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U.S. attacks Iranian mine-laying vessels near Hormuz on Day 12 of war

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Special Series Middle East conflict Conflict in the Middle East has been escalating. These stories provide context for current developments and the history that led up to them. By NPR Staff Commercial vessels are pictured offshore in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday, after attacks hit ships in the region.
− AFP via Getty Images hide caption The Iran war entered its 12th day as uncertainty grew over when it might end, amid continued attacks, a mounting human toll and concerns over economic and energy fallout.
+ AFP via Getty Images hide caption The Iran war entered its 12th day as uncertainty grew over when it might end, amid continued attacks, a mounting human toll and concerns over economic and energy impacts.
− Middle East conflict Old-school tricks and AI tech are weapons in the Iran war Middle East conflict Countries agree to a historic release of stockpiled oil to ease global disruption Iranian and Lebanese health officials and Israeli authorities have reported more than 1,200 people killed in Iran, 580 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel.
+ Middle East conflict Countries agree to a historic release of stockpiled oil to ease global disruption Middle East conflict Pentagon probe points to U.S.
+ missile hitting Iranian school Middle East conflict Old-school tricks and AI tech are weapons in the Iran war Iranian and Lebanese health officials and Israeli authorities have reported more than 1,200 people killed in Iran, 634 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel.
Seven U.S. soldiers have died and eight were seriously injured mainly after attacks at U.S. bases in countries neighboring Iran, according to the Pentagon.
− The International Energy Agency announced on Wednesday that member nations would release the largest amount of oil from their reserves that the agency has ever coordinated, as the fighting in the Middle East caused major disruptions to energy markets.
+ The U.S. military is investigating how it fired a Tomahawk missile at an Iranian girls school in error, a U.S. official told NPR, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The March 1 strike killed as many as 175 people, most of them students, according to Iranian officials.
+ And the International Energy Agency announced on Wednesday that member countries would release a record amount of oil from their reserves, as the fighting in the Middle East caused major disruptions to energy markets.
Here are other major updates about the conflict.
− To jump to specific areas of coverage, use the links below: Strait of Hormuz | Strikes across Gulf | Israel Hezbollah attacks | Lebanon | Netanyahu to Iranians | Senate Democrats | Iran women soccer team Loading...
+ To jump to specific areas of coverage, use the links below: Ships hit across Gulf | U.S. strikes Iran minelayers | Lebanon | Iranian oil facilities hit | Netanyahu addresses Iranians | Senate Democrats | Iran women soccer team This image released by the Royal Thai Navy shows Thai cargo ship, Mayuree Naree, that was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday. Royal Thai Navy/AP hide caption Three commercial ships were struck in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz as the Middle East conflict continued to disrupt international trade in a crucial waterway.
+ They are among more than a dozen vessels that have been attacked since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran set off a widening war in the region. Alireza Tangsiri, naval commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, said any ship aiming to pass through the Strait of Hormuz must obtain Iran's approval — or face attacks, according to Iranian state-run Press TV. The Thai-flagged bulk carrier, Mayuree Naree, had set off from Khalifa Port in the United Arab Emirates and "was attacked while navigating in waters near the Strait of Hormuz," the Thai navy said in a statement. According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations, a maritime security monitor run by the British military, the ship was in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman, when it was hit and set on fire. A container ship, the Japanese-flagged One Majesty, sustained damage to its stern while anchored in the Persian Gulf, about 52 nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz, The Japan Times reported. The Star Gwyneth, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier, had damage to its hull after it was hit by a projectile 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, according to Reuters. Officials across the Gulf region also reported a series of other strikes and interceptions. Authorities in Dubai said two drones fell near Dubai International Airport, injuring four people. Three of them had minor injuries, and one with moderate injuries. Air traffic, meanwhile, continued as normal. Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed six ballistic missiles launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts U.S. troops, and destroyed drones heading toward the kingdom's eastern region. Kuwait's National Guard said it downed eight drones, and said its forces were on high alert in coordination with the army, police and other agencies. Loading...
The U.S. military said Tuesday it destroyed 16 mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. The announcement came after President Trump warned Iran to "immediately" remove any mines it may have placed in the vital shipping waterway. "If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!" he wrote on Truth Social. "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." Trump's message followed a CNN report Tuesday that Iran had begun laying mines in the passage, citing unnamed sources familiar with U.S. intelligence. NPR has not independently confirmed that report. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said the U.S. would not allow what he called "terrorists" to hold the strait hostage. Roughly a fifth of the oil consumed globally passes through the narrow waterway between Oman and Iran. The Iran war has effectively shuttered the strait to tanker traffic and roiled markets.
− This image released by the Royal Thai Navy shows Thai cargo ship, Mayuree Naree, that was struck and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday. Royal Thai Navy/AP hide caption Three merchant ships were attacked in the Gulf by unknown projectiles on Wednesday, Reuters reported, which said that raised the number of vessels hit to 14 since the war began.
+ A total of 634 people have been killed and 816,700 have been forced to flee their homes in Lebanon, as Israeli strikes and evacuation warnings pushed people from southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut, the Lebanese government's disaster management office said Wednesday.
− The attacked ships carried flags from Thailand, Japan and the Marshall Islands.
+ Israel says it is fighting Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group, which began firing rockets into Israel last week after the war in Iran began.
− Authorities in Dubai said two drones fell near Dubai International Airport, injuring four people.
+ Humanitarian groups and United Nations agencies say the scale of Lebanese displacement has strained shelters and basic services. At the Sports City soccer stadium on the outskirts of Beirut, about 800 people are now living in tents without access to clean bathrooms and showers. Samer Safah, who works with the nonprofit Makhzoumi Foundation, told NPR resources are stretched. "We cannot cater for half a million displaced," he said. Safah also said organizations like his have been severely affected by President Trump's cuts to U.S.
− Three of them had minor injuries, and one with moderate injuries.
+ international humanitarian aid, making it difficult to provide essential services to those in need in Lebanon. "Lebanon's latest humanitarian crisis is just one more consequence of a regional war that is spiraling out of control," Tom Fletcher, the U.N.
− Air traffic, meanwhile, continued as normal.
+ undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.
− Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed six ballistic missiles launched toward Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts U.S.
+ The constant barrage of cross-border rocket fire has put northern Israel's residents on edge.
− troops, and destroyed drones heading toward the kingdom's eastern region.
+ In the city of Kiryat Shmona, the sound of Israeli military fire into Lebanon is constant, as are the multiple air raid sirens warning of incoming rockets from Hezbollah.
− Kuwait's National Guard said it downed eight drones, and said its forces were on high alert in coordination with the army, police and other agencies.
+ Two Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the fighting there.
− Israel's military said it completed another wave of strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, targeting what it described as command centers and weapons storage sites belonging to Hezbollah.
+ Ahuva Lipman, a 71-year-old resident of Kiryat Shmona, says she evacuated — along with the entire city — during Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.
− It also said it struck a Hezbollah command post in the Tyre area in southern Lebanon.
+ This time she insists she's not leaving.
− Separately, the Israeli military said it struck a drone launch squad in western Iran on Monday, minutes before it was set to launch drones toward Israel.
+ "Not Hezbollah and not Iran will tell me where to live," she says.
− More than 750,000 people have been forced out of their homes after Israeli strikes and evacuation warnings pushed people from southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut, according to the Lebanese government's disaster management office figures.
+ — Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Carrie Kahn The Trump administration asked Israel not to target Iranian oil facilities any longer, following Israel's strikes on Iranian oil facilities over the weekend.
− United Nations agencies say the scale of displacement has strained shelters and basic services, and warned that health facilities are under severe pressure.
+ The Israeli strikes on oil facilities sparked massive pillars of fire and blackened the skies above Tehran. The World Health Organization warned it could cause severe health impacts. Environmental groups also decried the ecological effects. Israel said Iran's military used that oil to fuel its missile launchers.
− At the Sports City soccer stadium on the outskirts of Beirut, about 800 people are now living in tents without access to clean bathrooms and showers.
+ An official in the region briefed on the matter told NPR the Trump administration was notified in advance before the Israeli strikes but was surprised by the extent of the damage.
− Samer Safah, who works with the nonprofit Makhzoumi Foundation, told NPR resources are stretched.
+ The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Israel has agreed to the U.S. request to no longer target Iranian oil facilities in the war.
− "We cannot cater for half a million displaced," he said.
+ Senator Lindsey Graham, who is calling for regime change in Iran, said Iranians will need the oil reserves in the future.
− Safah also said organizations like his have been severely impacted by President Trump's cuts to international humanitarian aid, making it difficult to provide essential services to those in need in Lebanon.
+ — Daniel Estrin Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a direct appeal to Iranians on Tuesday, calling the war a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to remove the country's clerical leadership.
− — Hadeel Al-Shalchi Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a direct appeal to Iranians on Tuesday, calling the war a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to remove the country's clerical leadership.
In a series of posts on X, Netanyahu urged Iranians to "seize the moment," saying Israel and the United States are striking regime targets and "creating the conditions" for Iranians to act.
− He wrote that Iran's leaders were "on the run." He said Israel was focused on regime targets and that its military was doing its best "not to harm the People of Iran." The remarks came after it emerged that Iran's new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been injured.
+ He wrote that Iran's leaders were "on the run." He said Israel was focused on regime targets and that its military was doing its best "not to harm the People of Iran." An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, told NPR that Iran's new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was lightly wounded in the war.
− An Israeli official "In the coming days we will create the conditions for you to grasp your destiny," he wrote.
+ The Iranian ambassador to Cyprus, Alireza Salarian, elaborated on the circumstances, telling the Guardian that the 56-year-old leader is in the hospital with injuries in "his legs and hand and arm" sustained from the same bombardment that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Sen.
− "Your dreams will become a reality. When the time is right, and that time is fast approaching, we will pass the torch to you. Be ready to seize the moment!" Sen.
Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he attended another classified briefing on the Iran war Tuesday and accused the Trump administration of keeping the briefings closed because, he said, "Trump can't defend this war in public." In a post on X, Murphy said officials told lawmakers that destroying Iran's nuclear program and "regime change" were not among the stated war goals. He said briefings mostly focused on how the U.S. military was "destroying lots of missiles and boat and drone factories." He argued officials couldn't explain what prevented Iran from rebuilding those capabilities.
− Murphy also criticized what he said was a lack of planning to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning the situation could become an "endless war." Other Senate Democrats have raised similar concerns after classified briefings, saying the administration has not laid out clear goals, urging for more public transparency.
+ Middle East conflict Senate Democrats ramp up pressure campaign for public hearings on war with Iran Murphy also criticized what he said was a lack of planning to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning the situation could become an "endless war." Other Senate Democrats have raised similar concerns after classified briefings, saying the administration has not laid out clear goals, urging for more public transparency.
Australia Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said two more members of Iran's women's soccer delegation — one player and one staff member — were granted humanitarian visas overnight, bringing the total to seven team members allowed to remain. Burke said the two were reunited with five teammates who made the same decision earlier this week. "They will be safe here," he wrote in a post on X. "They are welcome here in Australia." The women had sought protection over fears of reprisals after they refused to sing Iran's national anthem during a match, which took place in Australia, when the war broke out. The women were later labeled "traitors" on Iranian state television, fueling concerns about their safety if they returned home.
− Rebecca Rosman contributed to this report from Paris. Hadeel Al-Shalchi contributed from Beirut.
+ Rebecca Rosman contributed to this report from Paris, Hadeel Al-Shalchi from Beirut, Carrie Kahn from Kiryat Shmona, Israel, Camila Domonoske and Quil Lawrence from Washington.
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