A likely strike by the United States hit the central Iranian city of Isfahan early Tuesday, sending a massive fireball into the sky, and Tehran struck a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. (Pics/AFP)
Updated On: 2026-03-31 03:47 PM IST
Compiled by : ronak mastakar
The attacks were testament to the intensity of the monthlong war the US and Israel launched against Iran, which has maintained its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, closing off the vital waterway for global energy shipments, sending oil prices skyrocketing and roiling world markets.
US President Donald Trump, who has been insisting there is progress in diplomatic talks toward a ceasefire, shared video of the attack on Isfahan, with fiery explosions lighting up the night sky. Isfahan is home to one of three sites earlier attacked by the US military in June and some of Iran's highly enriched uranium is likely stored or buried or there.
Meanwhile, Israel said another four soldiers had been killed in its invasion of Lebanon, as were two more United Nations peacekeepers, prompting the UN Security Council to schedule an emergency session for later Tuesday.
Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, hovered around USD 107 a barrel in early trading, up more than 45 per cent since the war started Feb 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran.
Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading our of Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported during peacetime, has driven up global oil prices, as have its attacks on Gulf regional energy infrastructure.
