The United States and its allies announced steps to ease rising oil prices on Wednesday as the war with Iran continued to create chaos in the global oil market amid ongoing missile attacks throughout the Middle East.
Three ships were struck near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, a day after President Trump warned that the United States would intensify its bombardment if Iran continues to block shipments through the waterway vital to the world’s oil supply.
The vessels were struck by unknown projectiles, maritime security agencies said. Ship traffic through the narrow strait has effectively come to a halt, dramatically reducing the global supply of oil.
The 32 members of the International Energy Agency agreed to collectively release 400 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves to help control rising prices. Later on Wednesday, Trump said that the U.S. would also tap its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but didn’t specify how much would be released.
More explosions were reported in Tehran as the joint U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran’s capital continued. Israel also launched more strikes into Lebanon as part of its ongoing battle with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia group. Meanwhile, Iran carried out additional attacks on its neighbors in the region, including Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Scrutiny of the U.S. military’s purported role in a strike on a Tehran elementary school that killed more than 170 people, mostly children, intensified on Wednesday amid multiple news reports suggesting that the attack may have been the result of faulty U.S. intelligence.
The death toll of the conflict continues to rise. At least 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the U.S.-Israeli strikes began on Feb. 28. More than 570 people in Lebanon have been killed and at least 12 in Israel, according to officials in those countries.
Seven U.S. service members have died in the war, according to U.S. Central Command. The Pentagon said on Tuesday that 140 U.S. troops have been wounded in the ongoing conflict, including eight American service members who were severely injured.
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