US 'simply not ready' for escort operations for Strait of Hormuz US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said that Washington is "simply not ready" to launch an operation to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. “It’ll happen relatively soon but it can’t happen now,” Wright said on CNBC. “We’re simply not ready.
Fossil fuel supply is more vulnerable to global shocks than renewable power sources and efforts to boost efficiencies Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Donald Trump’s war on Iran has triggered shocks in fossil fuel markets, exposing the perils of an agenda that prioritizes “drill, baby, drill” while sabotaging renewable power and energy efficiency in the US, experts and advocates say. The US-Israeli war on Iran has already led to hundreds of deaths, created an ecological crisis linked to strikes on oil depots and sent fossil fuel prices haywire across the globe. Continue reading...
Teachers, engineers and shopkeepers tell the BBC they fear Iran falling into chaos.
Conflict is forcing producers to slash production and close ports as Iran steps up attacks on energy infrastructure.
The U. S. Department of Energy said the United States will release 172 million barrels of oil into its transportation and distribution ne ...
UN says 3. 2 million people now displaced in Iran as a result of US-Israeli war Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 03/12/2026 - 11:15 Humanitarian needs look set to increase as the war continues, jeopardising millions of already vulnerable refugees Arafat Jamal (L), representative of the UNHCR in Afghanistan, speaks with Afghan nationals upon their arrival from Iran amid the Middle East war, 10 March 2026 (Mohsen Karimi/AFP) Off The number of people displaced within Iran since the start of the US and Israel’s war on the country has reached 3. 2 million, according to the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR.
On the thirteenth day of the Middle East conflict, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned on social media that any mil ...
Democrats have written to ask the defence secretary whether the US was responsible, but he says the issue is being investigated.
Israeli air strikes on locations linked to al-Qard al-Hassan, a non-profit financial institution associated with Hezbollah, must be investigated as war crimes as they do not constitute legitimate military targets under international humanitarian law, Amnesty International said today. Since 2 March, the Israeli military has announced that it would target all branches of al-Qard al-Hassan […] The post Lebanon: Israeli air strikes on al-Qard al-Hassan financial institution must be investigated as war crimes appeared first on Amnesty International .
America tried to break Tehran; instead, it exposed its own miscalculation For almost two weeks now, the US and Israel have been waging war on Iran.
Iranian press review: Larijani believed US was not seeking agreement before the war Submitted by MEE correspondent on Thu, 03/12/2026 - 10:46 Meanwhile, historic sites are damaged in several cities, athletes raise funds to rebuild a school destroyed by the US and Israel, and civilians in Tehran say they have nowhere to flee US special envoy Steve Witkoff arriving at his hotel during talks with Iran on its nuclear programme, in Geneva on 26 February, before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP) Off US was not seeking agreement in talks with Iran Saeed Laylaz, an economist and reformist activist, has revealed details about the last round of Iran–US negotiations that were underway before the US and Israel began the war in the Middle East. He said that no matter how many concessions the Iranian side offered, the US was not satisfied. In an interview with the Etemad daily, Laylaz said that in September, he and a group of political and economic experts were invited to a meeting with Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, to review the negotiations.
The most powerful nation in the world is now being led by a rogue president who rejects its longstanding values As we reach the 13th day of the war in Iran – with death and destruction rippling throughout the Middle East – it’s important to bear in mind where the real failure lies. So far, nearly 2,000 people have been killed, including 175 Iranian schoolchildren and seven US service members. At least 140 US service members have been wounded, several critically.
The crisis in the Middle East continues to reverberate across the region and beyond. Oil prices have climbed to around $100 a barrel as attacks on shipping and energy infrastructure disrupt key supply routes. Strikes and counterstrikes between Israel, Hezbollah and Iran continue, while ships have reportedly been hit in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, raising fears of wider shocks to global markets.
Lebanon is facing a “perfect storm of unpredictable challenges” as conflict, mass displacement and dwindling humanitarian resources converge, the UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon, Imran Riza, has warned.
Death toll from Israeli strikes on Lebanon rises to 687 Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 687 people since 2 March, Lebanon's information minister said on Thursday, as Israel threatened to expand its operations as it fights Hezbollah in the country. In a statement following a cabinet meeting, Paul Marcos said that "the number of killed reached 687, including 98 children and 52 women".
Hacker group Handala claimed responsibility for attack that caused ‘global disruption’ to Stryker Corporation’s systems An Iran-linked group said it hacked a US medical company, causing “global disruption” to its systems, in retaliation for the bombing of the Minab school in Iran, in an attack seen as widening the Middle East into the cyber realm. Handala, a hacker group, claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday on the Stryker Corporation, which makes medical devices and is based in Michigan. It affected thousands of employees using the company’s Microsoft systems.
Israeli settlers in West Bank use cover of Iran war to attack and murder Palestinians Submitted by Katherine Hearst on Thu, 03/12/2026 - 09:34 At least six Palestinians have been killed in the past week alone, as activists report unprecedented violence Mousa and Omar Hamayel, both 39, at the site where Thaer Hamayel was killed during an attack by Israeli settlers near Ramallah, in March 2026 (Reuters/Ammar Awad) Off Early on Sunday morning, residents of Abu Falah, a small town near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, spotted a group of around 100 Israeli settlers gathered on a hill near their homes. The masked men then descended on the town, with the intention of razing Palestinian homes and evicting their residents. The residents are used to continuous harassment by settlers from outposts dotting the surrounding hills, but say they have never experienced this scale of violence before.
UN Security Council condemns Iran attacks on Gulf without mentioning US and Israel Submitted by Rayhan Uddin on Thu, 03/12/2026 - 10:29 Iran says resolution is 'blatant misuse' of Security Council, as Russian draft calling for all sides to de-escalate is rejected Mike Waltz, US Ambassador to the UN and president of the Security Council for the month of March, at UN headquarters in New York City on 11 March 2026 (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images via AFP) Off The UN Security Council has voted to call for an end to Iranian attacks on the Gulf, in a resolution that did not mention US or Israeli attacks on Iran , prompting strong criticism from Tehran’s ambassador. The resolution was tabled by Iran's Gulf neighbour Bahrain and sponsored by 135 countries.
In photos: Aftermath of Israeli attacks on Lebanon Mourners attend the funeral of four family members killed overnight by Israeli air strikes that targeted the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on 12 March, 2026. (AFP) A man stands on the rubble of a destroyed building as firefighters work at the site of overnight Israeli strikes in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs on 12 March, 2026. (AFP) Firefighters work at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs on 12 March, 2026.
Iran 'not in danger of collapse', say US intelligence sources Submitted by Peter McNamara on Thu, 03/12/2026 - 10:18 After nearly two weeks of constant bombardment and the assassination of its Supreme Leader, Iran's administration remains intact A portrait of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son and new Supreme Leader Mojtaba at the funerals of IRGC commanders, March 2026 (Atta Kenare/AFP) Off US intelligence reports suggest that Iran 's leadership retains control of the country, several sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters. After two weeks of joint US- Israeli strikes on the country, including one that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, one source told the news agency that there is "consistent analysis that the regime is not in danger " of collapse and "retains control of the Iranian public". Following a “multitude” of intelligence reports that have reached this conclusion, the most recent coming in the last few days, President Donald Trump’s decision to end the bombardment, which he told CBS on Monday will end “soon, very soon”, could signal a costly failure for the administration.
