Top updates: Iraq halts oil terminal operations after strikes, UN calls for end to attacks in Gulf

Iran on Thursday launched fresh attacks against energy targets in the Gulf region, a day after it warned that it could wage a long war that could “destroy” the global economy, AFP reported.

In neighbouring Iraq, an attack on two oil tankers killed one crew member. Thirty-eight persons were rescued. The attack forced Iraq to halt operations at all its oil terminals, even as commercial ports remained functional, AP reported.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump maintained on Wednesday night that Iran was “pretty much at the end of the line”, but said that this did not mean that “we’re going to end it immediately”.

President Trump says the US is in “very good shape” in its war with Iran and is watching the Strait of Hormuz.

He also said he is monitoring alleged Iranian sleeper cells in the US after an FBI bulletin warned of a possible Iranian drone plot targeting California. pic.twitter.com/BW5LNPwcAt— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) March 12, 2026

Here are more top updates from the conflict in West Asia:

• After the attack on two oil tankers, an employee at Iraq’s Basra oil terminal told AFP that it was unclear whether it “was a drone attack or explosive-laden boats”. Farhan Al-Fartousi, director general of Iraq’s General Company for Ports, said that a...

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