Iran keeps up pressure on oil infrastructure as global energy crisis fears grow

Israeli air strikes against Hezbollah have hit apartments in Beirut (AP)

Israel and Iran have exchanged fire as Tehran kept up pressure on the region’s oil industry, as global energy concerns mount and the war in the Middle East shows no signs of abating.

Iran has effectively stopped cargo traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of all oil is shipped from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean.

It has also targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations as part of a strategy aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the US and Israel to end their strikes.

Early on Wednesday, a projectile hit a container ship off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze and forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.

Kuwait said its defences had downed eight Iranian drones, while Saudi Arabia said it intercepted five drones heading toward the kingdom’s Shaybah oil field.

UKMTO WARNING 018-26

Click here to view the full Warning⤵️https://t.co/R29PKZ34iH#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/8UYiab3Ygj

— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) March 11, 2026

The UN Security Council will vote later on Wednesday on a resolution sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council to demand Iran stops attacking its Arab neighbours.

Israel, which launched the war with the United States on February 28, said it had renewed attacks on Tehran, following multiple strikes the day before that residents described as some of the heaviest during the war.

Explosions were also heard in Beirut and in southern Lebanon after Israel said it had started a new assault on targets related to the Iranian-linked militia Hezbollah.

A residential building was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut (AP)

The attacks set a building ablaze in central Beirut in the densely populated Aicha Bakkar area, engulfing the top two floors of the multi-storey structure. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the strike, which came without warning.

An earlier Israeli strike killed five people in the Nabatieh district in southern Lebanon, while two more were killed in strikes in the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

A Red Cross worker also died as a result of wounds sustained on Monday, when his team was hit by an Israeli strike while they were rescuing people from an earlier attack.

Nearly 500 people have been killed so far in Lebanon since Hezbollah triggered the latest round of fighting with Israel when it fired rockets into the country’s north after the American and Israeli attacks on Iran started.

The military escalation in the Middle East is disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The impacts extend far beyond the region, affecting energy markets, maritime transport and global supply chains.@UNCTAD's rapid impact analysis: https://t.co/Q9r8Ha3ctG pic.twitter.com/nvnpvYplkl

— United Nations (@UN) March 10, 2026

Israel warned of three Iranian attacks early on Wednesday, with sirens heard in Tel Aviv and elsewhere but no immediate reports of casualties.

In addition to Iranian attacks targeting Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, the kingdom’s defence ministry said it had destroyed six ballistic missiles launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, a major US and Saudi-operated air facility in eastern Saudi Arabia.

The ministry also said it intercepted and destroyed two drones over the eastern city of Hafar al-Batin.

In the Strait of Hormuz north of Oman, a cargo ship was hit with a projectile and set on fire, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO).

Drivers are already feeling the pain at the pumps (AP)

Iran did not immediately claim the attack, though it has been targeting ships in and around the strait.

The UKMTO earlier reported on another attack targeting a container ship off Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. In that case, it said the “extent of the damage is currently unknown but under investigation by the crew”.

The United Arab Emirates said its air defences were working to intercept incoming Iranian fire. The wealthy nation – home to the business and travel hub of Dubai – said Iranian attacks have killed six people and wounded 122 others there.

Bahrain sounded sirens early on Wednesday, warning of an incoming Iranian attack. The warnings came a day after an Iranian attack hit a residential building in the capital, Manama, and killed a 29-year-old woman and wounding eight people.

U.S. forces eliminated multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/371unKYiJs

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 10, 2026

At the United Nations, the Security Council is to vote on Wednesday afternoon on the Gulf Cooperation Council resolution, according to diplomats.

The council, a six-nation regional bloc, said its own facilities were targeted in an Iranian attack last week on Bahrain.

The draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, condemns Iran’s attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. The measure calls for an immediate end to all strikes and threats against neighbouring states, including through proxies.

It would be the first Security Council resolution considered since the start of the war.

US president Donald Trump said there were no reports yet of Iran mining the Strait of Hormuz (AP)

Oil prices remained well below the peaks Monday but the price of Brent crude, the international standard, was still up some 20% on Wednesday from when the war began, and consumers around the world are already feeling the pain at the pump.

The spike in oil prices has been rocking financial markets worldwide because of worries that the war could block the global flow of oil and natural gas for a long time.

On Tuesday, the US military said it had destroyed 16 Iranian minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz, though US president Donald Trump said in social media posts that there were no reports yet of Iran mining the passage, a prospect that experts warned of preceding the war.

Iraqis hold a portrait of the Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to support his selection as the Iran’s Supreme Leader (Hadi Mizban/AP)

Meanwhile, concerns grew over the health of Iran’s new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei after comments about him “being injured”.

The 56-year-old – the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – has not been seen since since becoming supreme leader on Monday. His father and wife both were killed in an Israeli air strike February 28 that started the war.

In addition to the nearly 500 people killed in Lebanon, Iran has said more than 1,300 people have been killed there and Israel has reported 12 people dead.

The US has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.

Many foreign nationals have been getting out of the Persian Gulf region since the war began, including over 45,000 UK citizens, the UK Foreign Office said. Some 40,000 people returned to the United States, according to the American state department.