Israel and Iran exchanged fire early Wednesday as Tehran kept up pressure on the region’s oil industry and targeted infrastructure as global energy concerns mounted and the war in the Middle East showed no signs of abating.
Iran has effectively stopped cargo traffic in the narrow strait through which about a fifth of all oil is shipped from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean.
It has also targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations as part of a strategy apparently aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end their strikes.
Early Wednesday, a projectile hit a container ship off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, setting it ablaze and forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.
Kuwait said its defenses downed eight Iranian drones and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted five drones heading toward the kingdom’s Shaybah oil field.
The U.N. Security Council was to vote later in the day on a resolution sponsored by the Gulf Cooperation Council demanding Iran stop attacking its Arab neighbors.
