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US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the military would be ‘busy tonight’ ahead of the fresh strikes
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Iran has launched strikes targeting 18 US airbases in the Gulf region after the US military said it attacked Iran’s “surveillance capabilities”, among other military infrastructure, in its latest round of strikes.
The Kuwaiti government temporarily shut its airspace on Thursday morning while its military said it was responding to missile and drone attacks and urged the public to take shelter. Bahrain sounded air raid sirens.
The US Central Command announced a second round of strikes on Wednesday night on Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defence sites across Iran.“US Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy assets fired precision munitions on Iranian targets that posed a threat to US forces and international commercial ships transiting regional waters”, the military wrote on X.
Earlier, Donald Trumpsaid the US was going to attack Iran “very hard” unless a peace deal is finalised.“We’ll see what happens, but we hit them hard yesterday, and we’re going to hit them again hard today”, the US president told reporters at the White House.
President Donald Trump’s ongoing war with Iran is draining America’s emergency supply of crude oil — which is just days away from hitting its lowest level in more than 40 years, according to a report Wednesday.
Since March, Trump has tapped 66 million gallons of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to keep exports flowing and prevent Americans from seeing their price at the pumps reach new heights, Fortune said.
The reserve dipped to a 3-year low of 349.2 million barrels on June 5 and is being depleted at a rate of nearly 9 million barrels a week.
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India has summoned a top American diplomat in New Delhi after two Indian seafarers were killed and another was reported missing after US struck a commercial tanker off the coast of Oman.
Deck cadet Aditya Sharma and engine fitter Shivanand Chaurasiya were killed, while chief engineer Patnala Suresh was reported missing following the incident on Wednesday.
The US military’s Central Command said a US aircraft “fired precision munitions into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from American forces”.
Centcom said it disabled the Palau-flagged oil products tanker Settebello as it transited the Gulf of Oman, adding that it had “violated the ongoing blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran”.
Kuwait’s civil aviation authority has reopened its airspace after it was temporarily shut this morning due to Iranian strikes.
Kuwait’s international airport is working normally and flight shave resumed as per schedule, the aviation authority said.
The US state department has urged its citizens in Iraq to maintain the highest level of vigilance, and to leave the country if possible.
It warned of travel disruptions or sudden airspace closures without notice amid renewed attacks between the US and Iran.
The embassy said the US mission in Iraq remained operational despite some employees being ordered to leave.
Saudi Arabia announced Wednesday the end of a ban it imposed on Lebanese imports five years ago, marking a major step in attempts to rebuild relations between Lebanon and Gulf countries.
The kingdom slapped a ban on Lebanese fruits and vegetables in 2021, saying they were being used to smuggle drugs. In one notable case, Saudi Arabia announced it had seized over 5 million pills of the amphetamine drug Captagon hidden in a shipment of pomegranates coming from Lebanon.
Months later, the wealthy Gulf country extended the ban to all Lebanese products after Lebanon’s then- Information Minister George Kordahi publicly criticized Saudi Arabia’s war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
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Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has said that the country’s military actions against Iran are “far from over”, The Guardian reported.
Katz warned during a ceremony in Jerusalem that if Iran attacks Israel again, “it will suffer a severe blow”.
The two countries exchanged fire earlier this week — the first time since the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in April.
The US state department has issued a travel advisory warning its citizens in Jordan to seek overhead cover and shelter after Iran said it fired missiles at US bases in Jordan.
“Remain indoors and pay attention to local announcements and alerts,” the state department said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it fired 12 ballistic missiles to target the US military’s F-35, F-15, and F-16 fighter jets at the Al-Azraq airbase and control centre in Jordan.
Oil prices jumped this morning as Tehran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed after the US launched additional strikes against Iran, and as president Donald Trump vowed even more attacks if no peace deal is secured.
Brent futures rose $1.48, or 1.59 per cent, to $94.58 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $1.71, or 1.90 per cent, to $91.74.US crude futures gained more than $3 earlier in the session.
The Israeli military said this morning that two “launches” were identified falling adjacent to an area where Israeli troops are operating in southern Lebanon, after sirens sounded in several areas of northern Israel.
Earlier, the military said Home Front Command had issued a precautionary directive after detecting “launches” from Lebanon toward several communities in northern Israel, urging residents to enter protected spaces.
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