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The US-Israeli war on Iran has caused turmoil in the oil markets, partly due to a closure of the key shipping route
Bel Trew in Beirut, James C. Reynolds & Alex CroftWednesday 11 March 2026 00:48 GMT- Bookmark
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US president Donald Trump has threatened Iran with a military response “at a level never seen before” after the US military said it destroyed more than a dozen Iranian mines laid in the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command on Tuesday said it had eliminated 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels in the key shipping route, through which around one-fifth of the world’s crude oil passes.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the consequences to Iran will be “at a level never seen before” if no action is taken to remove the mines.
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” he wrote. “If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction!”
It comes amid market turmoil, with oil prices having surged over the weekend and hitting a high of $115 a barrel on Monday. Prices subsequently fell after Trump said the war would end “very soon”.
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Key Points
- Trump warns Iran to 'immediately' remove mines in the Hormuz Strait
- US asks Israel not to attack Iran's energy infrastructure
- Open Strait of Hormuz or we will strike 20 times harder, White House warns Iran
- Around 140 US troops wounded in Iran conflict, says Pentagon
- BA scraps flights across Middle East as war rages on
- Senator admits US 'made a mistake' with Iranian girls' school bombing
Zelensky says Ukraine has sent delegation to Gulf region amid Iran strikes
Zelensky says Ukraine has sent delegation to Gulf region amid Iran strikesAlex Croft11 March 2026 00:48Leavitt fires back at reporter asking if Trump ‘made up’ Iran strike justification
Karoline Leavitt fired back at a White House correspondent who asked whether Donald Trump was "making up" claims that Iran was about to attack US targets to justify his decision to launch strikes.
The president claimed on Monday that Iran would have attacked the US "within a week" had he not ordered strikes.
“Within a week, they were going to attack us, 100 percent. They were ready,” Mr Trump said.
CBS News' Nancy Cordes asked the White House Press Secretary on Tuesday (10 March): "There are no U.S. Leaders or Israeli leaders who are making those same claims. So is he making this up to justify his decision to go to war?" which prompted Ms Leavitt to respond: “The President is not making anything up, Nancy."
Leavitt fires back at reporter asking if Trump ‘made up’ Iran strike justification
Karoline Leavitt fired back at a White House correspondent who asked whether Donald Trump was "making up" claims that Iran was about to attack US targets to justify his decision to launch strikes. The president claimed on Monday that Iran would have attacked the US "within a week" had he not ordered strikes. “Within a week, they were going to attack us, 100 percent. They were ready,” Mr Trump said. CBS News' Nancy Cordes asked the White House Press Secretary on Tuesday (10 March): "There are no U.S. Leaders or Israeli leaders who are making those same claims. So is he making this up to justify his decision to go to war?" which prompted Ms Leavitt to respond: “The President is not making anything up, Nancy."Alex Croft11 March 2026 00:29Australia grants asylum to two more from Iranian women's soccer team
Australia said two more players from the Iranian women's soccer team have been issued humanitarian visas, after five players were granted asylum on Tuesday over safety concerns on their return home for not singing the national anthem.
A player and a support staff member from the team decided to stay in Australia after seeking asylum, home affairs minister Tony Burke told reporters.
Alex Croft11 March 2026 00:07Russian consulate in Isfahan damaged earlier this week, says Moscow
Russia's consulate in the Iranian city of Isfahan was damaged in shelling earlier this week, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.
An attack on a diplomatic representation was a "blatant violation" of international conventions and all sides should observe the "inviolability of diplomatic sites", she said.
"On March 8, in the Iranian city of Isfahan, as a result of an attack on the governor's administration of the province of the same name located nearby, the Russian consulate was damaged," Zakharova said in a statement on the ministry's website.
"Windows were shattered in the office building and residential apartments, and several employees were thrown by the blast wave. Fortunately, there were no casualties or serious injuries."
President Vladimir Putin discussed the conflict with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin leader has called for a halt to all hostilities.
Alex Croft10 March 2026 23:45Even Joe Rogan is against Trump's attacks on Iran: 'It just seems so insane'
Even Joe Rogan is against Trump's attacks on Iran: 'It just seems so insane'Alex Croft10 March 2026 23:21Israeli PM refuses to say when war could end
Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, has refused to offer a timetable on when the war with Iran could end, telling Germany's Bild newspaper: "We need to take a deep breath and get to the end result."
Herzog said the US and Israeli attacks on Iran were changing the whole configuration of the Middle East.
He defended strikes on Iranian oil sites as a way of taking away money from Tehran's "war machine".
The interview was published as the US and Israel pounded Iran with what the Pentagon and Iranians on the ground said were the most intense airstrikes of the war, despite global markets betting that President Donald Trump will seek to end the conflict soon.
Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, had earlier said his country was not planning for an endless war and was consulting with Washington about when to stop it.
“The Iranians are the ones spreading chaos and terror throughout the region and the world. So I think if we measure everything by a speedometer, we won’t get anywhere. We need to take a deep breath and get to the end result,” Herzog told Bild.
Eliminating the Iranian threat would "enable the entire system in the region to suddenly breathe again and develop further. That’s fantastic,” he added.
Alex Croft10 March 2026 22:58Comment | Make no mistake, the only person this war is good for is Benjamin Netanyahu
The Iran war has produced a dizzying mixture of contradictory statements from Washington. But one remark refuses to fade: Marco Rubio’s blunt admission that the United States joined the onslaught on 28 February because it knew Israel was about to strike Iran.
If the secretary of state spoke plainly for a moment, he revealed something uncomfortable – not only about how the war began, but about who may ultimately decide when it ends.
Of course, Rubio then tried to walk it back. How could he do otherwise when US president Donald Trump himself swiftly suggested that the dynamic had been one of the US leading Israel into war rather than the other way round? But why should Rubio have said it in the first place if it was false, especially when a carefully sourced story in the New York Times suggested that Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had “spurred” Trump to opt for war rather than continue with diplomatic negotiations?
Donald Macintyre writes:
Make no mistake, the only person this war is good for is Benjamin Netanyahu
Amid the contradictions and denials surrounding the Iran conflict, one admission from the US secretary of state Marco Rubio may offer the clearest insight yet into how the war began, says Donald Macintyre – and why it may prove difficult to endAlex Croft10 March 2026 22:35Healey praises 'remarkable effort' to prepare HMS Dragon
The Defence Secretary has praised the Royal Navy’s “remarkable effort” to prepare HMS Dragon for deployment over the past week.
John Healey said: “I have only praise for our Royal Navy personnel and civilian teams who have worked flat out to prepare HMS Dragon for deployment to the eastern Mediterranean.
“What is normally six weeks of work was completed in just six days – a remarkable effort delivered around the clock. They are the very best of Britain in action.”
The Defence Secretary did not rule out UK aircraft involvement (PA) (PA Wire)HMS Dragon’s commanding officer, Commander Iain Griffin, said: “My ship’s company have worked tirelessly to ensure we are ready for our mission to the eastern Mediterranean.
“I am proud of the professional manner in which they have responded. We are trained for this, we are ready for this, we have the equipment and people, we have the support of the British people and, most importantly, our families and friends.”
Alex Croft10 March 2026 22:16Second charter flight carrying UK nationals takes off from Dubai
A second charter flight carrying British nationals home has taken off from Dubai, the Foreign Office has said.
The plane was chartered to allow those who could not get seats on commercial flights, and particularly vulnerable people, to access a safe route back to the UK more quickly.
There was a charge for the flight.
Increasing numbers of commercial flights leaving the Gulf have become available in recent days, with 32 landing in the UK on Monday.
Some 45,000 UK nationals are estimated to have left the region since March 1, out of the more than 200,000 thought to be in the Gulf at the start of the war.
Alex Croft10 March 2026 21:58Trump says US sunk 10 mine-laying ships after threatening Iran over reports of mines in the Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump has said the United States sunk 10 mine-laying ships after threatening Iran over reports of mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I am pleased to report that within the last few hours, we have hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine laying boats and/or ships, with more to follow!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday afternoon.
Trump’s announcement came minutes after the president warned against Iran placing mines in the waterway that carries about a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier Tuesday.
Rachel Dobkin brings the report:
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Trump says US sunk 10 mine-laying ships after reports of mines in Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz is a waterway bordered in the north by Iran that carries about a fifth of the world’s oil supply Alex Croft10 March 2026 21:48Newer1 / 4OlderMore about
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