Iran's supreme leader vows to avenge war killings, calls for keeping Hormuz Strait closed 

Iran new leader thanks resistance front in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, Oil prices surge as Iran strikes four ships in Gulf: Parliament speaker warns Tehran will 'shatter all restraint' if US, Israel attack Gulf islands: Kuwait airport hit by drone: Italy’s military base in Iraq attacked: One crewmember killed, 38 rescued in attacks on ships: Major international businesses shut or evacuate offices in Gulf: US war costs hit $11.3 billion in six days: Bahrain says fuel tanks attacked: Saudi Arabia shoots down drone approaching embassies: Trump insists ‘US has won’: UN Security Council demands Iran halt attacks

Published: 08:49 AM, 12 Mar, 2026
Featured News, Middle East
Iran's supreme leader vows to avenge war killings, calls for keeping Hormuz Strait closed 
AFP

Iran's new supreme leader vows to avenge war killings. 

In an audio message, Iranian Supreme Leader said that “We must defeat our enemy”. He said that the people showed the world that Iran is a great nation. Iranian Supreme Leader said “without the support of the people, I have no importance.” “Strait of Hormuz will remain closed”, said Mojtaba Khamenei. He also announced revenge for the blood of his martyrs.He said attacks will continue if US bases are not closed. Minab School martyrs will not remain without revenge, Mojtaba Khamenei asserted. 

Iran's new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that his country's forces must keep the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed."The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must definitely be used," Khamenei said of the waterway through which vast amounts of oil and gas are usually shipped, in a statement read on state television.

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei thanked Tehran's allied armed groups across the region including in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday.

"I also express my sincere gratitude to the fighters of the 'Resistance Front'," Khamenei said in a statement read by a news anchor on state television, referring to the Houthis in Yemen, Lebanon's Hezbollah group as well as allied groups in Iraq.

The Mideast war has caused the "largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market", leading Gulf oil producers to slash production, the International Energy Agency said Thursday, as Iran threatened to “abandon all restraints” if its islands were hit.

In its latest report, the IEA said crude oil production was currently down by at least 8.0 million bpd, with an additional 2.0 million related to petroleum products including condensates shut off.

The war has see Iran tighten its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for oil trade, reducing supplies to a trickle.

Iran Guards say targeted Israel and US sites in UAE, Iraq

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday they had targeted Israel as well as US sites in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait. "The gathering place of American forces on Sheikh Zayed Road (Dubai) and the location of American forces at Ahmad Al-Jaber Airport (Kuwait) were targeted," said the Guards' Sepah News website.

"The residence of American marines at Al-Dhafra base (UAE) and the mobile American bases in Iraq, along with the gathering place of Zionist executioners in Tel Aviv have been struck," it added.

Meanwhile, Iran's powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned on Thursday that Tehran will "abandon all restraint" if the United States and Israel attack any of its islands in the Gulf.

"Any aggression against soil of Iranian islands will shatter all restraint. We will abandon all restraint and make the Persian Gulf run with the blood of invaders," said Ghalibaf in a post on X.

It was not immediately clear which islands he was referring to, but a recent Axios report cited US officials as saying that capturing Kharg was on the table as the war in the Middle East spirals.

Iran strikes Marshall Islands-flagged ship

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Thursday they had struck a Marshall Islands-flagged ship, which they claimed was US-owned, in the northern part of the Gulf, bringing the total number of ships hit by attacks to four today.

On their website Sepah News, the Guards said the ship Safesea was "one of the assets of the US terrorist army" and that it "was hit in the northern Gulf after ignoring and not complying with warnings and alerts".

Fallen debris in Dubai, Kuwait airport hit

Dubai reported a drone attack and fallen debris in two locations on Thursday while Kuwait's airport was damaged in yet another strike on the facility during Iran's Gulf campaign in the Middle East war.

Iran has taken aim at US assets and civilian infrastructure around the Gulf in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks that sparked the conflict engulfing the wider region.

The Dubai government's media office reported "a minor incident caused by debris from a successful interception that fell onto the facade of a building on Sheikh Zayed Road".

Earlier, the media office reported "a minor drone incident in the Al Bada'a area".

Both incidents caused no casualties, it said in the statements on X.

An AFP correspondent in downtown Dubai heard explosions and saw clouds of smoke rise above the residential neighbourhood of Al Bada'a, which dissipated shortly after.

Further north in Kuwait, drone strikes caused damage at the international airport, civil aviation said reporting no casualties in attacks. The facility that has come under fire several times since Iran began its bombing campaign.

Italy military base in Iraq attacked

An attack on an Italian base in Iraqi Kurdistan caused damage but no injuries, Italian authorities said Thursday.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani condemned the attack, but the commander of Camp Singara in Erbil said it had not been determined whether a missile or a drone was involved.

The base "is within a compound which includes other bases from other countries, above all Americans," Tajani told the Realpolitik television programme.

"We don't know if it was aimed at the Italians or at the compound in general," he said.

Writing on X early Thursday, he said: "I strongly condemn the attack on the Italian base in Erbil.

"I just spoke with the Italian ambassador to Iraq. Fortunately, all our soldiers are well and safe in the bunker."

Italy has soldiers in Erbil training Kurdistan security forces as part of an international force.

Iran targets Israel military bases, security service

Iran's army said Thursday it had targeted Israeli military bases and the country's security service Shin Bet as the war entered its 13th day.

"The Palmachim and Ovda air bases of the Zionist regime as well as the headquarters of Shin Bet were targeted by drones from the Islamic Republic of Iran's army," the military said in a statement carried by state television.

Oil prices soar past $100

Oil prices soared Thursday and stocks sank as Iran struck three tankers in Iraq and threatened to bring down the global economy, overshadowing a record release of strategic crude by the International Energy Agency.

As the US-Israel strikes on the Islamic republic approached their third week, the conflict showed no signs of letting up with Tehran responding with more retaliatory attacks across the Gulf.

The IEA said Wednesday that its members had agreed to unlock 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves -- their largest release ever -- with 172 million coming from the United States.

However, the move was unable to overcome fears about the choking of energy supplies from the Middle East, with the Strait of Hormuz -- through which a fifth of global crude passes -- effectively shut down.

In a sign that shipping across the region was in danger, two tankers in Iraqi waters were struck, killing one crewmember. Baghdad had already said it was cutting output because of the crisis, with Kuwait and kingpin Saudi Arabia following suit.

Farhan Al-Fartousi, from Iraq's General Company for Ports, told state television that one crew member had been killed and 38 rescued while the "search continues for the missing."

He did not specify the crew members' nationalities or provide details on who was behind the attack, which occurred roughly 50 kilometres from the coast.

The Iraqi government's media cell told national news agency INA that "two tankers were subject to sabotage".

Iraq's oil ministry said in a statement on Thursday it had "deep concern" about incidents involving oil tankers in the Gulf, without providing details.

Another container ship was hit by a "flying object" near the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Meanwhile, Iran said it was ready for a long war of attrition that would "destroy" the world economy, after firing on two commercial ships and threatening any vessels from the United States or its allies.

The Revolutionary Guards warned Wednesday they would strike "economic centres and banks" linked to US and Israeli interests.

The United States and Israel "must consider the possibility that they will be engaged in a long-term war of attrition that will destroy the entire American economy and the world economy", Ali Fadavi, an adviser to the Guards' commander-in-chief, told state television.

Analysts warn that a prolonged disruption to shipping through the strait -- which also carries roughly a third of the fertiliser used in global food production -- would deliver a severe economic shock, particularly in Asia and Europe.

Among those badly hit are airlines, with many having to rethink flights through the Middle East, while the rising cost of fuel hits their bottom line. Air New Zealand said Thursday it would cut 1,100 flights over the next two months.

The surge in oil prices has fanned fresh fears about another spike in inflation and warnings that central banks might have to hike interest rates again, having been contemplating cuts just last month.

That has weighed on equities, which resumed their retreat Thursday. Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Singapore, Taipei, Manila, Jakarta and Shanghai were all down.

Both main crude contracts jumped more than seven percent and back towards $100 Thursday, extending the previous day's four percent spike that broke a brief period of relative calm on markets.

They had rocketed as much as 30 percent Monday to a peak of nearly $120.

"For traders, this is not a contradiction but a familiar pattern," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management, referring to the oil price rise after the IEA move.

"When the geopolitical fire alarm is still ringing around the Strait of Hormuz, dumping barrels from emergency stockpiles is less a solution than a symbolic gesture.

"It might dampen volatility for a few hours but it cannot change the geometry of risk when the world’s most important shipping artery is under threat.

Observers now warn that with no end in sight to the hostilities, the $90-$100 a barrel range could be the new normal for a while.

Still, Trump reiterated his insistence that the strikes had already practically defeated Iran. "They are pretty much at the end of the line," he told reporters in Washington, after delivering a speech to supporters in which he declared: "We've won... we won -- in the first hour it was over."

- Container ship hit near UAE -

The UK maritime agency said Thursday that a projectile struck a container ship near the United Arab Emirates.

"The container ship was struck by (an) unknown projectile causing a small fire onboard," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in a statement, adding the ship's crew had been reported as safe.

Fuel tanks attacked in Bahrain

Bahrain told residents to stay home after an Iranian attack on fuel tanks on Thursday as Tehran carries out a campaign in the Gulf to disrupt global energy markets.

"The blatant Iranian aggression targets fuel tanks at a facility in Muharraq Governorate," Bahrain's Ministry of Interior posted on X.

The ministry told residents in three parts of Muharraq to "remain in their homes, close windows and ventilation openings as precaution against potential effects of smokes from the fire currently being fought."

Saudi Arabia shoots down drone 

Saudi Arabia shot down a drone approaching a district housing foreign embassies, the country's defence ministry said on Thursday.

"An enemy drone was shot down while attempting to approach the embassies district," a defence ministry spokesperson posted on X, after confirming Saudi Arabia had also intercepted a drone in the east of the country.

Kuwait's Ministry of Defence also said on Thursday its air defences had intercepted several drones as Iran carries out strikes on oil-rich Gulf countries, vowing to target global energy markets in response to US-Israeli strikes.

Iran fires wave of missiles at Israel

Israel's military said Thursday multiple waves of Iranian missiles were fired at Israel and that air defences were deployed to intercept them, with Israel announcing "wide-scale" strikes on Tehran and Hezbollah.

Iranian media had reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guards carried out a joint missile operation against Israel with Tehran's Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

Israel said that it was in turn carrying out "wide-scale" strikes on Tehran and a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon's capital.

On two separate occasions Thursday, the Israeli military urged people in affected areas to head to shelters, as it said it "identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel".

"Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the military said on its official Telegram channel both times.

The Israeli military said in a separate post on Telegram that it "struck 10 terror structures in the Dahieh area (of south Beirut) within 30 minutes, including intelligence headquarters, a headquarters of the Radwan unit, and additional command centres."

Sirens sounded across Israel throughout the early hours of Thursday, including in Jerusalem according to AFP correspondents.

Israel army says struck site it claims Iran used for developing nuclear arms

Israel's military said Thursday that it had struck a site in Iran it claimed was being used by the Islamic republic to develop nuclear weapons. "The Israeli Air Force, acting on precise IDF intelligence, struck an additional Iranian nuclear programme site," the military said, claiming the "Taleghan compound was utilised by the regime to advance critical capabilities for developing nuclear weapons".

The Taleghan compound likely refers to a facility in Parchin, southeast of Tehran, where US-based think tank the Institute for Science and International Security, which has been monitoring Iran's nuclear programme, recently claimed the Islamic republic conducts covert military activities.

"The IDF has recently identified that the regime has taken steps to rehabilitate the compound after it was struck in October 2024," the military said.

Lebanon says death toll from Israeli strikes rises to 687

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 687 people since March 2, Lebanon's information minister said on Thursday, as Israel threatened to expand its operations as it fights Hezbollah in the country.

In a statement following a cabinet meeting, Paul Marcos said that "the number of killed reached 687, including 98 children and 52 women".

- Strike on Beirut seafront kills 7 -
The Lebanese health ministry said that seven people were killed and 21 injured in an Israeli strike on the seafront area of Beirut, where some displaced people have been sleeping out in the open, hours after another attack in the heart of the capital.

- Trump says Iran near defeat -
President Donald Trump reiterated his insistence that the United States' crippling strikes had already practically defeated Iran.

"They are pretty much at the end of the line," Trump told reporters in Washington, after delivering a speech to supporters in which he declared: "We've won...We won -- in the first hour it was over."

- Iran says launched joint attack with Hezbollah -
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had carried out a joint missile operation with Lebanese ally Hezbollah against targets in Israel.

The statement came after Hezbollah said it had launched dozens of rockets and advanced missiles at northern Israel.

- US war costs hit $11.3b in 6 days -
The opening week of the war against Iran cost the United States military more than $11.3 billion, lawmakers were told in a Pentagon briefing, according to a New York Times report.

- Israel conducts drone strikes in Tehran -
Israeli drone strikes killed several members of the Iranian security forces stationed at checkpoints in Tehran, the Fars news agency said, in the first such attacks since the outbreak of the war.

- UN Security Council demands Iran halt attacks -
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for Iran to halt its attacks on Gulf states, while not mentioning the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

The vote was 13-0, with veto-wielding China and Russia both abstaining.

- Top Iran advisor calls Trump 'Satan'
Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior military adviser to Iran's Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, lashed out at US President Donald Trump in remarks on state television and reiterated threats to eradicate Israel.

"Trump is the most corrupt and stupid American president," he said. "He is Satan himself."

- Lebanon toll rises above 630 -
Lebanon said the death toll in 10 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah during the Middle East war was above 630 people, while more than 800,000 have registered as displaced.

- No confirmation of mines in Hormuz: Macron -
French President Emmanuel Macron said he had "no confirmation" Iran was laying sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, following reports Tehran was mining the key waterway virtually closed by the war.

He added that Iran's military capabilities had been weakened but not "reduced to zero" in US and Israeli strikes.

- Citi, Deloitte, PwC clear offices in Gulf -
Several major international businesses closed or evacuated offices in Gulf countries after Iran threatened US- and Israel-linked economic targets and centres in the Middle East.

US finance group Citi and British consultancy Deloitte evacuated offices in Dubai's financial centre, while PwC, another British consultancy, closed offices in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait.

- Drones hit Oman port fuel tanks -
Drones struck fuel tanks at Oman's Salalah port, state media reported, as Iran continues to target Gulf infrastructure. No casualties were reported.

- Targeting mistake led to US strike on school -
The United States was responsible for a Tomahawk missile strike on an Iranian school because of a targeting mistake, The New York Times reported, citing US officials.

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