Two Indian-flagged vessels carrying Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) from the Gulf countries safely crossed the war-hit Strait of Hormuz early on Saturday, March 14 morning, a senior Shipping Ministry official said.
LPG carriers Shivalik and Nanda Devi are now headed to Mundra and Kandla ports in Gujarat, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Shipping, told a media briefing.
The vessels are carrying 92,700 tonne of LPG and are likely to dock at Indian ports on March 16/17, he said.
The two vessels were among the 24 ships that were stranded on the west side of the strait since the war broke out in the region.
Iran has continued to launch widespread missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states, and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes, even as US 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.
Trump said US forces on Friday “obliterated” targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, which is home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s oil exports. The speaker of the Iranian parliament had warned that such strikes would provoke a new level of retaliation.
Meanwhile, an American official said 2,500 more Marines and an amphibious assault ship are being sent to the Middle East nearly two weeks into the war with the Islamic Republic.
Netanyahu’s death rumours spiral, press conference raises alarm
False rumours about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have intensified over the last 24 hours, with several images on social media showing a seriously injured Netanyahu.
Netanyahu’s Friday, March 13 public address raised even more alarm after users spotted that his right hand had six fingers, making people wonder if the video was generated by artificial intelligence (AI)
Images of Netanyahu being pulled from rubble also surfaced, instantly going viral on social media platform X. Several users questioned the validity of the photographs.
The Prime Minister’s office has issued no official statement regarding his condition
Iranian official says oil operations are normal on Kharg Island after US strikes
“Export and import operations, as well as the activities of companies based on the island, are currently ongoing,” Ehsan Jahaniyan, deputy governor of Bushehr province, was quoted as saying by NourNews, an outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
Kharg Island is home to the primary terminal that handles the country’s oil exports.
Jahaniyan also said that daily life activities were normal, adding that the strikes left no casualties.
Early Saturday, semi-official Fars News Agency reported that the U.S. strikes were limited to military facilities.
Dust storm blows over Gaza as people are urged to protect themselves
A cloud of orange-tinted, thick dust spread across the Gaza Strip on Saturday as first responders told Palestinians to stay home, especially those with respiratory illness.
People were also urged to secure their tents to prevent them from being blown away. Israel’s war with Hamas has left most of Gaza’s 2 million residents displaced, living in tents and damaged buildings with little protection from the elements such as rain, wind and sand.
Videos on Saturday showed tents flapping and trees swaying as cars drove down dust-filled streets with little visibility. While dust storms occur in Gaza, there hasn’t been one this intense in more than five years.
Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon kills 4 people, another bridge hit
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the airstrike hit an apartment in the southern city of Sidon.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says an Israeli airstrike damaged a key bridge in south Lebanon, cutting the road between the southern city of Nabatiyeh and the town of Marjayoun.
Saturday’s strike was the third in the same area hours apart. It came a day after two other major bridges were struck in southern Lebanon.
Israel’s military says it is sending more forces to the front along the border with Lebanon. Israel has said that Hezbollah had used the bridges to move north and south of the Litani River.
124 missiles, 203 drones fired at Bahrain
Bahrain’s Defense Ministry said Iran fired 10 drones and three missiles on Saturday.
That has brought the total number of missiles and drones fired at Bahrain during the two-week war to 124 and 203, respectively.
Iran threatens to attack US ‘hideouts’ in UAE
Iran’s military command threatened Saturday to attack cities in the United Arab Emirates, claiming they were used by US forces to launch strikes on Iran’s Abu Musa and Kharg islands.
According to Iran’s state television, the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said, without providing evidence, that US forces launched attacks on the Islamic Republic from “ports, docks and hideouts within” cities in the Emirates.
“[The IRGC] considers it its legitimate right to defend its national sovereignty and territory by hitting and targeting the origin of the American enemy missiles in shipping ports, docks, and hideouts of American soldiers sheltered in some cities in the UAE,” it said in a statement circulated by Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency.
It called on people to evacuate “ports, docks and locations where US forces are sheltered in UAE cities.”
10 foreigners in UAE are detained over spreading war-related videos on social media
The United Arab Emirates has detained 10 foreigners who allegedly posted footage on social media of missile and drone attacks on the country.
UAE General Prosecutor Hamad Al Shamsi ordered them to remain in detention over accusations of spreading disinformation, some of which included AI-generated videos of purported attacks on UAE landmarks.
He said in a statement that their acts are punishable by imprisonment of at least a year and a fine of at least 100,000 dirhams (Rs 25,19,823).
6 Iranians from the same family were reported killed in a strike
The airstrike destroyed a residential building early Saturday in the western city of Eyvan, the judiciary’s official news agency Mizan reported, citing local authorities. The dead included a 6-month-old, it said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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