<\/p>\n
The White House threatened further escalation of its military campaign against Iran, which later attacked a Kuwaiti oil tanker near Dubai, as the war entered a fifth week with little relief for jolted global markets.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump said in a social media post Monday that if Tehran doesn\u2019t reopen the Strait of Hormuz, \u201cwe will conclude our lovely \u2018stay\u2019 in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating\u201d electricity plants, oil facilities and \u201cpossibly\u201d desalination infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Trump has regularly vacillated between saying a deal with Iran is imminent and warning that he\u2019s prepared to increase the military tempo. The threat to water facilities would constitute a war crime as defined by the Geneva Conventions.<\/p>\n
The president has told aides that he\u2019s willing to end the US military campaign, even if the strait remains mostly closed, the Wall Street Journal reported. White House officials didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Exiting the conflict without a deal to resume the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz would represent a major loss for the US. Washington is considering using diplomatic channels to pressure Iran to reopen the passage, or leaving it to allies in Europe and the Gulf region to negotiate, the paper reported.<\/p>\n
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US is \u201cconducting more intense, targeted strikes with devastating combat power with each passing day\u201d and the American operations are proceeding \u201caccording to plan,\u201d even as she echoed the president in saying talks are on track. The administration hasn\u2019t identified which Iranian officials it\u2019s dealing with, directly or indirectly.<\/p>\n
Despite the mystery surrounding peace talks, Leavitt said Iran is \u201cincreasingly eager\u201d to negotiate and has agreed to \u201csome of the points\u201d the US proposed. Iran has said talks aren\u2019t progressing and signaled it can continue fighting.<\/p>\n
The back-and-forth on negotiations occurred as Israel and Iran exchanged missile strikes. The conflict is threatening to cause economic damage around the world, with the near-closing of the Hormuz waterway choking supplies of energy, fertilizer and other critical commodities. The United Arab Emirates issued multiple alerts overnight, and Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reported interceptions of drones and missiles.<\/p>\n
The Kuwaiti crude carrier Al-Salmi was attacked by Iran in an anchorage area of a Dubai port, Kuwait Petroleum Corp. said in a statement. There were no injuries reported among the crew, KPC added, though the assault may have resulted in an \u201coil spill in the surrounding waters.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Oil pushed higher after the tanker strike, with West Texas Intermediate futures jumping almost 4% toward $107 a barrel. The US oil benchmark has surged almost 60% in March, the most since May 2020.<\/p>\n
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News the US is \u201cgoing to retake control\u201d of Hormuz, ensuring safe navigation \u201cthrough US escorts or a multinational escort.\u201d The US announced such a plan in the early days of the war, though it hasn\u2019t yet been executed.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s parliament approved legislation to impose fees in the strait, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.<\/p>\n
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi urged Trump to end the conflict, saying only the US president could do so. Egypt is, along with Pakistan and Turkey, attempting to mediate.<\/p>\n
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with Newsmax that the Iran war was \u201cdefinitely beyond the halfway point\u201d in terms of missions, though possibly not in terms of time.<\/p>\n
The US military said over the weekend that about 3,500 sailors and Marines have arrived in the Middle East on an amphibious assault ship. The Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group is also carrying fighter aircraft.<\/p>\n
The Israel Defense Forces said it\u2019s carrying out airstrikes on Iran a day after attacks resulted in power outages in Tehran and nearby areas. Iran said it\u2019s striking Israel, which reported an attack on the Bazan oil refinery in Haifa, although not to production facilities.<\/p>\n
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that an agreement to end fighting could come soon, claiming that Iran agreed to \u201cmost of\u201d the 15 demands the US has issued, without offering specifics.<\/p>\n
Iran suggested that isn\u2019t the case, having publicly rejected the proposal last week.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe demands conveyed to us have been excessive and illogical,\u201d Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a news conference, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.<\/p>\n
Iran has issued its own conditions, including war reparations, and called for an end to fighting on all fronts.<\/p>\n
Tehran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen entered the war over the weekend, launching missiles and drones at Israel.<\/p>\n
More than 4,750 people have been killed so far, roughly three-quarters of them in Iran. More than 1,100 have died in Lebanon, where more than a million people have been displaced. Dozens have been killed in Israel and Arab Gulf states.<\/p>\n
Three United Nations peacekeeper have been killed in Lebanon over the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s weekend strikes on Middle Eastern aluminium plants are threatening to send a fragile market into crisis, raising the prospect of record prices for the metal.<\/p>\n
In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump said he wants to \u201ctake the oil in Iran,\u201d which would involve occupying the country\u2019s main export hub of Kharg Island \u2014 also the location of an Iranian naval base.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur men are waiting for American soldiers to enter on the ground,\u201d Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, according to Tasnim.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#Iran #attacks #Kuwaiti #oil #tanker #Trump #expands #threats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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