Iran war updates: IEA to release oil reserves; ships hit in Hormuz Strait

This live page is now closed.

You can continue to follow all our coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran here.

• US President Donald Trump has claimed that the US military “knocked out” Iran’s leadership “twice”, without giving further details, and destroyed the Iranian navy.
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran remains committed to regional peace but insists the war can only end if its “legitimate rights” are recognised.
• A spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said major attacks against US military bases in the Middle East would continue.
• The UN Security Council has voted in favour of a resolution sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council demanding that Iran stop its attacks against Gulf nations.
• Israel continues to launch powerful air strikes on Beirut and across Lebanon, as over 800,000 people are displaced by the conflict.
• Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia said they intercepted incoming projectiles.
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released strategic oil reserves in an attempt to counter soaring global energy prices.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian had phone calls with Russian and Pakistani leaders yesterday and today, and he hinted that Iran may be ready to return to negotiations.

But that’s under three conditions: Iran’s sovereign rights; reparations for the destruction caused in the country; and guarantees that such an aggression is not repeated.

Iran is waiting for a response from the other side, but they have said many times that they have no trust in them.

The Lebanese group says that it attacked the town of Shtula in northern Israel.

It said that the attacks were in response to Israel’s strikes on Lebanon, especially those on the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Israel earlier unleashed a heavy wave of strikes on the Lebanese capital, which our correspondents say rivaled any since the escalation of hostilities on March 2.

Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry has reported that at least eight people have been killed in an Israeli attack on the town of Shaath in the Baalbek district, the NNA news agency is reporting.

Three people were also wounded in the attack.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has said officials in Qatar are working hard to ensure that life for citizens and residents continues as normal despite attacks from Iran.

Sheikh Mohammed noted that Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has called on officials to “work diligently to ensure that the normal course of life for citizens and residents remains uninterrupted”.

The prime minister also noted the “importance of perseverance”, adding that, while “Qatar has faced many difficult challenges in recent years”, that “each time”, the country has “emerged stronger”.

Lebanon’s National News Agency is reporting that Israeli air raids on Beirut’s southern suburbs have wounded at least 17 people, according to figures collected by the country’s Ministry of Public Health.

Two foreign tankers carrying Iraqi fuel oil have been subjected to unidentified attacks within Iraqi territorial waters, causing both vessels to catch fire.

According to an Iraqi port official speaking to the Reuters news agency, authorities have successfully evacuated 25 crew members from the two ships. Despite these efforts, the fires have remained ablaze on both vessels.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has commended both Qatari citizens and residents for their unity during “repeated attacks from Iran”.

“I cannot fail to express my pride, as a Qatari, in the cohesion of our society and the unity of its ranks, citizens and residents alike”, Sheikh Mohammed told a meeting of Qatar’s cabinet on Wednesday.

“We meet today as our region is going through grave circumstances due to the ongoing military escalation that has affected the region and has also targeted the State of Qatar with repeated attacks from Iran,” the prime minister said.

“Regrettably”, Sheikh Mohammed noted, Iran’s attacks “have not been limited to military targets alone, but have also struck civilian sites, showing little regard for the harm inflicted upon Qatar and the resources of its people.”

Sheikh Mohammed also commended the Qatari armed forces and security agencies “for their tireless efforts in protecting our country and its people working day and night to ensure the safety and security we enjoy.”

Iran has fired missiles and drones at countries across the Gulf region, with explosions reported in the Qatari capital, Doha on Wednesday as the country’s military said it had intercepted a new Iranian missile attack.

UAE air defence systems have successfully dealt with a new wave of Iranian projectiles, intercepting six ballistic missiles, seven cruise missiles, and 39 drones launched from Iran on March 11, the country’s defence ministry says in a statement.

Since the beginning of the “brazen Iranian aggression”, UAE air defences have neutralised a total of 268 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,514 drones, it added.

The ministry said these repeated attacks have resulted in the deaths of six individuals of Emirati, Pakistani, Nepalese, and Bangladeshi nationalities, and wounded 131 others.

Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has received a telephone call from the president of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to address the current situation in Qatar and the region.

During the call, President Erdogan inquired about the situation in Qatar, considering recent developments following continued Iranian aggression. He has reaffirmed his country’s solidarity and full support for all measures Qatar takes to maintain its sovereignty, security and stability, according to a statement.

The two leaders have also discussed the latest regional developments amid ongoing Iranian aggression against Qatar and several countries in the region. They have noted the significant threat this poses to regional security.

The leaders of ⁠the ⁠G7 group of nations – the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, ⁠Britain, Germany and France – have agreed to examine the option ⁠of providing escort for ships so they can navigate freely in the Gulf, says a statement ‌from the G7 presidency.

The statement was issued after French President Emmanuel Macron had convened a call with G7 leaders to discuss ⁠the US-Israeli war on ⁠Iran and its impact on rising energy prices.

“In this regard, a working ⁠group has been set up ⁠to explore the possibility of ⁠escorting ships when the right security conditions are in place, and this ‌will also come along with approaches made to shipping companies, transport ‌companies ‌and insurers,” said the statement.

Three drones were intercepted and destroyed over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, the country’s Defence Ministry has said.