A container ship in the Strait of Hormuz (archive image).Image: keystone
Iran seems ready to escalate the oil war: The USA wants to prevent the Strait of Hormuz from being mined at all costs. Here is the night update.
03/11/2026, 07:5003/11/2026, 07:53
According to reports: Iran is trying to mine the Strait of Hormuz
Reports of sea mines allegedly planted by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz are fueling concerns about the security of international energy supplies. US President Donald Trump threatened the Iranian power apparatus with retaliation if the strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, which is extremely important for oil transport, was mined.
“If mines have been laid for any reason and are not removed immediately, this will have military consequences for Iran on an unprecedented scale,” Trump threatened on his Truth Social platform. The US Middle East Regional Command (Centcom) said a short time later that American forces had destroyed several Iranian naval vessels, including 16 minelayers, near the Strait of Hormuz.
According to CNN, Iran had placed around a dozen mines in the strait, which is important for shipping, in recent days. The broadcaster relies on statements from unnamed informants. One of them said that Iran still had most of its small boats and minelayers – and could lay hundreds of mines in the waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz, approximately 55 kilometers wide, lies between Iran and Oman and is considered one of the most important shipping routes for global oil exports. Even before the war began, experts assumed that Iran’s naval forces could block or mine the road.
Trump offers escort through the Strait of Hormuz
For days, the US government has been trying to calm global markets and stock exchanges that have been in turmoil as a result of the war. This also includes the offer that the USA could have the Navy escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary. According to government spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, there was no such escort as of Tuesday afternoon.
Trump had emphasized that the United States would not be as badly affected by a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz because it has enormous gas and oil reserves of its own. The offer of escort is aimed at other countries; he explicitly mentioned China. The People’s Republic imports a lot of oil from Iran, while the USA and Europe receive comparatively little oil from the states on the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz.
In a few weeks, Trump wants to visit China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping. Anyone who wants to can view his comments as a conciliatory gesture in view of the tense relations between Washington and Beijing.
Netanyahu calls on Iranians to overthrow the leadership
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the Iranian people to revolt against their own government. Israel and the USA are waging “a historic war for freedom” that offers the Iranians a great opportunity, it said in an open letter. “This is a unique opportunity for you to overthrow the Ayatollah regime and gain your freedom.” The Iranian people asked for help, “and the help has arrived.”
Trump has also repeatedly appealed to the Iranians to use the American-Israeli attacks as an opportunity to overthrow the leadership in Tehran.
Iran’s police chief: See demonstrators as enemies
The top police chief in Iran used drastic words to warn government opponents against protests. “We no longer see anyone who takes to the streets at the enemy’s request as demonstrators. We see him as an enemy and will treat him like an enemy,” threatened Ahmed-Resa Radan on state television.
“All of our men have their finger on the trigger.”
At the beginning of the year, forces from the Iranian government brutally suppressed protests in various cities across the country. On the nights of January 8th and 9th, they killed almost 6,500 demonstrators, according to research by the US-based human rights network HRANA. More than 50,000 people were arrested.
The current developments in the war in the live ticker:
Israel’s military attacks Hezbollah positions in Lebanon
In addition to Iran, the Israelis also have their Shiite militia Hezbollah in their sights. The armed forces of the Jewish state once again attacked Islamist positions in Lebanon. The military said the attack targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in the suburbs known as Dahija in the south of the capital Beirut. The district is considered a militia stronghold. On Wednesday, the UN Security Council also wanted to discuss the situation in Lebanon in an emergency meeting.
In response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel again after a long break in fighting just over a week ago. Since then, the Israeli military has again attacked targets in Lebanon on a larger scale. According to official information from Beirut, almost 760,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced due to the escalation of violence.
Iran attacks Israel and Gulf states with missiles and drones
The Iranian armed forces in turn attacked Israel and the Gulf states again with missiles and drones. In Israel, the rockets were either intercepted or hit uninhabited areas, the newspaper “The Times of Israel” reported. The Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, spoke of the most violent wave of attacks since the beginning of the war.
Unlike the Twelve-Day War in the summer of 2025, this time other Arab states in the region are more involved in the conflict and have also become the target of Iranian attacks themselves. The Saudi Arabian Defense Ministry said seven ballistic missiles and seven drones were intercepted in various regions of the country. According to the Ministry of Defense, four drones were intercepted in Kuwait and another crashed in open areas. Air alerts were also raised in Bahrain.
(sda/dpa/con)