Iran

Trump threatens ‘unprecedented’ response if Iran mines Strait of Hormuz WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned Iran of severe military consequences if Tehran attempts to block the Strait of Hormuz with naval mines, saying the United States would respond at a level “never seen before.” The warning followed intelligence assessments indicating Iranian forces may be preparing to deploy dozens of mines in the narrow waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply transits. Trump said there were…

Iran threatened to target U.S.- and Israeli-linked economic assets — including banks — in a warning that underscores the risk of the conflict spilling from the battlefield into financial and digital infrastructure across the Middle East and beyond. The scope, timing and method of any potential action were not immediately clear. The statement signals that economic targets, such as banking networks and associated services, could come under pressure, heightening concerns about cyberattacks, sanctions-related retaliation, or…

The United States and Israel launched what officials and witnesses described as the most intense airstrikes of the war on Iran, as Tehran fired missiles toward central Israel and Iran-aligned forces expanded drone attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf. The escalation deepened fears over energy security in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened to block oil shipments unless the strikes stop. Israel’s military said it began “an additional wave of strikes” on targets in Tehran shortly after explosions were…

Oil prices leap past $100 as Iran conflict chokes Hormuz, stoking global food inflation risk LONDON — Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel this week, the highest since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as escalating conflict involving U.S.-Israeli forces and Iran on Feb. 28 rattled energy markets and raised the specter of renewed food inflation worldwide. The Strait of Hormuz — the narrow chokepoint between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly 20% of global oil supply moves — has seen marine traffic…

European shares fell further Monday as oil prices surged toward $120 a barrel, deepening inflation fears and rattling risk appetite amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, which shows no sign of easing. The latest bout of volatility underscored the market’s sensitivity to energy shocks and supply disruptions tied to the conflict in the Middle East. London’s benchmark slipped 1% in afternoon trade, while the Paris CAC 40 lost 1.7% and Frankfurt’s DAX dropped 1.4%. Dublin’s market fell 1.3%, with Kingspan, Cairn Homes and Ryanair…

Israel launched a new wave of strikes on “regime infrastructure” in central Iran on Monday, hours after clerics in Tehran named Mojtaba Khamenei as the Islamic Republic’s new supreme leader, escalating a regional war already spilling across the Gulf and the Levant. The Israeli military said its forces had “begun an additional wave of strikes on Iranian terror regime infrastructure in central Iran,” a rare public description of targets inside the country. The announcement came shortly after Israel reported strikes on…

Oil surges past $90 as war in Middle East chokes Strait of Hormuz, rattling fuel costs worldwide Oil prices spiked and showed no signs of easing a week after the United States and Israel launched major attacks on Iran, tipping the Middle East into war and choking off one of the world’s most vital energy arteries, the Strait of Hormuz. Commercial tankers carrying roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day are stranded in the Persian Gulf, unable to safely pass through the narrow waterway bordered by Iran, as missile and drone…

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the country can wage an “intense war” for six months against the United States and Israel, as Israeli forces announced fresh strikes “across Tehran” and a precision hit on Quds Force commanders at a seaside hotel in central Beirut. The claims and counterstrikes rippled across the region Saturday, with Saudi Arabia intercepting a wave of drones and Kuwait reporting an attack on aviation fuel tanks at its international airport. Kuwait’s national oil company said it would cut crude production,…

Analysis: Pakistan’s Saudi defense pact faces its first major test as Iran-Israel war engulfs the Gulf ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes on February 28 and Tehran’s retaliation with missiles and drones — not only at Israel but at six Gulf countries — have thrust Pakistan into the most precarious regional crisis it has faced in years. Bound to Saudi Arabia by a new mutual defense pact, tied to Iran by geography and a tense but necessary relationship,…

Thanks for the assignment. To produce a publish-ready article to AP standards, I’ll need the raw source material. Please provide: - Full source text (wire copy, field notes, transcripts, official statements, social posts, ministry releases, satellite/flight data snippets, etc.) - Key facts: time of strikes, locations hit (terminals/runways/air defenses), casualties/damage, flight disruptions, claimed perpetrators, weapons used - Attribution: on-the-record quotes, anonymous sourcing (with agreed descriptors), agencies or…