The US and Israel launched an attack on the Natanz uranium-enrichment facility on Saturday morning, Iran's Tasnim news agency said, as the war in the Middle East entered its fourth week. No radioactive leaks occurred and residents near the site were not at risk, it added.
The Trump administration waived sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil at sea for 30 days in its latest attempt to ease oil prices that have been driven up by the Middle East conflict, said media reports. The waiver will bring some 140 million barrels of oil to global markets and help relieve pressure on energy supply.
The US military is deploying a large amphibious assault ship with thousands of additional Marines and sailors to the Middle East, three US officials told Reuters on Friday, as Iran's new supreme leader hailed Iran's "unity" and "resistance".
The US military's request for $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war met with stiff opposition in the US Congress on Thursday, as Democrats and even some Republicans questioned the need for the money after large defence appropriations last year.
Benchmark Brent oil prices jumped above $119 a barrel on Thursday after Iran attacked energy facilities across the Middle East following Israel's strike on its South Pars gas field, a major escalation in the war. Meanwhile, Middle East benchmark Dubai and Oman premiums hit all-time highs at about $65 per barrel, according to trade sources and Reuters data.
US President Donald Trump said Israel had 'violently lashed out' by striking Iran’s South Pars gas field, in an escalation of the conflict, prompting a retaliatory attack by Tehran on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City. He ruled out further such attacks by Israel unless Iran retaliated.
In a major escalation in the Middle East conflict, Iran's huge Pars gas field was hit on Wednesday in the first reported strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure in the Gulf during the US-Israeli war, prompting Tehran to warn its neighbours that their energy installations would be targeted "in the coming hours".
US President Donald Trump threatened further strikes on Iran's Kharg Island oil export hub and urged allies to deploy warships to secure the Strait of Hormuz, an artery for global energy supplies, as Tehran vowed to intensify its response.
Ships must co-ordinate with Iran's navy to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, reported the country's Mehr news agency on Thursday citing the foreign ministry. This comes after its new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's threat to keep this vital passage shut as leverage against the US and Israel.
The Pentagon said Tuesday about 140 US service members have been wounded in the conflict with Iran giving the first insight into the broader toll of injuries sustained by US troops after a barrage of retaliatory rocket and drone strikes from Iran that also killed seven soldiers in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
