A round-up of the latest Argus news stories focusing on the US-Iran conflict.
Crude futures rise after Kharg island attack
IEA emergency stock release to be 70pc crude
UK weighs Trump request to help reopen strait
Iran vows retaliation on UAE for US attack on Kharg
Houston, 15 March (Argus) — Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said his country will retaliate against the UAE for hosting US attacks this weekend on military targets on Kharg Island. The weapons used in the US attack on 13 March were fired from the UAE, Araghchi told state news agency Irna, including from a location very close to Dubai. "We would certainly retaliate but we try to be careful not to attack any populated area," Araghchi said. On 14 March, drones damaged two crude storage tanks in the UAE city of Fujairah, but it is not clear if that strike was in retaliation for the Kharg attack. On Sunday the UAE ministry of defense said it intercepted four ballistic missiles and six drones from Iran. The US hit more than 90 military sites on Kharg, including naval-mine storage facilities and missile storage bunkers, according to the US Central Command, which operates US forces in the Middle East. The US attack deliberately avoided energy-related assets on Kharg, which is Iran's primary crude export hub, but President Donald Trump threatened to attack oil infrastructure if Iran did not stop threatening to attack vessels crossing the strait of Hormuz. About 17mn b/d of crude and products normally transit through the strait. Araghchi said the strait is only closed to tankers and other vessels belonging to Iran's enemies and their allies. "Others are free to pass," he said. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Adds details from joint GCC-UK statement London, 15 March (Argus) — The UK is considering how it can support efforts to reopen the strait of Hormuz after US president Donald Trump asked the UK and other countries to send warships to the waterway to defend against Iranian threats to shipping. "It is very important that we get the strait of Hormuz reopened," UK energy minister Ed Miliband said on Sunday in an interview with the BBC. "And we have already been talking with our allies, including the US, about this. There are different ways that we could contribute, including with mine-hunting drones. All of these things are being looked at in concert with our allies. Any options that can help to get the strait reopened are being looked at." The UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council, in a joint statement by their foreign ministers on Sunday, cited the importance of safeguarding "maritime routes" and the stability of global energy markets. At a meeting last week, the foreign ministers recognized the "inherent rights" of council members — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — to defend themselves, and stressed that stability in the Gulf is "intrinsically linked" to the UK, they said. In a social media post on Saturday, Trump urged the UK, China, France, Japan and South Korea to send warships to the strait so that it was no longer subject to threats from Iran and could be reopened. "The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!" Trump said. "The U.S. will also coordinate with those Countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well. This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be." In a separate post, Trump added that "hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated." "One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!" Trump said. US energy secretary Chris Wright told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that he expects China will be a "constructive partner" in helping to reopen the strait of Hormuz. A crucial chokepoint for global energy trade which last year handled around 19mn b/d of crude and petroleum products, the strait has been largely closed to shipping since early March because of the threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran. But some ships are getting through. Five tankers carrying LPG, LNG and crude went through the strait of Hormuz last night, Wright said. "So, we know flow through the straits of Hormuz is possible." Iran did not fire on those vessels. "Probably they made a deal with India," Wright said. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi told CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday that Tehran has been approached by a "number of countries" wanting to have safe passage through the strait. "This is up to our military to decide," he said. Tehran has fired on other vessels in the region and has attacked US military bases and energy and other infrastructure across the Middle East, as retaliation for the ongoing air attacks launched against Iran by the US and Israel since 28 February. Trump has tasked the US military with reopening the waterway and promised to provide naval escorts for ships stranded in the Mideast Gulf, but senior US military officials on 13 March declined to provide a timeline or details of any plan for how that would be accomplished. By Jim Washer and David Ivanovich Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
London, 15 March (Argus) — The IEA's 412mn bl emergency stock release will comprise more than 70pc crude, with Asian members making their share immediately available, the Paris-based agency said. IEA member countries agreed to their largest ever emergency stock release on 11 March , in response to the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz — through which normally around 17mn b/d of crude and products pass. The IEA today said the release would total 412mn bl, including 295mn bl of crude and 117mn bl of refined products ( see table ). But the IEA did not provide details on discharge rates, so it is unclear how quickly the oil will be drawn from stocks. Asian and Oceania members — Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand — will make their share of 65mn bl of crude and 43mn bl of products available straight away, the agency said. Asia is the region most immediately affected by the supply disruptions , as this is where most Mideast Gulf supplies normally go. But the bulk of the release, which will come from Americas and European members, will only start to hit the market at end of March, the IEA said. Americas volumes amount to 196mn bl, entirely consisting of crude. Most of this — 172mn bl — will come from the US' Strategic Petroleum Reserve. European contributions equal 108mn bl — 34mn bl of crude and 73mn bl of products. By Aydin Calik IEA emergency stock release mn bl Government Industry other Crude Products Total Americas 172 0 24 196 0 196 Asia, Oceania 67 42 0 65 43 109 Europe 33 75 0 34 73 108 Total 272 117 24 295 117 412 source: IEA Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Updates with comments from US energy secretary, Iran's foreign minister. London, 15 March (Argus) — The UK is considering how it can support efforts to reopen the strait of Hormuz after US president Donald Trump asked the UK and other countries to send warships to the waterway to defend against Iranian threats to shipping. "It is very important that we get the strait of Hormuz reopened," UK energy minister Ed Miliband said on Sunday in an interview with the BBC. "And we have already been talking with our allies, including the US, about this. There are different ways that we could contribute, including with mine-hunting drones. All of these things are being looked at in concert with our allies. Any options that can help to get the strait reopened are being looked at." In a social media post on Saturday, Trump urged the UK, China, France, Japan and South Korea to send warships to the strait so that it was no longer subject to threats from Iran and could be reopened. "The Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help — A LOT!" Trump said. "The U.S. will also coordinate with those Countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well. This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be." In a separate post, Trump added that "hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated." "One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!" Trump said. US energy secretary Chris Wright told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that he expects China will be a "constructive partner" in helping to reopen the strait of Hormuz. A crucial chokepoint for global energy trade which last year handled around 19mn b/d of crude and petroleum products, the strait has been largely closed to shipping since early March because of the threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran. But some ships are getting through. Five tankers carrying LPG, LNG and crude went through the strait of Hormuz last night, Wright said. "So, we know flow through the straits of Hormuz is possible." Iran did not fire on those vessels. "Probably they made a deal with India," Wright said. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi told CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday that Tehran has been approached by a "number of countries" wanting to have safe passage through the strait. "This is up to our military to decide," he said. Tehran has fired on other vessels in the region and has attacked US military bases and energy and other infrastructure across the Middle East, as retaliation for the ongoing air attacks launched against Iran by the US and Israel since 28 February. Trump has tasked the US military with reopening the waterway and promised to provide naval escorts for ships stranded in the Mideast Gulf, but senior US military officials on 13 March declined to provide a timeline or details of any plan for how that would be accomplished. By Jim Washer and David Ivanovich Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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