The U.S. should shut down its military bases in the Middle East, Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday (12 March). His words were read out by a broadcaster on state Iranian television.
Global finance and media company Bloomberg has told employees based in the Gulf, including its regional headquaters in Dubai, that they can temporarily relocate and work elsewhere, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
The development comes after repeated attacks by Iran on Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, since the U.S. and Israel carried out their first air strikes on Tehran 13 days ago.
In remarks carried by Mehr News Agency, Tehran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said many ships can move through the sea passage if they organise their movements with Iran's Navy.
He added: "After the current events, generally we cannot return to conditions before February 28... as we have understood how important the safety of the Strait of Hormuz is, and so did the others."
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said: "[We] recently identified that soldiers of the Basij Unit had established roadblocks in several locations across Tehran. After identifying the deployment, over the past day, the Israeli Air Force, acting on IDF intelligence, has targeted the Basij roadblocks and operatives."
In his first speech to the nation since becoming Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to avenge those who have been killed in the conflict with the U.S. and Israel.
You can read more about his first speech at the link below.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK was exploring deploying additional resources to the Gulf, after it withdraw a minehunter vessel from the region because it was no longer certified to sail.
Healey said: "We do have some autonomous mine hunting systems already in the region. There are additional options we're starting to consider that we could deploy alongside allies."
Last week, the Royal Navy said its only minehunter, the 40-year-old HMS Middleton, had returned to the UK from Bahrain.
Iran has deployed about a dozen mines in the Strait of Hormuz, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
In his first speech since becoming Iran's Supreme Leader, Khamenei said the U.S. should close its military bases in the region.
He said that Washington's claim that the bases existed to establish "security and peace" had been shown to be "nothing but a lie."
The U.S. has used the bases to conduct airstrikes on Iran since the beginnng of the conflict at the end of February.
Earlier, the Turkish Ministry of Defence said that the presence of American soldiers at the Incirlik Air Base in the south of the country didn't mean it was a U.S. base.
Writing on social media, IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri added that the navy would persist with its strategy of keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed, echoing Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's remarks earlier.
Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larjiani, has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to dismantle Iran's electricity capacity.
Posting on social media, Larijani said taking such a measure would plunge the entire region into darkness, providing Tehran with "ample oppertunity to hunt down U.S. servicemen."
In his first statement since his election, broadcast on state television, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said Iran should continue to use the "lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz."
Iraq's Oil Minister said on Thursday that the country would sign an agreement regarding oil exports via the Ceyhan Pipeline.
The BP-operated pipeline transports crude oil from the Caspian Sea to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean coast.
EU Commission spokesman Anouar El Anouni thanked Baku for facilitating the exit of European citizens from Iran on Thursday.
"We express our sincere appreciation for the assistance that Azerbaijan has provided to European citizens to facilitate their safe repatriation from Iran," he told reporters.
Moscow's Emergency Situations Ministry said on Thursday that it has delivered 13 tons of humanitarian assistance to Iran through Azerbaijan.
The delivery of medicines was sent by Moscow to Azerbaijan and then transferred onwards to Iran.
Russia called on Israel and the United States to end their attacks on Iran and come to the negotiating table on Thursday.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the humanitarian situation in the region was extremely difficult and the escalation of the conflict was cause for deep concern.
President Putin had also spoken to U.S counterpart Donald Trump earlier in the week, offering to mediate a potential ceasefire after reportedly speaking to leaders of Iran and the Gulf countries.
India's sourcing of non-Hormuz crude has increased to 70% of its total imports and the country's current crude supply position is secure, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told parliament on Thursday.
India's petrol and diesel availability is also fully secure and liquid natural gas cargoes are arriving almost daily from alternative routes, he said.
11.6 million barrels of oil from Turkish oil reserves is going to be released, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has told Bloomberg. Bayraktar made the announcement while visiting a coal mine in Zonguldak.
It comes after Italy is doing similar (see 07.35).
The Speaker of Iran's Parliament says the blood of invaders will run if there is attack on Iranian island territory in a post on social media platform X:
Homeland or Death!
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. — محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 12, 2026
U.S. military forces release videos of missiles hitting stationary Iranian planes during the conflict
The Iranian regime is losing air capability day by day. U.S. forces aren’t just defending against Iranian threats, we are methodically dismantling them. pic.twitter.com/CrJj2nFtHB — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 12, 2026
India's foreign minister has discussed the safety of shipping, energy security with his Iranian counterpart.
An Indian source says that Iran will allow India-flagged tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, however Iranian sources outside the country denied any such deal has been reached.
Internet access organisation Netblocks has said that Iran's leadership has shut down the internet in the country for over 288 hours. It is one of the longest shutdowns of the internet on record.
⚠️ Update: Metrics show the internet blackout in #Iran has entered its thirteenth day with the incident surpassing 288 hours.
The regime's measure presents a direct risk to the safety, health, and security of civilians who have a right to receive information needed for survival. pic.twitter.com/OkruJ7gXY1 — NetBlocks (@netblocks) March 12, 2026
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian has set out three conditions for peace:
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the war is "going to be ended soon" and that his red lines have been met:
Kuwait Civil Aviation says material damage has been reported at Kuwait International Airport.
China said Thursday that keeping the region “safe and stable” is in everyone’s interest following attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Keeping the region’s energy trade and broader area “safe and stable serves the common interests of the international community,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a news conference in Beijing.
Citibank has announced it will close its branches and financial centres in the United Arab Emirates from 12 to 14 March as a precautionary measure, according to information on the bank's website seen on Thursday.
Australia will temporarily lower fuel quality standards as the war involving Iran disrupts oil supplies and drives up global prices, Energy Minister Chris Bowen says.
Under the relaxation, an additional 100 million litres of fuel a month would be allowed into the country, easing price pressures, he said, with fuel directed to regions where supplies are short.
Thailand’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Iran’s ambassador to discuss the facts surrounding yesterday’s attack on the Thai‑flagged Mayuree Naree in the Strait of Hormuz, the Thai News Agency reports.
Italy will contribute with 9 million barrels to a coordinated release of strategic oil reserves, joining other International Energy Agency members, a government source said on Thursday.
Asked about the timing, the source said "availability was immediate."
The IEA recommended on Wednesday the release of 400 million barrels of oil, the largest such move in its history, to try to restrain soaring crude prices amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Kuwait's electricity ministry said on Thursday that six power transmission lines went out of service after debris from intercepted drones fell on them.The ministry added that the electricity and water situation is under control.
An Italian military base in Iraqi Kurdistan was struck by a missile overnight though no injuries were reported, the Italian defence ministry said on Thursday.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto has been in constant contact with senior military commanders over the incident, the ministry added.
Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said on Thursday it intercepted a drone heading toward the Shaybah oilfield, marking the third such incident reported on the same day. Drones have been targeting the area regularly this week.
Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold a special meeting on the situation in the Middle East, a Philippine foreign ministry official said on Thursday.
The meeting will take place on Friday (13 March).
Iran will allow India-flagged tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global oil trade, an Indian source said on Thursday. An Iranian source denied allowing the tankers to pass through.
The U.S. embassy in Muscat, the capital of Oman, has lifted its "shelter in place" guidance for the entire country, the State Department said on Thursday.
The United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, warned that the Middle East conflict is becoming “catastrophic for millions of children across the region.”
Kuwait’s Defence Ministry says two injured, material damage after hostile drone targets residential building in country’s southern region.
French President Emmanuel Macron ruled out lifting sanctions against Russia due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Stressing the need for presence in the eastern Mediterranean, free passage through the Red Sea and a coordinated effort to escort ships through the strait, Macron noted that conditions are not yet met and the Strait of Hormuz has become a " theater of war."
Eight people were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the town of Shaath in eastern Lebanon’s Baalbek district, the Health Ministry said, in the latest escalation in a confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah.
The ministry didn’t provide further details on the identities of the victims or whether civilians were among them.
An unidentified projectile struck a container ship, causing a small fire, 35 nautical miles north of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Thursday.
"All crew are reported safe," the agency said in a post on X. "No environmental impact has been reported at this time."
It also said that full damage assesment has been impaired by darkness and that an investigation is ongoing.
The agency had earlier reported a similar strke by an unknown projectile on a bulk carrier near Dubai on Wednesday.
Shares in Asia fell broadly on Thursday (12 March), as oil prices leapt 9% to above $100 a barrel on reports of more ships hit in Gulf waters and the closure of oil terminals.
Investors took little comfort from the International Energy Agency's plan to release 400 million barrels of oil from its reserves, the largest such move in its history.
Bahrain’s central bank said physical and cybersecurity measures across all financial institutions are operating at the highest levels of readiness.
In a statement, authorities added that the kingdom’s banking and financial sector continues to function normally despite ongoing regional developments.
Oman has shifted all vessels out of its main oil export terminal at Mina Al Fahal outside the Strait of Hormuz in a precautionary move, Bloomberg News said on Thursday (12 March), citing direct recipients of a port agent's notice
Explosive-laden boats believed to be Iranian attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters on Wednesday (11 March), setting them ablaze and killing one crew member. Earlier, projectiles struck three other vessels in Gulf waters, according to port authorities, maritime security officials and risk firms.
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The Iranian missions in London and Vienna strongly condemned the remarks by the European Union Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas on the imposition of further sanctions on Tehran as a “highway of hypocrisy,” amid the Israeli-U.S. war on the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards targeted three vessels, seizing two of them for alleged maritime violations and transferring them to Iranian shores, as U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is extending its ceasefire with Iran until Tehran submits a proposal.
Pakistan is confident it can bring Iran to talks with the United States, a senior official said, citing “positive signals” from Tehran, as JD Vance is reportedly set to visit Islamabad on Tuesday for peace talks, according to Axios.
Rising tensions around the Strait of Hormuz are reshaping geopolitical calculations and global shipping, with analysts warning of prolonged disruption even if a ceasefire is reached. Experts say the crisis is driven as much by strategic messaging as by economic risks.
Iran accuses the United States of breaching a ceasefire after a commercial ship was seized in the Gulf of Oman, vowing retaliation, as Israel warns south Lebanon residents to avoid restricted areas.
The architect of the modern K-pop boom, Bang Si-hyuk, is facing arrest by South Korean police over claims he illegally gained millions in an investor fraud scheme.
Progessive Bulgaria, led by pro-Russian Eurosceptic Rumen Radev is on track to form Bulgaria’s next government, after official results showed a runaway victory for the coalition in the Balkan nation's parliamentary elections on Monday (20 April).
Pakistan is confident it can bring Iran to talks with the United States, a senior official said, citing “positive signals” from Tehran, as JD Vance is reportedly set to visit Islamabad on Tuesday for peace talks, according to Axios.
A gunman who killed seven people in a mass shooting in Kyiv on Saturday (18 April) had quarrelled with his neighbour before he opened fire on passersby, public broadcaster Suspilne cited Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko as saying on Tuesday.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, used a visit to Uzbekistan to press for easier trade and transit, focusing on boosting exports, establishing an export centre in Balkh, and strengthening regional economic ties.
The European Union is considering deeper cooperation with Azerbaijan, including expanded ties in energy, trade and potential support for demining efforts in Garabagh, its foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Tuesday his government is not seeking a violent confrontation with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Foreign investors may face stricter limits on accessing agricultural land in Uzbekistan under proposed reforms aimed at strengthening national control and improving land-use efficiency.
Europe is increasing its focus on Azerbaijan as it seeks stable energy supplies and stronger eastern partnerships, Romania’s Foreign Minister Oana-Silvia Țoiu has said.
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