Ships hit in Strait of Hormuz, Civilian sites hit in Tehran

Al Jazeera podcasts.

Three commercial ships have been hit by unidentified projectiles near the

strait of Hamuz. That's according to the UK Maritime Trade Operation

Centre, which monitors activity in the waterway.

Well, the strait is a key international shipping route for oil and gas.

Ryan's revolutionary guard corps announced the route was closed to transit

shortly after the war began.

Israel and the US are also bombing targets in the strait.

Iranian officials have blamed the security situation on the United States.

Meanwhile, US Central Command released a series of images of what President Trump

says are 16 Iranian boats destroyed by the US military near the strait of Hamuz.

He says the boats were intended to lay minds.

Trump has warned of grave consequences if Iran continues to block the strait.

Last week, Donald Trump said the US Navy would soon be escorting tankers through the

strait. However, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kane,

revealed there were no plans to do that as yet.

Let's take a closer look at gas prices in the US.

The average price across the country has climbed to about $3.54 per gallon,

a 21% increase from last month. Louisiana is still seeing about $3.00 a gallon

while California, which relies on Asian imports, has reached $5.20.

The highest recorded average for gas prices was in June 2022,

and the national average hit just over $5.

Well, in direct response, of course, to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

All of this, very much the minds of Americans, but House Speaker Mike Johnson,

is trying to offer some assurances that prices will eventually go down.

Iran's capital, Tehran, has been bombarded by Israeli forces

as the conflict escalates in the region.

overnight airstrikes have hit near Tehran's Meribat airport.

In earlier attacks, Israeli forces claimed they were targeting military command centers.

The Red Crescent says the residential building was in rescue teams

have been digging through rubble searching for people.

Coming up on the take.

As governments restrict information from the US to the Gulf,

what do we really know about the war's impact on Israel?

That's the take by Al Jazeera.

Find it wherever you get your podcasts.