On March 12, international oil prices opened higher and continued to rise, with both U.S. crude and Brent crude surging more than 8% at one point. Brent crude reached above $99 per barrel.

According to a Xinhua News Agency report, the U.S. Department of Energy announced on March 11 that it will release 172 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to counter rising oil prices triggered by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iran. Prior to this, several countries had already considered tapping into their petroleum reserves.

In a recent update from CCTV News, U.S. President Donald Trump stated on March 11 that the United States is in a "favorable position" in the conflict with Iran and that the U.S. will focus on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also mentioned that the U.S. is aware of the locations of Iran's "secret organizations" and that they are under close surveillance. Earlier in the week, during an interview, Trump discussed the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting he was "considering taking control of it."

In a separate report from CCTV News, officials at a southern Iraqi port reported early on March 12 that two foreign oil tankers were attacked and caught fire within Iraqi territorial waters. Saad Maan, head of the Security Media Center under Iraq's Joint Operations Command, confirmed in a statement that the attack resulted in one death and that 38 crew members had been rescued. The statement noted that the Iraqi government has deployed six vessels to rescue the attacked crew, and search efforts for missing individuals are ongoing. The attack on the two tankers was described as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.