Live updates: Global fuel prices spike as Iran targets Gulf refineries

The impacts of the war in Iran continue to be felt across the Middle East and parts beyond as the price of oil surges. 

Iran hit a Saudi refinery in the Red Sea and set Qatari liquefied natural gas facilities and two Kuwaiti oil refineries on fire, sending international oil and gas prices soaring on Thursday.

The Associated Press reported that the attacks followed an Israeli attack on Iran's South Pars natural gas field the previous day.

Civil defense workers, and engineers survey damage, including a hole in the roof created from an Iranian Ballistic missile striking the building just before midnight on March 19, 2026 in the Ramat Aviv neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Alex

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According to the AP, Brent crude oil, the international standard, soared to as high as $118 a barrel, up more than 60% since Israel and the United States started the war Feb. 28 with strikes on Iran.

The Trump administration is still looking for ways to alleviate prices at the pump for consumers in the United States by easing sanctions and releasing the country’s oil reserves. 

Here are the latest updates from Thursday.

Department of War delivers update on Iran war

8 a.m. ET: The Department of War is providing an update on the war with Iran. 

Strait of Hormuz still not open to US

Since the war started, a small number of ships from Iran, Turkey, India and elsewhere have gotten through the Strait of Hormuz, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. 

Iran insists the waterway is open, just not to the U.S. or its allies.

Trump expressed growing frustration that no allies have offered to help open the strait, posting on social media: "WE DON’T NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!"

A top British military official, Armed Forces Minister Al Carns, said that any reopening of the strait is a long way off because of threats that include mines, attack boats and drones.

Average gas prices in the U.S. reached 

US debt reaches $39 trillion

The national debt surpassed a record $39 trillion on Wednesday, a milestone that comes just weeks into the war.

Big picture view:

The unprecedented figure highlights competing administration priorities, from passing a massive tax law and boosting defense spending and immigration enforcement to chipping away at the debt itself — the latter of which Trump promised to do as both a candidate and as president.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett estimated over the weekend that the war in Iran had cost the U.S. more than $12 billion so far, and it is unclear when the war will end.

The U.S. national debt hit $38 trillion five months ago — and $37 trillion two months before that.

The trajectory of the rising debt has continued to grow under both Republican and Democratic presidents, most recently fueled by wars, large-scale pandemic spending and tax cuts.