LIVE: War Has Halted Gulf Oil Flow -- And Restarting It Won't Be Easy
Mojtaba's father, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in joint US-Israel strikes on February 28
PARIS, France, March 13, 2026 (AFP) - The war in the Middle East has largely paralysed the Gulf region's crucial oil industry, which has been hit by attacks and an export blockade.
The war has forced companies to dramatically slow or even halt production -- and restarting it will not be easy, even when the war is over.
- What has been targeted? -
Since the war started with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, at least 33 strikes or attempted strikes have targeted energy infrastructure in the Middle East, according to an AFP tally.
The United States and Israel carried out 13 of them against Iran.
The other 20, which struck seven Gulf countries, were attributed to Iran.
The strikes mostly hit oil and gas fields or complexes, such as the massive Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia, Ras Laffan gas processing base in Qatar and the complex housing the Ruwais refinery in the United Arab Emirates.
Iran has also effectively blocked the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the usual shipping lane for around 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas output.
- Why is production down? -
Some infrastructure has been damaged.
Other facilities have closed or reduced activity as a precaution, such as Ruwais.
The near-closure of the strait has also had a major impact.
Gulf countries' output of oil and oil products has plunged from 30 million barrels per day last year, excluding Oman, to 20 million currently, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
It said the amount passing through the Strait of Hormuz had fallen to less than 10 percent of pre-war levels.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pipelines that can send some oil beyond the region, but their capacity is limited.
The result is storage facilities that are full to the brim.
"That's the main issue at the moment," an industry insider told AFP.
"Since there aren't enough ships to empty the storage facilities and export the product, suppliers have to stop production."
There is no easy fix, warned Pankaj Srivastava, a commodities expert at Rystad Energy.
"With crude supply increasingly stranded in the Gulf, refiners may soon be forced to adjust operations, curtailing runs as product exports stall and directing output solely to domestic markets," he said.
- How long to restart? -
"Depending how they were shut down, (restarting refineries) can take a week or two to reach full output," said the industry insider.
For oil wells, it is simpler: "You just reopen the valve."
According to the IEA, "upstream production will take weeks and, in some cases, months, to return to pre-crisis levels", depending on the site.
And "in the absence of a full ceasefire, ship owners, charterers, insurers, and crew will need to see robust security measures" to return to the strait, such as armed escorts, it added.
It said a traffic management system may need to be created to handle the massive backlog when traffic resumes in the strait, estimating it would take "several days to weeks" to clear.
Hinting at voter anxieties in the U.S. as the conflict in the Middle East continues, the president said the economy and American life will soon return to what it was before he launched strikes on Iran.
“This will bounce right back when it’s over, and I don’t think it’s going to be long,” Trump said in his interview with Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade.
Asked when the war will be over, Trump responded: “When I feel it — when I feel it in my bones.”
-All 6 crew aboard US KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in Iraq are dead, US military says. The American KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq while a second plane involved in the incident landed safely, the US military said Thursday. "One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East, said in a statement.
Iran's military however said in a statement carried by state TV that an allied group in Iraq had downed the aircraft with a missile, killing all its crew.
- Israel's military said Thursday that it had struck a site in Iran it claimed was being used by the Islamic republic to develop nuclear weapons. Read more here.
Live Updates
- 13 March 2026 7:45 PM IST
UAE says it ‘engaged’ with 7 ballistic missiles and 27 drones from Iran
The United Arab Emirates said the strikes were launched from Iran on Friday amid continuous air attacks targeting U.S. bases in the Gulf.
The UAE’s Defense Ministry said on X that since “blatant Iranian aggression” began in the ongoing war with the U.S. and Israel, its defense systems have “engaged” with 285 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,567 drones. — AP
- 13 March 2026 7:40 PM IST
Turkey confirms third ballistic missile from Iran shot down
ANKARA: Turkey's defence ministry on Friday said a ballistic missile from Iran had been shot down in Turkish airspace by NATO forces in the third such incident of the Middle East war.
"A ballistic munition launched from Iran and entering Turkish airspace was neutralised by NATO air and missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean," a ministry statement said.
Hours earlier, sirens wailed at Turkey's southern Incirlik airbase, a key NATO facility where US troops are stationed, state news agency Anadolu reported.
Local media also reported sirens in Batman, 600 kilometres (370 miles) further east.
NATO air defences shot down a first ballistic missile fired from Iran on March 4, with a second intercepted on Monday.
Residents of the southern city of Adana, next to Incirlik, were woken by sirens at 3:25 am (0025 GMT) and several posted footage of a fast-moving object that appeared to be on fire, the Ekonomim business news website reported.
According to defence news site SavunmaSanayiST, these objects could be "fragments of a third ballistic missile" or of the interceptor, which would have burned up upon entering the atmosphere before falling back to the ground.
Separately, sirens sounded in Batman around 4:00 am, with reporters saying the alarm appeared to be coming from a military drone base next to the city's airport. — AFP
- 13 March 2026 5:21 PM IST
Iran drone kills French soldier in Iraqi Kurdistan
An Iranian drone has killed a French soldier in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, his commanding officer said on Friday, after President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the first French military death in the Middle East war.
Since US-Israeli strikes on Iran last month engulfed the Middle East in war, multiple attacks attributed to pro-Iranian factions have targeted the region where foreign forces are based as part of an international anti-jihadist coalition.
Arnaud Frion, 42, was "killed by a Shahed drone strike," said his commanding officer Colonel Francois-Xavier de la Chesnay.
- 13 March 2026 4:39 PM IST
UN chief makes 'solidarity visit to war-battered Lebanon
UN chief Antonio Guterres said he had arrived in Beirut on Friday for a "solidarity" visit to Lebanon, where the Middle East war has claimed more than 687 lives since March 2.
Guterres is expected to raise awareness of the growing humanitarian needs in the country, with more than 800,000 people displaced since the conflict spread to Lebanon.
"I have just landed in Beirut for a visit of solidarity with the people of Lebanon. They did not choose this war. They were dragged into it," the United Nations secretary-general said on X.
- 13 March 2026 4:19 PM IST
At least 1,444 killed by US-Israeli attacks on Iran
At least 1,444 people have been killed and 18,551 injured by US-Israeli attacks on Iran since February 28, Iran’s Health Ministry says.
- 13 March 2026 3:38 PM IST
Nato assets destroy Iranian missile in Turkish airspace
NATO defenses on Friday intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran over Turkey, the third such incident since the start of the war.
Turkey’s Defense Ministry said the missile was destroyed by NATO air defenses deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.
Residents in the southern city of Adana reported hearing a loud explosion and sirens sounding at Incirlik Air Base, which is used by U.S. forces, in the early hours of Friday.
No casualties were reported.
- 13 March 2026 3:15 PM IST
Four crew members of crashed US refuelling plane have died
Four of six US crew members on board a refuelling plane that went down in western Iraq have died, US Central Command said on an X post on Friday morning.
"Four of the six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed deceased"," the update read, with Centcom saying the circumstances are being investigated and that the "loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire".
- 13 March 2026 2:16 PM IST
Sri Lanka Returns Remains Of Iranian Sailors
Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry says the remains of 84 Iranian sailors killed in a U.S submarine attack on March 4 have been handed over to Iranian representatives to be repatriated.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Thushara Rodrigo said the ministry completed the procedure for repatriating the remains of foreigners and handed over the bodies of the crew members from Iranian warship IRIS Dena.
They will be flown to Iran from Hambantota airport in southern Sri Lanka on Friday, he said.
Another 32 sailors from IRIS Dena were rescued by Sri Lanka’s navy.
More than 200 Iranian sailors also were brought ashore by Sri Lanka’s navy from a second Iranian warship. The vessels were returning from a naval exercise in India.
- 13 March 2026 1:58 PM IST
US Military Refueling Plane Crashes In Iraq And Rescue Is Underway
Washington : An American military refueling plane taking part in the operation against Iran crashed in Iraq and rescue efforts were underway, U.S. Central Command said Thursday.
It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. A U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the KC-135 aircraft that crashed had at least five crew members aboard.
The crash was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire, the military said in a statement, which described the plane as “a loss.”
U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said that two aircraft were involved and that one landed safely and the other went down in western Iraq.
A second U.S. official, who similarly spoke on condition of anonymity, said the other plane involved also was a KC-135 tanker.
“More information will be made available as the situation develops,” Central Command said. “We ask for continued patience to gather additional details and provide clarity for the families of service members.”
The tanker is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the U.S. military’s operations against Iran. Last week, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.
All six crew members safely ejected from the F-15E Strike Eagles and were in stable condition after being recovered, the U.S. said.
Seven American troops have been killed in combat during the Iran war so far, while about 140 U.S. service members have been injured, including eight severely, the Pentagon said earlier this week.
Both President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned that the Iran war would likely claim more American lives before it ends.
Six of the fallen service members were killed when an Iranian drone struck an operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait. They were in the Army Reserve and worked in logistics, keeping troops supplied with food and equipment.
They died one day after the U.S. and Israel launched the military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28. The Islamic Republic has retaliated with missiles and drones against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces.
The seventh American service member died after being wounded during a March 1 attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.
Trump joined grieving families for a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base when the remains of the first six soldiers were returned to the United States. Vice President JD Vance, Hegseth and others saluted the seventh flag-draped transfer case as it arrived this week at Dover.
The KC-135 tanker involved in the latest crash is based on the same design as the Boeing 707 airliner and entered military service more than 60 years ago. Like other long-serving aircraft, the planes have undergone various retrofits and upgrades over the years.
The KC-135 tankers typically have a crew of three. It’s not immediately clear what role the extra crew members were serving aboard the flight.
According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, the Air Force last year had a total of 376 KC-135s, including 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve.
- 13 March 2026 1:36 PM IST
Israel issues strike warning for Tehran demonstration area
Israel issued a strike warning Friday for an area near Tehran University that was hosting the annual Quds Day demonstrations.
The warning showed a strike being possible along Enghelab Street near the university. The area is filled with demonstrators at the moment.
Tehran University is the site of Friday prayers in the city, where demonstrators will gather later at noon.
