Iran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on energy infrastructure across the Gulf on Thursday, hours after two oil tankers were struck in separate incidents, sending global oil prices soaring despite a record release of strategic reserves.
The renewed strikes targeted several locations across the region, including fuel facilities and shipping routes, as tensions from the widening conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel continued to escalate.
Authorities in Bahrain urged residents to remain indoors and close their windows after an Iranian attack struck fuel tanks in the country. In Saudi Arabia, officials said air defence systems intercepted drones heading toward the Shaybah oil field and the diplomatic district.
Earlier in the day, drones struck fuel storage tanks at the port of Salalah in Oman, forcing a suspension of operations.
Maritime activity in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes, has also come under threat. A container ship near the United Arab Emirates was hit by what the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations described as an “unknown projectile”, sparking a small fire onboard. All crew members were reported safe.
The incident followed an earlier attack on two oil tankers near Iraq, where authorities said at least one crew member was killed. Thirty-eight people were rescued while search operations continued for others.
Iraq’s government said the vessels appeared to have been sabotaged, while the country’s oil ministry expressed “deep concern” over a growing number of incidents involving oil tankers in the Gulf.
Iran has warned that no oil shipments would leave the Gulf while the conflict continues. The Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy chokepoint, has effectively been shut amid mounting security threats.
At least four maritime incidents have been reported in the region within the past 24 hours. A Thai bulk carrier was reportedly struck by two projectiles on Wednesday, leaving three crew members missing and believed to be trapped in the ship’s engine room, according to transport company Precious Shipping.
Elsewhere, Kuwait reported that two people were injured after a “hostile drone” struck a residential building, while the United Arab Emirates said its air defence systems were responding to a missile threat.
The latest attacks came shortly after Donald Trump said Iran was “pretty much at the end of the line,” though he cautioned the conflict would not necessarily end immediately.
Trump said the United States could target infrastructure that would take “a generation to rebuild,” but indicated that Washington still preferred to show restraint. He also said US forces had struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that it could expand its targets to include economic centres and banks linked to US and Israeli interests.
Ali Fadavi, an adviser to the Guards’ commander-in-chief, said the United States and Israel should prepare for the possibility of a prolonged war that could severely damage both the American and global economies.
The conflict has already triggered major economic ripple effects. Oil prices surged past $100 per barrel on Thursday despite the International Energy Agency approving a record release of strategic reserves.
The agency announced that member states would release 400 million barrels of crude oil to stabilise markets, including 172 million barrels from the United States. However, analysts warned that prolonged hostilities could keep prices in the $90 to $100 per barrel range for some time.
The war has also intensified in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah have caused widespread devastation.
Lebanese authorities say more than 630 people have been killed and over 800,000 displaced since the offensive began. Around 126,000 displaced residents are currently sheltering in collective facilities, while many others have been forced to sleep outdoors, including along the Beirut seafront.
At least seven people were killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut on Thursday morning, according to local officials.
One resident, Fawzi Asmar, described the moment a strike hit a residential building in a central Beirut neighbourhood.
“When the strike happened, I ran from room to room, pulled my wife and daughter out and hid them behind a wall. Then the second strike hit,” he said.
The Israeli military said it had launched a “wide-scale wave of strikes” against infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah across Lebanon, while also detecting new missile launches from Iran toward Israel.
Iran’s health ministry said more than 1,200 people had been killed since the conflict began earlier this month. In Israel, authorities reported 14 fatalities, while attacks across Gulf states have killed at least 24 people, including civilians and US military personnel.
US lawmakers were also told during a Pentagon briefing that the war has already cost Washington more than $11.3 billion, according to reports.