبا ولا تزال لدينا أوراق عديدة لاستعمالها – أي خطأ أمريكي سيعقد الوضع في المنطقة ولدى #إيران خطط عسكرية مرحلية ومتدرجة pic.twitter.com/gLm38EUy4D
Despite what appears to be a coordinated Israel attack on Basij checkpoints in Tehran, the regime is reportedly keeping a tight lid on any potential anti-government protests, journalist Nilo Tabrizy said a source told her.
“The government constantly sends threatening [text] messages to everyone. It says that if you come to the streets to protest, you will be considered an Israeli soldier and will be killed.”
A source in Iran told me about the continued repression by state security forces despite waves of heavy air strikes over their city:
“The government constantly sends threatening [text] messages to everyone. It says that if you come to the streets to protest, you will be…
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament is urging pro-government crowds to remain on the streets.
“Dear Iranian nation, to whom I would sacrifice my life a thousand times!” MB Ghalibaf stated on X. “Your presence in the streets has bewildered and enraged the enemy. This humble soldier of yours has three requests from you: the streets, the streets, the streets. Your children in the armed forces have taken their lives in hand to defend #Iran; strengthen their backs by holding the streets firm.”
ملت عزیز ایران که جانم هزاران بار فدای شما!
حضور شما در خیابانها دشمن را گیج و عصبانی کرده است.
این سرباز کوچکتان سه درخواست از شما دارد: خیابان، خیابان، خیابان.
فرزندان شما درنیروهای مسلح جان خود را برای دفاع از #ایران در دست گرفتهاند، پشت آنها را با حفظ خیابان محکم کنید.
— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 11, 2026
Alarms have again sounded in Bahrain, as the nation braces for another wave of Iranian attacks, officials there claim.
تم إطلاق صافرة الإنذار ،نرجو من المواطنين والمقيمين الهدوء والتوجه لأقرب مكان آمن ومتابعة الأخبار عبر القنوات الرسمية
Kuwait National Guard bomb squad engineers have destroyed a drone warhead that fell inside a fuel tank, spokesman Jadaan Al-Fadhel said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that no injuries were reported during the operation.
Kuwait National Guard bomb squad engineers have destroyed a drone warhead that fell inside a fuel tank, Spokesman Jadaan Al-Fadhel said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that no injuries were reported during the operation.
During a visit to Thermo Fisher Scientific in Cincinnati on Wednesday, Trump said that for Iran, it’s a “war.” But for America, it’s “easier than we thought.”
During a site visit to Thermo Fisher Scientific in Cincinnati on Wednesday, President Trump told reporters the U.S. military operation in Iran is “both” a “little excursion” and a “war.”
“For them it’s a war,” Trump said. “For us it’s turned out to be easier than we thought.”… pic.twitter.com/RkRZxWuRfN
The U.S. president also claimed that more than two dozen Iranian mine boats have been destroyed during Epic Fury.
“They started talking about mines. So we hit 28 mine ships as of this moment,” Trump proclaimed. “Twenty-eight. Like, using the same weapon — the exact same weapon that we use against the drug dealers in the water. We have — as an example, we had tremendous drugs pouring in through the water — through the sea. And now we have almost none. It’s down 97%.”
U.S. President Donald J. Trump tells reporters that 28 mine-laying vessels operated by the Iranian Navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) have now been targeted and destroyed:
“They started talking about mines. So we hit 28 mine ships as of this moment.… pic.twitter.com/znwGK9sydD
Iran deployed about a dozen mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The move is likely to complicate reopening the waterway — an important route for shipping oil and liquefied natural gas.
🚨 Western sources in a conversation with N12: “The Iranians have already laid more than 10 mines in the Strait of Hormuz and intend to lay more. Both the entry and exit routes are blocked – to put pressure on us. They have created a bypass route and allow only those they want to…
Trump is preparing to invoke Cold War-era powers to pave the way for renewed oil production off the southern California coast, Bloomberg News is reporting. The move is seen as “a long-shot bid to help ease the global crude supply crunch spurred by his war with Iran,” according to the outlet.
“Trump is set to soon summon authorities under the Defense Production Act to preempt state laws and ease permitting for Sable Offshore Corp., a Houston-based company looking to restart significant production from a cluster of offshore platforms in California,” Bloomberg added. “The plan was described by a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because it’s not yet public.”
Trump is preparing to invoke Cold War-era powers to pave the way for renewed oil production off the southern California coast, a long-shot bid to help ease the global crude supply crunch spurred by his war with Iran. https://t.co/uopErGQnUh
The fire at Oman’s Salahah Port seems to be intensifying. The port was attacked by Iran earlier on Wednesday.
Several security forces and members of Iran’s paramilitary Basij force were killed by Israeli drones in Tehran today, according to the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency.
Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency has reported that several security forces and members of the paramilitary Basij force were killed in Tehran today, accusing Israel of targeting them with drones.
— Ghoncheh Habibiazad | غنچه (@GhonchehAzad) March 11, 2026
UPDATE: 2:53 PM EST –
Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon and Iran fired several ballistic missiles at the area, according to Israeli media.
The Israeli military later confirmed that it didn’t intercept some of the projectiles, adding that rescue services and emergency teams are “currently operating at the impact sites.”
Video has emerged showing an Iranian Shahed-type long-range strike drone approaching, then hitting the fuel tanks in the Omani port of Salalah earlier on Wednesday. The attack caused a powerful explosion and fireball.
In a post on X, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he told leaders from Russia and Pakistan that his nation reaffirms its “commitment to peace in the region.”
“The only way to end this war—ignited by the Zionist regime & US—is recognizing Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm int’l guarantees against future aggression,” he exclaimed.
Talking to leaders of Russia and Pakistan, I reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to peace in the region. The only way to end this war—ignited by the Zionist regime & US—is recognizing Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm int’l guarantees against future aggression.
The Coordination Committee of the Iraqi Resistance issued a warning to Syrian leader, Ahmed Sharaa, threatening that any hostile move toward Lebanon, particularly if coordinated with the U.S. or Israel, would be treated as a declaration of war against the entire Axis of Resistance.
Notable: The Coordination Committee of the Iraqi Resistance – a loosely coordinated body made up of Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq that align messaging, threats, and occasionally operations – issued a warning to Syrian leader, Ahmed Sharaa, threatening that any hostile move… pic.twitter.com/ze40sgZcPC
The threat in Iraq remains real as you can see by the following video, which reportedly shows an interceptor hitting an Iranian drone over Erbil.
There is pushback to claims that the U.S. is sending Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems from Korea for deployment to the Middle East.
According to the latest reports, the six launchers present in Korea left their base, delivered (presumably 48) interceptor missiles to Osan Air Base to be transported out, then returned. (And an anti-THAAD group is demanding the radar be removed, as it is still there) https://t.co/T4igHmcCDq
UAE reportedly sees an opportunity to reclaim the Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunb islands that Iran seized in 1971.
The Bellingcat investigative team geolocated eight videos showing U.S. Tomahawk launches.
Bellingcat has geolocated eight videos showing US Tomahawks cruise missiles in Iraq heading towards Iran. The missiles appear to be flying low across valleys and were most likely fired from the Mediterranean sea, an expert told us. pic.twitter.com/9bTO2BODa1
Meanwhile, India condemned the Iranian attack on the Thai ship bound for Kandla.
“Iran and the terrorist militias allied with it may be planning to target U.S.-owned oil and energy infrastructure in Iraq,” the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad warned. “Additionally, Iran-aligned terrorist militias have targeted hotels frequented by Americans in various parts of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “
تنبيه أمني – سفارة الولايات المتحدة في بغداد، العراق – 11 آذار 2026 – تحديث رقم 1
الموقع: العراق
التحديث: قد تكون إيران والميليشيات الإرهابية المتحالفة معها بصدد التخطيط لاستهداف البنية التحتية للنفط والطاقة التي تملكها للولايات المتحدة في العراق. كما وقامت ميليشيات إرهابية…
The IDF released a video containing what it says was audio of a radio exchange between an Israeli and U.S. pilot.
UPDATE: 2:06 EST –
An ongoing military investigation has determined that the United States is responsible for a deadly Feb. 28 Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian elementary school, The New York Times reported, citing U.S. officials and others familiar with the preliminary findings.
The Feb. 28 strike on the elementary school was the result of a targeting mistake by the U.S., preliminary inquiry says: “U.S. Central Command created the target coordinates for the strike using outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency.” https://t.co/sgMwh2wRz1pic.twitter.com/2cTHHdGg3q
Iran’s Armed Forces spokesman General Shekarchi warned the U.S. and allies against striking Iranian ports.
“If any threat is made against our ports, all docks and economic ports in the entire region will be our legitimate targets, and we will carry out operations heavier than those we have done so far,” he vowed.
#BREAKING Spokesperson of Iran’s Armed Forces General Shekarchi: If any threat is made against our ports, all docks and economic ports in the entire region will be our legitimate targets, and we will carry out operations heavier than those we have done so far. pic.twitter.com/vrtKP4bOkQ
Iran may be using a Chinese satellite navigation system to target Israel and United States military assets in the Middle East, intelligence experts say, according to Al Jazeera.
“Former French foreign intelligence director Alain Juillet told France’s independent Tocsin podcast this week that it is likely that Iran has been provided access to China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system because its targeting has become much more accurate since the 12-Day War with Israel in June,” the outlet reported.
1:55PM EST—
The NYT reports that Pentagon officials told U.S. lawmakers that Iran has as much as 50% of its missiles and launchers remaining.
“Two military officials said there was concern that the Pentagon did not have full clarity on all of Iran’s launch sites. The officials also said that Iran had kept many missiles in reserve to strike at important battlefield targets like the American radars…. Pentagon officials…
A Merlin early warning and control helicopter has arrived in Cyprus to provide a critical ‘look down’ capability for spotting incoming drones. You can read about how critical this capability is and how new assets are being sent to the Middle East to help provide it in our story from yesterday linked here.
Attacks on multiple commercial ships in the waters around Iran on Wednesday increased global energy concerns, pushed nations to unleash strategic oil reserves and sparked fresh critiques of the Trump administration’s readiness for a war it started.
As Trump administration and U.S. military officials continued to claim increasing success and advantage in the conflict — and authorities downplayed a reported threat of drone attacks on California — leaders around the world scrambled to respond to the latest attacks and the International Energy Agency’s call for the largest ever release of strategic oil reserves by its members to help stem energy price spikes.
President Trump also faced renewed questions about a deadly strike on an Iranian elementary school at the start of the war, after the New York Times reported Wednesday that a military investigation had determined the U.S. was responsible.
“I don’t know about it,” Trump said when asked about the report.
In an address Wednesday morning, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz had “all but stopped” amid the conflict, driving massive global competition for oil and gas in wealthier countries and fuel rationing in poorer nations.
He said the IEA’s 32 member nations have brought a “sense of urgency and solidarity” to recent discussions on the matter, and had unanimously agreed to “launch the largest ever release of emergency oil stocks in our agency’s history,” making 400 million barrels of oil available.
However, he said the most needed change is the “resumption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.”
A vendor pumps petrol from Iranian fuel oil tankers for resale near the Bashmakh border crossing between Iraq and Iran.
(Ozan Kose / AFP/Getty Images)
Several countries, including Germany, Austria and Japan, had already confirmed their plans to release reserves.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on any U.S. plans to release its strategic reserves, or how much would be released. The U.S. is an IEA member.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. has hit Iran “harder than virtually any country in history has been hit,” including by wiping out its naval fleet and eliminating other vessels capable of laying mines, and that he believes oil companies should resume shipments through the strait despite the recent attacks.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum backed the idea of releasing oil reserves in a Fox News interview.
“Certainly these are the kinds of moments that these reserves are used for, because what we have here is not a shortage of energy in the world; we’ve got a transit problem, which is temporary,” Burgum said. “When you have a temporary transit problem that we’re resolving militarily and diplomatically — which we can resolve and will resolve — this is the perfect time to think about releasing some of those, to take some pressure off of the global price.”
Burgum said that while Iran is “holding the entire world hostage economically by threatening to close the strait,” Trump has made the consequences of such actions “very clear,” and “there’s a lot of options between ourselves and our allies in the region, including our Arab friends in the region, to make sure that those straits keep open and that energy keeps flowing for the global economy.”
The IEA did not provide details as to the release of the 400 million barrels, part of a broader reserve of some 1.2 billion barrels held by its members. It said the reserves “will be made available to the market over a time frame that is appropriate to the national circumstances of each Member country and will be supplemented by additional emergency measures by some countries.”
The agency said an average of 20 million barrels of crude oil and oil products transited the strait per day in 2025, and that options for bypassing the strait are “limited.”
While some tankers believed linked to Iran were still getting through the Strait of Hormuz, which under normal circumstances carries about 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas, Iranian officials threatened attacks on other vessels — saying they would not allow “even a single liter of oil” tied to the U.S., Israel or their allies through the channel, which connects to the Persian Gulf.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. and its powerful Navy would support commercial vessels and ensure the strait remains open to oil shipments, but that has not been the case.
Tankers wait off the Mediterranean coast of southern France on Wednesday.
(Thibaud Moritz / AFP/Getty Images)
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, run by the British military, reported at least three ships struck in the region Wednesday — including ships off the United Arab Emirates and a cargo ship that was struck by a projectile in the strait just north of Oman, setting it ablaze.
The Trump administration and the U.S. military, meanwhile, have been pushing out messaging about wiping out Iran’s ability to plant mines in the strait — posting dramatic videos of major strikes on tiny boats on small docks.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the leader of U.S. Central Command, said in a video posted to X on Wednesday morning that “in short, U.S. forces continue delivering devastating combat power against the Iranian regime.”
“I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: U.S. combat power is building, Iranian combat power is declining,” he said.
The U.S. has struck more than 60 Iranian ships, and just “took out the last of four Soleimani-class warships,” he said. “That’s an entire class of Iranian ships now out of the fight.”
Cooper said Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks have “dropped drastically” since the start of the war, though “it’s worth pointing out that Iranian forces continue to target innocent civilians in gulf countries, while hiding behind their own people as they launch attacks from highly populated cities in Iran.”
He also addressed the attacks on commercial shipping in the region directly, saying that “for years, the Iranian regime has threatened commercial shipping and U.S. forces in international waters,” and that the U.S. military’s “mission is to end their ability to project power and harass shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Other U.S. leaders called the U.S. war plan — and specifically its approach to protecting the Strait of Hormuz — into question.
In a series of posts to X late Tuesday, which he said followed a two-hour classified briefing on the war, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) slammed the administration’s plans as “incoherent and incomplete.”
Murphy wrote that the administration’s goals for the war seemed to be focused primarily on “destroying lots of missiles and boats and drone factories,” and without a clear plan for what to do when Iran — still led by “a hardline regime” — begins rebuilding that infrastructure, other than to continue bombing them. “Which is, of course, endless war,” he wrote.
Murphy also specifically criticized the administration’s plan for the Strait of Hormuz — which he said simply doesn’t exist.
“And on the Strait of Hormuz, they had NO PLAN,” he wrote. “I can’t go into more detail about how Iran gums up the Strait, but suffice it [to] say, right now, they don’t know how to get it safely back open. Which is unforgiveable, because this part of the disaster was 100% foreseeable.”
Ships in the strait remained under threat of various forms of attack Wednesday, as did much of the region as the war raged on.
There was an attack on a U.S. Embassy operations center at Baghdad’s airport, which officials attributed to a drone launched by Iranian proxies based in Iraq. No casualties were reported.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported the death toll there — from fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters — had risen to 634 since last week, including 91 children. Another 1,500 people had been wounded, the ministry said.
Iranian authorities have said U.S. and Israeli attacks have killed 1,255 people since Feb. 28. That includes many Iranian leaders, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. U.S. officials have said Iranian attacks in the region have killed seven U.S. service members, with another 140 wounded.
CBS News reported Wednesday that dozens of those injuries were sustained by service members in the March 1 Iranian drone attack on a tactical operations center in Kuwait — which is also where six of the seven deaths occurred.
The outlet reported that the attack was more severe than the Trump administration has revealed, with more than 30 military members still in hospitals Tuesday with a range of battle injuries including “brain trauma, shrapnel wounds and burns.”
Threats extended beyond the Middle East, too — including to California, where law enforcement agencies were warned by federal authorities that Iran “allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack” on California using drones launched from a vessel off the U.S. coast.
However, sources told The Times that advisory was cautionary and not backed by credible intelligence.
Times staff writer Gavin J. Quinton, in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened Iran with unprecedented military consequences if it had placed mines in the Strait of Hormuz and failed to remove them, Anadolu reports.
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
He added that removing the mines would be “a giant step in the right direction.”
Trump, however, also noted that US has “no reports of” Tehran putting out mines in the waterway.
The warning came after a CNN report that Iran has begun laying mines in the strait. Sources told the news outlet that only a few dozen had been placed so far, but Iran still had up to 90% of its small boats and mine-laying vessels intact, leaving it capable of deploying hundreds more.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints, with around 20 million barrels of oil passing through it daily. Iran’s IRGC had previously announced the closure of the strait to transit following the start of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, pushing oil prices above and raising fears of a prolonged global energy disruption.
The escalation in the Middle East flared since Israel and the US launched a joint attack on Iran on Feb. 28, and to date killing more than 1,200 people, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was the supreme leader. At least eight US service members have been killed since the beginning of the campaign.
Warning comes as 400 million barrels of oil are being released from global reserves during waterway’s closure.
Published On 11 Mar 202611 Mar 2026
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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it will not allow “a litre of oil” through the Strait of Hormuz as the closure of the key Gulf waterway continues to roil global energy markets during the US-Israeli war on Iran.
A spokesperson for the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters said on Wednesday that any vessel linked to the United States and Israel or their allies “will be considered a legitimate target”.
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“You will not be able to artificially lower the price of oil. Expect oil at $200 per barrel,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The price of oil depends on regional security, and you are the main source of insecurity in the region.”
Global oil prices have fluctuated wildly this week during continued US-Israeli attacks against Iran, which has retaliated by firing missiles and drones at targets across the wider Middle East.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies transit, and production slowdowns in some Gulf countries have raised concerns of further disruptions.
Concerns around the duration of the war, which began on February 28 and has shown no sign of abating, are also adding to uncertainty, sending oil prices soaring.
On Wednesday, three ships were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime security and risk firms said, including a Thai-flagged cargo vessel that came under attack about 11 nautical miles (18km) north of Oman.
Release of oil reserves
World leaders, including members of the Group of Seven (G7) and the European Union, have been mulling what action to take in response to the war’s impact on global economies.
Christian Bueger, a professor of international relations at the University of Copenhagen and an expert in maritime security, said Europe will be facing “a major energy supply crisis” if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
“For the shipping industry right now, it’s impossible to go through the Strait of Hormuz,” Bueger told Al Jazeera. “And if there are not stronger signals in the near future that they can at least try to go through the strait, then we are looking at a major shipping crisis, which can last weeks if not months.”
On Wednesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that its 32 member countries had unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves to try to lower prices.
“This is a major action aiming to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said during an address from the agency’s headquarters in Paris.
“But to be clear, the most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas is the resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.
The reserve supplies will be made available “over a timeframe that is appropriate” for each member state, the IEA said in a statement without providing details.
German Economy and Energy Minister Katherina Reiche said earlier in the day that the country would comply with the release while Austria also said it would make part of its emergency oil reserve available and extend its national strategic gas reserve.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said it would release about 80 million barrels from its private and national oil reserves.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the country, which gets about 70 percent of its oil imports through the Strait of Hormuz, would begin releasing the reserves on Monday.
March 10 (UPI) — President Donald Trump posted on social media that the United States has destroyed 10 inactive mine-laying vessels on the Strait of Hormuz while the White House cleared up a claim by another administration official.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the U.S. Navy did not escort an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz after Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed it did on social media.
Leavitt said President Donald Trump may consider using Navy escorts for oil tankers on the strait but that has not happened yet.
“The U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or vessel at this time,” Leavitt told reporters during a press briefing Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Wright posted that the U.S. Navy “successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.”
Leavitt said she was “made aware of this post,” but had not spoken with Wright about it.
The post was later taken down.
The price of crude oil fell below $80 per barrel briefly following Wright’s post. It climbed again after the post was deleted.
Iran has taken measures to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil trade route, since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Feb. 28.
To combat the impact the military conflict with Iran will have on the global oil market, the United States has discussed plans to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. However, retaliatory strikes by Iran have demanded more military resources, Wright previously said.
