Iran's new supreme leader vows to keep blocking Strait of Hormuz as oil prices spike again
Mojtaba Khamenei defied calls by Trump and global markets to reopen the vital oil trade route in his first public statement to the nation.
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What we know
- SUPREME LEADER SPEAKS: Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has broken his silence days after he succeeded his slain father. In a message a news anchor read on state television, Khamenei said that the crucial Strait of Hormuz should remain closed and that Iran will continue attacks on its Persian Gulf neighbors.
- OIL SPIKES AGAIN: The price of oil surged above $100 a barrel again before dipping as the U.S. and Israel showed no sign of halting their war and Iran escalated its attacks on global shipping and energy infrastructure across the Gulf.
- MORE TANKERS ABLAZE: Three more oil tankers were attacked overnight as Iran effectively halted supplies through the region. The war has created the “largest supply disruption” in history, the International Energy Agency said, even though dozens of countries agreed to release 400 million barrels from their reserves.
- 'FINISH THE JOB': President Donald Trump offered yet more mixed messaging, telling supporters “we won” but also saying “we’ve got to finish the job.”
- SCHOOL STRIKE PROBE: Outdated intelligence most likely led to a deadly American missile strike on an elementary school in Iran, sources told NBC News.
- DEATH TOLL: Hundreds of people have been killed across the Middle East. In Iran, more than 1,200 people have been killed by Israeli and American strikes, according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, while 13 have died in Israel and six in the United Arab Emirates as Iran fired back. In Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed 570 people, officials said.
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Senators divided on investigation, cost and duration of Iran war
Democrats and Republicans remain divided on how the war in Iran is being handled by the Trump administration.
Speaking to reporters, senators appeared to clash on a number of issues, including the cost of deployment and the nature of any investigation.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., remained hawkish on the U.S. intervention, saying it was necessary to protect U.S. interests and downplaying complaints about soaring gas prices. “If you think gas prices are high, now give the ayatollah a nuclear weapon to terrorize the region, to threaten the Strait of Hormuz. He will control gas prices forever,” he said.
Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., countered that the billions of dollars being spent on the war should instead be used to address cost of living issues. “How is this better for people in my state who can’t afford rent, who are having a hard time affording food?” Kelly asked. “One to two billion dollars a day could go a long way to helping people afford health care.”
Durbin and others called for a public hearing on a likely U.S. strike that killed 170 people, mostly children, at an elementary school in southern Iran. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., dismissed the idea that U.S. would intentionally target civilians, “in contrast to the Iranian military and their proxies,” and said the truth would come out in an investigation.
Democratic senators said they would press for answers on a range of issues, including a full accounting of the war’s cost. “We’re not giving up on getting hearings, and the American public expect them,” said Tim Kaine, D-Va.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., decried the lack of information available even to Congress. “I can’t get straight answers from senior leadership in this administration, how long this war will go, how much it will cost, and how it will end,” he said.
Trump issues new threat against Iran
Trump issued an intense new threat, saying the U.S. is “totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran.”
“Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth,” he said in a social media post. “We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time — Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.”
Trump’s comments come after Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said in his first public message that Tehran would “avenge the blood” of the 170 people, mostly children, who were killed in a likely U.S. strike on an elementary school.
Khamenei also warned Gulf Arab nations to shut down the U.S. bases they host, saying that “the claim that the United States brings security and peace is nothing more than a lie.”
Former Israeli defense minister Gantz says ‘no choice’ but war with Iran
Israeli opposition leader and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz said his country had “no choice” but to go to war with Iran.
“We always said that you conduct operations when you can, and you go to war when you have no choice,” Gantz said. “And I think we had no choice.”
“I think we should not wait for us to be butchered again like we were butchered in Oct. 7,” Gantz said, referring to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel from Gaza, in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.
“Why do we have to wait to the very last minute, when it might be too late?” he said.
Gantz also said Israel wants a change in Iran’s behavior.
“If we can change the way Iran runs itself and the way Iran acts around it, it will stabilize the area,” he said.
Oil soars 10% as the ‘largest supply disruption’ in history worsens
The price of oil soared more than 10% today as the International Energy Agency warned the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran was “creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.”
The price of international Brent crude oil rose 9%, to more than $100 per barrel, while U.S. crude oil climbed above $96.
Stocks tumbled on the ripple effects the oil market disruption was causing. At the closing bell, the S&P 500 was down more than 1.5%, the Nasdaq had fallen 1.8%, and the Dow had slipped 740 points. The Russell 2000, which tracks small and mid-size companies, plunged 2%.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.30%, the highest it has been since early February. It is being pushed higher by U.S. government bonds, which have also been rising because of the war.
“This absolutely dwarfs what we saw in the Russia-Ukraine crisis,” Helima Croft, chief commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets, said in an interview.
Trump says he's no longer 'interested' in the Nobel Peace Prize
Trump said this morning that he's no longer "interested" in winning the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming he had "no idea" whether Operation Epic Fury would "get him over the finish line" with committee members in Oslo, Norway.
"I’m not interested in it," Trump said in a phone call with the Washington Examiner, a conservative news publication.
Asked whether the subject had been broached in his recent conversations with foreign leaders, Trump said: "No, I don’t talk about the Nobel Prize."
Trump frequently opined on his desire for the prize in the past. The winner of the 2025 prize, Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado, handed her prize to Trump in January in a meeting at the White House, a move the Nobel committee criticized.
Trump was clamoring for the Nobel as recently as January. In a social media post, he took credit for "single-handedly" ending eight wars — and yet "Norway, a NATO Member, foolishly chose not to give me the Noble Peace Prize."
"But that doesn’t matter! What does matter is that I saved Millions of Lives," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Thailand demands apology from Iran after cargo ship attack
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry conveyed its “strongest protest” to the Iranian ambassador in Bangkok after a Thai cargo ship was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz. Thailand requested a statement of apology from the Iranian authorities.
A photo taken and released by the Royal Thai Navy on March 11, 2026. Royal Thai Navy via AFP - Getty Images
The deputy permanent secretary for foreign affairs, Sirilak Niyom, also requested clarification of facts surrounding the incident, according to the ministry’s statement. The ambassador, Nassereddin Heidari, “expressed his condolences and gave assurances to promptly convey Thailand’s protest to the capital,” the statement said.
A search for three crew members continues, while 20 others were rescued yesterday without serious injuries but might need psychological support, Thai officials said.
Treasury secretary announces authorizations to buy Russian oil
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent today announced a “temporary authorization” to allow countries to buy Russian oil in a bid to help stabilize markets disrupted by the war with Iran.
Bessent said on X that the Treasury Department is “providing a temporary authorization to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea.”
“This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction,” he said.
The Trump administration has said it is trying to keep gas prices low as instability in supplies has caused costs at the pump to increase in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Yesterday, the Energy Department said the U.S. would release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
KC-135 aerial tankers typically have crews of 3
The type of refueling aircraft the U.S. military says was lost in an incident over Iraq typically carries three crew members.
The KC-135 tanker usually has a pilot, a co-pilot and a boom operator, but it sometimes has a navigator on board for certain missions, the Air Force says on its website. More people could be aboard for medical missions, it said.
U.S. Central Command said today that a KC-135 refueling aircraft was lost in an incident that involved two aircraft in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, the name for the military offensive against Iran.
It said rescue efforts were ongoing. It did not provide details about how many people were aboard.
The KC-135 went down in western Iraq and the other aircraft landed safely, Central Command said. It said the incident was not due to either hostile or friendly fire.
U.K. defense secretary says its mine-hunting systems could help clear Strait of Hormuz
John Healey, the United Kingdom's secretary of state for defense, suggested today that Britain's "autonomous mine-hunting systems" could help clear the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway besieged by Iranian attacks.
"I’ve already got pre-positioned in the region, from before this conflict, some autonomous mine hunting systems, and I’ve been talking to the planners today about additional options that we could bring to bear alongside allies if action is needed," Healey said.
Healey stressed the U.K. does not have direct evidence of Iran's laying mines along the strait, pointing to "reports" saying as much.
"We've seen the reports overnight of more civilian commercial ships that have been attacked, unarmed, doing their normal business. This is a major escalation from Iran. It is a breach of international law. It's a very serious situation that is having an impact on oil prices and the cost of living for everyone," he said.
Before a missile struck an Iranian girls school, another school narrowly avoided being hit
Security camera video verified by NBC News shows the moment an airstrike exploded close to Imam Reza Elementary School in Qazvin Province, Iran, on Feb. 28, sending shock waves, debris and dust into the air as students outside in a courtyard ducked for cover.
Children running in a school courtyard in Qazvin, Iran, following an airstrike nearby on Feb. 28. Obtained by NBC News
The strike happened the same day as the attack on a girls school in Minab, a city in southern Iran, which killed more than 170 people, many of them schoolchildren. The strike in Qazvin happened shortly after the first wave of strikes in Minab, according to Ahmad Kalami Pour, who said he was the school’s first principal from 2015 to 2017.
An American munition was probably responsible for the strike in Minab, most likely as a result of outdated intelligence, a U.S. official and three sources familiar with the preliminary findings have told NBC News. It’s unclear who was responsible for the strike near the school in Qazvin.
In the Qazvin video, the blast appears to narrowly miss the school building while detonating close enough to shake the buildings and send students running. BBC Persian reported that shrapnel from the explosion killed one student.
Iranian authorities say the broader wave of attacks has killed over 1,300 civilians. The strikes near schools have drawn particular scrutiny as videos documenting the impact on children circulate online.
A communications tower in Qazvin that was destroyed in a strike on Feb. 28 in a satellite image. Airbus
Israel has targeted Iranian nuclear scientists in the war, Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Iranian nuclear scientists have been targeted in the war.
"In the current operation, we also opened the path for a broad strike against Iran’s massive missile stockpiles and missile-production facilities, as well as its nuclear project — including severe blows to senior Iranian scientists who led the development of nuclear bombs meant to destroy us," he said at news conference. "They are no longer here."
Netanyahu also said he has forged an unprecedented alliance with Trump.
"We speak almost every day, exchange ideas and advice and make decisions together," he told reporters.
Trump recently told Netanyahu that their friendship "is a hundred times stronger than any relationship between an American president and an Israeli prime minister," Netanyahu added.
Their close relationship has been reflected in the operations carried out in the war, he said.
"In a short time, we eliminated the tyrant Khamenei and many senior figures in the terror regime," he said. 'The old dictator is gone, and the new one, Mojtaba Khamenei, the puppet of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, cannot even appear in public."
By crippling the Islamic Republic, Israel and the U.S have created conditions for the Iranian people to remove and replace the regime, he added.
"At the same time, we are pursuing another goal — creating the conditions that will allow the Iranian people to remove the brutal regime that has oppressed them for nearly half a century. We are delivering powerful blows to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij forces," he said.
"I say to the Iranian people — the moment when you can set out on a new path of freedom is drawing closer. We stand with you; we are helping you. But ultimately — it depends on you."
CENTCOM reports loss of American refueling plane in Iraq, but not from 'hostile fire'
CENTCOM reported the loss of a refueling plane in Iraq that was not due to an attack.
"U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft. The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely," the report on X said. "This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire."
U.S. intelligence shows Iran’s regime remains unified with no sign of imminent collapse
U.S. intelligence indicates that the Iranian regime remains unified and that there are no signs of an imminent collapse, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.
Reuters first reported the assessment.
NBC News reported yesterday that there are no indications of major fissures within the regime or breakaway opposition factions, according to current and former U.S. officials, lawmakers and experts.
U.S. intelligence assessments of the relative staying power of the regime have been consistent, the sources said.
Before the start of the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, the CIA concluded that if the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the airstrikes, he could be replaced by equally hard-line officials from within the regime, including the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The CIA declined to comment on intelligence analyses.
In addition to the CIA assessment, a separate analysis from the National Intelligence Council, conducted before the military operation was launched Feb. 28, found that it was unlikely that the U.S.-Israeli aerial attacks would topple the theocratic regime. The prospect of an opposition movement's taking power was also seen as remote, the sources said.
The Washington Post first reported the National Intelligence Council analysis.
The NIC falls under the authority of the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. The National Intelligence Director’s Office has declined to comment on the report.
Karim Sadjadpour, an expert on the Iranian regime and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote in The Atlantic that the military and clerical apparatus in Tehran appears intent on doubling down on its hard-line outlook and repression with the recent selection of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the new supreme leader.
“President Trump may have hoped the elimination of the Islamic Republic’s longtime supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would produce an Iranian Delcy Rodríguez—a pragmatic insider who would capitulate to American pressure—but it has instead spawned a budding Iranian Kim Jong Un," Sadjadpour wrote, referring to the new president of Venezuela and the leader of North Korea.
Iran 'a nation of terror and hate,' says Trump
Trump called Iran "a nation of terror and hate" and said the situation is "moving along very rapidly" toward his guarantee of limited military involvement into the region.
"And we’re doing what has to be done, should have been done during a 47- year period, could have been done by a lot of different people," Trump said at a Women's History Month event in the East Room of the White House.
"They chose not to do it, but they really are a nation of terror and hate, and they’re paying a big price right now," he said.
Iran's foreign minister appears to mock Trump social media post about oil
In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to ridicule one of Trump's social media posts, saying in part: "Americans won’t 'make money' from surging oil prices and tariffs. They enrich corporations and crush households."
Trump wrote earlier today on Truth Social: "The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money."
Trump was referring to spiking energy costs amid the Iranian regime's attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil and natural gas shipping tankers.
Araghchi also suggested that his American "counterparts" were not equipped to engage in negotiations earlier this year about the regime's nuclear ambitions.
"Iran’s proposal to ensure NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS was dismissed because U.S. counterparts didn’t grasp the technical details," he said.
Photos: Residents salvage belongings from destroyed Tehran building
AFP - Getty Images
Residents retrieved household items today from the rubble of a building in Tehran destroyed by airstrikes.
Rescue workers gather outside the building. AFP - Getty Images
A woman carries out a vacuum cleaner. Majid Saeedi / Getty Images
Bessent says U.S. Navy will escort oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz when 'militarily possible'
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believes the U.S. Navy will begin escorting vessels through the besieged Strait of Hormuz "as soon as it is militarily possible."
"There are, in fact, tankers coming through now, Iranian tankers, I believe some Chinese flag tankers have come through," Bessent said in an interview with the British broadcaster Sky News.
"So we know that they have not mined the straits," he added, apparently referring to the Iranian regime.
Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial choke point for the world’s oil supplies. The move has led to spikes in global energy costs, including retail gas prices in the U.S.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC this morning that the U.S. was "simply not ready" to escort tankers across the strait.
Lebanon 'working day and night' to stop war and help displaced people, prime minister says
Lebanon is working "day and night" to stop the conflict unfolding between Israel and Hezbollah, a militant Iranian proxy group, the country's prime minister said today.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Lebanon "sought by all means to avoid" being dragged into the conflict, adding: "It is a war we did not want; on the contrary, we work day and night to stop it."
"We cannot accept in any way that Lebanon will return to being an open arena for others' wars," he said.
He also pledged support for "the hundreds of thousands of our people" who have been forced to flee their homes in southern Lebanon and the Beirut suburbs amid Israeli strikes and evacuation orders.
"Rest assured that we are working around the clock to stop this war and enable you to return to your homes as quickly as possible, a safe and dignified return," he said.
U.S. 'simply not ready' to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, energy secretary says
The U.S. is “simply not ready” to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said this morning.
“It will happen relatively soon,” he told CNBC, adding it would most likely be toward the end of the month.
Describing it as “short-term pain for the long-term gain,” Wright said it was “simply a must-achieve thing, otherwise you’ve got decades into the future of an Iran that can hold the world hostage whenever it wants.”
In a separate interview with Fox News, he said he took “full ownership” for a since-deleted incorrect post on X that said the U.S. Navy had “successfully escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure oil remains flowing to global markets.”
“Very unfortunate. It will not happen again,” he said.
Israel strikes buildings in central Beirut
Ash clouds rise from a missile strike on a building in the center of Beirut today following an evacuation order from the IDF.
Adri Salido / Getty Images
Damage to historical sites in Iran raises alarm about war’s impact on protected places
U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have damaged at least four cultural and historical sites, including palaces and an ancient mosque, raising alarms about the impact of the widening war on protected landmarks that are important to Iranian identity and world history.
The speed and extent of the damage have so concerned Iran and Lebanon that they sent a request to the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, this week to add more sites to its enhanced protection list.
UNESCO confirmed that it has verified damage to the lavish Qajar-era Golestan Palace in Tehran, as well as the 17th century Chehel Sotoun palace and the Masjed-e Jāme, the country’s oldest Friday mosque, both in Isfahan. There was also verified damage at buildings close to the Khorramabad Valley, which includes five prehistoric caves and a rock shelter providing evidence of human occupation dating to 63,000 B.C.
Debris litters the floor in the Golestan Palace in Tehran on March 3. Majid Saeedi / Getty Images
At Golestan Palace, shattered glass from the mirrored ceilings blanketed the floors alongside broken archways, blown-out windows and damaged molding scattered below its glass-mosaic walls, according to Associated Press video recorded March 3.
UNESCO said it provided all parties to the conflict with the geographical coordinates of the heritage sites ahead of time, “to take all feasible precautions to avoid damage.”
The impact on cultural sites has not been isolated to Iran. It has been felt across the Middle East and beyond, with UNESCO tracking damage to the White City in Israel, Tyre in Lebanon and elsewhere.
Collateral damage to such places has been part of the fabric of war for decades, including in conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Israel and Hamas, in which dozens of sites have been damaged or destroyed.
“What is happening is clear to all: In these increasingly modern conflicts, it’s civilians who pay the price, it’s civilian infrastructure that pays the price, and we’ve all seen the destruction of priceless historical heritage,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said this week.
Oil tanker smolders near Iraq after strike
A foreign tanker carrying Iraqi oil sits damaged in Iraq’s territorial waters near Basra today after a missile attack.
Mohammed Aty / Reuters
Iran internet blackout enters 13th day
The internet blackout imposed by the Iranian regime has entered its 13th day, the monitoring service NetBlocks says, now lasting more than 290 hours and counting.
Iran cut the internet after the U.S. and Israel started bombing late last month. The current shutdown is the second longest in its history, surpassed only by the 20-day period in January imposed during nationwide demonstrations.
“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,” NetBlocks said on X.
Trump says he doesn't think it's 'appropriate' for Iran to participate in this year's World Cup
Trump said in a post on Truth Social this morning that he doesn't think Iran should participate in this year's World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
Trump wrote: "The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Iran is scheduled to play in Los Angeles on June 15 against New Zealand and on June 21 against Belgium before traveling to Seattle for a June 26 matchup against Egypt.
Iran's national soccer team ahead of their World Cup 2026 qualifier game against North Korea in Tehran last year. Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images file
A team has never withdrawn or been removed from a World Cup in the modern era. The soccer tournament was canceled during World War II but it has never been affected by global conflict in the way it could be this year.
Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali said yesterday the men’s team would not be participating, whether Trump says the team is welcome or not.
Trump has been working behind the scenes on the diplomatic crisis at the urging of his close friend and ally Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president. They met Tuesday and discussed the issue, according to a White House official and Infantino’s social media.
FIFA has not said yet what the contingency plan is for replacing Iran in the tournament, but some of the other teams that could take its place have their own complications due to the conflict in the Middle East.
This World Cup is the biggest ever, with 48 teams set to compete. FIFA itself is no stranger to making political accommodations for countries during qualifiers and group determinations, but it has never encountered the potential disruption to the monthlong tournament that it is confronting now.
Two sailors injured as fire breaks out on U.S. aircraft carrier
Two U.S. sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the Red Sea were injured in a fire yesterday, according to a post on X from U.S. Central Command.
The fire "originated in the ship's main laundry spaces," CENTCOM said. The fire, which was not combat-related, has since been contained.
The sailors were said to be receiving medical treatment for injuries that were not life-threatening, and they are in stable condition. They were not publicly identified.
Analysis: A tough but familiar lesson awaits Trump unless the war ends soon
President Donald Trump may be about to learn a lesson that has been taught to several of his predecessors — it’s easier to start a war than to end one.
Trump’s pronouncements that the war will be over soon run counter to what we’re hearing from the Iranian regime, which has continued retaliatory attacks in the region and effectively shuttered the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest oil shipping channels, which is bordered to the north by Iran and is crucial to the global energy supply.
Destroyed residential buildings in Tehran today. Majid Saeedi / Getty Images
In his first comments since he was appointed supreme leader four days ago, Mojtaba Khamenei has said that the narrow waterway should remain closed. He also insisted that Iran was “only targeting military bases” in neighboring countries “out of necessity.”
His comments came the day after Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian laid three conditions to end the war: the recognition of his country’s rights, reparations payments and guarantees against future aggression.
It’s unlikely Trump will accept those terms, which may leave him with little choice but to double down, meaning more risk for American service members.
With oil prices spiking and pressure growing to bring the war to an end, Trump is locked in a battle of wills with Iran. America’s global standing is on the line.
Khamenei avoided a video address that could give away his location
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei made his first big address to the Iranian public not in a video message or public appearance, but in a written statement read by state television broadcasters.
It's a notable choice that shouldn't come as a surprise given the threats to his life, according to a leading Iranian affairs expert.
"He obviously has to take extreme measures to protect himself physically," said Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a think tank in Washington. "He's being hunted down, essentially."
The health and current whereabouts of Khamenei are both unclear, after Iranian state TV previously indicated he had been wounded in the wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed his father.
Vatanka added that the new supreme leader may not have been ready to face cameras.
"The reality is that this man was not necessarily prepared for this job. His father did not groom him in public for the role," Vatanka said. "Because the first impression is so important, perhaps his advisers said, 'You're not ready for your moment in the limelight, there's no need to rush it, and you can remain under the radar as long as you somehow communicate.'"
Khamenei vows vengeance for school strike victims
The supreme leader says Iran will “avenge the blood” of the 170 people, mostly children, who were killed in a likely U.S. strike on an elementary school.
Outdated intelligence likely led to the strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli assault, according to a U.S. official and three sources familiar with the preliminary findings of a U.S. military investigation, which found American ordinance was probably responsible. Witnesses and an Iranian Education Ministry official said previously that the school was located on a compound that was a base for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps until about 15 years ago.
The aftermath of a missile strike on a school in Minab, Iran, on Feb. 28. Abbas Zakeri / Mehr News via Reuters
“I assure everyone that we will not abandon the pursuit of justice for the blood of your martyrs,” Mojtaba Khamenei said in his first message in office. He said particular vengeance would be carried out for “the blood of our children,” and that “the crime deliberately committed by the enemy against the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, and similar cases, will receive particular attention.”
Trump: 'When oil prices go up, we make a lot of money'
President Donald Trump appeared to dismiss rising energy costs in the U.S. and around the world, saying in a social media post just prior to the Iranian supreme leader's address that "when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money."
"BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping (sic) an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "I won't ever let that happen!"
The cost of oil and natural gas has spiked as the Iranian regime ramped up its attacks on shipping and energy structure across the Middle East, most notably along the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway that carries 20% of the world's crude supply.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in the statement read out on state television that this effective blockade must continue.
Khamenei says Iran remains friends with neighbors but will continue attacks
The supreme leader said that Iran was "only targeting military bases" in neighboring countries "out of necessity" and that "we believe in friendship with our neighbors."
Though Iran has maintained it is only targeting U.S. bases across the Gulf, attacks have hit civilian targets including residential buildings and oil facilities.
A banner depicting Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran yesterday. Khoshiran / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty
These are the first comments made by Khamenei since he was appointed supreme leader four days ago, during which time there have been mounting reports and speculation that he was injured in an airstrike.
Supreme leader says vital oil route must remain closed
Mojtaba Khamenei has said that the Strait of Hormuz must remain closed, defying calls by President Donald Trump and global markets to reopen the vital oil trade route.
“Certainly, the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz should still be used,” Khamenei said, according to a quote from his first message to the public that was shared by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency.
Iran has vowed to attack any U.S., Israeli or allied ship that dares to cross the narrow strait, which sees one-fifth of the world’s oil pass through it each year. The war's disruption has sent oil prices surging.
Iran's new supreme leader makes first statement
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has issued his first statement while in office, with the state broadcaster showing a banner of his face while an anchor reads the message in Farsi.
We will have more to come.
U.S. Navy not yet ready to escort oil through Hormuz, energy secretary says
The U.S. Navy is not yet ready to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz and likely won’t be until the end of this month, Energy Secretary Chris Wright has told CNBC.
“It’ll happen relatively soon but it can’t happen now,” Wright told the broadcaster. “We’re simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran’s offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies their offensive capabilities.”
“I’ll be over at the Pentagon later today — that is what the military is working on,” he said.
The U.S. has previously floated the idea of escorting ships through the strait, a vital chokepoint for global energy that is currently being targeted by Iran, upending international markets. Earlier this week, Wright posted to X that the Navy had already performed such an escort of one vessel — but this was swiftly deleted and denied by the White House, blaming a staffer's error.
Focus should shift from oil prices to long-term stability, Israeli opposition leader tells NBC News
Instead of focusing on oil prices, people should look at how the U.S. and Israel’s war will bring stability to the Middle East in the long term, Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz told NBC News this morning.
“If we can change the way Iran runs itself and the way Iran acts around it, it will stabilize the area, it will bring down the oil prices dramatically, this will be a stable and unthreatening region, which is more important than how long will it take us to do that,” said Gantz, Israel’s former defense minister, who served as the military’s chief of general staff before he entered politics.
He added that he thought the current military campaign would likely last “at least a few weeks, but I think we need to constantly assess it.”
The future of the Islamic Republic was for “the Iranian people to decide,” said Gantz, a longtime rival to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He added that he thought they would “understand they then need to change their behavior.”
Iran's new supreme leader is set to break his silence
Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is set to give his first message since being appointed, according to the country's semiofficial Tasnim news agency, following nearly four days of silence amid reports that he was wounded in an airstrike.
The message will address “the martyred leader of the revolution, the role and duties of the people, the armed forces, executive institutions, and the resistance front, as well as regional countries and confronting enemies,” Tasnim said.
A demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei at a rally in Tehran on Monday. Arezoo / Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images
The hard-line Khamenei, 56, was elevated to the role earlier this week to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign.
Rumors about the younger Khamenei's health were sparked after Iran’s state TV referred to him as “janbaz” — meaning “wounded by the enemy.” A government adviser said that he was injured but "safe."
Zelenskyy says Ukraine is looking to sign a drone deal with the U.S.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is hoping to sign a “big drone production deal” with America as Iran continues its retaliatory attacks on Washington's allies in the Middle East.
“We wanted to sign a big drone production deal with the United States, but we needed the approval from the White House. It was about different kinds of drones and air defense. They operate as one system and can defend against hundreds or thousands of Iranian 'Shaheds' and missiles,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X earlier today.
“We didn’t have the opportunity to sign this document yet,” he added. “I hope that maybe American friends will be closer to this decision now, especially after such challenges as we see in the Middle East.”
Ukraine has offered its drone expertise, painstakingly built over four grueling years of war with Russia, to countries in the Middle East, Europe and the U.S.
Kyiv said it could offer cheaper interceptor drones and experts to counter Iran's near daily strikes on Gulf nations. Zelenskyy said in another post yesterday that three Ukrainian teams of experts, military personnel and engineers have already gone to the Middle East.
Children bearing the brunt of the conflict in Lebanon, doctors and aid groups say
In the first week of Israel’s assault on Hezbollah, an average of 10 children were killed every day in Lebanon.
Though the IDF sometimes issues evacuation orders, there is no timeline. And unlike Israel, there are no sirens to alert the population of incoming strikes and few bunkers for people to seek shelter.
Inside the paediatric ward at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, four-year-old Malika is one of the first children injured when the war between Israel and Hezbollah that started in the early hours of March 2.
Her face is covered in shrapnel wounds, injuries from a strike that claimed her mother’s life. The family was attempting to evacuate when their vehicle was hit from the air, Malika’s mother suffered deadly injuries as she shielded her daughter, relatives say.
The doctor treating young Malika is the renowned Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah, whose work in Gaza made headlines around the world, he now leads a Beirut-based foundation solely focused on children’s medical care.
Abu Sittah told NBC News the brutal war in Gaza was a turning point — where the world seemed numbed to the deaths of tens of thousands of children, a trend, he said that is continuing in Lebanon today.
“You need to be outraged when a child tells you that she was sitting on her mom’s lap when her mom was killed. That moral outrage is what keeps us human,” Abu Sittah said.
Photos: Hole in side of Dubai high-rise after reported drone hit
Images from this morning show damage to Address Creek Harbour hotel in Dubai after it was hit by a reported drone strike last night.
Fatima Shbair / AP
A steeplejack assesses the damage after a building was hit by a reported drone strike in Dubai today. AFP via Getty Images
Iran warns invasion of its islands would cause it to 'abandon all restraint'
Iran’s parliamentary speaker has warned the U.S. and Israel that launching a ground invasion against its islands would cause the Islamic Republic to “abandon all restraint” and make the sea “run with the blood of invaders.”
Trump has privately expressed serious interest in deploying a small contingent of U.S. troops to Iran, according to two U.S. officials, a former U.S. official and another person with knowledge of the conversations last week.
There has also been speculation that the U.S. could seize Kharg Island, Iran’s offshore strategic terminal that handles the vast majority of its crude exports.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X, “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.”
Israel says it hit site used in Iran’s nuclear program
Israel says it has struck a recently rebuilt compound linked to Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Iran has only just reconstructed the Taleghan facility, at the Parchin military complex in the country's southeast, after it was bombed and destroyed by Israel in 2024, according to the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington think tank.
Today, the Israel Defense Forces said it “struck” the site again — although it did not say how badly it was damaged. The IDF said Taleghan has been used to “develop advanced explosives and to conduct sensitive experiments,” having previously been part of what it called Iran’s “covert nuclear weapon development program” in the 2000s.
Iran has always denied pursuing nuclear weapons.
Satellite imagery of Taleghan 2 facility at the Parchin military complex March 6 (top) and yesterday, after airstrikes. © 2026 Vantor / AFP via Getty Images
The institute says the new site, under reconstruction since last May, “is assessed to contain one large or multiple small circular chambers” that are “able to test nuclear weapon components.”
Russia, U.S. discussing cooperation to stabilize energy markets, Kremlin says
The Kremlin said discussions are taking place between Moscow and Washington about ways of cooperating to help stabilize energy markets reeling from the conflict in the Middle East and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“It is obvious that interaction between Russia and the United States, including on energy markets, could and should be an important factor in stabilizing those markets,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Person said. “At the moment, it is still too early to speak about any effective cooperation, but the topic is certainly being discussed,” he added.
There was no immediate confirmation of such discussions from the White House.
Trump signaled a possible lifting of sanctions on the oil products of “some countries” earlier this week, without mentioning Russia directly. The U.S. already issued a 30-day waiver last week, allowing India to buy Russian oil.
Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev said earlier today that he had discussed the current energy crisis with his U.S. counterparts as part of a meeting of the U.S.-Russia working group on the economy that took place in Florida. Peskov added they are awaiting Dmitriev’s report to Putin on these talks.
Iran war creating 'largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,' IEA says
The war is “creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,” the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report released today.
The IEA said that oil running through “the crucial waterway” of the Strait of Hormuz had been reduced to “a trickle.” Iran has threatened to attack any U.S., Israeli or allied ship that tries to get through the strait, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil typically passes.
The agency, which released a record 400 million barrels yesterday in an attempt to counter the blockage, said that “oil prices have gyrated wildly” since the U.S. and Israel launched the war late last month.
It said that the release was only a “stop-gap measure,” and that the market would ultimately be dictated by the intensity of attacks, damage to infrastructure and “the duration of disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Israeli army ordered to prepare to 'expand operations' in Lebanon
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz says he has instructed the military to prepare to expand its operations in Lebanon.
Katz made the comments during a meeting at an underground command center with other Israeli military and intelligence leaders.
“I warned the president of Lebanon,” Joseph Aoun, “that if the Lebanese government cannot control the territory and prevent Hezbollah from threatening northern communities and firing at Israel, we will take the territory and do it ourselves,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and I have instructed the IDF to prepare to expand its operations in Lebanon and to restore quiet and security to the northern communities,” Katz added.
Israeli strike kills 8 on Beirut public beach, officials say
Lebanon has said that an Israeli airstrike on its capital's downtown seafront has killed at least eight people and injured 31 others.
The Lebanese Public Health Ministry said the attack hit the public beach of Ramlet al-Baida in Beirut.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces said it had carried out a “wide-scale wave of strikes” across Lebanon, targeting what it called the “terror infrastructure” of Hezbollah, the Iran-allied militant and political group. The IDF has not commented on the beachfront attack specifically.
Lebanon is facing a humanitarian crisis, with some 700,000 people displaced from their homes in the south of the country as Israel issues evacuation orders and carries out strikes.
Firefighters work at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs today. AFP via Getty Images
A man walks amid damaged buildings following overnight Israeli airstrikes in the Mcharafieh neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs today. Ibrahim Amro / AFP via Getty Images
Since the start of the war on Feb. 28, more than 570 people have been killed and around 1,400 injured, according to Lebanese government figures. Scores of children are among the dead, according to UNICEF.
Citibank closes UAE branches as Iran threatens financial institutions
Citibank will close its branches and financial centers in the United Arab Emirates through Saturday as a precautionary measure, its website showed this morning, following a wave of banks sending staff home as the crisis in the Middle East deepens.
The U.S. bank plans to reopen all affected branches Monday, but the branch in the Mall of the Emirates in central Dubai will remain open during this period, it said.
Banks across the region have stepped up precautions after Iran threatened Gulf banking interests linked to the U.S. and Israel.
Earlier this week, Citi told its staff to evacuate offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre and Dubai’s Oud Metha neighbourhood, telling them to work from home until further notice.
HSBC, another major global bank, has closed all branches in Qatar until further notice, according to a customer notice, saying the measure was to ensure the safety of staff and customers.
Oil prices dip back below $100 a barrel but remain high despite record IEA release
Despite dozens of countries agreeing to release 400 million barrels of oil — the most in history — prices for crude have barely calmed at all.
Crude oil prices have come down to below $100 a barrel, but were on the rise again early this morning, creeping above $92 as of 5 a.m. ET.
That’s because there’s little sign of de-escalation in the Persian Gulf, a vital maritime trade route for oil and other goods that has ground to a halt amid the conflict, according to experts at the Dutch bank ING.
The strategic petroleum reserve storage at the Bryan Mound site in Freeport, Texas. Brandon Bell / Getty Images
The International Energy Agency, which works with major producers to shape global policy, tried to counter these prices — which peaked above $120 this week — by coordinating its record-breaking oil splurge.
“The key question is, why is the market rallying despite this large release?” strategists at ING said in a memo today. The reason is twofold: “First, there are no signs of de-escalation in the Persian Gulf,” it said, coupled with “concerns about the speed at which this oil” released by the IEA “will reach the market.”
Major Asian airline doubles fuel surcharge in latest industry fallout
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific has announced that the fuel surcharge on all its flights, including to and from the U.S., will increase by as much as twice, saying the surcharges "will be adjusted by taking into account of fuel prices on a monthly basis."
A Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 flying over Hong Kong in 2025. Ben Marans / SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images file
Long-haul passengers are hit the hardest, with those on U.S. flights now required to pay almost $150 one-way, up from the present rate of nearly $73. Airlines require passengers to pay fuel surcharges to account for the fluctuation in the fuel costs.
The hiked rate comes as fuel prices soar around the world and rattle the global aviation business. Air India said Tuesday it would also charge a higher fuel surcharge rate, with passengers on U.S. flights paying an additional $50 on top of the existing $150.
Air New Zealand said this morning it would slash 5% of its flights through early May after it led other airlines including Australia’s Qantas Airways, Scandinavia’s SAS and Thai Airways in announcing price hikes.
Sirens blast in Israel and across the Gulf as Iran strikes back
Iran has responded to the latest wave of American and Israeli attacks by launching a new volley of missiles against its Washington-allied Gulf neighbors.
Hours after the United Nations Security Council approved a resolution demanding Tehran stop its “egregious attacks,” the Islamic Republic fired missiles at Jerusalem; at Saudi Arabia, targeting an oil field and the diplomatic quarter of Riyadh; at Bahrain, causing a fire near the country’s main airport; at Kuwait, where a building was damaged and two people were injured; and at the United Arab Emirates, where air defense systems intercepted attacks aimed at Dubai, one of which caused a fire at a high-rise building, officials in those places said.
In the Persian Gulf itself, a container ship was hit by an “unknown projectile” causing a small fire, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization, a monitoring service run by the British navy, reporting that all the crew were safe.
This was the 16th attack on shipping since the U.S. and Israel launched their assault, after which Iran vowed to attack any ship allied to those nations attempting to cross the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Hard-liner threatens possible protesters on Iran state TV
A hard-line television presenter has threatened possible protesters against Iran’s theocracy.
Reza Mollaei, speaking yesterday on the television program “Samt-e Khoda,” or “Towards God” in Farsi, said hard-liners were “waiting, when the dust of this unrest settles ... (to) grab you by the collar, every single one of you. And that’s already happening.”
“Confiscating your properties in nothing, we will make your mothers mourn you,” Mollaei said. “Those of you who now have foolish ideas and think things are chaotic and something must be done, this message is for you, both inside the country and outside.”
3 more tankers hit overnight as Iran steps up attacks on shipping
One person has died after a U.S.-owned crude oil tanker was attacked near southern Iraq, according to the Indian Embassy in Baghdad.
The tanker, Safesea Vishnu, which was sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, had a 16-person crew, of whom 15 have been “evacuated to a safe place,” the statement read.
Two more tankers were also hit earlier, the British military said, adding that they were struck by a projectile near Iraq’s southeastern region. The crew has been evacuated, it added.
Iran has stepped up its attacks on shipping in the region, with its stranglehold on the crucial Strait of Hormuz effectively halting supplies through the crucial waterway.
When will gas prices come down?
With the announcement of emergency supplies of oil to be released, analysts say, gas prices may rise more slowly but won’t come down soon.
Critical to reversing the surge in prices is getting ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz, the experts say.
Catch up on our latest coverage
- Iran’s regime shows it can still rattle the global economy amid U.S. bombardment
- Why it’s so hard to get oil through the Strait of Hormuz right now
- Dozens of countries agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil. But it didn’t bring down prices.
- Outdated intel likely led to deadly U.S. strike on Iranian elementary school, sources say
- Trump tries to navigate Iran war and rising gas prices at first rally since strikes began
- First 6 days of Iran war cost $11.3 billion, Pentagon tells Congress
- Iran appears to have conducted a significant cyberattack against a U.S. company, a first since the war started
