LIVE | Three cargo ships were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz

Three cargo ships were struck by “unknown projectiles” while sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to maritime authorities, in the latest incident affecting this key route for global oil transport.

The head of Central Command (Centcom), Admiral Brad Cooper, explained in a video released Wednesday how artificial intelligence (AI) has helped the U.S. Army fight more efficiently during Operation Epic Fury.

"We’re on a path to eliminating Iran’s ability to threaten Americans and our friends, and we are achieving this through a combination of lethality, precision and rapid innovation," he said, noting that troops employ a variety of advanced AI tools.

"These systems help us sift through vast amounts of data in seconds so our leaders can cut through the noise and make smarter decisions faster than the enemy can react. Humans will always make final decisions on what to shoot and what not to shoot and when to shoot. But advanced AI tools can turn processes that used to take hours and sometimes even days into seconds," the admiral added.

The video is part of a Centcom update in which it confirmed that more than 5,500 targets inside Iran have been hit and more than 60 Iranian ships have been destroyed, including the last four Soleimani-class destroyers and several minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the White House, the latest mission update indicates that Iranian ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90%, more than 5,500 targets have been neutralized and air superiority has been secured.

The report adds that more than 60 Iranian vessels have been sunk or destroyed and that the four Soleimani class ships have been eliminated.

The administration maintains that, when the United States acts, global security increases.

Norwegian police said Wednesday that they arrested three brothers of Iraqi origin suspected of carrying out a "terrorist bomb attack" on the U.S. embassy last weekend in Oslo.

The explosion caused damage to one of the entrances to the U.S. embassy on Saturday night. The incident caused only slight material damage and left no injuries.

The three men, in their 20s, were arrested Wednesday in Oslo. One of them is under suspicion of placing the explosive device at the embassy. The other two, police added, are suspected of complicity.

"We are still working from several hypotheses. One of them is whether this is an order from a government entity," said a police official, Christian Hatlo.

"This is quite natural given the target -- the U.S. embassy -- and the security situation the world is in today," he added.

President Trump on Wednesday promised "great safety" for oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran tightened its control over this vital sea passage amid a war between U.S. and Israel with Iran.Tehran tightened its control over this vital sea passage amid the war between US and Israel with Iran.

"I think you're going to see great safety, and it's going to be very, very quickly," Trump told reporters at the White House when asked how he planned to ensure protection in this crucial lane for the global oil trade.

European stock markets closed lower on Wednesday, although without signs of panic, following the announcement by the International Energy Agency that it will release 400 million barrels of crude oil from the strategic reserves of its member countries.

The Frankfurt stock exchange recorded the biggest drop among the main European markets (-1.37%). London lost 0.90%, Paris lost 0.19%, Milan dropped 0.95% and Madrid was down 0.53%.

Lebanon reported Wednesday that the first 10 days of fighting between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah as part of the war in the Middle East had resulted 634 dead and more than 800,000 people displaced, according to data released by AFP.

In updated figures, Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine told a news conference that the dead included 91 children, and more than 1,500 people had been injured.

Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said the number of displaced people who registered their names on a website linked to the ministry had reached about 816,000, including about 126,000 who are in collective shelters.

The blockade imposed by Iran on maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and the consequent increase in the price of crude oil "does not justify" lifting the sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday, per AFP.

Macron, who holds the rotating presidency of the G7, held a video conference with the group's other leaders on Tuesday and, at the end of the meeting, said there was "a consensus" on keeping the stance on Russia unchanged.

"We affirmed at this G7 meeting that this situation does not justify in any case lifting the existing sanctions against Russia," the French leader said.

The U.S. military command for the Middle East (CENTCOM) on Wednesday urged Iranian civilians to stay away from ports located in the Strait of Hormuz which, according to Washington, are used by Tehran for military purposes.

"The Iranian regime is using civilian ports along the Strait of Hormuz to conduct military operations that threaten international shipping," CENTCOM said in a statement reported by AFP, adding that "this dangerous action risks the lives of innocent people."

"CENTCOM urges civilians in Iran to immediately avoid all port facilities where Iranian naval forces are operating," the statement said.

"Iranian dockworkers, administrative personnel, and commercial vessel crews should avoid Iranian naval vessels and military equipment," the command added.

On Tuesday, the United States reported that it had destroyed 16 mining vessels that Washington said could have been used to block the strait, an essential shipping lane for Gulf oil and gas exports.

PwC on Wednesday closed its offices in several Gulf countries for the rest of the week as a "precaution," a source with knowledge of the matter told AFP.

The British consulting group's offices will remain closed in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, added the source, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, as Iran threatened to attack economic targets linked to the United States and Israel in the Middle East.

The United Nations humanitarian aid chief warned Wednesday that the war in the Middle East was affecting aid routes and called for "exemptions" so that humanitarian supplies could get through.

Tom Fletcher, U.N. humanitarian chief, warned that the escalating conflict and its impact on the strait was having "a direct impact on our humanitarian supplies, including going to areas of key need in sub-Saharan Africa."

"I’m worried that actually further escalation will damage other supply routes," he told reporters in Geneva, warning that this is happening as the war "drives up the prices and so drives more people into greater need."

"So we’re appealing to all the parties to try and secure those routes, including the Straits of Hormuz, for our humanitarian traffic ... so that we can reach anyone, anywhere, on the basis of greatest need, and not on the basis of politics," Fletcher said, according to AFP.

U.S.-based financial group Citi and two other companies in the financial center of Dubai asked their employees to evacuate their offices Wednesday after Iran threatened to attack banks linked to the U.S. and Israel in the Middle East.

The Iranian regime's military on Wednesday threatened to attack U.S. and Israeli economic targets in the region, including banks, after overnight strikes allegedly hit an Iranian bank.

Employees were instructed to evacuate Citi offices at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and in Oud Metha, a source with knowledge of the evacuations, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP.

(With information from AFP) The 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) decided on Wednesday “unanimously” to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves onto the market, the largest release in its history, the institution announced.

“IEA countries will make 400 million barrels of oil ... available to the market to compensate for the loss of supply due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” announced the executive director of the OECD energy agency, Fatih Birol, in a video statement on Wednesday.

This is the sixth time that the IEA has coordinated a similar decision.

Stocks on Wall Street showed mixed behavior early Wednesday, as markets digested a stable U.S. inflation report and a rebound in oil prices amid war in the Middle East, AFP reported.

Consumer inflation rose by 2.4% year-over-year in February, the same increase recorded the previous month, matching expectations.

In early trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones index retreated by 0.17%, the Nasdaq dropped 0.28% and the S&P 500 gained 0.13%.

Earlier, U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 5.91% to $88.38, while Brent futures were back above $90 per barrel, after Germany and Japan announced they would draw on their oil stocks due to supply disruptions.

Global markets have been closely watching the sharp rise in oil prices due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for Middle Eastern crude exports.

The Iranian regime's military asserted on Wednesday that any ship belonging to U.S., Israel or their allies that crosses the strategic Strait of Hormuz will be considered a "legitimate target.”

"Any ship whose oil cargo or the ship itself belongs to the United States, the Zionist regime or its hostile allies will be considered a legitimate target," the army's central operational command, Khatam Al Anbiya, said in a statement broadcast on state television and quoted by AFP.

He reiterated that the Iranian armed forces "will not allow a single liter of oil to transit" through the strait.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the military campaign by his country and the United States against Iran, launched on Feb. 28, will last "as long as necessary.”

"This operation will continue without time limit, as long as necessary, until we achieve all the objectives and decide the outcome of the campaign," the minister said, according to AFP.

Oil prices soared 5% after early trading on European markets in the wake of the escalation in the Middle East war, dispelling the optimism that prevailed during the Asian trading day.

In a volatile market, the Eastern stock exchanges closed in green for the second consecutive day in anticipation of a possible release of strategic crude oil reserves from the major consuming countries. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, an injection exceeding the 182 million barrels that IEA member countries took out of the market in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine is expected.


However, after the opening of the old continent's markets, prices shot up again by 5%. A barrel of West Texas International (WTI), a U.S. benchmark, was $88.03, up 4.98%. North Sea Brent, meanwhile, was moving at $92.06 (+4.26%) per barrel.

Encouraged by the moderation of crude oil prices, Asian stock markets consolidated on Wednesday their gains of the previous day after Monday's sharp drop. In Tokyo, the star index Nikkei closed up 1.43% to 55,025.37 points and, in Seoul, the Kospi rose 1.40%.

The Sydney Stock Exchange rose 0.59% and the Taipei, up 4.10%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was flat.

Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is "safe and sound" despite sustaining injuries in the war, the son of the Islamic republic's president said Wednesday.

"I heard the news that Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I asked friends who have contacts and they told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound," Yusef Pezeshkian, son of President Masoud Pezeshkian and government advisor wrote on the Telegram social network.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was reportedly wounded during the attack that killed his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the Israel-U.S. offensive that on Feb. 28 sparked the conflict, but details about the severity of his injuries are unknown and he has not appeared in public since.

Hong Kong aviation giant Cathay Pacific announced on Wednesday an increase in fuel surcharges as prices doubled in March from the average of the previous two months following the outbreak of war in the Middle East.

"In March, like since the Middle East episode started, our fuel costs have already doubled," said CEO Ronald Lam. "So we are going to announce (a surcharge hike) very soon...to ensure the smooth operation of our flights."

The Iranian military said Wednesday it will from now on attack U.S. and Israeli economic targets in the region, after early morning attacks on an Iranian bank were reported.

"The enemy has given us free rein to attack economic centers and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime," the Iranian army's operational headquarters, Khatam Al Anbiya said in a statement broadcast on state television.

Local media indicated that Israeli-American attacks hit a bank in Tehran early Wednesday morning, killing several employees who were working "exceptionally" to prepare for the payment of salaries.

A second commercial cargo ship was hit Wednesday by an unidentified projectile off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a British maritime security agency said, as Iran persists in its attacks in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

"The captain of a bulk carrier has reported that his vessel was hit by an unknown projectile. No environmental impact has been reported.The crew are well and safe," the U.K.'s Maritime Trade Operations Department said.

The Central Command on Tuesday announced the destruction of 16 Iranian mining ships "near the Strait of Hormuz," following reports that Tehran was locating submarine explosives in the sea passage amid the Middle East war.

"U.S. forces removed multiple Iranian naval vessels, on March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz," CentCom noted in a posting on X, accompanied by video footage of several ships being hit by shells and exploding.