The U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran forced world governments to intervene to shore up energy supplies, even as President Donald Trump once again said fighting will end soon.

The International Energy Agency approved its largest-ever release of emergency oil reserves on Wednesday, a move to curb surging oil prices while a critical waterway remains effectively closed.

The Strait of Hormuz has been all but impassable since the opening salvos of the war, which continued for a 12th day with missiles and drones fired from both sides. Several energy giants have curbed production.

Trump told Axios the war would end soon because there is “practically nothing left to target” in Iran, the latest indication he’s keen to wrap up the campaign. He made similar comments on Monday, however, before Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there was no timeline in the pursuit of the Islamic Republic’s total defeat.

The IEA agreed to discharge 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves, more than double the 182 million barrels member countries released after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Global crude consumption is slightly more than 100 million barrels a day and Gulf producers have had to cut roughly 6% of that so far.

The move came after the U.K. Navy said three vessels were hit with suspected projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, underlining the ongoing threat to shipping from the conflict. Oman reported that a Thai-flagged cargo vessel was also targeted.

Brent soared to almost $120 a barrel at the start of the week, though has since pared gains to around $90. It remains around 50% higher year-to-date.

Iran staged more strikes against Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf countries on Wednesday. Dubai International Airport briefly halted operations after drones struck the facility, resulting in four injuries at the world’s busiest international hub.

“The policy of reciprocal strikes has ended; from now on, our policy will be strike after strike,” Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency cited a military spokesman as saying.

The U.S. and Israel continued to hit targets in the Islamic Republic. Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said the campaign will continue until “victory is achieved.” While the U.S. and Israel remain publicly united and their militaries are working in tandem, officials have acknowledged that a prolonged campaign may start to drive a wedge between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The total number of deaths reported since the war began has exceeded 2,380, with Iran and Lebanon accounting for the vast majority of fatalities. The U.S. was responsible for a deadly missile strike on an Iranian school in the first days of the war, the New York Times reported, citing preliminary findings from an ongoing military investigation. Iran has said 175 people were killed in the attack.

U.S. officials say Iran’s attacks are down more than 80%, though Washington’s own war effort is showing unexpected signs of strain because of the Iranian resilience. Tehran is still hitting valuable military installations and energy infrastructure daily, while its ability to block the Strait of Hormuz remains a key advantage.

Iran’s regime is showing little sign of collapse and isn’t yet willing to engage in diplomatic talks, according to a senior European official.

Trump’s administration on Tuesday delivered a series of rapidly shifting comments over the direction of the war, causing energy prices to whipsaw. That included various messages from the U.S. leader about the possibility of Iran placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait have all cut production because of Hormuz’s de facto closure. Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Officer Amin Nasser warned the impact on global petroleum markets could be “catastrophic.”

Group of Seven leaders were scheduled to convene Wednesday to discuss the crisis in Iran and its ramifications for the world economy, with traders now widely expecting central banks to have to slow their pace of interest-rate cuts.

Any attempt by the U.S. and Israel to dislodge Iran’s conservative clerics and the well armed and funded Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will be a formidable task. The Guards — which are separate from the regular military — has around 200,000 active troops and another 600,000 volunteers, including the Basij paramilitary militia, U.S. assessments show.

At least 1,787 Iranians have been killed in the war so far, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran’s supreme leader after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial wave of strikes. Iranian state television has reported that the younger Khamenei had been injured, but the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency cited Yousef Pezeshkian, a son and adviser of Iran’s president, as saying he’d been told he was in good health.

At least seven U.S. service members have died, most of them in the first two days of fighting. There have been several deaths in Gulf countries and Israel.

Israeli forces maintained attacks on southern Lebanon, aiming to degrade Iran-aligned Hezbollah. Some 570 people have been killed in Lebanon and 1,444 injured, according to the nation’s health ministry. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the Lebanese operations.

Trump pledged during his election campaign not to allow the U.S. to become embroiled in protracted foreign wars, and there’s a risk that more American casualties and sustained high gasoline prices will weigh on Republicans’ chances in November midterm elections.

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—With assistance from Patrick Sykes, Kateryna Kadabashy, Galit Altstein and Michelle Jamrisko.

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