THE LATEST | CANADAThree weeks into an escalating war in the Middle East, Iran threatened to expand its retaliatory attacks to include recreational and tourist sites worldwide, as the U.S. announced it was sending more warships and Marines to the region…
US to deploy thousands more troops to the Middle East
The Boxer Amphibious Ready Group, carrying about 4,500 Marines and sailors, will head to the region, according to a US official. The troops include the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which consists of about 2,200 Marines…
Trump says US considering winding down war in Iran but other nations must guard Hormuz
President Donald Trump says the US is considering “winding down” operations against Iran, but that other nations must guard the Strait of Hormuz
Trump adds that he does not want a ceasefire, saying “you don’t do a ceasefire when you are literally obliterating the other side”…
Trump signals U.S. may leave allies to manage Iran fallout
Trump’s announcement on social media that he may step back from the war in Iran sought to escalate pressure on allies to assume a greater role in securing the region’s oil shipments — an increasingly urgent concern as energy prices spike. Trump has complained in increasingly bitter terms that U.S. allies are dragging their feet about joining a fight that he launched without consulting them…
Trump Risks Dragging Out Iran War With Debate Over Seizing Kharg Island
Any effort to seize and hold Iran’s energy facilities would put American troops in greater danger than they’ve been exposed to in the conflict, which has seen 13 US fatalities to date. It would also add to the cost and scope of a war that so far has been an air campaign…
Trump administration lifts sanctions on millions of barrels of Iranian oil
As the cost of oil continues to soar, the Treasury Department on Friday lifted sanctions on 140 million barrels of Iranian crude already loaded onto vessels, which the Trump administration says will help ease prices — but which is also likely to provide revenue for Iran’s war effort…
UK lets US use British bases to strike Iranian missile sites targeting Strait of Hormuz
The UK has confirmed it will allow the US to use British air bases to conduct strikes on Iranian missile sites and other military capabilities that are targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
While the move is a significant broadening of London’s policy on the Iran war, it was met with criticism by US President Donald Trump, who said Britain should have “acted a lot faster”…
Iran war will scar the global economy
The Iran war is metastasising into a global economic calamity. Ever since the US and Israel launched strikes on the Islamic republic on February 28, financial markets have been lulled by the belief that the conflict would not last long. In turn, they have discounted the threat of a severe disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas is shipped. But hostilities are entering a fourth week and the prospects of de-escalation seem to wax and wane every 24 hours. In recent days Israel and Iran have also each inflicted lasting damage on critical regional gas facilities. The worst-case scenarios for investors and policymakers are now coming into view…
Airline industry hit by biggest crisis since pandemic
The airline industry is in the grip of its worst crisis since the pandemic, as the Middle East war has grounded flights, wiped more than $50bn off the value of the world’s biggest carriers and even raised the spectre of fuel shortages…
Putin offers to stop sharing intel with Iran if US cuts off Ukraine
Moscow proposed a quid pro quo to the U.S. under which the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence information with Iran, such as the precise coordinates of U.S. military assets in the Middle East, if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intel about Russia…
Iran Targeted Diego Garcia Base With Ballistic Missiles
Iran fired two intermediate-range ballistic missiles at Diego Garcia, a joint U.S.-U.K. military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean, according to multiple U.S. officials. Neither of the missiles hit the base, but the move marked Iran’s first operational use of IRBMs and a significant attempt to reach far beyond the Middle East and threaten U.S. interests…
A Belligerent Iran Has the U.S. Rushing Missile and Drone Defenses to the Gulf
The Trump administration is racing to ship air defenses, radars and counter-drone systems to Arab states and U.S. forces in the Gulf, hoping to beef up their ability to defend against persistent and accurate Iranian missile and drone attacks…
Iran Believes It’s Winning—and Wants a Steep Price to End the War
Three weeks into the war, the Iranian regime is signaling that it believes it’s winning and has the power to impose a settlement on Washington that entrenches Tehran’s dominance of Middle East energy resources for decades to come.
This attitude may prove to be a dangerous misreading of President Trump’s determination, or of Israel’s capacity to inflict strategic blows on the Islamic Republic’s surviving leadership and military capabilities…
U.S.-Israeli rift widens over potential endgame in Iran
But nearly three weeks into the conflict, the war aims are diverging between a U.S. president who saw the historic opportunity of a quick military victory with only modest economic pain and an Israeli leader with grander visions of toppling a regime he’s sought to vanquish for 40 years, said multiple U.S., Israeli and Middle East officials and lawmakers familiar with the matter…
Taiwan concerned by depletion of US missile stocks during Iran war
The US is estimated to have fired hundreds of so-called Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs) during weeks of conflict in the Middle East, as well as ship-launched Tomahawk missiles.
Defence experts said both would be crucial in any conflict over Taiwan because they can be fired from outside the range of an enemy’s air defences, diminishing the risk for an attacking aircraft or naval vessel…
Hegseth Invokes Divine Purpose to Justify Military Might
More than any top American military leader in recent history, Mr. Hegseth has framed U.S. military operations in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America as bigger than politics or foreign policy. Often he has imbued these actions with a Christian moral underpinning that suggests they are divinely sanctioned.
It is this view of a higher power, married to lethal American firepower, that Mr. Hegseth says gives him confidence that the United States will prevail in Iran…
More:
A look at who holds the reins of power in Iran since the country’s top leaders were killed
Why Kharg Island Is Pivotal for Oil Markets in Iran War
Iran War Puts U.S. Diplomatic Missions in the Crosshairs
The US Wants War Without Entanglement. It May Not Exist.
Why Energy Is Such a Potent Target in the War With Iran
The U.S. Economy Is Insulated From High Oil Prices. Americans Aren’t.
Could the US really release more of its strategic oil reserves?