Oil sees historic disruptions as Iran escalates attacks on shipping

 The Middle East conflict is ramping up on multiple fronts, with Iran targeting global energy supplies and its neighbors.

• Oil shock: The International Energy Agency says the world is facing the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market” as Iran escalates its attacks on ships. The emergency release of 400 million barrels of oil failed to calm prices.

• Claiming victory: US President Donald Trump repeated his claim that the US has won the war, even as the conflict widens. Trump has said soaring fuel prices are a temporary but necessary sacrifice.

• In Iran: Up to 3.2 million Iranians have been forced to flee their homes amid US-Israeli strikes, the UN warned. In some of the latest strikes, state media said Israeli drones targeted checkpoints of the Basiji, a volunteer paramilitary group tasked with propping up the regime.

• In Lebanon: Israel’s defense minister instructed the military to prepare for expanding operations in Lebanon after Iran-backed Hezbollah fired a barrage of rockets at Israel. Hundreds have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in the renewed fighting