Thick black smoke billowed into the sky, making day seem more like night.

The low-grade oil has been used to fuel power plants amid Iran’s international isolation. Tanks of mazut may now be burning near the city.

The United States said Tuesday it destroyed more than a dozen Iranian vessels suspected of laying naval mines near the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions as the conflict with Iran entered its 11th day.

Switzerland is temporarily closing its ‌embassy in Tehran due to the war in the Middle ​East and increasing security ​risks, the foreign office said ⁠on Wednesday.

A poster of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader is placed on an anti-riot police car as policemen stand on top of the car, during a rally to support him in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Loud blasts shook Tehran on Monday as the city again came under attack, with witnesses reporting that fighter jets could be heard overflying the Iranian capital, approaching from the north over the

Though some Iranians mourned the death of their supreme leader, others rejoiced. Their celebrations were furtive and short-lived to avoid riot police or other authorities.

The International Energy Agency announced an unprecedented release of 400 million barrels of oil from member countries’ reserves to ease global supply pressures caused by the Middle East war. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol called the emergency collective action historic, highlighting the unprecedented scale of current oil market challenges.