Iran, Israel and the United States struck defiant tones as the Middle East war neared the two-week mark, with leaders vowing to press on despite a mounting death toll, widening regional attacks and fresh aftershocks in global energy and financial markets.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued his first public message since taking power, vowing to keep fighting and to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut. In remarks read out by a state television presenter, he urged neighboring countries to close U.S. bases on their soil or risk being targeted by Iran. “I assure everyone that we will not neglect avenging the blood of your martyrs,” he said. It was not clear why he did not appear in person.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first news conference since U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran began Feb. 28, taking questions via video link and defending the assault. He issued a veiled threat to kill Mojtaba Khamenei and vowed to keep striking Hezbollah in Lebanon after the group opened fire March 2 to avenge the killing of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s former supreme leader and Mojtaba’s father, at the war’s outset.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has declared the United States and Israel have already won, said higher oil prices driven by the Hormuz shutdown would benefit the United States as the world’s largest producer. “The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money,” he said on social media, adding that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons was paramount.
Trump’s comments angered Democrats, who accused him of downplaying the war’s impact on Americans and demanded more information about civilian casualties, including a strike that killed dozens of children at an Iranian girls’ school. The administration has not provided a public assessment of the war’s expected cost or duration, or a postwar strategy for Iran, and the president and top aides have given conflicting reasons for the start of hostilities.
The prospect that one of the world’s most vital oil arteries will remain blocked pushed crude up about 9% to $100 a barrel, despite a Wednesday pledge by developed countries to release 400 million barrels from strategic reserves. U.S. stocks fell Thursday, with the S&P 500 logging its biggest three-day percentage drop in a month.
The death toll has risen to more than 2,000 people, most of them in Iran. Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel has targeted central Beirut and ordered residents to evacuate a swath of the south in its campaign against Hezbollah.
Signs of a widening conflict mounted. Drones were reported over Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman, undermining U.S. and Israeli claims to have neutralized much of Iran’s long-range arsenal. In Iraq, two tankers were set ablaze in the port of Basra after suspected Iranian explosive-laden boats struck them; hours earlier, three other ships were hit in the Gulf. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for at least one attack, on a Thai bulk carrier that caught fire, while a separate container vessel reported being struck by an unknown projectile near the UAE.
Inside Iran, residents described a heavier security presence as authorities sought to project control. “Security forces are everywhere, more than before. People are afraid to come out, but supermarkets are open,” said Majan, 35, a teacher in Tehran. The United States and Israel have called on Iranians to rise up against their clerical rulers. While some Iranians openly celebrated Ali Khamenei’s death on Feb. 28 after a lethal crackdown on protesters in January, there has been no sign of organized dissent since the war began.
Iran has signaled it aims to impose prolonged economic shock to force Washington to back down. A military spokesperson warned the world to prepare for oil at $200 a barrel. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said such a spike was unlikely but could not be ruled out. “I would say unlikely, but we are focused on the military operation and solving a problem,” he told CNN.
As the war grinds on with no clear endgame, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and tit-for-tat strikes across the region are hardening positions in Tehran, Jerusalem and Washington — and testing the resilience of the global economy.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
