Live updates: Global energy concerns mount as Iran effectively stops cargo traffic in the Strait of Hormuz

Edited By  BRIDGET BROWN, BRIAN P. D. HANNON, VANESSA GERA,  MICHAEL WARREN and LUENA RODRIGUEZ-FEO VILEIRA

Major developments we’re following:

• Iran attacked commercial ships across the Persian Gulf and targeted Dubai International Airport, escalating a campaign of squeezing the oil-rich region as global energy concerns mounted.

• The International Energy Agency has agreed to release the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the effects on energy markets of the war.

• Oil prices remained well below Monday’s peaks, but the price of Brent crude, the international standard, was still up some 20% Wednesday from when the war began, and consumers around the world are already feeling the pain at the pump.

• The head of Iran’s Football Federation raised doubts about whether Iran will take part in the World Cup in June, after several members of the Iranian women’s soccer team sought asylum in Australia.