During the night to Thursday, additional oil tankers were set on fire in the Persian Gulf, according to officials. A Kuwaiti oil tanker is burning after an Iranian attack in a port in Dubai, and the tanker was fully loaded when bombed, according to state-owned KPC. The company said no one was injured in that attack. The oil price has surged again to over $100 per barrel, with U.S. crude oil not having been above $100 since July 2022. On Monday, the price of U.S. WTI oil rose to $102.88 per barrel, while Brent oil is at $112.78 per barrel, according to CNN. Oil prices have surged more than 50 percent in March due to the war in Iran, multiple reports indicate.
Iran's military has issued explicit threats to disrupt shipping. Iran believes that all American or Israeli ships, or ships carrying oil for the two countries, are legitimate targets, according to Iran's military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaqar. After the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, Iran threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and set fire to ships trying to pass. The military stated they will not let a liter of oil that serves the U.S. and its allies pass through Hormuz and that all ships must have permission from them. If ports and ship docks in Iran are threatened with attack, all ports and ship docks in the region will be legitimate targets for Iranian retaliation, the Iranian military said. Iran has claimed responsibility for several attacks on commercial ships and laid mines this week to disrupt shipping, multiple reports indicate.
Specific recent attacks have targeted tankers in Iraqi waters. Two foreign tankers loaded with Iraqi fuel oil have been attacked in Iraqi waters, a representative from the Iraqi port authority confirmed. The Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and Malta-flagged Zefyros, loaded with fuel from Iraq, were struck at dawn, multiple reports indicate. Iran's Revolutionary Guards took responsibility for the attack on the Safesea Vishnu, claiming it was a U.S.-owned tanker that ignored warnings. Conflicting reports exist on casualties: a total of 25 crew members from the two affected vessels have been evacuated and are safe, according to Farhan al-Fartousi, director general of the Iraqi port authority, but at least one person was killed as explosive-laden boats set ablaze two fuel tankers off the coast of Iraq, and a port security official recovered the body of an unnamed foreign crew member from the water. Fires are still burning strongly on both ships, multiple reports indicate, and Iraqi rescue teams were searching for survivors on one vessel. Two tankers are burning off the coast of Iraq, one of which is American, according to multiple reports.
Attacks have also struck a port facility in Oman. A port in Oman was attacked, located in the city of Salalah near the border with Yemen, multiple reports indicate. An attack on oil facilities at the port has been confirmed by the British security company Ambrey. No one was injured in the attack, but it led to a fuel storage tank catching fire, and it will take time before the fire is under control, according to civil defense in the sultanate. Iran's president Mousad Pezeshkian was in direct contact with the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq Al Sai, on Wednesday afternoon, multiple reports indicate. The Sultan condemned the attack on the port facility and other attacks on Omani territory, and President Pezeshkian promised that the attack on the port will be investigated.
A broader pattern of shipping attacks has emerged in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf region. Three attacks on cargo ships in or near the Strait of Hormuz were previously reported, with ships sailing under Thai, Japanese, and Marshall Islands flags, multiple reports indicate. The Revolutionary Guards admit to being behind the attack on the Thai-flagged ship, and three crew members are missing, while 20 were rescued, according to the country's navy. Earlier on Wednesday, three ships were struck by unidentified projectiles in the Strait, multiple reports indicate. There is uncertainty about the exact number of attacks: at least 14 attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz have been reported in the last two weeks, but at least 16 attacks have occurred since the crisis erupted, and at least 17 commercial ships from various flags have been attacked since hostilities began on 28 February, according to multiple reports. Shipping in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz has come to a near-standstill since U.S. and Israeli strikes began on February 28, multiple reports indicate.
The tanker attacks carry severe environmental consequences. This leads to emissions of climate-impacting greenhouse gases and environmental toxins, officials said. If similar attacks continue, there is an imminent risk of major oil spills, according to officials.
Oil market volatility has intensified due to the regional instability. Investors fear prices will continue to rise and severely damage the global oil market, according to CNN. A spokesperson for Iran's military command warned that oil could hit $200 per barrel due to destabilized regional security. Crude prices hovered just above $90 per barrel on Thursday, having stabilized from a $120 per barrel high on Monday, multiple reports indicate.
Regional military incidents have extended beyond maritime zones. An Iranian missile was shot down by NATO after entering Turkish airspace, according to Sky News. The event is the fourth in Turkish airspace since the start of the war, multiple reports indicate. All threats to Turkey's territory and airspace are met with decisive measures, Turkey's defense ministry said.
International diplomatic and military responses are unfolding. Spain is closing its airspace to U.S. military aircraft participating in the war in Iran, according to El País citing military sources. Spain has previously prohibited the U.S. from using joint military bases in the warfare, multiple reports indicate. The closure forces military aircraft to bypass Spain on the way to targets in the Middle East, but should not include emergencies, multiple reports indicate. The decision is part of the government's stance not to participate in a war started unilaterally and in violation of international law, according to Spain's economy minister Carlos Cuerpo.
The conflict has had direct civilian impacts. On the first day of the war, a girls' school in Minab was hit by a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile, multiple reports indicate.
Separately, an explosion at the Panama Canal has affected global logistics, though it is unrelated to the Gulf conflict. A massive explosion under the Bridge of the Americas killed one person and injured two, temporarily closing the vital crossing over the Panama Canal, multiple reports indicate. Smoke and flames engulfed part of the bridge after a fuel tanker truck exploded in La Boca, and more than 75 firefighting units and 45 vehicles were deployed to fight the blaze, according to Panama's fire brigade. One worker died in the fire, and two firefighters suffered minor injuries, firefighter chief Victor Alvarez said. Investigations are beginning, and it is premature to speculate on causes, according to firefighter chief Victor Alvarez. A logistics corridor was reopened at 4am GMT-5 after the bridge was temporarily closed, multiple reports indicate. Operations continue as normal and the authority expressed solidarity with those affected, the Panama Canal Authority said.
The Panama Canal's role in global oil transit has increased amid Gulf shipping disruptions. Amid a fuel crisis from the Strait of Hormuz closure, the Panama Canal's deputy administrator said the waterway saw a slight increase in vessel transits. The Panama Canal saw 2.3 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum liquids transit per day in the first half of 2025, up from two million a day the prior year, according to the U.S Energy Information Administration.
Hostilities continue in Iran, officials said.
Key unknowns persist regarding the attacks and shipping disruptions. It is not clear who is behind the attack on the two tankers in Iraqi waters or what weapons were used, multiple reports indicate. There is also confusion over the current operational status of the Strait of Hormuz: Iran announced on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz is closed again, citing U.S. blocking of shipping to and from Iranian ports, but other sources describe threats or blockades without confirming a full closure. The nationality of an oil tanker fired upon near the Strait of Hormuz northeast of Oman is not known, multiple reports indicate; one ship, an oil tanker, was fired upon by two patrol boats from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, according to sources, and both the oil tanker and crew escaped unharmed from the incident, the British center for maritime trade, UKMTO reported.