Merchant ship on fire hits by Iran in Strait of Hormuz.

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war, the largest such action in the organization’s history.

The IEA did not set out a timeline for when the stocks would hit the market.

It said that the reserves would be released over a time frame that is appropriate to the circumstances of each of its 32 member countries.

IEA members are primarily advanced economies in Europe, North America and northeast Asia. The organization is tasked with maintaining global energy security.

It was founded in 1974 in response to the oil embargo imposed by Arab producers over U.S. support for Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

(CNBC)

(REUTERS): Iran said the world should be ready for oil at $200 a barrel as its forces hit merchant ships on Wednesday and the International Energy Agency recommended a massive release of strategic reserves to dampen one of the worst oil shocks since the 1970s.

The war unleashed with joint U.S. and Israeli air strikes nearly two weeks ago has so far killed around 2,000 people, mostly Iranians and Lebanese, as it has spread into ‌Lebanon and thrown global energy markets and transport into chaos.

Despite what the Pentagon has described as the most intense airstrikes since the start of the war, Iran also fired at Israel and targets across the Middle East on Wednesday, demonstrating it can still fight back.

On Wednesday, three vessels were reported to have been hit in Gulf waters as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their forces had fired on ships in the Gulf that had disobeyed their orders.

While Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said the operation “will continue without any time limit, as long as required, until we achieve all objectives and win the campaign,” Trump suggested the campaign would not last much longer.

Photo: X

A satellite launched by NASA more than a decade ago is expected to return to Earth soon.

The spacecraft weighting 1,300 pound is called Van Allen Probe A, has been orbiting the planet for nearly 14 years and is now predicted to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere within the next day or two.

The space agency earlier estimated that the probe would begin re-entry around 7:45 p.m. ET on Tuesday (March 10), though the timing could vary by as much as 24 hours.

According to NASA, the risk of damage on the ground is extremely low.

Most of the more than 600-kg spacecraft is expected to burn up due to intense heat while passing through Earth’s atmosphere.

However, some small components may survive the re-entry. Scientists estimate that the chance of debris harming a person is about one in 4,200, which the agency describes as minimal.