LIVE | IAEA warns world is depleting oil reserves at record speed due to Middle East war

The Iranian regime's military spokesman said Wednesday that Tehran's dominance over the Strait of Hormuz could produce "significant economic revenue" and strengthen Iran's international position.

"Our control of the Strait of Hormuz will generate significant economic revenue for our country, potentially even doubling our oil revenue, and will strengthen our influence on the international stage," military spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said, according to the ISNA news agency.

Akraminia added that the western part of the strait was controlled by the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval forces, while the eastern section was supervised by the Iranian navy.

The New York Stock Exchange began Wednesday's trading day with mixed performance, showing caution after an increase in wholesale inflation and a renewed appetite for technology stocks.

In the early stages of the session, the Dow Jones retreated 0.36%, while the Nasdaq gained 0.20% and the S&P 500 posted a slight advance of 0.04%.

The world is depleting its oil reserves at a record pace due to the war in the Middle East that is cutting off supplies from the Gulf, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned Wednesday.

World stockpiles fell by 117 million barrels in April, the Paris-based agency said in its monthly report.

The figure adds to the 129-million barrel drop recorded in the month of March, following the start of the U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran on Feb. 28. "The rapid contraction of stockpiles, amid these ongoing disruptions, may portend future crude oil price hikes."

Crude oil prices continue to soar, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also surpassing $100 per barrel and Brent hovering around $110.

At the start of trading on Wall Street, Brent was trading at $107.8 per barrel, while WTI was up to $102.5.

Australia is willing to join the "neutral and peaceful" mission proposed by France and the United Kingdom to secure the Strait of Hormuz, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Wednesday.

The Australian government will have an E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft that had already been deployed in the region to protect the United Arab Emirates from Iranian drone strikes, Marles said.

Italy's defense minister announced Wednesday that Italy will make two more minehunter ships available near the Gulf so they can quickly intervene and maintain security in the Strait of Hormuz when conditions permit.

"Purely as a precautionary measure and taking into account the time needed for the transfer and redeployment of means, we envisage positioning two minehunters relatively closer to the Strait of Hormuz," Minister Guido Crosetto explained to the Italian Parliament.

The Israeli military announced Wednesday the launch of a new wave of strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, despite a ceasefire agreed with the Lebanese government to end fighting with the armed group.

"The Israel Defense Forces have begun attacking Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure in several areas of southern Lebanon," the IDF said in a statement, hours after issuing new evacuation orders for several locations in the region.

Iranian authorities on Wednesday hanged a man in his 30s convicted of spying on Israel, the sixth person executed on such charges since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war. Mizan Online of the Iranian judiciary described Ehsan Afreshteh, 32, as "a Mossad-trained spy in Nepal who sold sensitive information to Israel."

But Norway-based NGOs Hengaw and Iran Human Rights (IHR) claimed in separate statements that Afreshteh had denied sharing top-secret documents with Israeli intelligence and that he had been subjected to "forced confessions" televised confessions obtained by torture.

A cybersecurity specialist, Afreshteh had insisted that all he had done was "warn independent websites about cyberattacks," Hengaw said.

Air India announced Wednesday that it will reduce or cut several international routes due to rising jet fuel prices and airspace restrictions because of the conflict.

The war in Iran since late February and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz have sent jet fuel prices soaring, raising concerns about airline profitability and prompting an increase in airfares.

Air India did not give the total number of flights affected, but said it would suspend routes to Chicago, Shanghai, Male and Singapore from some Indian cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai between June and August. The airline added that it would also reduce the frequency of flights to San Francisco, Paris, Milan and Sydney.