Iran war live: Oil prices soar past $100, new supreme leader says Strait of Hormuz should stay closed
https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-war-live-six-tankers-attacked-gulf-strait-hormuz-2026-03-12/
Iran war live: Oil prices soar past $100, new supreme leader says Strait of Hormuz should stay closed
Screengrab from a Reuters live feed, March 12, 2026. Source: Israel's Government Press Office (GPO)
In his first press conference since the start of the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was "no longer the same" after nearly two weeks of joint U.S.-Israeli attacks and had suffered blows to its elite forces.
Netanyahu said he spoke with Trump nearly every day and that the two men spoke "openly."
He also said Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for its aggression.
The Callisto tanker sits anchored in Port Sultan Qaboos, in Muscat, Oman, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Ships must coordinate with Iran to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
"Ships must coordinate with the Iranian navy when passing through the Strait so that maritime security is maintained," Baghaei said in comments carried by Mehr news agency.
In his first comments since the start of the war, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said that the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a tool of pressure.
Iran's retaliation to the Israeli and U.S. attacks has included strikes on ships in the strait and energy infrastructure across the Middle East.
Volunteers prepare food packages at a school-turned shelter, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Nearly two weeks into the conflict, a war-modified, anxiety-riddled version of daily life is emerging in the Gulf.
But public fury at Washington is notably scarce across the Gulf states, even as they absorb some of the heaviest shocks of a regional war they had urged the United States to avoid.
With few exceptions, senior Gulf figures have steered clear of publicly blaming Washington for its decision to confront Iran.
Gulf capitals are reserving the language of betrayal for Tehran, even as American actions helped set the conflict in motion.
After years of slow rapprochement — and assurances from Gulf Arab states that their territory would not be used to launch attacks on Iran — many expected Tehran to acknowledge those efforts.
Instead, Iran struck Gulf Arab territory on day one and has rattled Gulf capitals ever since.
Qatar’s Prime Minister called Iran’s moves a “betrayal,” saying they were preplanned and unleashed despite Gulf guarantees of neutrality.
This is an excerpt of the Reuters Gulf Currents newsletter, which is published every Wednesday.
Sign up here to receive a weekly breakdown of the geopolitical and financial forces reshaping a region at a crossroads. Additionally, get the Reuters Iran Briefing for latest coverage from the war.
A girls school in Iran that was destroyed by a strike on the first day of the war was separated from an adjacent military base by walls painted with bright murals. The colored walls were visible in satellite images, the school’s colorful website – and a video of the explosion’s aftermath.
American investigators believe U.S. forces were likely responsible. The Pentagon referred questions from Reuters to the U.S. military’s Central Command, whose spokesperson, Captain Timothy Hawkins, said: “It would be inappropriate to comment given the incident is under investigation.”
Here's our visual investigation with additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi, Edward James Carron, Stephanie Burnett and Idrees Ali.
FILE PHOTO: A woman awaits the arrival of relatives via U.S. government chartered flight, in New York City, U.S., March 5, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The Trump administration has organized nearly 50 flights to return U.S. citizens from the Middle East since the war began, a State Department official said.
"By the end of today, we'll have completed approximately four dozen flights and safely evacuated thousands of Americans from the Middle East on those flights," said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
Officials said demand for the flights has declined.
The State Department was criticized in the days after the conflict began for its late preparations to relocate diplomats and offer assistance to citizens as Iran's strikes led to airspace closures and flight cancellations across the region.
Read more here.
FILE PHOTO: A satellite image of Jebel Ali Port, after one of the berths caught fire, in Dubai, UAE, March 1, 2026. 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS
Global ports operator DP World expects rising volumes at its Red Sea terminals, its CEO said.
Most major Gulf ports are reachable only via the narrow Strait of Hormuz waterway.
One of the births at Dubai's Jebel Ali Port, DP World's flagship hub, caught fire because of debris resulting from an aerial interception early in the conflict but operations resumed on March 2.
Jebel Ali remains fully operational with no infrastructure damage but is seeing lower inbound vessel traffic, CEO Yuvraj Narayan said.
UAE ports outside the strait have limited capacity.
Narayan said DP World was deploying measures to maintain supply chain continuity.
Its Red Sea ports, including Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Sokhna in Egypt, were likely to see an increase in traffic as a result of the crisis, he added, without specifying what extra volumes or types of cargo they might handle.
But logistical and security risks remain high.
Read more here.
Iran's top security official Ali Larijani posted on X:
Source: @alilarijani_ir on X
On Wednesday, Trump told a campaign-style rally in Hebron, Kentucky, that the U.S. had won.
"You never like to say too early you won. We won," he said. "In the first hour it was over."
But he added: "We don't want to leave early, do we? We got to finish the job."
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Iran's new supreme leader vows to keep Hormuz shut in defiant first remarks
Middle East · · 18 hours agoIran will fight on and keep the Strait of Hormuz shut as leverage against the United States and Israel, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday in the first comments attributed to him since he succeeded his slain father.
No comments:
Post a Comment