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Oil rose above $100 again as six ships attacked in just two days in Persian Gulf

The Middle East conflict is escalating on multiple fronts with Iran launching new attacks on global energy supplies and neighbors as Israeli warplanes pummel Beirut

Updated 4:07 AM EDT, Thu March 12, 2026

begin quote from CNN:

Fuel depot on fire in Bahrain following Iranian attack

00:23

Here's the latest

• Tankers ablaze: Iran has ramped up retaliatory attacks on energy supplies with strikes on two foreign oil tankers in Iraqi waters. The UK’s maritime agency said another vessel in the Persian Gulf was struck, the sixth in the last two days.

• Oil topped $100 (again): Oil climbed above $100 overnight. The jump came despite the International Energy Agency agreeing to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from reserves into the global market.

• Claiming victory: US President Donald Trump has been repeating his claim that the US has won the war, even as the conflict widens. “It’s just a question of when, when do we stop?” he said.

• Girls’ school bombing: The US military accidentally struck an Iranian elementary school on February 28 likely due to outdated information about a nearby naval base, according to two sources. The attack killed at least 168 children and 14 teachers, according to Iran’s state media.

21 Posts

8 min ago

Israeli couple narrowly escape as Iranian strike damages home

By Laura Sharman and Eugenia Yosef

Reuters

An Iranian missile strike badly damaged a home in central Israel overnight into Thursday, blowing out walls, leaving furniture overturned and smashing a bedroom mirror, Reuters video showed.

The missile struck the property in Haniel just after 2:30 a.m. local time, in what fire and rescue services called a “direct hit.”

Homeowner Sigal Kolber, and her husband Dani, narrowly escaped the blast after initially sheltering in a safe room and then fleeing once the house filled with smoke.

“There was an explosion - a huge boom. The door of the safe room really shook,” Sigal told Reuters, recalling how she turned to her husband and said something wasn’t right when she felt “dust, like smoke” in the air.

“One of the neighbors was banging hysterically on the door ‘you have a fire in the house, you have to get out quickly. Quickly, get out of the house.’ And that’s it, we simply ran.”

Video shows Israeli security officers assessing the damage, including an inspection of the attic, while emergency responders secure the scene.

The strike also left a deep crater in the ground and brought down a tree, according to Reuters.

Sirens sounded later in the Jerusalem district, where falling debris from an interception caused a fire in an open field, Israel Fire and Rescue Service said shortly before 10 a.m. No casualties were reported.

34 min ago

CENTCOM releases video showing strikes on Iranian military aircraft

By Isaac Yee

CENTCOM/X

Video released by US Central Command and geolocated by CNN shows US strikes on three Iranian military aircraft at an airfield in Kerman, southeastern Iran.

The three aircraft appeared to include two American-made planes, a C-130 and a P-3 surveillance plane, as well as a Russian-made Il-76 cargo plane.

In the footage, each aircraft is struck at least once before the video zooms out to show all three burning on the airfield.

In a post on X, CENTCOM stated “The Iranian regime is losing air capability day by day. US forces aren’t just defending against Iranian threats, we are methodically dismantling them.”

For context: Iran’s Air Force does have a number of aging American-made aircraft in its fleet that were acquired before the Islamic revolution in 1979, before the two countries cut ties. Years of US-led sanctions have severely hampered Iran’s ability to maintain a fully operational air force.

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21 min ago

WFH, 4-day week and school closures: Asia scrambles as energy prices soar

By Kristie Lu Stout

A man loads LPG cylinders onto a cart at a warehouse amid supply disruptions following the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Mumbai, India, on March 11, 2026.

Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

Asia is not taking any chances.

The region sources a whopping 60% of its oil from the Middle East. So as the price of energy soars, it’s taking action.

In Bangladesh, there are long lines at the pump as authorities limit supplies. Even universities have been closed to save energy.

India has invoked emergency powers to divert liquefied petroleum gas away from industrial users and toward households.

Pakistan has ordered a range of austerity measures – from closing schools to shifting services online.

Meanwhile, South Korea is imposing a fuel price cap for the first time in 30 years, as it seeks alternative sources of energy beyond the Strait of Hormuz.

Taking the long view, China is accelerating cuts in carbon intensity over the next five years as it maintains its focus on renewable energy.

Elsewhere, Vietnam is calling on companies to encourage remote working.

Thailand has ordered government workers to save energy by suspending overseas trips and working from home.

The Philippines is urging personnel to hold virtual meetings instead. This comes after it rolled out a temporary four-day workweek for some government offices, with air-conditioning set no lower than 24°C (or 75°F).

The United Nations is warning that if disruptions drag on, food and fertilizer prices will skyrocket and hit vulnerable economies in the region especially hard.