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.
US President Donald Trump has indicated that the war with Iran could continue for up to four weeks, warning that further American casualties are likely as fighting intensifies across the region.
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.
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 on Friday American forces had destroyed military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island, Tehran’s main oil export terminal, while warning he could also target the island’s petroleum infrastructure if Iran or its allies continue threatening shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, sending fresh tremors through oil markets.
Tensions in the Gulf escalated sharply after reports that Iran had begun laying naval mines in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, prompting warnings from President Donald Trump and US military strikes against suspected mine-laying vessels.
US President Donald Trump on Monday that the war against Iran could end soon, but threatened to escalate if Iran blocked oil shipments from the Middle East.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in his office on Saturday morning during US-Israeli air strikes, Iran's state media has confirmed.
Israel and the United States have launched strikes on Iran on Saturday morning with explosions being reported in multiple Iranian cities including capital Tehran.
US President Donald Trump has ordered all federal agencies to immediately cease their use of artificial intelligence products developed by the startup Anthropic, in the latest escalation of tensions between the White House and Silicon Valley over the role of AI in national security.
