US-Israel attack on Iran LIVE: Amid growing fears that Iran could disrupt the world’s oil supply, the United States Central Command said on Tuesday that American forces had attacked 16 Iranian vessels suspected of laying naval mines near one of the world’s most important oil routes. The strikes took place near the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which a large share of the world’s oil shipments pass.
Key developments on March 11
- US Central Command said its forces had struck 16 Iranian vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. A video released with the post showed munitions hitting nine vessels, most of which were moored at the time of the attack.
- News of the US strikes came on a day when officials in Washington appeared to send mixed signals about the conflict and the situation around global oil transport. The war has already killed more than 1,800 people and shaken global energy markets.
- A day earlier, Trump warned Iran that the United States would respond forcefully if it attempted to block the oil route.
- Earlier on Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that the day could see a significant increase in American and Israeli strikes on Iran.
- Traders are now focused on the February Consumer Price Index, which is scheduled to be released on Wednesday. The report will give investors a clearer picture of inflation and the health of the US economy.
- Oil prices have been extremely volatile this week. On Monday, crude prices jumped close to $120 per barrel as worries grew that the conflict could threaten global oil supplies.
- US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude dropped as low as $76.73 per barrel during the session before settling down nearly 12% at $83.45 per barrel. Meanwhile, global benchmark Brent crude fell more than 11%, closing at $87.80 per barrel.
- Airstrikes on Iranian fuel depots have sent thick black smoke into the sky, with some residents reporting black rain and growing sanitation problems.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: US democrats voice concern over Iran war
A group of US senators is calling for public hearings on the war against Iran after classified briefings from President Donald Trump’s officials. Senator Chris Murphy said, “The strategy is totally incoherent. If the president asked Congress for authorization, the American people would demand a no vote.”
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Drones fall over Erbil as attacks hit the middle east
A drone burning and falling from the sky over Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region was reported. Security sources confirmed that several drones were spotted in the city’s airspace before one was intercepted and fell onto the city. No casualties were reported.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: North Korea condemns US-Israeli strikes
North Korea criticized the US and Israel for their attacks on Iran, calling them illegal and destabilising. Pyongyang also expressed support for Iran’s decision to select a new supreme leader, calling it the choice of the Iranian people.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: White House says oil prices will fall
During a press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the recent rise in oil and gas prices would not last long.
She told reporters:
“Rest assured to the American people, recent increase in oil and gas prices is temporary and this operation will result in lower gas prices in the long term. Once the national security objectives of Operation Epic Fury are fully achieved, Americans will see oil and gas prices drop rapidly, potentially even lower than they were prior to the start of the operation. We will live in a world where Iran can no longer threaten the United States or our allies with a nuclear bomb.”
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Fresh Airstrikes in Tehran
The Iranian Red Crescent reported an airstrike on a residential area in Tehran early Wednesday. “Moments ago, another residential area was targeted, and Red Crescent and fire rescue teams are providing relief,” the group said on X (formerly Twitter).
Video shows rescue workers and dogs moving through debris-filled streets. Tehran Governor Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian said strikes targeted both residential areas and critical public infrastructure, including electricity, water, gas, and communications. Despite the attacks, he claimed “daily life in Tehran is continuing without disruption.”
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the opening of an oil refinery in Brownsville, Texas, thanking Indian energy giant Reliance Industries for investing in the project.
Trump shared the news on his social media platform Truth Social, saying the refinery would help power American energy markets and strengthen the country’s energy security.
In his post, Trump said the project, called America First Refining, would play an important role in the U.S. energy sector.
He wrote that the refinery would “fuel U.S. Markets, strengthen our National Security, boost American Energy production, deliver Billions of Dollars in Economic impact, and will be THE CLEANEST REFINERY IN THE WORLD.”
Trump also described the project as a massive investment deal.
According to Trump, the refinery is part of a $300 billion deal. However, it was not immediately clear whether that figure referred only to the refinery project or to a broader agreement involving India.
Trump’s post thanked Reliance for its investment, but further details about the financial structure of the deal were not immediately available.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: US navy has no dedicated minesweepers in Persian Gulf
With reports that Iran may be laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, questions are rising about how the US Navy will respond. Last September, the Navy decommissioned its last four dedicated minesweepers in the Persian Gulf, ending decades of service.
The ships were sent back to the US in January on a heavy-lift vessel to be scrapped. At the time, Naval Forces Central Command said mine-clearing duties would now fall to four littoral combat ships (LCS) deployed in the region.
The LCS fleet, made up of about 30 active ships, can switch between missions: surface warfare or mine countermeasures. However, the ships have had reliability issues since the first ones entered service in 2008–2010. Critics have nicknamed them “Little Crappy Ships,” with some early models retired after only a few years.
Before the conflict with Iran escalated, three LCS were already stationed in the Persian Gulf. Analyst Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, said using LCS for minesweeping is “more of a publicity stunt than anything else.” He added, “The Navy bureaucracy will employ them to make the design seem useful and justify their excessive cost.”
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Investors wait for key inflation data
Traders are now focused on the February Consumer Price Index, which is scheduled to be released on Wednesday. The report will give investors a clearer picture of inflation and the health of the U.S. economy.
Many are watching closely because there have been signs in recent months that the labour market could be slowing down.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect headline inflation to rise 2.4% compared with a year earlier.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: US eases curbs on Russian oil as Iran war rattles energy markets
The administration of Donald Trump has begun loosening some restrictions on Russian oil exports that were earlier imposed to pressure the Kremlin over the war in Ukraine, NYC reported. The move comes as Washington looks for ways to calm global energy markets shaken by the recent US–Israeli attacks on Iran.
According to officials, the step is meant to prevent further disruption in global oil supplies at a time when tensions in the Middle East are already pushing markets into turmoil.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday that Washington had issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil that is already at sea without facing retaliation from the United States. He stressed that the waiver would likely have only a modest impact on Russia’s revenues.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: White House clarifies Trump’s “unconditional surrender” remarks
During a briefing at the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed Trump’s earlier comments suggesting Iran must surrender unconditionally to end the war.
“When President Trump says that Iran is in a place of unconditional surrender, he’s not claiming the Iranian regime is going to come out and say that themselves,” she said.
Leavitt explained that Trump himself would decide when Iran had effectively reached that point.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Trump warns Iran against blocking oil flow
A day earlier, US President Donald Trump warned Iran that the United States would respond forcefully if it attempted to block the oil route.
Trump said the U.S. would strike Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if it moved to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz — even though Tehran had already begun disrupting shipping days earlier.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Is Iran war nearing end?
News of the US strikes came on a day when officials in Washington appeared to send mixed signals about the conflict and the situation around global oil transport.
The war has already killed more than 1,800 people and shaken global energy markets.
The confusion became clear when Chris Wright, the U.S. energy secretary, wrote on social media that a Navy warship had “successfully escorted” an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, where ship traffic has slowed because of the war.
Shortly afterward, a military official said that no such escort had taken place, and the post was deleted.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: A tense history of naval mines in the Gulf
The latest developments have revived memories of earlier clashes in the region.
During the 1980s, Iranian forces placed mines in the Persian Gulf, forcing the United States Navy to send minesweepers to clear them.
In April 1988, an Iranian mine badly damaged an American frigate. Although the ship did not sink, the incident prompted US forces to launch retaliatory strikes against Iran.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: US strikes Iranian vessels near key oil route
According to the US military, the targeted ships were mine-laying vessels believed to be capable of placing explosives in the water to block oil traffic.
In a post on social media Tuesday evening, U.S. Central Command said its forces had struck 16 Iranian vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. A video released with the post showed munitions hitting nine vessels, most of which were moored at the time of the attack.
It was not immediately clear whether any mines had already been placed in the water since the United States and Israel began military strikes on Iran on February 28.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: S Jaishankar speaks to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar speaks to his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi. In a X post, Jaishankar said that he discussed the latest developments regarding the ongoing conflict with the Iranian leader. "We agreed to remain in touch".
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Air India, Air India Express to levy fuel surcharge on tickets
Air India and Air India Express will start levying a fuel surcharge of Rs 399 on each domestic flight ticket from March 12 and also hike the charge for international bookings due to a steep rise in jet fuel prices amid the Middle East conflict.
The new fuel surcharges will be implemented in a phased manner.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: 1 arrested in Germany for supplying Hezbollah with drone equipment
A 35-year-old man was jailed in Germany for supplying the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group with equipment for drones. The Lebanese man, previously named as Fadel Z., is convicted of offenses including “membership of a foreign terrorist organization” and being “an accomplice to attempted murder.”
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: 30 spies, internal mercenaries of US and Israel arrested till now, Iranian intelligence says
Iran's intelligence ministry has arrested a foreign national for conducting espionage on behalf of the United States and Israel, and acting as a proxy for two Gulf countries, state media cited the ministry as saying on Tuesday. The ministry also said it had arrested 30 spies, internal mercenaries, and operational agents of Israel and the US over the past few days.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: US War Secy's 'this is not 2003' remark as Washington launches intense strikes in Iran
United States Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, on Tuesday declared that the US is winning a "decisive victory" against the Iranian regime.
Distancing the current administration from the "endless nation-building" of previous decades, he said: "Those days are dead". "Instead, we're winning decisively with brutal efficiency and an unbreakable will to accomplish the President's objectives." Hegseth said that Trump is winning against the regime, as against former President Barack Obama.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Israeli Foreign Minister declines to comment on war with Iran
Israeli Foreign Minister declines to comment when asked how long Israel anticipates war with Iran will continue.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: India readies Rs 1 lakh crore war chest to counter Middle East fallout
The Centre on Tuesday sought Parliament's nod to create a Rs 1 lakh crore Economic Stabilisation Fund (ESF) as part of the second supplementary demand for grants for gross additional spending of Rs 2.81 lakh crore in FY26. For the ESF, the Centre initially provided Rs 50,000 crore outlay in the revised estimate for FY26 on February 1.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: 700,000 displaced, 84 children killed after Israeli strikes on Lebanon, UN agencies say
The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon has deepened amid the wider Middle East war, with 84 children killed and more than 667,000 people displaced, two UN agencies said on Tuesday, as lives are upended on a massive scale across the country.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Iran not more formidable than thought, top US general says
General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Tuesday that while Iran was fighting, it was not more formidable than Washington had thought, as the United States geared up for the most intense day of strikes against Iran in the war so far.
France has supplied air defense material to its allies in the Middle East following strikes from Iran, French Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin said, according to French broadcaster franceinfo.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Putin’s proposals to mediate Iran war are still on the table, says Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered multiple options to mediate in the Iran war and these proposals are still on the table, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “From the very beginning of this situation, even before the military phase began, President Putin has proposed various options for our mediation and good offices that could help reduce tensions. Many of these proposals are still on the table,” said Peskov, according to The Times of Israel.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Gulf energy official says stopping the war is only way to reopen Hormuz
Stopping the Iran war is the "only option" to ensure smooth passage of oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Gulf energy industry official said, according to The Times of Israel.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Russia ‘only’ winner of Iran war, says senior EU official says as energy prices spike
Russia has emerged as the only winner from the war in the Middle East, as energy prices soar and attention for its war against Ukraine has faded, EU Council President Antonio Costa says. “So far, there is only one winner in this war – Russia,” Costa says in a speech to EU ambassadors in Brussels.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Iran's new leader Mojtaba Khamenei injured
Iran's state TV has confirmed that Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in the ongoing war.
Reports suggest that he may have suffered injuries during an air strikes.
On Monday, Iran's state TV referred to Mojtaba as "Jaanbaz of Ramadan", meaning an "injured war veteran", according to reports.
US, Israel War on Iran LIVE: Israel ahead of schedule on war goals in Iran, ambassador to France says
Israel is ahead of schedule in achieving its war goals in Iran, its ambassador to France said on Tuesday, adding that the operation aims to weaken Iran's authorities to curb attacks beyond its borders and allow its people to shape their own future.