US-flagged tanker damaged in Persian Gulf, one worker killed

Iran’s cultural heritage minister said the UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace in Tehran sustained damage in recent US-Israeli air strikes and that Tehran will submit a formal report to UNESCO.

Visiting the site, Minister Reza Salehi-Amiri said the damage to the complex was an attack not only on a building but on "Iran’s cultural and national identity."

Polish energy group PKN Orlen said on Monday that its liquefied natural gas supplies from Qatar remained safe despite tensions in the Middle East.

The company, which is Poland’s largest oil refiner and fuel retailer, said one LNG tanker had passed through the Strait of Hormuz and was sailing along the South African coast on Sunday.

Orlen added that another LNG delivery from Qatar was scheduled for April.

Four US service members have been killed in action following Iran’s attacks, US Central Command said on Monday.

CENTCOM said a fourth service member who had been seriously wounded later died of injuries.

Major combat operations are continuing and response efforts are ongoing, it said. The identities of the dead are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Power outages and explosions were reported in parts of Tehran and other Iranian cities on Monday amid US-Israeli airstrikes, eyewitness told Iran International.

They said electricity was cut in some areas of eastern Tehran while a large plume of smoke was seen rising in central areas.

Residents in the northwestern city of Urmia also reported hearing several explosions, while others in Karaj, central Iran, said they heard fighter jets flying overhead.

Saudi Arabia shut its Ras Tanura refinery after a drone strike, while major Israeli gas fields and most oil output in Iraqi Kurdistan were also halted as regional strikes stretched into a third day.

Offshore Israel, the Leviathan gas field was temporarily shut, and companies in Iraqi Kurdistan stopped production as a precaution, with no damage reported.

Explosions were also heard at Iran’s Kharg Island export hub, though it was unclear if facilities were affected.

Brent crude rose about 10% to above $82 a barrel on supply concerns.