PARIS: Here’s the latest on the conflict, including developments affecting security, oil markets, and international responses.
IEA says war causes biggest ever oil shock
The war “is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”, as Iran’s chokehold on regional supplies forces Gulf producers to slash production, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
An IEA market report said crude oil production was currently down by at least 8.0 million barrels per day, with an additional 2.0 million of petroleum products shut off.
Iran ‘only targeting US bases’
Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, ordered the vital Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane to remain closed and calling on Middle East countries to shut US bases they host.
Earlier Thursday security chief Ali Larijani warned Iran would target power grids in the region if the US attacked its electricity supplies.
Trump rebuffs oil price concerns
US president Donald Trump wrote on social media that stopping Iran developing nuclear weapons was “of far greater interest and importance to me” than controlling oil prices.
Emergency talks on Hormuz
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced an “extraordinary session” next week to discuss threats to shipping in the Middle East and particularly in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military has said it is “not ready” to escort tankers through the critical Strait of Hormuz because all its assets are focused on striking Iran.
Israel moves further into Lebanon
The Israeli military moved further into southern Lebanon, telling residents to “move immediately north of the Zahrani River”, 40km from the Israeli border.
It said Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah had launched “approximately 200 rockets” towards it overnight, in what it said was the biggest barrage of the war so far.
Turkey warns Israel on Lebanon
Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan called for an end to Israel’s bombardment of neighbouring Lebanon “before it collapses”, a disaster that would “profoundly affect the entire region”.
“The government of (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is at the heart of every crisis in the region,” he told journalists.
Toll rises in Lebanon
The government in Beirut said an Israeli strike on the city centre’s seafront killed eight people, bringing to at least 687 the number of people killed in attacks form its neighbour since March 2.
Explosions in Tehran, Jerusalem
A series of powerful explosions hit western Tehran, an AFP journalist said.
Israel’s military said it had begun a new “wide-scale” wave of strikes across Iran, hitting the Taleghan compound, where it says Iran was developing nuclear weapons.
Blasts were also heard over Jerusalem, AFP journalists said, as the Israeli military reported missiles fired from Iran.
3 million displaced in Iran, says UN
Up to 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since the war erupted nearly two weeks ago, the United Nations refugee agency said.
New hits on Dubai, Kuwait
Dubai reported a drone attack and fallen debris in two locations while Kuwait’s airport was damaged in yet another strike on the facility.
US war costs hit US$11.3bil in six days
The opening week of the war against Iran cost the US military more than US$11.3 billion, lawmakers were told in a Pentagon briefing, the New York Times reported.
