What we know on the 13th day of the US and Israel’s war with Iran

By Jessie Yeung, CNN

(CNN) — The US and Israel’s war with Iran is spreading to the seas, with oil tankers hit by Iranian attacks, an Omani port set ablaze, and multiple vessels hit by projectiles near the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway normally used to transport much of the world’s oil.

Meanwhile, a global body of countries has agreed to release emergency oil reserves to help absorb the shock of the oil disruption, as the growing Middle East conflict nears the end of a second week and deepens fears about the impact to the global economy.

And, US President Donald Trump continues to give conflicting comments about when the war might end.

Here’s what to know on Day 13.

What’s happening in the region?

• Strikes target oil: Two foreign oil tankers in Iraqi waters were set ablaze by an Iranian attack, killing at least one person, with 38 other crew members rescued. Separately, emergency crews in Oman are battling a fire at fuel storage tanks, after a social media video geolocated by CNN appeared to show an Iranian drone hitting a tank at the port. And, Bahrain said that Iranian attacks targeted fuel tanks in the country’s north early Thursday local time.
• Attacks near strait: A container ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates was struck by an “unknown projectile” early Thursday – after another three vessels were hit by projectiles near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. So far six vessels have been struck in the Persian Gulf int he last two days. The straits carries roughly one-fifth of global crude oil shipments. Representatives of G7 nations met on Wednesday to discuss possibly escorting ships “when security conditions allow.”
• Iran, Hezbollah and Israel: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it carried out a joint attack with the militant group Hezbollah on Israel, striking more than 50 targets across five hours of sustained fire on Wednesday. Israel later carried out a wave of strikes targeting Hezbollah infrastructure across Lebanon its military said. One strike in the capital Beirut killed eight people, at a beach that was housing many displaced residents.
• Gulf nations: Iran’s neighboring Gulf states intercepted new waves of Iranian drones and missiles early Thursday morning, including in the global business hub of Dubai, where a drone fell on a building near the luxury neighborhood of Creek Harbour.

What are the other main headlines?

• Emergency oil reserves: Member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed Wednesday to release 400 million barrels of oil into the global market – the largest release of emergency oil stocks in history. Soon after, US President Trump authorized the US to release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve beginning next week.
• Surging prices: Despite the IEA’s announcement, oil prices rose past $100 per barrel again for a period overnight into Thursday – three days after it hit a four-year high.
• Trump’s speech: Speaking in Kentucky on Wednesday, Trump claimed that “we won” in Iran, without providing evidence. It also contradicts his earlier comment that “we’re not finished yet” with the war. Later that night, he told reporters: “It’s just a question of when, when do we stop?”
• Scrutiny back home: The Pentagon told US lawmakers in a private briefing Tuesday that preliminary estimates suggest the war cost at least $11 billion in the first six days. And in a rare show of GOP criticism, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski slammed Trump’s handling of the war, demanding public hearings and saying that mixed messaging from the administration is leading to confusion.
• The school strike: The US military accidentally struck an Iranian elementary school likely due to outdated information about a nearby naval base, according to sources who were briefed on the preliminary findings of an ongoing military investigation. The attack killed at least 168 children and 14 teachers, Iran’s state media reported.

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