No relief from high prices despite deal to release historic amount of petroleum reserves
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Iran earlier said it had launched its “most intense operation since the beginning of the war.”
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What we know
- OIL PRICES STILL HIGH: The International Energy Agency said today that member countries have unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves in a bid to ease prices. The Energy Department said the United States would contribute 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve starting next week. The moves failed to drive down the price of Brent crude oil, which is back over $100 a barrel.
- IRAN'S 'MOST INTENSE OPERATION': Iran has launched its “most intense operation since the beginning of the war,” state media reported, firing some of its most advanced ballistic missiles toward Tel Aviv and Haifa in Israel.
- SHIPS ATTACKED: At least three ships were attacked this morning near the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that 20% of the world’s oil passes through, according to a British monitoring agency.
- MINELAYERS ELIMINATED: U.S. Central Command said it had “eliminated” 16 Iranian minelayers, along with multiple naval vessels, near the Strait of Hormuz.
- DEATH TOLL: Hundreds of people have been killed across the Middle East. In Iran, more than 1,200 people have been killed by Israeli and American strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, while 13 have died in Israel and six in the United Arab Emirates as Iran fired back. In Lebanon, the prime minister's office said, Israeli strikes had killed 570 people.
- INSIGHTS AND ANALYSIS: Get exclusive analysis and insight into the Middle East conflict by becoming an NBC News subscriber.
Trump tries to navigate Iran war and rising gas prices at first rally since strikes began
President Donald Trump speaks Wednesday at Verst Logistics in Hebron, Ky. Jim Watson / AFP - Getty Images
President Donald Trump delivered a mixed message about the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran today in his first remarks at a political rally since strikes began less than two weeks ago.
“You know, you never want to say too early you won,” Trump told supporters at a packaging plant in Hebron, Kentucky. “We won. The first hour, it was over.”
But moments later, he suggested that the U.S. mission is not complete, a characterization underscored by the ongoing use of American force in Iran.
“We don’t want to leave early, do we?” he asked rhetorically. “We’ve got to finish the job.”
Ophir Falk, chief foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, details what Israel’s objectives are in the war with Iran. Falk also explained what Netanyahu meant when he called on Iranians to “rise up.”
2 hurt in Kuwait in drone strike on residential building, military says
A spokesperson for Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said two people were injured after “an enemy drone targeted a residential building” in the country.
The spokesperson, Col. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan, said in a statement that the drone struck the building in the southern part of Kuwait on Thursday morning local time.
“The injured are currently receiving the necessary medical treatment,” he said.
Iran has attacked targets inside Kuwait and other countries with missiles and drones after the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes against it on Feb. 28.
Six of the seven U.S. service members who have been killed in the war died after a drone attack that hit Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, the Defense Department has said. The other service member died in an attack at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, it said.
Container ship hit by projectile near Dubai, British military says
A projectile hit a container ship near the southern outskirts of Dubai, the British military said today.
The strike took place north of Jebel Ali, a large commercial and business hub in the United Arab Emirates.
“The container ship was struck by [an] unknown projectile causing a small fire onboard,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said in a statement on X, adding that all crew members were safe.
It said authorities are investigating.
Brent crude oil is back above $100 a barrel
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, topped $100 early Thursday, just days after it spiked near $120 in the latest jolts to financial markets and the global economy as a whole.
Oil prices shot more than 9% higher as supply concerns worsened with Iranian attacks on commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. benchmark crude oil jumped to about $95 a barrel.
The latest attacks marked an escalation in Iran’s campaign aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the U.S. and Israel to end the war, which started 12 days ago. There were no signs that the conflict was subsiding.
Trump’s war on Iran creates an economic storm for consumers and the Fed
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in Washington in January. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images
Inflation held steady in February — but the latest reading offers little clarity for Federal Reserve officials, who are navigating an increasingly complicated economic landscape.
Consumer prices rose 2.4% from a year earlier, according to new government data released today, a figure that suggests inflation has been gradually cooling toward the Fed’s 2% target.
But now, a surge in oil prices tied to the war in Iran threatens to undo that progress, and it could keep the central bank in a holding pattern when it comes to interest rates. The Fed’s policy-setting committee will make its next interest rate decision in a week.
A hospital in central Beirut is treating children who have been wounded by Israeli strikes. Some of the families and doctors in the hospital describe the impact of the war.
Trump says U.S. 'could do a lot worse' in Iran
Trump said outside the White House that the U.S. "could do a lot worse" in Iran after he was asked what he has to do militarily for the operation to end.
"More of the same, and we’ll see how that all comes out. Right now, they are — they’ve lost their navy, they’ve lost their air force. They have no anti-aircraft apparatus at all. They have no radar. Their leaders are gone," he said.
"And we could do a lot worse," he continued. "We’re leaving certain things that if we take them out, we could take them out by this afternoon. In fact, within an hour, they literally would never be able to build that country back."
Iran appears to have conducted a significant cyberattack against a U.S. company, a first since the war started
Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on Saturday. Sasan / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images
An Iran-linked hacker group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on a medical tech company in what appears to be the first significant instance of Iran's hacking an American company since the war started.
The company, Stryker, which is headquartered in Michigan, produces a range of medical equipment and technology.
A Stryker employee, who requested to not be identified because they are not authorized to speak for the company, said that employee’s work issued phones stopped working, grinding work and communications with colleagues to a standstill.
Attack on 2 vessels in Iraqi waters came from 'unknown projectile,' U.K. says
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center confirmed Iraq’s report that two oil tankers were attacked in Iraqi territorial waters.
The British agency received a report of an incident 5 nautical miles south of Al Basrah in Iraq. It said a third party reported that an unknown projectile struck the tankers.
The company security officer of one of the affected vessels confirmed the attack caused a fire and reported that the crew was evacuated and safe, the maritime center said. In an update, the UKMTO said the second vessel also caught fire after being struck and that its crew members were similarly evacuated.
"No environmental impact has been reported at this time," it said. "Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO."
IDF says it struck 10 alleged Hezbollah structures in southern Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces said it launched a “wide-scale wave of strikes” targeting Hezbollah infrastructure, which it said dismantled dozens of launchers and “neutralized” dozens of Hezbollah operatives.
The IDF said it also struck 10 “terror structures” in the Dahieh area, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, within 30 minutes. Those strikes hit intelligence headquarters, a headquarters of the Radwan unit and additional command centers, the IDF said.
The Israeli air force, guided by ground troops, also struck more than 20 targets, the IDF said. It said it is targeting Hezbollah in response to its decision to “deliberately attack Israel on behalf of the Iranian regime.”
The war in the Middle East has displaced more that 750,000 people in Lebanon, a majority of them coming from the country's south, considered a stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah. The Israeli military has enforced sweeping evacuation orders there while launching strikes.
Iraq says 1 killed, 38 rescued in attack on two oil tankers
One person was killed and 38 other people were rescued following an attack on two oil tankers in Iraqi territorial waters, Iraqi state media outlet INA reported, citing Lt. Gen. Saad Maan, the head of the nation’s security media cell.
Six ships were deployed to rescue the crews from what Maan called a “cowardly act of sabotage.”
He said that the attack violated Iraqi sovereignty and that the government is "making every effort to avoid becoming a party to the conflict."
Iran targeted fuel tanks in Bahrain, Interior Ministry says
Iran has targeted fuel tanks at a facility in Muharraq governorate, one of Bahrain’s four administrative regions, the kingdom's Interior Ministry wrote on X today.
“The competent authorities are taking the required procedures,” the ministry said.
Law enforcement sources: No credible threat of Iran attack in U.S.
An FBI bulletin issued to police departments in California that warned Iran could launch drones off vessels in the ocean was sent out only for awareness, a federal law enforcement source said.
The source said that the FBI has an obligation to share any intelligence it receives with local, state and federal partners but that this bulletin was sent out for precautionary reasons only.
ABC News first reported the bulletin.
The unverified intelligence that Iran aspired to launch unmanned aerial vehicles off vessels in the ocean was received in early February, well before the war in Iran had begun. It was not sent in reaction to any specific action in the last several weeks. The source said that there is no credible evidence of an imminent attack and that no recent intelligence suggests any kind of attack of that nature.
Multiple law enforcement sources told NBC News there are no specific threats to the country and that information shared with federal, state and local law enforcement partners who make up the various joint terrorism task forces around California and perhaps other parts of the country got “raw intel” that lacks credibility.
Iran tells U.N. more than 1,348 civilians killed in war
Iran’s representative to the U.N., Amir Saeid Iravani, told the Security Council today that more than 1,348 civilians have been killed in the country since the war began Feb. 28.
Iravani called the U.S. and Israeli attacks a violation of international law and the U.N. charter. He said the actions were an “illegal, illegitimate and unprovoked war.”
U.S. will release 172 million barrels of oil from reserve
The U.S. will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in a bid to try to lower oil prices, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.
The International Energy Agency, of which the U.S. is a part and a founding member, said all 32 member states agreed to release a combined 400 million barrels of oil.
“President Trump authorized the Department of Energy to release 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, beginning next week,” Wright said in a statement.
“This will take approximately 120 days to deliver based on planned discharge rates,” he said.
The International Energy Agency said the release is designed to address disruptions in oil markets from the war with Iran. The war and its disruptions have increased gas prices at pumps in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Pentagon officials put price tag of first six days of war at $11.3B
Pentagon officials told senators at a closed-door briefing yesterday that they believe the first six days of the war in Iran were estimated to have cost more than $11.3 billion, according to three sources familiar with the briefing.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said he believes the number will eventually be higher. “I expect that the current total operating number is significantly above that," he said.
A US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber on the tarmac at RAF Fairford in southwest England on Wednesday. Henry Nicholls / AFP via Getty Images
The estimate does not include every aspect of the war, and Coons said, “If all you’re looking at is the replacement cost for the munitions used, it’s already well beyond $10 billion.”
The briefing, which was given to the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense, was first reported by The New York Times.
The Trump administration is determining how much it will request in a supplemental funding bill to help cover the cost of the war. The defense appropriations subcommittee will be instrumental in crafting the legislation.
Iran says it carried out joint operation with Hezbollah against neighbors
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched a joint operation with Lebanon's Hezbollah against targets in Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
In a statement to Nour News, the Revolutionary Guard said the attack involved launching missiles against Tel Aviv, the "occupied territories of Jerusalem, Haifa" and U.S. bases in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Hezbollah has long been Iran's most powerful regional proxy, although it has been weakened in recent years.
U.N. Security Council condemns Iranian attacks
The U.N. Security Council voted 13-0 to pass a resolution condemning Iran’s attacks on Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and other countries in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes.
Russia and China abstained. The resolution was presented by Bahrain, and 135 U.N. member states co-sponsored the draft.
“These attacks were so brutal and so indiscriminate, as Iran shoots in all directions, that nations that previously had serious disagreements have now joined together,” the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, told the Security Council. “They’ve now spoken as one voice.”
Iran's ambassador to the U.N., Amir Saeid Iravani, criticized the resolution and said the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28 in violation of international law.
"The very purpose of this biased and politically motivated text, which was pushed by Israeli regime and the United States, is clear: to reverse the rules and position of victims and aggressors," he said. "It rewards the regimes of the United States and Israel, which have violated the U.N. charter and committed acts of aggression."
Waltz said the Gulf Cooperation Council, which is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, was united on the resolution.
UAE says its air defenses have engaged 283 missiles and 1,514 drones since war started
The United Arab Emirates today said its country's air defenses have engaged 268 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,514 drones since the start of the Iran war.
The attacks have resulted in six deaths and 131 minor to moderate injuries, the Defense Ministry said on X.
Trump says U.S. will tap Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Trump said the U.S. would tap into its emergency stockpile of petroleum to ease gas prices that have shot up during the war.
WKRC-TV of Cincinnati asked Trump about an International Energy Agency pledge of members to release oil reserves and about the United States' own strategic reserves.
An oil pump jack in Corpus Christi, Texas last month. Eddie Seal / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
“Well, we’ll do that and then we’ll fill it up,” Trump told the station during a visit to a Cincinnati pharmaceutical facility. “I filled it up once, and I’ll fill it up again. But right now, we’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down.”
Earlier, the International Energy Agency, of which the U.S. is a part, said its 32 member countries had agreed to make 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves available to oil markets.
Gas prices have risen in the U.S. and elsewhere because of disruptions to oil markets in the war.
In an interview with CNBC today, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said that the International Energy Agency’s move “is reasonable on their part” but that any decision on whether the U.S. would participate would be up to Trump.
“He’ll make the final decision on that,” Burgum said.
Fuel silos burn in Oman port after apparent drone strike
Silos on fire in Oman's Salalah port today. via Reuters
Oman television reported that drones struck the fuel tanks. Authorities are working to contain the blaze.
Bahrain alarm siren activated; citizens told to head to nearest safe location
Sirens have sounded in Bahrain, warning citizens to head to the nearest safe location, Bahrain's Interior Ministry said in a post on X. Officials urged people to remain calm.
U.S. military is using AI to help plan Iran air attacks, sources say
As the U.S. military expands its use of AI tools to pinpoint targets for airstrikes in Iran, members of Congress are calling for guardrails and greater oversight of the technology’s use in war.
Two people with knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, confirmed the military is using AI systems from the data analytics company Palantir to identify potential targets in the attacks.
Palantir’s software relies in part on Anthropic’s Claude AI systems. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth aims to put artificial intelligence at the heart of America’s combat operations — and he has clashed with Anthropic leadership over limitations on the use of AI.
As AI assumes a wider role on the battlefield, lawmakers are demanding greater focus on the protections that should govern its use and increased transparency about how much control is ceded to the technology.
“We need a full, impartial review to determine if AI has already harmed or jeopardized lives in the war with Iran,” Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, a member of the Armed Services Committee, told NBC News.
The flight deck of the USS Gerald R. Ford, operating in support of Operation Epic Fury in the Mediterranean Sea, last week. U.S. Navy / Getty Images
U.S. cuts back on charter flights for Americans trying to leave Mideast
The State Department is cutting back charter flight options for Americans looking to leave the Middle East, pointing to a sharp drop-off in demand.
“While commercial flight availability across the region continues to improve, Department of State charter flights and ground transport operations will scale down as seats available on the Department’s charter options are significantly greater than the demand from Americans in the region,” Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson said in a statement today.
Nearly 9,000 U.S. citizens in the United Arab Emirates were contacted by the State Department today and offered spots on the government-chartered flights, but they still departed with empty seats “due to a lack of demand,” Johnson said.
Two days into the Iran war, the State Department advised U.S. citizens in 14 countries in the Middle East to leave the region immediately even as widespread airspace closures and limited commercial options made it difficult to leave.
Thousands of Americans were stranded in the region for days as Iran retaliated against U.S.-Israeli strikes through drone attacks on U.S. interests throughout the Gulf and the wider region.
In total, a 24/7 State Department task force has been in touch with more than 30,000 Americans to provide security guidance or travel assistance, including charter buses to countries where commercial flights were still available. Over 43,000 American citizens have safely returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since Feb. 28, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a majority of them through commercial travel and without U.S. assistance.
Trump says U.S. hit 28 Iranian ships able to lay mines
The U.S. has hit 28 Iranian ships that are able to lay mines as part of the war, Trump said this afternoon.
"They have drones all over the place — we got many. Now we're knocking out the drone plants, as you know, going fast. They started talking about mines, so we hit 28 mine ships as of this moment," Trump told reporters before he toured a science research and pharmaceutical plant in Ohio.
"We did a little excursion. We had to take this little couple of weeks, few weeks of excursion, but it's been incredible. Our military is unbelievable, the job they're doing. I would say, to put it mildly, way ahead of schedule," he added.
Trump spoke after U.S. Central Command said it had eliminated 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's president sets conditions for ending the war
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the only way to end the war is by "recognizing Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm [international] guarantees against future aggression."
"Talking to leaders of Russia and Pakistan, I reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to peace in the region," he said on X.
Meanwhile, according to Reuters, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said it is "prepared to continue the war with Iran as long as necessary."
Trump says oil companies should use the Strait of Hormuz
Trump told reporters outside the White House that oil companies should take advantage of the Strait of Hormuz.
Asked if he was speaking to the CEOs of major oil companies and encouraging them to use the waterway, the president said, "I think they should use it. Look, we took out just about all of their mine ships in one night."
"Just about all of their navy is gone, at the bottom of the sea," Trump added about Iran.
White House reacts to Joe Rogan saying supporters feel 'betrayed' over Iran
The White House today responded to Joe Rogan saying supporters of President Donald Trump feel “betrayed” by his decision to strike Iran.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told NBC News in a statement that the president “is courageously protecting the United States from the deadly threat posed by the rogue Iranian regime — and that is as America First as it gets.”
“The entire administration is working together to end Iran’s ability to possess a nuclear weapon, use or develop ballistic missiles, arm proxies, or use its now-defeated navy,” Kelly said.
During a podcast episode yesterday, Rogan told conservative author and writer Michael Shellenberger that the president’s move against Iran “seems so insane based on what he ran on.”
“I mean, this is why a lot of people feel betrayed, right? He ran on no more wars and these stupid, senseless wars, and then we have one that we can’t even really clearly define why we did it,” he said.
More than 750,000 people displaced in Lebanon
A humanitarian crisis is looming in Lebanon, where more than 750,000 people have been displaced in the 12 days since the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran and its proxies in the Middle East, figures released by the Lebanese government show.
A displaced family shelters at the Bir Hassan Technical Institute in Beirut today. Bilal Hussein / AP
The pace of displacement was “unprecedented,” Imran Riza, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, told Reuters on Tuesday. More than 100,000 people were registered as displaced between Monday and Tuesday alone, the data showed.
The majority come from Lebanon’s south, where the Israeli military has enforced sweeping evacuation orders while launching multiple strikes on the region, a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah. The U.S. military has not struck Lebanon.
Oil reserves decision fails to drive down prices
U.S. crude oil prices briefly fell to lows on the day on news that International Energy Agency member countries had unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves, but soon climbed higher, passing $88 per barrel around midday.
U.S. tells Iranian civilians to avoid ports used by military
The U.S. military has warned Iranian civilians to not use ports along the Strait of Hormuz.
“Civilian ports used for military purposes lose protected status and become legitimate military targets under international law,” CENTCOM said in a news release today.
“Iranian naval forces positioned military vessels and equipment within civilian ports serving commercial maritime traffic,” the statement said, adding that American forces would continue “taking every feasible precaution to minimize harm to civilians.”
'Preserve your lives': IDF tells villagers in southern Lebanon to leave
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces today warned people in six villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate.
“Hezbollah’s activities are forcing the IDF to act against it. The IDF does not intend to harm you,” the spokesperson wrote on X. “For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately.”
The villages include Yatar, Qalila (Tyre), Kfar (Bint Jbeil), Jabal al-Batoum, Majdal Zoun, and Haniyeh (Tyre).
“Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities, and their combat means is endangering their life. Any home used by Hezbollah for military purposes will be subject to targeting,” the IDF said.
The message added that to “preserve your lives,” residents should leave their homes immediately and travel north of the Litani River, a key boundary during Lebanese and Israeli conflicts that has been used as a buffer to protect residents of northern Israel.
Fire erupts in a building targeted by an Israeli airstrike today in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre. Kawnat Haju / AFP - Getty Images
U.S. says it has struck over 5,000 targets in Iran
CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said the U.S. has struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, including more than 60 ships, using a "variety of precision weapons."
"U.S. combat power is building. Iranian combat power is declining," Cooper said in a video update today. "And we remain centered on very clear military objectives in eliminating Iran’s ability to project power against Americans and against its neighbors."
Cooper said yesterday there were "strike ways nearly every hour from different locations and directions going into Iran." Four ships were "taken out," he said.
"Since the first 24 hours of this campaign, Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks have dropped drastically," he said, adding that Iran's forces were launching attacks on civilians in Gulf countries from "highly populated" Iranian cities.
Iranian media air images of funeral for commanders killed on first day of war
Iranian state media are airing footage from what they say is a public funeral for senior military commanders killed on Feb. 28, the first day of the U.S.-Israeli operation in Iran.
Iranians attend the funeral at Enghelab Square in Tehran today for senior military commanders killed in the early days of the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images
Semiofficial news agency Tasnim said the bodies were transported to Enghelab Square in central Tehran for the ceremony as it showed crowds gathering while carrying state flags.
It came as the Israeli military announced “a wide-scale wave” of strikes across Iran.
A casket driven through Enghelab Square as part of the service in Tehran today. Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images
An Iranian man holds a poster depicting Iran's slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, top, during the senior military commanders' funeral service today. Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images
U.N. Security Council to hold emergency meeting on fighting in Lebanon
The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting this morning on the escalating violence in Lebanon, where hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by Israeli strikes.
The Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon came in response to attacks on its territory by Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group and political party, which started launching rockets and drones on March 1 in retaliation for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.
The fighting comes just 15 months after the last Israel-Hezbollah war ended in November 2024 with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, though Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon have continued. The government of Lebanon said after Hezbollah’s recent attacks on Israel that it was banning the group’s military activity, which has also met with backlash from the public.
The U.N. meeting was called by France, which called on Hezbollah to “end its operations and hand over its weapons” and urged Israel to “refrain from any land-based or long-term interventions in Lebanon.”
Mike Waltz, U.S. ambassador to the UN and president of the Security Council for the month of March, speaks at U.N. headquarters today. Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images
IEA makes available 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves
The International Energy Agency says that member countries have unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves in a bid to ease prices that are soaring due to the Iran war.
“The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale, therefore I am very glad that IEA Member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a news release.
He added: “Oil markets are global so the response to major disruptions needs to be global too. Energy security is the founding mandate of the IEA, and I am pleased that IEA Members are showing strong solidarity in taking decisive action together.”
The IEA has 32 members, mostly developed economies.
The agency did not set out a definitive timeline for when the release — the largest ever by IEA nations — would begin. “The IEA Secretariat will provide further details of how this collective action will be implemented in due course,” a statement said.
IEA members hold emergency stockpiles of over 1.2 billion barrels, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation, the news release said.
Iran cannot participate in World Cup, country’s sports minister says
Iran cannot participate in the FIFA World Cup after its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes, the country’s sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, said.
“Given that this government has assassinated our leader, we cannot participate in the World Cup. Our players do not have security,” he said. “Certainly, we do not have the possibility of such participation.”
The U.S. will co-host the World Cup with Mexico and Canada, which runs from June 11 to July 19.
Iranian players Omid Norafkan, left, and Saman Ghoddos after a match against Uzbekistan in Tehran in 2025. AFP via Getty Images
According to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, President Donald Trump had said that the Iranian team was welcome to compete in the U.S.
Infantino said in a post on Instagram that the World Cup was needed “to bring people together now more than ever.”
Ships attacked near Strait of Hormuz ignored warnings, Iran says
Two ships ignored warnings before they were attacked today near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said in a statement on Telegram.
One of the ships was flying the Liberian flag when it was struck by Iranian projectiles. The Guard said it was “insisting illegally on passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” which Iran has sought to close to all shipping traffic.
“American aggressors and their partners have no right of passage,” it added.
U.S. and Israeli banks will be targeted in the Middle East, Iran warns
Civilians in the Middle East should stay at least half a mile away from banks and economic centers belonging to the U.S. and Israel, Iran's armed forces warned this morning.
The measure was in response to the U.S. and Israel targeting one of Iran’s banks last night, Iranian state-affiliated news outlet Nour News reported, citing a spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the unified combatant command of the Iranian armed forces.
They did not say which banks or economic centers are in the crosshairs.
North Korea supports Iran’s choice of new supreme leader, state media says
North Korea denounced the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and expressed support for the country’s choice of new supreme leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial strikes.
The U.S. and Israel “are destroying the regional peace and security foundations and escalating instability worldwide by mounting illegal military attack on Iran,” a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said yesterday, according to a report today by state news agency KCNA.
Regarding the election of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as Iran’s new supreme leader, the spokesperson said, “we respect the rights and choice of the Iranian people to elect their supreme leader.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the sea trials of the Choe Hyon warship March 3. KCNA / AFP via Getty Images
State media also reported today that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his teenage daughter had observed tests of strategic cruise missiles fired from a warship, in what experts said might be a show of force in anticipation of a possible meeting with Trump.
“The core message North Korea is sending to the United States is not one of conciliatory management but rather a demonstration that it has already surpassed the limits of what the United States can control,” said Lim Eul Chul, a professor at the Institute for Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul, South Korea.
Iranian soccer team leaves Australia, with seven women staying behind
Seven women from the Iranian national soccer team remain in Australia, an Australian government official said Wednesday, as the rest of their team journeys back to a country at the center of a widening conflict in the Middle East.
They had arrived to play in the Asian Women’s Cup before the United States and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, and were knocked out of the tournament over the weekend.
Members of Iran's women's soccer team arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport today. Arif Kartono / AFP via Getty Images
Six of the women have accepted humanitarian visas that will allow them to stay in Australia permanently, while the seventh has decided to return to Iran after all, said Tony Burke, Australia’s home affairs minister.
“In Australia, people are able to change their mind, people are able to travel and so we respect the context in which she has made that decision,” Burke told lawmakers in Canberra.
Trump says Iran is 'welcome' at the World Cup, according to FIFA president
Trump has said that the Iranian men's soccer team is “welcome to compete” in this summer’s World Cup, according to the president of FIFA, the sport’s global governing body.
Gianni Infantino said he had met with Trump to discuss preparations for the event, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
“President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino wrote in an Instagram post. “We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support.”
Iran has cast doubt on its participation, particularly after Australia granted six humanitarian visas to members of the Iranian women’s team who expressed concern about returning home this week from a tournament Australia was hosting.
“Considering the problems created for female footballers, if the outlook for the World Cup is like this, no reasonable person would agree to be sent to the U.S.,” Mehdi Taj, the head of Iran’s soccer federation, was quoted as saying by state media.
Ukrainian drone experts heading to Gulf, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a team of Ukrainian drone experts is on its way to the Middle East “where they can help protect lives.”
Those seeking Ukraine’s help must continue to assist in Kyiv’s own defense — first and foremost, with air defense, Zelenskyy said in a post on X last night.
He said: “Ukraine has the greatest experience in the world in countering attack drones, and without our experience it will be very difficult for the Gulf region, the entire Middle East, and partners in Europe and America to build strong protection.”
It's hard to tell how long the conflict in the Middle East will last, Zelenskyy added, but “it is important that the protection of life starts working effectively as soon as possible.”
Earlier this week, Kyiv received 11 requests for help from countries neighboring Iran, European states and the U.S., he said.
A Ukrainian soldier holds an interceptor drone during combat missions on March 4. Nina Liashonok / NurPhoto via AP
Israel says it completed additional strikes in Beirut
The Israeli military says it has completed an additional wave of strikes this morning outside Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, targeting “Hezbollah terrorist command centers” and facilities where the group stored weapons.
In addition to the strikes this morning in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, the Israel Defense Forces also attacked what it said was a Hezbollah terrorist command center yesterday in the Lebanese city of Tyre.
Before the strikes, measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including advance warnings, the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance, the IDF said.
Hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since Israel began the strikes in response to rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah in retaliation for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.
Rescue workers check apartments destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut today. Hussein Malla / AP
Three ships hit near the Strait of Hormuz, maritime monitoring agency says
Three ships have been hit in separate incidents near the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil passes, a British maritime monitoring agency said this morning.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the crew of a cargo vessel evacuated after a fire broke out on board when it was hit by an unknown projectile north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz.
A photo taken and released by the Thai navy today shows smoke rising from the Thai bulk carrier Mayuree Naree near the Strait of Hormuz. Royal Thai Navy via AFP - Getty Images
In a separate incident, the UKMTO said a bulk carrier was hit by an unknown projectile in the Persian Gulf, northwest of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The crew was reported safe, it said.
Nearby, a container vessel also reported damage from a suspected but unknown projectile, it added.
Iran’s new supreme leader safe but injured, president’s son says
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has been wounded in the war, according to Yousef Pezeshkian, a government adviser and the son of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
A woman poses with a picture of Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in central Tehran on Monday. Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images
In a post on his Telegram channel that he said that had “asked friends who were in touch” with Khamenei about his injury. “They said that by the grace of God, he is safe and there is no problem,” the younger Pezeshkian said.
Khamenei has not appeared on video or in public or issued any written statements since he succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war.
Tehran’s ambassador to Cyprus also confirmed that Khamenei, 56, was injured. Alireza Salarian told The Guardian that Khamenei was lucky to survive the strike.
“I have heard that he was injured in his legs and hand and arm,” he said, adding, “I think he is in the hospital because he is injured.”
Some Americans choose to stay in Lebanon despite the war
As fighting spreads across the Middle East, some Americans are choosing to stay in Lebanon despite an onslaught of Israeli strikes. NBC News spoke with one woman who insists she won’t leave Beirut.
Israel says it has started 'wide-scale wave of strikes across Iran'
Israel's military said this morning that it had "begun a wide-scale wave of strikes" targeting regime infrastructure across Iran.
Its was also hitting Hezbollah in Beirut, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Several countries targeted as attacks go on across the Middle East
Several countries across the Middle East have reported attacks this morning as the war entered its 12th day.
In Kuwait, the country’s national guard said it shot down eight drones as part of “ongoing efforts to enhance security, protect vital sites, and counter any potential threats.”
The United Arab Emirates also said that it was responding to missiles from Iran, while the Qatari Defense Ministry intercepted a missile attack.
Elsewhere, the Dubai International Airport said in a statement that four people, two Ghanaian nationals, one person from Bangladesh and one Indian national were injured by two drones. “Air traffic is operating as normal,” the statement added.
India is helping to keep oil prices stable with Russian oil purchases, U.S. ambassador says
India has been a “great partner” in keeping oil prices stable around the world, according to the U.S. ambassador who said that its purchases of Russian oil were “part of this effort.”
“India is one of the largest consumers and refiners of oil and it is essential for the United States and India to work hand in hand for market stability for Americans and Indians,” Sergio Gor said in a post on X.
India has been one of the biggest purchasers of Russian oil since the U.S. and other Western countries stopped buying it after President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.
India has said the Biden administration encouraged it to buy Russian oil to keep prices from surging, but this became a source of friction after Trump took power and he doubled the U.S. tariff on Indian goods to 50%.
The U.S. line has changed as the war with Iran sends global oil prices soaring and last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. would issue a 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to buy Russian oil.
He said it would not provide significant financial help to the Russian government since it authorized only transactions for oil “already stranded at sea.”
Sri Lanka court orders sailors’ bodies be handed to Iranian Embassy
A Sri Lankan court has ordered that the bodies of 84 sailors killed in a U.S. attack on an Iranian warship off the island nation’s coast last week be handed over to the embassy of Iran, local media reported today.
Health care workers in Sri Lanka carry the bodies of Iranian sailors killed in a U.S. torpedo attack, at Karapitiya Hospital’s mortuary in Galle on March 4. Ishara S. Kodikara / AFP via Getty Images
The warship, IRIS Dena, was hit by a torpedo from an American submarine while it was returning from a naval exercise organized by India.
The court order was issued today, following a request from the Galle Harbour Police in the southern port city of Galle, the media reports said.
The bodies are currently at the morgue in Galle’s National Hospital.
Four people injured after two Iranian drones fall near Dubai airport
Four people were injured after two Iranian drones fell near Dubai International Airport today, the airport said in a statement.
The injured include two Ghanaian nationals, one person from Bangladesh and one Indian national, it said in a post on X.
“Air traffic is operating as normal,” it added.
Hundreds killed and more than 1,440 wounded in Lebanon
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's office said that 570 people have been killed and 1,444 wounded in the country since the start of the war with Iran, which has set off a new round of fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area in Beirut's southern suburbs today. Ibrahim Amro / AFP via Getty Images
Almost 800,000 people have registered as displaced persons at shelters, his office said in a statement.
Cargo ship on fire in Strait of Hormuz, security firm says
A cargo vessel has been hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in a fire onboard, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre said today.
The vessel, which is about 11 nautical miles north of Oman, “has requested assistance and the crew are evacuating,” the maritime authority said.
The UKMTO has also received reports of damage to ships hit by unknown projectiles 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai and in an unspecified location, adding that the crew members on both vessels were safe.
“Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity,” it said.
Images taken near Iranian school hit in deadly strikes show fragments of U.S.-made missile
Evidence continues to mount that the U.S. was responsible for the deadly school strike in southern Iran that killed scores of children as images taken near the school have emerged showing fragments of American-made missiles.
A photo shared by Iranian state media purporting to show missile debris from the strike on the Shahjareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran, on Feb. 28. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
The missile fragments purported by Iranian state media to have struck the school bear the markings of an American Tomahawk missile, according to experts who reviewed imagery obtained by NBC News and others, shared by state media, that appeared to show the fragments on a table close to the scene.
The videos obtained by NBC News appeared to show close-ups of the same set of missile fragments. They could not be geolocated as a result, whereas other wide-shot imagery shared by state media appeared to align with previously confirmed video and satellite imagery of the school site. Meanwhile, voices heard in video obtained by NBC News appeared to reflect a southern accent consistent with Minab.
NBC News could not independently confirm where, when or how the missile fragments were found or whether they were connected to the school strike. It was also unclear exactly who recovered them.
Oil prices are volatile amid conflicting reports about security in the Strait of Hormuz
Oil prices swung sharply yesterday as conflicting reports about shipping in the Strait of Hormuz drove the cost of crude oil down for much of the morning, then higher in the afternoon.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil plunged as much as 19%, slipping below $77 per barrel at one point. But the move faded, and West Texas Intermediate climbed to trade around $89 a barrel by 4 p.m. ET. International Brent crude also briefly dropped 17% to below $80 per barrel but later rose back to more than $90 per barrel.
Stocks also closed mixed after a volatile trading session yesterday. The S&P 500 ended lower by 0.21% after having risen almost 1%, while the Nasdaq Composite wrapped up the day flat and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34 points.
