Global oil prices have surged above $100 a barrel as escalating US-Iran attacks threaten shipping and raise fears of a wider disruption to energy supplies.
The US military says it has destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in response to Iranian attacks targeting US Navy vessels, while Iran says it has attacked a US military base in Jordan.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the US strikes, saying Tehran reserves the right to defend itself while calling for mediation through the UN and regional mediators.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has announced plans for a maritime restricted area extending from Chabahar into the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Several merchant vessels have reportedly come under attack in the Gulf and Gulf of Oman, while warnings have been issued to ships operating in the region.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen from as many as 100 to 140 vessels a day to single digits, with Iran threatening to further restrict shipping.
Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu reports from Tehran and Zein Basravi from Doha.
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