Unrelenting Iranian attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure again pushed oil above $100 a barrel. Iran on Thursday hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain’s international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone attack and forced Iraq to halt operations at all the country’s oil terminals after an attack on its Basra port on the Persian Gulf. Meantime, American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight. Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem after Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran.
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The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has become a test of who endures longer. The biggest pressure point appears to be the global economy, as oil prices surge. Iran attacked commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, setting a Thai cargo ship on fire, and Iranian drones also targeted Dubai's airport. The U.S. campaign of airstrikes is now in its 12th day, and Israel is also striking inside Iran while hitting what it says are Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Separately, an Israeli assessment says Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was wounded early in the conflict.
AP Wire
Iran targeted the world’s busiest international airport Wednesday and attacked commercial ships as U.S. and Israeli strikes rocked Tehran, while the United Nations’ most powerful body demanded a halt to the Islamic Republic’s strikes on its Gulf neighbors that threaten global oil supplies. The latest attacks marked an escalation in Iran’s campaign aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end the war that started 12 days ago. But there were no signs that the conflict was subsiding. On Thursday, an Iranian attack sparked a major fire on an island that's home to Bahrain’s international airport. Also, an attack on Iraq’s Basra port killed one person and forced a halt to operations at oil terminals.
Governments are working on plans to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil choke point. The Iran war has effectively closed the waterway and pushed up gasoline prices. French President Emmanuel Macron is leading an international effort to reopen the waterway “when circumstances permit.” Retired naval officers say that using warships to escort tankers would make no sense during active combat. They say ships have little room in the waterway to evade attacks. Navies have recent escort experience in the Red Sea against Houthi drones and missiles. Experts say Hormuz poses far higher risks. Iran has missiles, drones, fast boats and naval mines. Insurers also drive decisions. Premiums for ships wanting to use the strait have surged.
As the Iran war widens, experts say the Middle East’s real strategic weak point may be water — not oil. Much of the Gulf’s drinking supply comes from desalination plants clustered along vulnerable coastlines within easy range of Iranian missiles and drones. Many of the individual plants supply water to millions of people. Without them, major cities could not sustain their current populations. In recent days, desalination plants have been struck by both the U.S. and Iran. Oil spills, contamination and sabotage also could disrupt supplies of the fresh water that also sustains hotels, industry and some agriculture.
A drone strike has hit a Sudan school and medical center, killing 17, mostly schoolgirls, a hospital official says.
AP Wire
The U.S. says it took out more than a dozen mine-laying Iranian vessels, and the Islamic Republic vowed to block the region’s oil exports, saying it would not allow “even a single liter” to be shipped to its enemies. As concerns grew Tuesday about the war’s effect on a strategic waterway, the American military said it destroyed 16 minelayers, though President Donald Trump said in social media posts that there were no reports of Iran planting explosives in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil is shipped. The American military released the figure, along with unclassified footage of some of the vessels.
AP Wire
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Tuesday would be the most intense day yet of U.S. strikes inside Iran. The Islamic Republic, its firepower diminished, has vowed to fight on. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the aim of the war is the popular overthrow of Iran's government. U.S. President Donald Trump sent contradictory signals about how long the war could last, fueling uncertainty and wild swings in financial markets Monday. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf dismissed any suggestion that Tehran has sought a ceasefire. The U.S. joint chiefs chairman says Iran's missile attacks have fallen 90% and one-way attack drones have decreased 83% since the war began.
French President Emmanuel Macron has visited Cyprus to show support, days after a drone strike hit a British base on the island. It was the first drone attack on European territory during the Iran war. Macron said France dispatches more warships to the Eastern Mediterranean. Macron pledged to defend Cyprus and dispatch additional warships to the Eastern Mediterranean to strengthen allies’ security. He met Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the main air base near Paphos. France has already sent a frigate and air defense systems to the Eastern Mediterranean to boost protection. Greece has also sent fighter jets and frigates.
U.S. President Donald Trump says the war against Iran could be short-lived. Trump made the comment Monday at a news conference. But he also left open the possibility of an escalation in fighting if global oil supplies are disrupted by the Islamic Republic, which chose a new hard-line supreme leader. Oil prices briefly shot to their highest level since 2022 a day after Iran selected Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father as Iran’s supreme leader. Investors saw it as a signal that Iran was digging in 10 days into the war launched by the United States and Israel.