Iran-US war latest: Oil prices soar again after two Iraqi tankers struck in suspected Iranian attack

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has said that Israel will effectively annex territory in Lebanon as the president and government “does not know how to control the territory”.

“I warned the Lebanese president that if the Lebanese government does not know how to control the territory and prevent Hezbollah from threatening the northern settlements and firing at Israel – we will take the territory and do it ourselves,” he said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare to expand IDF activity in Lebanon and restore peace and security to the northern communities.”

President Masoud Pezeshkian has outlined three conditions that must be met in order for the US-Israeli war on Iran to end.

“The only way to end this war—ignited by the Zionist regime & US—is recognizing Iran’s legitimate rights, payment of reparations, and firm int’l guarantees against future aggression,” he wrote in a post on X on Wednesday.

Projectile fragments have hit a container belonging to the German shipping company, Hapag-Lloyd.

The debris is said to have hit the container vessel named Source Blessing near the Strait of Hormuz where fighting has intensified.

The United Nations Refugee Agency has said that up to 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since the outbreak of war on 28 February.

Humanitarian groups also warn that up to one million people have been displaced in Lebanon.

Australia has told “non-essential” diplomats to leave Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on Thursday.

Essential officials would remain in both Israel and the UAE to support Australian citizens who need it, Wong said on X.

Two tankers were ablaze in Iraqi waters overnight. The vessels were just off the coast of Iraq, near Basra.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has said that the country’s military has been instructed to expand its operations in Lebanon.

Humanitarian groups have warned that nearly one million people have been displaced. At least 634 people have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to authorities.

The International Energy Agency has warned that the world is facing the worst oil supply disruption in history amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.

In its latest monthly oil market report, the IEA said global supply is set to drop by 8 million barrels a day.

“Shut-in upstream production will take weeks and, in some cases, months to return to pre-crisis levels depending on the degree of field complexity and the timing for workers, equipment and resources to return to the region,” the agency said.

Oil prices surged past $100 a barrel again, with Iran warning that prices would surpass $200 a barrel if the conflict continues.

The first six days of the war with Iran cost the U.S. more than $11.3 billion, Pentagon officials reportedly told Congress in a closed-door briefing on Tuesday.