Here is the latest.

 

Aaron Boxerman

Aaron Boxerman Reporting from Jerusalem

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/15/world/iran-war-trump-oil-israel

 

Here is the latest.

President Trump called on other countries, including Britain, France, South Korea and China, to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to try to ensure that oil tankers could pass, as Iran pledged to keep the vital waterway closed.

 

In a social media post on Saturday, Mr. Trump said the “Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!” It was far from clear, however, if any countries would volunteer to patrol the Persian Gulf strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil transits.

 

Oil prices have risen steeply since the United States and Israel launched their air war on Iran two weeks ago. While the Trump administration and other governments have sought to soothe prices — including by easing sanctions on some Russian oil — they have seen little success thus far.

 

Mr. Trump has threatened to attack oil infrastructure on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s main oil export terminal, if Tehran does not allow ships to freely pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Such a move would likely further rattle energy markets. U.S. consumers have already seen the price of a gallon of gasoline rise by 25 percent on average, according to the AAA motor club.

 

But Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps defied Mr. Trump’s threat, asserting in a statement on Saturday that the critical waterway was under its full control and that “any attempt to move or transit will be targeted.”

 

Fighting continued on Sunday across the Middle East. The Israeli military said on Sunday morning that it had launched a new wave of airstrikes in western Iran. Israeli fighter jets have conducted more than 7,000 strikes in Iran since the war began in late February, according to the Israeli military.

 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards said on state media that they were continuing to shoot at Israel and at U.S. assets in the region. Iranian missiles repeatedly set off air raid sirens in Israel, without reports of serious casualties. Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted drones near the capital and in an eastern province.

 

Here’s what else we are covering:

 

Iraq: The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad urged all American citizens to leave Iraq immediately on Saturday after Iran-backed militias attacked the embassy compound. It was the second time the U.S. mission had been attacked since the war began.

 

Death toll: At least 1,348 civilians in Iran have been killed since the start of the war, Iran’s representative to the United Nations told the Security Council on Wednesday, the latest figure the country has provided. In Lebanon, officials said that 826 people had been killed and over 2,000 others injured. And in Israel, at least 12 people have been killed, according to the Israeli authorities.

 

Americans killed: On Saturday, the Pentagon identified the six service members who died when a refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq last Thursday, bringing the total number of American service members killed to at last 13.