Main developments
Oil was volatile as traders weighed the likelihood of a US-Iran peace deal. Washington said there was no timeline for when oil tankers would be able to begin transiting the Strait of Hormuz again.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said there were “elements of truth” to reports that the US had offered a 15-point peace plan to Iran to end the conflict.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi rejected reports of talks with the US, saying that “any ceasefire without guarantees” would not end the cycle of war.
Brent settled 2.2 per cent down at $102.22 a barrel, but pared some of that decline in after-hours trading following Araghchi’s comments. The crude benchmark had fallen as low as $97 earlier on Wednesday before recovering as Tehran played down the prospect of a quick deal to cease hostilities.
Israel and Iran continued to exchange fire, while Tehran launched further attacks on Gulf states.
Russia sending drones to Iran, western intelligence says
Russia is close to completing a phased shipment of drones, medicine and food to Iran, according to western intelligence reports that detail Moscow’s efforts to keep its embattled partner fighting.
Senior Iranian and Russian officials began secretly discussing delivering drones days after Israel and the US attacked Tehran, two officials briefed on the intelligence said. The processing of deliveries began in early March and was expected to be completed by the end of the month.
Moscow has close ties with Tehran and has provided its ally with crucial support including satellite imagery, targeting data and intelligence support, people familiar with the matter said.
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US has struck more than 10,000 Iranian targets since start of war
The US has struck more than 10,000 Iranian targets since launching its war against the Islamic republic, according to the Pentagon.
US forces had damaged or destroyed more than two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone and naval production facilities and shipyards, said Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the region.
Cooper said the US had “removed the regime’s ability to rebuild” its naval, drone and missile capabilities, which have been “significantly degraded”.
“We are on a path to completely eliminate Iran’s wider military manufacturing apparatus.”
The regime’s rate of missile and drone launches was down 90 per cent since the start of its retaliatory strikes, Cooper added.
He said the US had destroyed 92 per cent of Iran’s largest naval ships.