The US president has vowed to wipe out Tehran’s key oil port unless the Strait of Hormuz remains open
Published 13 Mar, 2026 20:55
| Updated 14 Mar, 2026 05:15
President Donald Trump has bragged about the “most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East” amid reports of new reinforcements moving into the region as the US-Israeli attack on Iran enters its third week.
The US has “totally obliterated” military infrastructure on Iran’s Kharg Island, but “for reasons of decency” has not yet targeted oil facilities at the “crown jewel” port, which handles 90% of the country’s oil exports, Trump said on Friday.
“However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision,” the US president stated.
In response, Tehran has threatened to turn all US-linked oil infrastructure across the Middle East into a “pile of ashes” if its facilities come under attack.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is reportedly deploying an amphibious assault-ready expeditionary unit, which typically consists of some 5,000 marines and sailors, fueling growing fears of a potential ground invasion.
Here are the latest developments as RT continues to bring you up to date:
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The US Treasury temporarily lifted its sanctions on Russian oil shipments in order to reduce the burden on global energy markets. Several countries have already lined up to negotiate deals with Moscow, while G7 members slammed the move, insisting on continued pressure on Russia.
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The US and Israel conducted airstrikes on Tehran during a massive government-organized Quds Day march in support of Palestine, attended by top Iranian officials.
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Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani has mocked the US bounty for information on Iranian leaders’ whereabouts, stating that they have always been “and still are among the people,” unlike top US politicians who prefer “Epstein’s island.”
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US CENTCOM has announced that all six crew members of the US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker have been confirmed dead after the aircraft went down in “friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury” over western Iraq.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
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14 March 2026
05:27 GMT
Iranian missiles struck parts of northern Israel on Saturday, triggering fires in the port city of Haifa and air-raid sirens across several areas, media and officials in Tehran have said. The projectiles reportedly hit locations including the Naqab region and the Al-Matla area, causing damage, while emergency alerts were activated amid a fresh wave of attacks.
Israel’s Home Front Command said warning sirens sounded in the western Galilee community of Shtula over fears of drone infiltration. Lebanon’s Hezbollah group also launched strikes toward the Israeli city of Safed during the barrage, according to regional media reports.
🇱🇧🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️NOW: Missile Impact in Haifa pic.twitter.com/2q9S8nO1NA
— MonitorX (@MonitorX99800) March 14, 2026
Several Gulf states reported intercepting Iranian aerial threats overnight, including Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- 04:56 GMT
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has released a statement on the situation at Kharg Island following US airstrikes, dismissing President Donald Trump’s claims of the complete destruction of the island’s defense systems.
The US forces targeted around 15 locations, including the Iranian army’s air defense positions, the Joshen Naval Base, the airport watchtower, and a helicopter pad, the IRGC has confirmed, but claimed that the island’s defenses resumed operation within an hour.
The IRGC also emphasized that none of the oil infrastructure on Kharg Island – which handles approximately 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports – was damaged in the attacks. The statement reiterated Tehran’s prior warning about the consequences of any strike on the country’s energy infrastructure.
“If Iran’s energy infrastructure is attacked, all oil and gas infrastructure in the region in which the United States and its allies have interests will be set on fire and destroyed,” the IRGC said.
- 04:39 GMT
The IRGC has shared new footage of its strikes against the US and Israeli positions, showing a swarm of Shahed-136 drones taking off from an undisclosed airfield.
- 04:10 GMT
Iraqi officials told AP that a helipad at the US embassy in Baghdad was hit by a missile, with new videos showing one of the complex’s towers on fire. Meanwhile local pro-Iranian sources claimed that an air defense radar system was damaged in a kamikaze drone attack.
- 03:51 GMT
Iranian air defenses reportedly shot down yet another US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the strategic port city of Bandar Abbas at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Press TV. US officials previously confirmed that 11 Reapers, each estimated at over $30 million, have been lost during bombing raids against Iran so far.
الدفاع الجوي الإيراني يُسقط طائرة أمريكية مسيرة من طراز "MQ-9" في بندر عباس. pic.twitter.com/TjxjSXE13o
— رؤى لدراسات الحرب (@RoaaWarStudies) March 14, 2026
- 03:32 GMT
The US Embassy in Iraq has reportedly been targeted by a drone strike, with Iranian and local media circulating videos that appear to show smoke rising from the diplomatic compound in the Green Zone of Baghdad.
🚨🇺🇸🇮🇶 Smoke reportedly rising from the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad after another drone strike hit the area. This is the same facility that's been breached multiple times in two weeks.pic.twitter.com/MW992YqzEZhttps://t.co/BqfPjFevdz
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 14, 2026
- 03:18 GMT
President Trump has shared a declassified combat video allegedly showing US bombing raids against “military targets” on Kharg Island that he called the “crown jewel” of Iranian oil production.
- 02:57 GMT
At least 15 large explosions rocked Kharg Island following US airstrikes earlier in the day, with thick smoke seen rising from Iran’s key oil hub, Press TV reports. Neither Tehran nor Washington has yet confirmed the scope of the damage, after President Trump insisted he ordered the Department of War to target only “military infrastructure” but spare oil facilities for now.
- 02:23 GMT
President Trump has reiterated his claim that the US military campaign against Iran is “way ahead of schedule” but refused to offer any specific timeline for ending the war.
“I mean, I have my own idea, but what good does it do?” he told reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews , before adding that the war will go on for “as long as it’s necessary.”
Asked to explain what kind of “unconditional surrender” he expected from Tehran, Trump told journalists it would meann “very simply that we are in a position of dominance that nobody has ever seen before.»
"To me, it means very simply that we are in a position of dominance," says @POTUS on "unconditional surrender" by Iran."Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Most of their military is gone… Just about everything is gone, and you'll see that." pic.twitter.com/I4pyhEs4N9
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 13, 2026
- 01:56 GMT
Tehran has threatened to turn all US-linked oil infrastructure across the Middle East into a “pile of ashes” if its own facilities come under attack.
“All the oil and energy infrastructure belonging to oil companies across the region that have American shares or cooperate with the United States will be destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes,” a spokesperson for the Central Headquarters of Khatam al-Anbiya said in a statement appearing to directly respond to President Donald Trump’s claims about a US bombing raid on Iran’s Kharg Island.
Trump previously claimed he spared Iran’s main oil hub, which handles approximately 90% of the country’s oil exports, during the “most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East.” But he threatened to “immediately reconsider this decision” if Iran or anyone else were to block the flow of oil through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Kharg Island, located in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Iran © Orbital Horizon / Gallo Images via Getty Images
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13 March 2026
20:57 GMT
European countries thought they would get more support for Ukraine by backing the war against Iran, but instead, the conflict resulted in sanction relief for Russian oil imports, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.
Except for Spain and a few other nations, European countries and the European Union condemned the US-Israeli attack on Iran, which legal scholars have deemed unlawful, by criticizing the Iranian government.
The U.S. spent months on bullying India into ending oil imports from Russia. After two weeks of war with Iran, White House is now begging the world—incl India—to buy Russian crude.Europe thought backing illegal war on Iran would win U.S. support against Russia.Pathetic. pic.twitter.com/fbkrXpXa9P
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 13, 2026
”Europe thought backing illegal war on Iran would win US support against Russia,” Araghchi wrote in a post on X. “Pathetic.”
- 21:07 GMT
The Pentagon has approved sending a Marine expeditionary unit and additional warships to the Middle East, The Wall Street Journal reported citing three unnamed US officials. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has approved a request from US Central Command for the additional assets, including the amphibious assault-ready expeditionary unit, which typically consists of some 5,000 Marines and sailors.
- 21:21 GMT
Sirens have blared in Tel Aviv as the Home Front Command instructed residents to seek shelter in a protected space and remain there until further notice. The IDF said it detected several missile launches from Iran – hours after Israel announced a new wave of strikes against Tehran.
“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the IDF said.
- 21:47 GMT
Israeli shells reportedly hit a United Nations peacekeeping base near the border village of Mays al-Jabal in southern Lebanon, landing inside the Nepalese battalion’s compound, according to state-run National News Agency.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or comments from UNIFIL, Nepal, or Israel.
Earlier this week, Ghana urged the international community to condemn another missile attack that injured four of its soldiers serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon.
Ghana’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, described last Friday’s bombing as “an attack on multilateralism” and “every principle that the UN Charter exists to defend.”
- 22:10 GMT
Qatar has ordered evacuations from “a number of specified areas as a temporary precautionary measure, in the interest of public safety until the threat has subsided.”
The Interior Ministry has urged everyone to “rely on official sources for information and to adhere to the issued instructions” – but did not immediately provide any specifics or a list of affected areas.
The Ministry of Interior announces that the relevant authorities are evacuating a number of specified areas as a temporary precautionary measure, in the interest of public safety until the threat has subsided.The Ministry urges everyone to rely on official sources for…
— Ministry of Interior — Qatar (@MOI_QatarEn) March 13, 2026
- 22:19 GMT
At least six Iranian civilians have been killed and seven others injured in a suspected Israeli attack on a village in the central Markazi province, according to Fars news.
- 22:35 GMT
Tehran is allegedly considering allowing oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz if their cargo is traded in Chinese yuan, rather than US dollars, an unnamed senior Iranian official told CNN.
Responding to a question from an RT India correspondent earlier on Friday, Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, highlighted converging interests between the two countries and when asked directly whether India would receive safe passage through the strait, he replied: “Yes, because India is our friend.”
The United States has been aggressively defending the petrodollar system, utilizing a combination of financial sanctions and military-backed pressure since its establishment in the 1970s. President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused BRICS nations of seeking to undermine the US dollar’s dominance in global trade. Moscow argues Washington itself undermined its currency by using it as a weapon, while Russia and its partners were merely forced to seek alternatives.
- 23:00 GMT
At least 13 civilians, including children, were killed by Israeli attacks across Lebanon on Friday evening, according to local health officials.
The death toll over the past two weeks has risen to more than 773 people, including over 100 children, and nearly 2,000 injured.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said one of the strikes hit an emergency point operated by the Islamic Health Authority and the Islamic Risala Scouts, killing two rescuers and wounding at least five others. The state-run National News Agency said another six people, including a young girl, were killed when Israeli warplanes struck a house in the city of Nabatieh. Three more people were killed in the border city of Bint Jbeil , while two children were killed in the coastal town of Ghazieh.
- 23:06 GMT
The Nepalese consulate in Beirut has condemned the Israeli attack on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) outpost hosting a Nepalese battalion, calling it a serious breach of international law.
“The Nepalese soldiers participating in UNIFIL have served for many years with a spirit of commitment and discipline to promote peace and stability in southern Lebanon,” the consulate said. It is unclear if anyone was injured or killed.
🚨BREAKING |Israeli shells struck the Nepali battalion headquarters of UNIFIL in Mays Al-Jabal, southern Lebanon, wounding several peacekeepers & setting parts of the compound on fire.The Nepalese consulate in Beirut confirmed & condemned the attack targeting the Nepali… pic.twitter.com/h2ggyymZNy
— Hala Jaber (@HalaJaber) March 13, 2026
- 23:23 GMT
The US has conducted a bombing raid on Iran’s “crown jewel,” Kharg Island, which handles 90% of the country’s oil exports, President Donald Trump announced in a new post on Truth Social.
“Moments ago, at my direction, the United States Central Command executed one of the most powerful bombing raids in the History of the Middle East, and totally obliterated every MILITARY target in Iran’s crown jewel, Kharg Island,” Trump wrote.
The US president claimed that he has chosen not to wipe out Iran’s oil infrastructure on the island “for reasons of decency” – as Brent futures spiked above $103 on Friday. Washington has been struggling to cushion the global economic impact of the war by releasing crude oil from strategic reserves and even temporarily lifting sanctions on Russia.
“However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision,” he stated.
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