CNN: The war with Iran has cost $37.5 billion so far, according to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but the bill is likely much higher, experts have told CNN. He and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine testified before Congress to seek additional funding for the war.
Trump’s warning: President Donald Trump said the US will hit the area of Pickaxe Mountain — a fortified underground facility believed to be connected to Iran’s nuclear program — “probably pretty soon.” Iran said that any US attack on its nuclear facilities would be treated as an expansion of the war in the region…
Why Israel Is Sitting Out the Latest U.S. Bombing Campaign in Iran
Now, the U.S. and regional officials are concerned Israel’s involvement would add a disruptive variable when they are trying to wring diplomatic concessions from Iran and avoid all-out war.
Washington has asked Israel to stay out of the fight for now, people familiar with the matter said.
The Persian Gulf’s Arab states are lobbying the U.S. to ensure that Israel doesn’t resume strikes on Iran, said Arab officials familiar with the discussion. They fear Israeli involvement would trigger a fierce response from Tehran that potentially targets their energy infrastructure, the officials said. It also would make it harder politically for Gulf states to join in the attacks on Iran themselves if necessary…
Trump Plays Down Prospects of Iran Talks Amid Red Sea Threat
Trump vowed on Tuesday to respond if the Iran-backed group had disrupted that waterway, but didn’t specify how.
…“They want to desperately meet and until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way we have no interest,” Trump said at a White House meeting with Lebanon’s president, vowing to continue the fight.
Asian refiners look to Suez Canal to move Saudi oil amid Houthi shipping threats
Shipping west toward Egypt from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, and passing through the Suez Canal and rounding the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, will require as much as four additional weeks and raise freight and fuel costs, analysts and industry experts have warned, compared to the typical route of heading east from Yanbu to the Arabian Sea…
Tankers with Saudi crude turn back as Houthis open new front in US-Iran war
War Risk to Oil Supplies Grows With Red and Black Sea Disruptions
Global oil supplies face a growing list of disruptions, as a threat by Yemen’s Houthi militants to blockade Saudi Arabia began to take shape and Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Black Sea shipping disrupted operations of a key pipeline there…
When US troops die, Trump often reaches quickly for politics
After calling the deaths “a shame,” he went on. “They did it because they don’t want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said of the troops. “… And it just shows you how bad (the Iranians) are.”
While the president restated his goal for the war in the former interview, he seemed to suggest that the slain troops actually endorsed his war in the latter interview. He has not offered evidence of this. Troops are supposed to fight even if they don’t believe in the cause…
A Houthi Blockade Could Worsen an Already Fragile Oil Market
“Even if one tanker gets hit by a drone, then that very much sends a signal to shipowners and crews,” said Hamad Hussain, an economist with Capital Economics, a consulting firm. “It would only take a couple to spook ships from making the trip.”…
Water Plants Under Fire in the Gulf Are Crucial to Civilians
Several days of airstrikes have hit water and energy plants in Kuwait, a nation that relies on desalination for 90 percent of its drinking water…
What to Know About Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain
The fortified underground complex, in central Iran, is about one mile away from the Natanz uranium enrichment facility…