The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, surged past $100 as Iranian strikes hit ships in the region’s waters amid the United States-Israeli war with Iran. U.S. airstrikes in Iran are now in its 13th day.
According to the Associated Press, developments on Thursday involved Iranian attacks against commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz and Iraq’s port of Basra.
Reuters reported that the Israeli military said on Thursday it had targeted a site used in the Iranian nuclear program which is identified as “Taleghan,” which is a facility that Western officials believe is possibly connected to Tehran’s nuclear program.
RELATED: US to release millions of barrels of oil to ease prices amid Iran conflict
A man stands on the rubble of a destroyed building as firefighters work at the site of overnight Israeli airstrikes in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 12, 2026. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
Here are the latest updates from Thursday.
Goldman Sachs sees war slowing growth, raising inflation this year
11:05 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that Goldman Sachs said Thursday that the Iran war could have a sustained, if modest, impact on the U.S. economy, with inflation and unemployment higher and growth slower.
According to the AP, the investment bank believes the Federal Reserve won’t cut its key interest rate until September, and its projections imply Americans will keep seeing higher costs for gas, utilities and potentially groceries as they prepare to vote in this year’s elections.
Before the Iran war started, Goldman Sachs predicted that inflation would ease as the affects of President Donald Trump’s tariffs fades. The bank now expects the Fed’s preferred inflation measure to end this year at 2.9%, remaining above the Fed’s target of 2%, the AP noted.
And that’s based on average oil prices rising 40% to $98 a barrel in March and April. Should the war cause oil prices increase to an average $110 over those two months, inflation would hit 3.3%, Goldman economists estimate.
US: Non-combat fire on Ford aircraft carrier left two sailors with non-life-threatening injuries
11 a.m. ET: The U.S. Navy said the fire Thursday on USS Gerald R. Ford originated in the carrier’s main laundry areas.
“The cause of the fire was not combat-related and is contained,” the Navy said in a post on X. “There is no damage to the ship’s propulsion plant, and the aircraft carrier remains fully operational.”
Two sailors are receiving medical treatment “for non-life-threatening injuries and are in stable condition,” the post continued.
The world’s largest aircraft carrier has been operating in the Red Sea for the last few weeks as part of U.S. operations in Iran.
Trump says stopping ‘evil empire’ higher priority than surging oil prices
10:15 a.m. ET: President Donald Trump made the statement after oil prices surged in early morning trading in the U.S. following more Iranian attacks on oil tankers, the Associated Press reported.
“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” Trump said in a social media post. “BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World. I won’t ever let that happen!”
Trump’s post came shortly before Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement since being elevated to succeed his father, according to the AP.
Khamenei in part said closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used by Iran for leverage in the conflict.
Khamenei signals more attacks on the US, opening up new fronts
9:50 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei remarks imply that Iran may open up new fronts in the war if it continues. That likely would signal a return by Iran to the militant attacks the United States has blamed on it in the past, such the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.
The first week of Iran war cost U.S. over $11 billion, Pentagon says
Citing the Pentagon, the Associated Press reported that the first week of war with Iran cost the United States $11.3 billion.
The Pentagon provided the estimate to Congress in a briefing earlier this week, said a person familiar with the situation who spoke to the AP on a condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.
Pentagon says about 140 troops injured in Iran
Dig deeper:
The Pentagon said about 140 U.S. service members have been wounded in the conflict with Iran.
According to the Associated Press, the numbers are the first indication of the toll of injuries sustained by U.S. troops after retaliatory rocket and drone strikes from Iran that also killed seven soldiers in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
RELATED: About 140 US troops injured in Iran so far, officials say
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in an emailed statement to the Associated Press that “the vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty.” Eight U.S. service members are currently “severely injured,” Parnell added.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday during a news briefing that today will be the most intense day yet of U.S. strikes inside Iran.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press and Reuters. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.
