The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked back over $100 as Iranian strikes hit ships in the regions waters and the ongoing American-Israeli war with Iran showed no signs of slowing.
Thursday's major developments include Iranian attacks against commercial ships around the Strait of Hormuz and Iraq's port of Basra, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich Gulf region as global energy concerns mount. The U.S. campaign of airstrikes in Iran is now in its 13th day.
The Israeli military is also striking Iran and its militant ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, where more than 800,000 people have been displaced by the fighting.
Here is the latest:
Zelenskyy says Ukraine seeking drone agreement with US
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine seeks to sign a major agreement with the United States on drone production but requires White House approval.
The deal would cover various types of drones and air defense systems operating as a single system capable of protecting against hundreds or even thousands of Iranian-designed Shahed drones and missiles, Zelenskyy said on Telegram Thursday.
Zelenskyy says he hopes U.S. officials may be more inclined to support such an agreement in light of Middle East security challenges.
The Iran war has shifted global attention from Ukraine’s fight with Russia’s larger army, prompting Kyiv to promote battlefield technology that could help the U.S. and its allies defend against Shahed drones.
Russia earns nearly $7 billion in fuel exports
Russia has earned nearly $7 billion in fossil fuel exports during the Iran war.
The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air found Russia’s daily revenues have averaged 14% higher than in February. The Europe-based think tank tracks Russian fossil fuel export revenues in real time.
The analysis was published Thursday by Urgewald, a German nonprofit that campaigns against fossil fuel financing.
The organization is seeking tougher sanctions on Russia’s fossil fuel exports as the Trump administration weighs easing them.
Australia to provide assistance to Iranian soccer players
Australia will provide humanitarian assistance to members of the Iranian women's soccer team who have been granted asylum there, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said.
Marles said during a visit to Jakarta on Thursday that it was a “a sensitive issue” since Australia granted asylum to seven team members. One changed her mind and departed Australia with the remainder of the team.
“From here, those six people have stayed and they will be given all the assistance that people on humanitarian visas in Australia are given,” Marles said.
Northern Israel residents reeling after Hezbollah assault
Hezbollah launched some 200 rockets at Israel’s north and deeper into the country overnight, the Israeli military says.
Many rockets were intercepted and no serious injuries were reported.
Sirens started blaring Wednesday evening across the north and continued almost nonstop for hours, warning of incoming attacks from Lebanon and Iran.
“The noise was extraordinary, it was really scary,” said Naama Porat, a resident of rural Klil, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Lebanese border.
The explosions and interceptions overhead were so loud that Porat dashed outside with her son and spent the night there, she said.
Northern residents repeatedly have heard from Israel’s leaders that Hezbollah was dealt a devastating blow in the previous conflict.
“They have stocks of weapons and it just doesn’t end. We don’t know how much and what to expect,” Porat said.
Iran Parliament speaker says Persian Gulf will ‘run with the blood of invaders’
Iran’s Parliament speaker said Thursday that any invasion of Iran’s islands will “make the Persian Gulf run with the blood of invaders.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what prompted Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf’s comments, which again escalate the rhetoric surrounding the ongoing Iran war.
Iran holds three islands it took from the United Arab Emirates before its formation in 1971.
There also has been speculation that the United States could target Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s main oil terminal.
“Homeland or Death!” Qalibaf wrote on X. “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. The blood of American soldiers is Trump’s personal responsibility.”
Italian base hit by missiles or drones
Missiles or drones hit Italy’s Camp Singara in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, late Wednesday, Italian authorities said.
There were no injuries reported.
“The type of threat is still being ascertained, whether it was a drone or a missile, and it hit the Italian base and caused some damage to the base’s infrastructure and equipment,” Colonel Stefano Pizzotti, commander of the Italian National Contingent, told Italian news channel Sky TG24.
“The personnel are safe, they were protected inside the bunkers. Everyone is fine,” Pizzotti said, adding that the Italian military is assessing the damage.
Italy trains local Kurdish troops by request from the Iraqi government.
Israel launches airstrikes
Israel says it has launched another “wide-scale” round of airstrikes across Iran.
Mosque set afire in occupied West Bank
Israeli settlers graffitied the name of a synagogue on a mosque outside Nablus and set it ablaze, the village of Duma and the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Religious Affairs said Thursday.
The ministry called the attack part of a “systematic increase in attempts to burn mosques.”
Palestinian civil defense volunteers brought the fire under control around dawn.
The Palestinian Ministry of Religious Affairs said another Nablus area village's mosque was set afire last month and 45 were vandalized or attacked in 2025.
Duma is among a cluster of villages in areas under Israeli military and civil control where Palestinian residents have weathered a spike in settler attacks.
Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions about the fire.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has recorded 18 Palestinians killed by the army or settlers in the occupied West Bank so far this year.
2 drones target Dubai
Two Iranian drones targeted Dubai on Thursday without warnings from authorities.
The Dubai Media Office, which issues statements on behalf of the city-state’s government, reported a “minor drone incident” in its al-Badaa neighborhood, saying no one was hurt.
It later said interception fire downed a drone and shrapnel hit the facade of a building on Sheikh Zayed Road, the 12-lane highway that runs through the heart of the city. It said there were no injuries in that incident, as well.
Authorities had issued missile alert warnings earlier Thursday morning, but there had been no warning before these latest strikes.
Kuwait says drones hit its main airport
Iranian drones hit Kuwait International Airport on Thursday.
The strike caused damage but there were no injuries, Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Authority said.
At least 19 commercial ships damaged so far in war
At least 19 commercial ships have been damaged so far in the war, figures showed Thursday.
Through Wednesday night, there had been at least 16 vessels attacked in the Persian Gulf and the wider region, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, a coalition overseen by the U.S. Navy.
An oil rig separately was attacked off Saudi Arabia, as well.
Overnight, two ships were hit by Iranian fire at a port near Basra, Iraq. Another was attacked Thursday off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
Pakistan prime minister to vist Saudi Arabia
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif left the country Thursday for a brief official visit to Saudi Arabia, officials said.
He was invited by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who will meet with Sharif to discuss regional security and review bilateral relations, according to Sharif’s office.
Kuwait reports limited power outage
Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said Thursday that shrapnel falling onto six overhead power transmission lines across the country sent them temporarily out of service.
The debris was a result of interception efforts, the ministry said in a statement.
The incident resulted in limited power outage nationwide and power was swiftly restored, the ministry said.
Dubai has ‘minor drone incident’ with no injuries
In Dubai, the city-state reported a “minor drone incident” in its al-Badaa neighborhood, saying no one was hurt.
Bahrain sounds missile alert
Bahrain sounded its missile alert siren late Thursday morning over detected incoming fire from Iran.
Thai ministry meets Iranian ambassador over ship
The Thai Foreign Ministry said it held a meeting Thursday with the Iranian ambassador.
The ministry in Bangkok said it conveyed concerns after a Thai cargo ship was hit near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, but did not immediately share additional details of the discussion.
Israel says missiles launched from Iran
Israel said it identified more missiles launched toward the country from Iran Thursday morning.
Missile alert alarms sounded in Jerusalem, with explosions heard as the Israeli military sought to intercept the incoming fire.
Hard-liner threatens possible protesters on Iran state TV
A hard-line television presenter has threatened possible protesters against Iran’s theocracy.
Reza Mollaei, speaking Wednesday on the television program “Samt-e Khoda,” or “Towards God” in Farsi, said hard-liners were “waiting, when the dust of this unrest settles ... (to) grab you by the collar, every single one of you. And that’s already happening.”
“Confiscating your properties in nothing, we will make your mothers mourn you,” Mollaei said. “Those of you who now have foolish ideas and think things are chaotic and something must be done, this message is for you, both inside the country and outside.”
Analyst warns Gulf Arab states face increasing pressure from strait closure
Gulf Arab states will face increasing pressure on their oil production the longer the Strait of Hormuz remains under fire, an analyst said Thursday.
Pankaj Srivastava of Rystad Energy noted crude supplies are becoming increasingly stranded given the strait being effectively closed off by the attacks. Bahrain and Kuwait face the highest risk of that, he said.
“With crude supply increasingly stranded in the Gulf, refiners may soon be forced to adjust operations, curtailing runs as product exports stall and directing output solely to domestic markets,” Srivastava said.
“Three key factors will determine the resilience of refining systems across the Gulf: bypassing the strait through alternate export routes, the balance of domestic product demand and refining capacity and product exports as a ratio of current refinery runs,” Srivastava said.
Japanese-flagged cargo ship damaged in Persian Gulf
Mitsui O.S.K Lines said Thursday that a Japanese-flagged container ship One Majesty was damaged while anchored in the Persian Gulf.
All crew members on board were safe and the ship is operational. The impact cause and extent of the damage is unknown and under investigation, Mitsui said.
Crew members felt a shock near the stern and later found damages while the ship was anchored about 60 miles (96 kilometers) southwest of the Strait of Hormuz, Mitsui said.
A Mitsui-operated oil tanker also experienced minor damages from unidentified falling objects in the Gulf of Oman. The tanker has left the area and the company is investigating.
New supreme leader yet to be seen
In Iran, the country’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has still yet to be seen.
But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian suggested online that Tehran sought the world to recognize Iran’s “legitimate rights, payment of reparations” and international guarantees against future attacks to see an end of the war.
India says sailor killed in attack on tanker off Basra
An Indian sailor was killed after a U.S.-owned crude oil tanker was attacked near the Iraqi port city of Basra, India’s embassy in Baghdad said Thursday.
The vessel, Safesea Vishnu, sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, came under attack March 11 while operating near Basra, the embassy said.
The remaining 15 Indian crew members were evacuated and are safe, the embassy said.
Checkpoints in Iran’s capital targeted
Security force checkpoints in Iran’s capital came under attack for the first time Wednesday night by suspected drones assaults, killing at least 10 people, a semiofficial news agency reported.
The Fars news agency, believed to be close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reported the attacks. Other Iranian media cited its report.
Gunfire could be heard in the city as continuous airstrikes targeted the city Wednesday night. The gunfire appeared to come from the checkpoints, which often include members of the all-volunteer Basij force of the Guard and officer of Iran’s police force.
It wasn’t clear what kind of drones were used, though the United States is employing a reverse-engineered version of Iran’s Shahed drone in the war.
Israel and the U.S. military’s Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment over whether they were behind the attacks.
Such assaults, if intensified, could pressure the forces used to suppress demonstrations in Iran as the U.S. has said it hopes the Iranian people overthrow its theocracy at some point in the war.
Bahrain arrests alleged spies for Iran
Bahrain said Thursday it arrested four people for allegedly spying for Iran.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior said a fifth person remains at large.
The ministry accused all five of having “used high-resolution photography equipment to photograph and record coordinates of vital and important locations” on behalf of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The ministry alleged that material had been sent to the Guard using encrypted software.
It wasn’t immediately clear if those detained had a lawyer.
Iran has loaded estimated 18.5 million oil barrels for shipment
Iran has been able to load an estimate 18.5 million barrels of oil for shipment since the start of the war on Feb. 28, said Homayoun Falakshahi, an analyst at commodities firm Kpler.
Of those barrels, 16.5 million were loaded in the Persian Gulf at Kharg Island, with the rest coming from its Jask terminal on the Gulf of Oman, he added.
Those shipments broadly appeared bound for China.
Bangladesh seeks US approval to buy oil from Russia
Bangladesh asked the United States to allow the country to purchase oil from Russia as supply shortages and surging crude oil prices pressure its economy.
Bangladesh’s Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury made the request during a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Dhaka, Brent T. Christensen, on Wednesday.
The U.S. sanctioned Russian oil following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Bangladesh heavily relies on imports of fuel from the Middle East, and the government started a rationing system for the vehicles after the war began. It has shuttered fertilizer factory to keep fuel flowing to power plants and closed universities in an effort to reduce energy consumption.
The country is also making effort to bring fuel from alternative sources. India has already supplied 5,000 tons of diesel as an emergency measure through a cross-border pipeline. Bangladesh has requested India to increase the volume of fuel supply.
Israel warns of missile launched from Iran
Israel’s military said it was working to intercept a missile launch from Iran early on Thursday morning.
It was the third such announcement Thursday, as Israel also said it was targeting Tehran with strikes.
Other overnight missile launches from Iran sent Israelis hurrying to shelters in areas from the very southern tip of the country, to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, to the Galilee and the northern border with Lebanon, where sirens were also sounded to warn of drone and rocket attacks from Hezbollah.
Drone hits residential building in Kuwait
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building Thursday in the small Mideast nation, wounding two people.
Ship hit in Persian Gulf off UAE
A container ship off Dubai in the Persian Gulf came under attack Thursday, sparking a small fire, the British military said.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the attack happened just before dawn. It said an “unknown projectile” hit the vessel as it was some 65 kilometers (40 miles) off the coast of Dubai’s Jebel Ali port.
It added that the crew of the vessel were safe.
Brent crude oil tops $100 a barrel as Iran attacks worsen supply concerns
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, topped $100 a barrel early Thursday, just days after it spiked near $120.
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.
Iraqi officials shut oil terminals after deadly strike hits Basra port
An attack on Iraq’s Basra port early Thursday killed at least one person and forced authorities to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals, officials said.
Farhan al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, made the announcement in a statement carried by the state-run Iraqi News Agency on Thursday. Al-Fartousi said the attack targeted ships in the ship-to-ship transfer are of the Basra port on the Persian Gulf. He said it remained unclear if the ship was targeted by a flying or seaborne drone or a missile.
Rescuers recovered one dead body and helped 38 others after the attack. He said commercial ports in Iraq remained open, though the oil terminals had been shut.
Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization has identified the two tankers as the Safesea Vishnu, flagged in the Marshall Islands, and the tanker Zefyros, flagged in Malta.