Blast Rocks Tehran After Israeli Threat

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A large explosion rocked a central square in Iran’s capital where thousands were gathered Friday for an annual state-organized rally to support the Palestinians and call for Israel’s demise. Israel had warned that it would target the area in central Tehran.

There were no reports of casualties. But the decision to proceed with the mass demonstration that was attended by some senior government officials, and Israel’s threat to target the area, underscored the fierce determination on both sides nearly two weeks into a war that has rattled the global economy and shows no sign of letting up.

Meanwhile, a U.S. official told The Associated Press that roughly 2,500 Marines and at least one amphibious assault ship were headed for the Middle East in a major addition of troops.

Iran has continued to launch widespread missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf states, and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz , through which a fifth of the world's traded oil passes, even as U.S. and Israeli warplanes pummel military and other targets across Iran.

The humanitarian crisis in Lebanon deepened, with nearly 800 people killed and 850,000 displaced as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants and warned there would be no let up.

In an interview with Fox News, U.S. President Donald Trump said the war would end “when I feel it in my bones.”

Explosion rocks area of mass demonstration The explosion in Tehran rocked the Ferdowsi Square area midday, where thousands had gathered for an annual Quds Day rally in which they chanted “death to Israel” and “death to America.”

Israel had issued a warning on a Farsi-language X account for people to clear the area shortly before the blast. But few Iranians would have seen it, as authorities have almost completely shut down the internet since the start of the war. Footage from the scene showed people chanting “God is greatest,” as smoke rose in the area.

The Israeli military later posted a second message in Farsi, noting the head of Iran’s judiciary was at the rally and criticizing Iran for blocking many from seeing their warning.

The hard-liner who leads Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, had been giving an interview on state television at the demonstration when the strike happened. His bodyguards encircled him, as he raised his fist and said Iran “under this rain and missiles will never withdraw.”

US Marines and another ship are ordered to the Mideast Elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the Middle East, according to the U.S. official, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

Marine Expeditionary Units are trained and equipped to conduct amphibious landings, but they also specialize in bolstering security at embassies, evacuating civilians and disaster relief. While the deployment is a major increase of troops in the region, it does not necessarily indicate that a ground operation is imminent or will take place at all.

The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well the Tripoli and other amphibious assault ships carrying the Marines, are based in Japan and have been at sea in the Pacific Ocean for several days, according to images released by the military. The Tripoli was spotted by commercial satellites sailing alone near Taiwan. That location puts it more than a week away from the waters off Iran.

Earlier in the week, the Navy had 12 ships, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and eight destroyers, operating in the Arabian Sea. Should the Tripoli join this flotilla, it would be the second-largest ship behind the Lincoln to operate in the waters off Iran.

While the total number of U.S. service members on the ground in the Middle East is not clear, Al-Udeid Air Base alone, one of the largest in the region, typically houses some 8,000 U.S. troops.

US says 15,000 targets struck in Iran since the start of the war Israel had earlier announced another wave of strikes in Iran targeting infrastructure, and said its air force had hit more than 200 targets in the last 24 hours, including missile launchers, defense systems and weapons production sites.

In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that over 15,000 enemy targets have been struck, which is more than 1,000 a day since the war began.

He also sought to address concerns about the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, telling reporters: “We have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday vowed to continue the attacks and keep the strait closed in his first public statement since succeeding his father, who was killed in the opening day of the war. Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over leadership and released a written statement.

Hegseth said Khamenei “is wounded and likely disfigured,” without providing evidence or elaborating. Israel suspects Khamenei was wounded at the start of the war.

All six crew of US refueling plane confirmed dead after crash The U.S. military confirmed on Friday that all six crew members of an American KC-135 refueling plane were killed when it crashed in Iraq, bringing the U.S. death toll to at least 13 service members.

U.S. Central Command said the crash wasn’t related to friendly or hostile fire, and that two aircraft were involved, including one that landed safely.

The KC-135 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.

New Iranian attacks across the region Iran continued its daily attacks on oil and other infrastructure across the Gulf. In Oman, two people were killed when two drones crashed in the Sohar region, the Oman News Agency reported.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Oscar Austin shot down an Iranian ballistic missile over Turkey on Friday, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity in order to discuss ongoing military operations. It was the third such interception over the NATO member in the last two weeks.

Residents in the southern Turkish city of Adana reported hearing a loud explosion and sirens sounding at Incirlik Air Base, which is used by U.S. forces.

Fighting escalates between Israel and Hezbollah At least eight people were killed in an Israeli strike on Lebanon's southern coastal city of Sidon, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Friday. Nine others were wounded, the ministry added. The toll could rise as rescuers search the rubble.

The ministry said 773 people — including more than 100 children and 62 women — have been killed since fighting erupted between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants 10 days ago. More than 1,900 people have been wounded, it said.

Some 850,000 have been internally displaced in Lebanon, according to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who launched a $325 million humanitarian appeal during a surprise visit to the country.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam urged Israel to halt strikes on his country and criticized Hezbollah for firing rockets at Israeli targets.

“There is no justification in holding an entire nation hostage,” he said.

Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes so far were “just the beginning.”

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Rising reported from Bangkok. Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb and Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Sam Mednik in Tel Aviv, Israel; and Konstantin Toropin and Tia Goldenberg in Washington contributed to this story.

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.