32 nations to release emergency oil reserves after ships attacked

Three ships collided near the Strait of Hormuz, and the United States destroyed an Iranian mine spreader. Trump says there are no targets left in Iran, America is not done yet An Iranian official said the operation, which left Mojtaba Khamenei lightly wounded, would continue without a time limit. Israel says Iran has warned of a prolonged war that could ‘destroy the global economy’.

DUBAI/TEHRAN/TEL AVIV/WASHINGTON – Iran warned Wednesday that it was prepared to wage a protracted war of attrition that would “destroy” the global economy after opening fire on two merchant ships and threatening ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran said on Wednesday the world should be ready to buy $200 a barrel of oil as its forces attacked merchant shipping, while the International Energy Agency recommended a massive release from strategic reserves to ease one of the worst oil shocks since the 1970s.

The war, sparked by joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes nearly two weeks ago, has so far killed about 2,000 people, mostly Iranians and Lebanese, and has spread to Lebanon, wreaking havoc on global energy markets and transportation.

Despite what the Pentagon described as the heaviest airstrikes since the start of the war, Iran showed it can still strike back by firing on targets in Israel and across the Middle East on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, three ships were reportedly hit in Gulf waters as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it opened fire on Gulf vessels that did not follow orders.

US President Donald Trump suggested the campaign would not continue, telling the Axios news website that there was virtually nothing left to target Iran. “It will end whenever I want it to end,” he said in a phone interview.

President Donald Trump met with reporters outside the White House and was asked what it would take to end the war with Iran. “It’s more similar.” he answered. “And we’ll see how it all turns out.” “They’ve lost their navy. They’ve lost their air force. They have no anti-aircraft equipment at all. They have no radar. Their leader is gone. And we could do much worse.” He said the United States had hit Iran “harder than virtually any country in history,” but added, “We’re not done yet.”

‘Legitimate target’

So far, there is no indication that the vessel can safely transit the Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz serves as a conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil along Iran’s currently blocked coast. President Trump said Wednesday that ships should pass through the strait, but sources said Iran had placed about a dozen mines in the strait, further complicating the blockade.

The U.S. military has told Iranians to stay away from ports housing Iranian naval facilities, and Iran’s military has warned that the region’s economic and trade hub will be a “legitimate target” if the ports are threatened.

Gas prices are already rising in some countries, with pump prices soaring and Trump’s Republican Party falling far behind in opinion polls ahead of the midterm elections.

It is an urgent element in the calculations behind the war.

Iran also fired missiles and drones at targets across the Gulf, including a U.S. base in Kuwait, in the 12th day of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. The attack came amid heightened tensions over the global energy crisis, with a ship burning in the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Nations Security Council was scheduled to vote later in the day on a resolution sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) calling on Iran to stop its attacks on its Arab neighbors.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday it fired four missiles at US military headquarters in the Middle East, including two targeting Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

Kuwaiti authorities have not confirmed the report. However, the National Guard said that eight drones targeting the country were shot down.

Several explosions were heard in the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday morning as the Qatari Defense Ministry announced that Qatari forces had blocked a new missile attack targeting the Gulf state.

“A little west of the city, we witnessed an interception. A cloud of smoke was created when a Qatari-held defensive weapon made contact with an incoming missile,” Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi reported from Doha. “This has become a common feature not only here but across the GCC.”

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said early Wednesday that it had destroyed five drones heading to the kingdom’s vast Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter desert. He added that two drones were intercepted and destroyed in the eastern province.

In Bahrain, dozens of people, including children, were injured in Iran’s Sitra near Manama, and a fire broke out at the Ma’amir facility after a drone strike.

Earlier, in Manama, a drone crashed into a residential building, killing one woman and injuring eight others.

The United Arab Emirates also said it had responded to missile and drone threats coming from Iran. Dubai Media Office said two drones crashed near Dubai International Airport, injuring four people.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations Authority said an unidentified projectile struck a container ship and started a fire in the Strait of Hormuz, about 46 kilometers northwest of the UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah emirate.

“The bulk carrier captain reported that the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile. There are no reports of environmental impacts. The crew reported they were safe,” the UKMTO said.

The British military later said another vessel, a bulk carrier, was hit by an unknown projectile 50 nautical miles (93 km) northwest of Dubai.

The crew was reported safe and authorities were conducting an investigation, UKMTO said.

‘Unprecedented’ circumstances lead to ‘highest ever’ 400 million barrels of oil released – IEApublished

The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that 400 million barrels of oil had been released, the ‘highest ever’, and that 32 member countries had unanimously voted in favor of this measure.

“The oil market challenges we face are of unprecedented scale, so I am very pleased that IEA Member States have responded with urgent collective action on an unprecedented scale,” said IEA Director-General Fatih Birol.

The IEA said emergency stocks would be made available to the market over a “period of time appropriate to national circumstances” in each member state.

This is the sixth time that the IEA has approved the joint release of crude oil stocks, following twice in 1991, 2005, 2011, and 2022.

It added that its members have more than 1.2 billion barrels in emergency reserves and an additional 600 million barrels in industrial stocks in accordance with government obligations.

In Iran, huge crowds took to the streets for the funerals of top commanders killed in airstrikes. They carried coffins, flags and portraits of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his son and successor Mojtaba.

An Iranian official told Reuters that Mojtaba Khamenei suffered minor injuries in an airstrike early in the war that killed his father, mother, wife and son. He has not made a public appearance or sent a direct message since the war began.

Iran’s military said Tuesday it fired missiles at a U.S. military base in northern Iraq, a U.S. naval headquarters in the Middle East in Bahrain and targets in central Israel. There was an explosion in Bahrain, and in Dubai, four people were injured when two drones crashed near the airport.

Tehran residents say they are becoming increasingly accustomed to nightly airstrikes that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee to the countryside and polluted the city with black rain from oil fumes.

“There were bombings last night, but I’m not as scared as before. Life goes on,” Farshid, 52, told Reuters by phone.

Despite Trump’s calls for an uprising by Iranians, the United States and Israel hope that Iran’s clerical rule will be overthrown by popular protests, which has not materialized.

Iran’s police chief, Ahmadreza Radan, said Wednesday that anyone who takes to the streets “will be treated as an enemy, not a protestor.” All our security forces are pulling the trigger.

A senior Israeli official told Reuters that Israeli leaders now privately accept that Iran’s ruling regime can survive the war. Two other Israeli officials said there were no signs Washington was close to ending the campaign.

U.S. and Israeli officials say their goal is to end Iran’s ability to project force across its borders and destroy its nuclear program. “We will continue operations with no time limit for as long as necessary until all objectives have been achieved and the campaign is victorious,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday.