On Friday, March 13, 2026, US Secretary of Defense (Secretary of War) Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Cain gave an important information at the Pentagon. During this time, Hegseth completely rejected the warning of Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei that the Strait of Hormuz should be continuously blocked. America has described this action of Iran as a result of frustration and said that there is no need for people to worry about this.
ℹ️: Gulf Region Tensions: Government keeping a direct eye on 23000 Indian sailors in the Gulf, strict alert issued after the death of 3.
Current situation of Strait of Hormuz and America’s action
The Strait of Hormuz is currently closed to commercial tankers. Due to this, 20 to 25 percent of the crude oil and 20 percent of the LNG supplied worldwide is not able to go out of the Gulf. To deal with this problem, America and Israel have started taking action together on a large scale.
On Friday, the highest number of air strikes were carried out since the beginning of the war. The bombing of Tehran and military infrastructure has been intensified. So far, US and Israeli forces have targeted more than 15,000 targets. Due to these attacks, Iran’s missile capability has reduced by 90 percent.
Update on Iran’s Supreme Leader and Military Capabilities
Pete Hegseth also reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has been injured in an airstrike. His first official statement on Thursday came only in written form and no video or audio of it was released. America says that its forces are working on the goal of completely destroying Iran’s naval and missile capabilities.
General Dan Cain clarified that America’s main objective is to make the movement of ships in the sea safe again. For this, Iran’s ability to launch drones and missiles is being destroyed. America has a plan ready to deal with every situation.
Oil prices and impact on common people
This dispute is directly affecting the oil market around the world and the people living in Gulf countries. Movement in the crude oil market has intensified.
The price of Brent crude oil has reached close to 99 to 100 dollars per barrel. To handle the situation, 400 million barrels of oil have been taken out from the emergency reserve. A fire was reported on the US warship USS Gerald R. Ford on March 12, but it is still fully operational.
