Iran War

The U.S. military released striking new footage Tuesday showing American forces systematically destroying major elements of Iran’s naval fleet, offering the public a rare look at the scale of the campaign unfolding across the Persian Gulf and nearby waters. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) published the video alongside a statement declaring that the strikes are aimed at dismantling Tehran’s ability to threaten international shipping lanes and destabilize the region.

“U.S. forces are degrading the Iranian regime’s ability to project power at sea and harass international shipping,” CENTCOM said. “For years, Iranian forces have threatened freedom of navigation in waters essential to American, regional and global security and prosperity.”

DUBAI: Drones fell near Dubai airport, injuring four people, while ships were hit in or near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday (Mar 11) as Iran kept up its campaign disrupting oil markets and air and maritime traffic.

The oil-rich Gulf has borne the brunt of Iran’s attacks in response to US-Israeli strikes that sparked the Middle East war, with Tehran targeting US assets but also civilian infrastructure.

Iran has also targeted Gulf energy infrastructure and choked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries nearly 20 per cent of global oil production, prompting wild swings in prices.

Iran’s attacks on oil infrastructure and pledges to choke off a vital waterway left markets on edge Tuesday as the United States promised blistering new strikes. The war entered its 11th day with no end in sight as its effects rippled across the Middle East and beyond.

For the first time since the war began, the Pentagon released details on the number of American troops who have been injured, saying eight of the roughly 140 service members wounded are in serious condition.

Both sides sharpened their rhetoric as they dug in, with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth again promising the most intense strikes yet, while Iran’s leaders ruled out talks and threatened U.S. President Donald Trump.

The film was captivating, but the reviews were negative.

Israel launched a devastating attack Saturday night on oil storage facilities in Tehran, with results that residents told the U.K.’s Guardian were “apocalyptic.”

“Thick black smoke was still rising in the sky, soot covered the streets and cars, balconies filled with black gunk, and the toxic air had filled the lungs,” the Guardian said in describing the aftermath of the attack.

Multiple social media posts showed the extent of the damage.

#Rivers of fire in #Tehran after #oil burning as a result of airstrikes begins to drain into urban storm drains.#Iran pic.twitter.com/6oJGH6wzhw

— Tesla Dogs (@TeslaDogs) March 8, 2026

Tehran is covered in thick black clouds of smoke this morning after a series of Israeli airstrikes struck multiple oil depots and a refinery.

Locals report that the morning rain was black and oily. pic.twitter.com/4lb7Ld62So

The selection of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as Iran’s new supreme leader sends a clear message that “the regime isn’t reformable,” one foreign policy expert says.

The 88 senior Shiite clerics who met to name Ali Khamenei’s successor could have chosen to largely hold to their “national priorities” and also “send something to [U.S. President Donald] Trump,” said Ilan Berman, senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, but “that’s not what’s happening here.”

Ali Khamenei did not leave a succession plan, but the son is someone who “the hardliners in the system can coalesce around,” Berman told The Daily Signal.

While Mojtaba Khamenei may have been the only clear choice still alive to take the role, his selection contradicts the doctrine of the regime, which opposes dynastic rule.

President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth flatly denied that U.S. forces targeted civilians after a missile strike destroyed a girls’ school in Minab, Iran. Trump said the information he reviewed suggested Iran may have caused the explosion itself, while Hegseth repeated that U.S. forces don’t deliberately attack civilians and confirmed the Pentagon is reviewing the incident.

That didn’t stop Western media outlets from rushing to repeat Tehran’s accusations.

This may be a shock to you, but Iranian state media quickly blamed the United States and Israel for the February 28 explosion at Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school, which killed 168 people, injuring dozens more.

The claim rapidly spread through Western coverage, even though it came from the same government currently fighting the United States.

The catastrophic scenes have raised concerns about threats to civilian health in Iran and other countries.

Overnight on 7 and 8 March, US-Israeli strikes hit Iran’s oil facilities for the first time since the war started a little over a week ago, igniting large fires in four oil storage facilities and an oil transfer centre in Tehran and the nearby Alborz province.

Flames loomed over Tehran in the night, and black smoke billowed over the city during the day. Soot covered the streets and cars and filled up people’s balconies. Most alarmingly, thick black raindrops fell onto roofs and streets in the capital, which until recently was experiencing a long drought.