A wave of strikes on Iran hit the capital and northern areas overnight into Wednesday, while Tehran launched what it called its "most intense" operation of the war, targeting Israel and Gulf nations, and attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz escalated. At least eight districts were attacked in the capital Tehran, with sounds of huge explosions heard across other cities in the country.
The war has entered its 12th day, with Tehran saying nearly 10,000 civilian sites have been bombed and more than 1,300 civilians killed since the war began on February 28. Throughout the region, a humanitarian crisis is mounting with the UN warning of toxic black rain, mass displacement and disrupted supply chains for life-saving goods, as pollution from fuel depot strikes has mixed with precipitation to create toxic rain. In neighboring countries, the death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon surpassed 486, while nearly 700,000 individuals have been displaced amid continuous cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The conflict, which is in its 12th day, has effectively blocked vital shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, halting the flow of one-fifth of the world's fossil energy supplies from the petroleum-rich Gulf. Washington says it has destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz through which roughly a fifth of global oil exports flow, after senior Iranian lawmakers threatened to block the waterway. The impacts are already being felt globally: the European Commission President noted that the war has cost the 27-nation EU's citizens around €3 billion in energy imports, with gas prices rising by 50% and oil prices rising by 27%.