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U.S. strikes hit Iran’s Kharg Island, hub for 90% of its oil exports, raising risk to global crude flows U.S. forces carried out large-scale precision strikes overnight on Kharg Island, the Gulf outpost that handles almost all of Iran’s crude exports, hitting more than 90 military targets, according to U.S. Central Command and President Donald Trump. Kharg, a 20-square-kilometer island about 30 kilometers off Iran’s mainland and roughly 500 kilometers northwest of the Strait of Hormuz, hosts the country’s largest oil…

To produce a publish-ready article at AP standards, please provide the raw source material for “As it happened: Strikes hit Tehran as war continues.” You can paste transcripts, wire copy, official statements, field notes, or bullet-pointed updates. Include time stamps and attribution for each key fact so I can verify chronology and sources. Essential details needed: • Exact date and local time of the strikes in Tehran; specify time zone. • Locations/neighborhoods or strategic sites affected; any satellite or on-the-ground…

WASHINGTON — The United States is dispatching additional Marines and warships to the Middle East as the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran enters its third week, amid escalating attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz and a renewed surge in global oil prices, according to multiple U.S. media reports. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and attached Marines are en route to the region. The New York Times said as many as three ships carrying roughly 2,500 Marines were…

Horn of Africa leaders warn of economic impact from Middle East conflict DJIBOUTI, March 12 — Leaders of Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict could spill into the Horn of Africa’s economies and stability after holding trilateral talks in Djibouti on Wednesday. Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh hosted Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for discussions centered on regional security and the potential economic fallout as global oil…

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EU ready to bolster Middle East maritime missions as Hormuz traffic stalls, oil nears $120 European Union leaders said the bloc is prepared to strengthen its naval operations in the Middle East to protect critical shipping lanes, as the war triggered by U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran disrupts maritime traffic and sends energy prices surging. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “expressed their openness to further tailor and enhance these operations in order to better…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Fuel prices in Somalia’s capital surged nearly 77% overnight on Sunday, intensifying pressure on households and businesses already strained by rising living costs and supply disruptions across the region. The price of gasoline jumped from about $0.65 to $1.15 per liter late Friday, according to traders and drivers. By rush hour, cars queued at multiple Mogadishu stations as motorists scrambled to fill up, while taxi and three-wheeler (Bajaj) operators warned they may have to raise fares to stay afloat.…

Somalia fuel prices jump 77% in 72 hours as Middle East conflict disrupts supply MOGADISHU, Somalia — Fuel prices in Somalia’s capital have surged about 77% within three days, an abrupt spike tied to the escalating Middle East conflict that is rattling energy markets and shipping lanes through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Market observers in Mogadishu said the retail price of petrol jumped to about $1.15 per liter from roughly $0.65 earlier this week, with the steepest increases posted by Friday evening. The surge…

Israel struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon before dawn and said it intercepted a fresh barrage of Iranian missiles, as a widening war waged by the United States and Israel rippled across the Middle East with new disruptions from the Strait of Hormuz to Iraq and Turkey. Explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, hours after Israel warned residents to flee. The Israeli military said it was working to down missiles fired from Iran, despite recent U.S. claims that strikes had severely degraded Tehran’s…

Oil and natural gas prices surged as Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks by Tehran forced shutdowns of energy facilities across the Middle East and snarled shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints. A sustained rise threatens to undercut the global recovery, stoke inflation and lift U.S. gasoline prices — a political risk for President Donald Trump and Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections. Brent crude futures jumped as much as 13% to $82.37 a…