CNN: Ceasefire tested: President Donald Trump won’t say whether the US-Iran truce remains in place after both sides fired shots in the Strait of Hormuz. He also warned Iranian forces they would be “blown off the face of the Earth” if they targeted US ships in the strait or the Persian Gulf.
UAE under fire: The United Arab Emirates, a US ally, defended itself against Iranian strikes for the first time since the ceasefire began in early April,with one drone attack causing a fire at a major oil port.
Economic crisis: Oil hit its highest price of the year on the first day of Trump’s operation to guide stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the intense uncertainty that still dogs the global energy trade…
Iranian Official Warns of Escalation in Strait of Hormuz Standoff
A top Iranian official warned on Tuesday of an escalation in the Strait of Hormuz and accused the United States of violating the fragile cease-fire, a day after the U.S. Navy began an initiative to escort commercial ships through the strait, a vital oil shipping waterway.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator in the faltering peace negotiations, said in a social media post that “a new equation” was emerging in the Strait of Hormuz. He said that American actions had endangered shipping through the strait, which Iran has blockaded since the war began in late February…
US intelligence indicates limited new damage to Iran’s nuclear program, sources say
U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year, according to three sources familiar with the matter…
U.S. Warns China Over Iranian Oil as Sanctions Fight Intensifies
The United States on Monday urged China to push Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and said that its purchases of Iranian oil amounted to funding global terrorism, delivering a stern rebuke ahead of President Trump’s meeting in Beijing this month with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping…
Bessent Calls on China, Allies to Join US Operation in Hormuz
“The threat of attacks from Iran has closed the strait — we are reopening it,” Bessent said. “So I would urge the Chinese to join us in supporting this international operation.”
…“We are expecting our international partners to engage in the same thing,” Bessent said. He also said that “we are saying the Iranians do not have control of the strait. We have absolute control of the strait.”…
South Korea Says Its Ship Damaged in Hormuz for First Time
A South Korean vessel suffered an explosion and fire in the Strait of Hormuz, the nation’s foreign ministry said, the first instance of damage to the country’s commercial fleet stranded in the area since conflict erupted in the Middle East…
Iran War Takes a Dangerous Turn as Fighting Erupts in Hormuz
The U.S. said it used Apache helicopters to sink Iranian speedboats harassing traffic in the strait. Iran hit a critical oil port in the United Arab Emirates and several vessels around the strategic waterway…
Iran’s Regime Ends the Cease-Fire
The cease-fire in the Persian Gulf has been broken, and the culprit is the regime in Iran. President Trump now faces a decision about how he plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz: Give Iran’s regime what it wants in negotiations or use the U.S. military to get ships through…
Trump Tries to Downplay Economic Effects of the Iran War
At a White House event for Small Business Week, he described the economy as “roaring” and predicted that gas prices would go down soon…
Iran Is Using Its 1980s Playbook, Plus Drones, to Cripple Global Shipping
During the Tanker War of the 1980s, Iran used missiles, mines and speed boats to assert its control over the Strait of Hormuz. Back then, it took an extensive naval operation, including the destruction of command posts on offshore oil platforms by U.S. Marines, to break Tehran’s hold.
This time around, in addition to its earlier playbook, Iran has a legion of attack drones which are serving as a significant force multiplier. And the U.S. Navy has so far decided not to send warships to escort tankers and other vessels trapped in the Persian Gulf…
Airlines slash flights as fuel shortage fears mount
Thousands of flights have been cancelled and several services have switched to smaller or more fuel-efficient aircraft to conserve fuel as they brace for supply disruption, according to data from analytics company Cirium…
Asia battles rising, uneven toll of energy crisis caused by Iran war
Governments in Asia, the top oil importing region, are scrambling to find alternatives and insulate their economies from the worst of the energy crisis triggered by the Iran war, but the pain is getting increasingly costly…