By JON GAMBRELL and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
Iran's supreme leader says the Islamic Republic will protect its nuclear and missile capabilities as a national asset. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei made the statement Thursday, likely drawing a hard line as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks a wider deal to cement the war's shaky three-week ceasefire. Khamenei also said Americans belong "at the bottom" of the Persian Gulf. His remarks come as Iran's oil industry is struggling under a U.S. Navy blockade and as the global economy feels the strain of Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. World oil prices surged above $126 a barrel on Thursday. The Trump administration is trying to persuade other nations to help reopen the strait.
Diplomats are working through back channels to arrange a new round of talks between the United States and Iran. As Washington enacted its blockade of Iranian ports, Tehran threatened to retaliate by striking targets across the war-weary region. Though last week's ceasefire appeared to hold, the showdown over the Strait of Hormuz risked reigniting hostilities. Meanwhile in Washington, direct talks between Israel and Lebanon concluded on an upbeat note. That's according to Israel's ambassador to the U.S. They are the first such negotiations in decades. Talks aimed at permanently ending the conflict in Iran failed to produce an agreement last weekend. Pakistan has proposed hosting a second round in the coming days.
Global leaders have been scrambling to contain the rising cost of oil and gasoline since the start of the Iran war. President Donald Trump and other heads of state have been pulling on various levers while hoping to ease pain for consumers. They coordinated to launch 400 million barrels of oil onto the market. And Trump lifted sanctions on Russian and Iranian crude. Experts say the maneuvers are adding some oil to the market but it's not enough to halt the steep climb in gas prices that consumers are experiencing.
By EDITH M. LEDERER and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press
Russia and China have vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The resolution, sponsored by Bahrain, had been repeatedly watered down because of opposition from Russia and China. The vote took place just hours before an 8 p.m. Eastern time deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump for Iran to open the strategic waterway or face attacks on its power plants and bridges. One-fifth of the world's oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran's stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.
By SAM MEDNICK, KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press
Officials say a U.S. fighter jet has been shot down in Iran and one crew member was rescued. It's first aircraft downed since the war began nearly five weeks ago. It marked a major escalation in the conflict just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has "beaten and completely decimated Iran." Separately, a second U.S. Air Force combat aircraft went down in the Middle East on Friday, according to a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation. It was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down or whether Iran was involved.
By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING and MIKE CORDER Associated Press
Updated
Iran has fired more missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states, demonstrating Tehran's continued ability to attack. That comes even as U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed the threat from the country has been nearly eliminated. Iran's strikes on its neighbors along with its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world's energy supplies with effects far beyond the Middle East. Britain held a call Thursday with nearly three dozen countries about how to reopen the strait once the fighting is over. Iran responded defiantly to Trump's speech to the American people a day earlier. A spokesman for Iran's military insisted that Tehran maintains hidden stockpiles of arms, munitions and production facilities.
By JON GAMBRELL, SAM MEDNICK and JULIE WATSON Associated Press
Iran is threatening recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisting it is still building missiles three weeks into an escalating war in the Middle East. The United States is deploying more warships and another 2,500 Marines to the region. As Israeli strikes landed in Tehran, Iran launched more attacks on Israel and energy sites in neighboring Gulf Arab states. With little information coming out of Iran, it was not clear how much damage its forces have suffered in the punishing U.S. and Israeli strikes that began Feb. 28 — or even who was truly in charge of the country. But Iran's attacks are still choking off oil supplies and denting the global economy.
By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING, MIKE CORDER and NATALIE MELZER Associated Press
Iran has intensified its attacks on oil and gas facilities around the Gulf, dramatically raising the stakes in a war that is sending shock waves through the global economy. Thursday's strikes came in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian natural gas field. They sent fuel prices soaring and risked drawing Iran's Arab neighbors directly into the conflict. Tehran targeted energy production, further stressing global supplies already under pressure because of Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz. That's a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran no longer can enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles.
By SEUNG MIN KIM, WILL WEISSERT and BILL BARROW Associated Press
President Donald Trump relied on his gut and largely side-stepped diplomatic coordination as he made the decision to launch strikes on Iran with Israel. But now with the Iran war's economic and geopolitical consequences unfurling rapidly, the Republican president is cajoling allies and other global powers to help mop up the mess. Trump says he's asked roughly a half-dozen other countries to send warships to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic. So far, none has committed. Trump even indicated he'd use his long-planned trip to China to pressure Beijing to help with the coalition — a notion his Treasury secretary later downplayed.
By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING, MIKE CORDER and NATALIE MELZER Associated Press
Iran's new supreme leader released his first statement since succeeding his late father. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that Iran would keep up its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors and use the effective closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the United States and Israel. Khamenei, 56, who Israel suspects was wounded in the opening salvo of the war, did not appear on camera, as his statement was read by a state TV news anchor. The statement included a vow to avenge those killed in the war, including in a strike on a school that killed over 165 people.
