Middle East crisis live: Iran steps up attacks on ports, tankers and oil terminals in campaign to disrupt energy markets | US-Israel war on Iran

Hello and welcome to our ongoing live coverage of the US-Israeli war against Iran and its impact on the region and the world.

Iran set fire to two tankers in Iraqi waters early Thursday as it steps up attacks on oil and shipping facilities in the Middle East, warning that the world must be ready for oil at $200 a barrel despite President Donald Trump’s claim that the United States has already won the war.

The war, launched nearly two weeks ago by joint US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, has so far killed nearly 2,000 people and thrown global energy markets and transportation into chaos.

At a campaign-style rally in Kentucky, Trump said the United States had won the war but did not want to go back every two years.

“We don’t want to leave early, do we?” he said on Wednesday. “We need to finish the job.”

Oil prices, which rose to nearly $120 a barrel earlier in the week and then bounced back to $90, nearly rose again on Wednesday and extended gains in Asian trading on Thursday amid renewed fears of supply disruption.

Here are the latest developments:

• The USA will extract 172 million barrels of oil from its strategic oil reserves in order to reduce the rising oil prices due to supply shocks resulting from the war. US energy secretary said. Chris Wright said this release was part of a broader 400 million barrel oil release agreed by the 32-nation International Energy Agency earlier in the day.

• US intelligence shows Iran’s leadership is still largely intact and is not in danger of collapsing anytime soon, Reuters news agency reported, citing three sources.. One of three sources familiar with the matter, who were granted anonymity to discuss U.S. intelligence findings, said the “numerous” intelligence reports provided a consistent analysis that “the regime is not in danger of collapse” and that “Iran remains in control of public opinion.”

• Two foreign tankers carrying fuel to Iraq burst into flames after the attack by Iranian boats loaded with explosives.One foreign crew member died, Iraqi port security officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

• Donald Trump says US ‘not over yet’ when asked about war in Iran. He boasted that the US had hit Iran “harder than any country in history” and added: “We’re not done yet.” Speaking at another meeting, Trump said the United States had “won” but “we have to finish the job.” He previously told Axios that the war would end “soon” because there is “almost nothing left to target” in Iran.

• Israeli army launches “large-scale wave of attacks” on densely populated suburbs of Beirut After Hezbollah launched what the IDF said was “dozens” of rockets. The IDF claimed that the attacks targeted what it called “Hezbollah infrastructure” in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahieh. According to Lebanese officials, Israel’s renewed bombing campaign across Lebanon and its occupation of border areas with ground troops has led to the deaths of more than 570 people. This includes at least 83 children, according to Unicef. Nearly 750,000 people have been displaced after being forced to flee violence, leading to a growing humanitarian disaster.

• The Israeli military said it was ready to continue the war with Iran “as long as necessary.” “As the army, we are ready to continue the operation for as long as necessary,” a spokesman said, according to Reuters. Earlier, Israeli defense minister Israel Katz expressed similar sentiments: saying that the war “will continue without any time limit”.

• Iran’s ambassador to the UN said a UN Security Council resolution demanding Tehran stop its “terrible” attacks on Gulf countries was “injustice for my country”, adding that Iran was “the main victim of a clear act of aggression”. ““The decision distorts the facts on the ground and ignores the root causes of the current crisis,” said Chief Saeid Iravani and continued: “The attack against us started with the assassination of religious leaders and officials and led to the deaths of thousands of victims.”

• Condemning the “heinous crimes and deadly attacks” of the US and Israel, Iravani said more than 1,348 civilians were killed and More than 17,000 injured Since Washington and Tel Aviv launched a joint attack on February 28. It said more than 19,000 civilian areas were damaged, including 16,191 residences, 77 health facilities and 65 schools.

• Massoud Pezeshkian, The Iranian president has demanded that compensation and security guarantees be included in any agreement to end the US-initiated war. Israel. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has said it will be up to Donald Trump to decide when to end the war against Iran, and the US president has demanded Tehran’s “unconditional surrender” before that happens.

• Donald Trump Most children avoided questions about the bombing of a girls’ school in Iran that killed at least 175 people. A. Preliminary investigation revealed that the USA was responsible for the attackAccording to a report From the New York Times. Asked whether he claimed responsibility for the attack, the US president simply replied: “I don’t know about that.” More here.

• Oman’s civil defense is trying to control a fire that broke out in fuel tanks in the port. Salalahafter drones hit oil storage facilities there, Oman’s state news agency reported.

• Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE said they successfully intercepted Iranian drones and missiles aimed at their territory.