Attacks on commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz leave world on edge

• US warns of Iranian plans to mine waters of the strait, claims destroying 16 minelayers
• Three commercial ships attacked by projectiles
• Eight US soldiers, over 1,200 Iranians among nearly 1,900 killed across Middle East
• New supreme leader ‘safe and sound’ despite reports of injury
• Israel intensifies attacks on Beirut, Tehran; Iran hits back at targets across Gulf states

DUBAI / TEHRAN: Iran fired at Israel and targets across the Middle East on Wednesday, while at least three ships were hit in the Gulf, demonstrating Tehran can still fight back and disrupt energy supplies despite the most intense US-Israeli strikes yet.

Washington also warned Iranians on Wednesday that it considers civilian ports in the Strait of Hormuz to be legitimate targets, alleging the Tehran government was using the facilities for military operations.

It urged “civilians in Iran to immediately avoid all port facilities where Iranian naval forces are operating’’.

The US military also posted footage of Iranian boats blasted by missiles and other projectiles as it said it had destroyed 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint to the Gulf through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.

“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,” President Donald Trump wrote on social media.

Reuters reported that Iran had deployed around a dozen mines in the strait, but while sources said the locations of most of the mines were known, there was no clarity on how the US planned to deal with them.

Trump has offered for the US military to accompany tankers through the strait, but his administration acknowledged that a post by the energy secretary announcing a first such escort was untrue.

However, French President Emmanuel Macron seemed to contradict Trump’s view, saying, “I have no confirmation of this, either from partner services or from our own services” after a video call with G7 leaders.

Macron added that US and Israeli strikes had weakened Iran’s military capabilities, but not “reduced [them] to zero”.

Hormuz situation

Iran said Wednesday it was ready for a long war of attrition that would “destroy” the world economy, after firing on two commercial ships and threatening any vessels from the US or its allies.

The US and Israel “must consider the possibility that they will be engaged in a long-term war of attrition that will destroy the entire American economy and the world economy”, Ali Fadavi, adviser to the Revolutionary Guards’ commander-in-chief, told state television. On Wednesday, Thailand-flagged bulk carrier Mayuree Naree was attacked by a projectile in the strait, 11 nautical miles north of Oman. A fire broke out on board, prompting the crew to evacuate, the vessel’s owner Precious Shipping said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Japan-flagged container ship One Majesty sustained minor damage after it was hit by a projectile 25 nautical miles northwest of UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah.

In addition, the hull of Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Star Gwyneth, was damaged after being hit by a projectile 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, maritime risk management company Vanguard said.

Iran said it had struck the Liberian-flagged container ship Express Rome and the Thai bulk carrier Mayuree Naree because they had entered the strait “after ignoring the warnings of the IRGC naval forces”.

Oman’s navy rescued 20 crew members, but efforts were underway to find three more. Pictures shared by the Thai navy showed black smoke pouring out of the vessel.

Casualties

According to an Al Jazeera tally, nearly 1,900 people have been killed during hostilities in the Middle East so far. These include at least 1,255 dead in Iran, around 570 killed in Lebanon, 13 dead in Israel and eight US soldiers.

Meanwhile, approximately 140 US service members have been wounded in the first 10 days of the Iran campaign.

“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

“Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care,” the official was quoted as saying.

Mojtaba ‘safe and sound’

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound” despite reports of an injury during the war with Israel and the United States, said the son of the Iranian president, AFP reports.

“I heard news that Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound,” said Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, in a post on his Telegram channel. State television had called Khamenei a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” but never specified his injury.

Attacks on Iran and Lebanon

Israel launched new waves of strikes in both Beirut and Tehran on Wednesday, which was hunkered down for intense attacks after being smothered by black rain from Israeli-bombed fuel depots.

“The IDF (military) has begun an additional wave of strikes on Iranian … regime targets in Tehran,” the Israeli military wrote on its official Telegram channel.

The strikes struck Beirut’s southern suburbs, with live footage showing plumes of smoke rising from places struck.

Attacks on Israel

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced the launch of the 37th wave of missiles and drones, amid reports that Tel Aviv has been hit.

The Israeli military claimed it had identified missiles launched from Iran and that its defence systems are operating to intercept the threat.

Israel’s Channel 12 said that several people have been injured from an Iranian missile strike near Tel Aviv.

The barrage was “the most intense and heaviest since the start of the war”, lasting three hours and targeting Israeli cities including Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, Iranian broadcaster IRIB said, citing a statement from the IRGC.

The broadcaster said a missile salvo also targeted “numerous US targets in Erbil” in Iraqi Kurdistan and the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Bahrain.

Gulf states

On Wednesday, drones fell near Dubai airport, injuring four people, the city’s government said. Drones also hit fuel tanks at Oman’s Salalah port, Oman News Agency reported.

Saudi Arabia said the country’s defence systems had intercepted and destroyed multiple projectiles, including two drones in Hafar Al Bati and six ballistic missiles launched towards Prince Sultan Air Base. At least seven drones heading towards the Shaybah oil field were also intercepted and destroyed, the ministry said.

In a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency, the IRGC said “a mass” of ballistic missiles had been fired at the base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and at three other facilities in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Meanwhile, the UAE says that its air defence systems were “responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran”, adding that the sounds of explosions heard in the emirate were a result of the systems “intercepting missiles and drones”.

A drone also struck a major US diplomatic support centre in Iraq, which was a logistical hub for US diplomats near Baghdad airport.

The Kuwaiti National Guard claimed to have shot down eight drones as “part of the ongoing efforts to enhance security, protect vital sites, and confront any potential threats”.

Qatar’s defence ministry also claimed to have intercepted a missile attack. Following the announcement, Qatari authorities sent out a message saying, “The security threat has been eliminated, and the situation has returned to normal”, Al Jazeera reported.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2026