Israel and the United States continued to strike Iran on Wednesday, and Iran appeared to dig in, declaring on state media that it had launched its “most intense” wave of operations against Israel. But if they did so, she added, that would be with each other and the Europeans, before Israel or the United States. Oil prices have soared to heights not seen since the pandemic and threaten to push average gasoline prices in the United States above $4 per gallon. There are thousands of threats, including deeply buried munitions and drone storage sites, that the United States has now begun to hit with bombers carrying 2,000-pound munitions. Japan maintains one of the world’s largest strategic oil reserves, covering approximately 254 days.

Source: Washington Post March 12, 2026 08:55 UTC