By ADAM SCHRECK, BEN FINLEY and MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press
The U.S. military says its forces fired on and disabled two Iranian oil tankers after exchanging fire with Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz overnight. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, reported another missile and drone attack Friday. The violence further undermines a month-old ceasefire that U.S. officials insist remains in effect. Iran says the U.S. strikes violate the truce. Washington is awaiting Tehran's response to the latest U.S. proposal aimed at ending the war launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28.
By ADAM SCHRECK, BEN FINLEY and ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press
U.S. military leaders say a ceasefire with Iran is still in effect a day after Tehran was blamed for new attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and against the United Arab Emirates. The UAE, a key American ally, said it came under attack by Iranian missiles and drones for a second day on Tuesday. Still, the fragile truce reached nearly a month ago appeared to be holding. U.S. forces are pressing ahead with efforts to reopen the strait, a vital waterway for global energy. It's unclear whether U.S. military action can reassure shippers without reigniting the conflict. A spokesman for Iran's joint military command denied striking the UAE "in recent days."
By ADAM SCHRECK, BEN FINLEY and SAM METZ Associated Press
The U.S. military says it fired on Iranian forces and sank six small boats as it moved to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The United Arab Emirates, a key American ally, said it had come under attack from Iran on Monday. It was the first such attack on the UAE since a fragile ceasefire took hold in early April. The attacks appeared to be in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's latest efforts to reopen the strait, a critical waterway for global energy. The U.S. military said two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the strait on Monday.
The United Arab Emirates announced that it will leave OPEC effective May 1, stripping the oil cartel of its third-largest producer and further weakening its leverage over global oil supplies and prices. The UAE's decision had been rumored as a possibility for some time, as it pushed back in recent years against OPEC production quotas it felt had been too low. Regional politics are also likely at play. The UAE has had increasingly frosty relations with Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest producer, over political and economic matters in the Mideast, even after both came under attack by fellow OPEC member Iran during the war.
For the Trump family, business is booming. Whereas the Trump Organization didn't do a single deal overseas in Donald Trump's first term as president, it did eight in the past year. It got more than double the money in four months selling Trump "meme" coins than it did in four years running a massive Washington hotel. And there are more potential conflicts as the family makes money investing in companies dependent on federal contracts and seeking taxpayer funded grants and loans. Some historians worry how Trump's approach might influence future holders of the office.
By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
Airstrikes battered Iran and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel and sites across the Mideast. Those attacks came Tuesday after President Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war. With thousands more U.S. Marines on their way to the Gulf, both sides firing intense barrages and Iran denying any negotiations are taking place, the war's tempo remained high. A day earlier, Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan has offered to host diplomatic talks. But Iran remained defiant. The spokesman of its top military command said that the armed forces would fight "until complete victory."
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 BASSEM MROUE, JAMEY KEATEN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
Fears of a global energy crisis persist as the war in the Middle East rages on. More U.S.-Israeli strikes hit the Iranian capital Monday and Israel again bombarded Lebanon. An Iranian drone strike temporarily shut Dubai's airport. That's a crucial global travel hub and the attack underscored the threats to the world economy. Since the United States and Israel attacked Iran more than two weeks ago, Tehran has regularly fired on Israel, American bases in the region, and Gulf Arab countries' energy infrastructure. It has also effectively stopped shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. That has dramatically increased the price of oil and put pressure on Washington to do something to ease the pain consumers are feeling.
By JON GAMBRELL, JAMEY KEATEN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
Updated
Iran's attacks on regional oil infrastructure and pledges to choke off a vital waterway left markets on edge as the United States promised blistering new strikes. The war entered its 11th day on Tuesday with no end in sight as its effects were felt across the region and beyond. Both sides sharpened their rhetoric as they dug in. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth again promised the most intense strikes yet. Iran's leaders ruled out talks and threatened U.S. President Donald Trump. Iran launched new attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, while Israel bombed Iran and Lebanon, where it is battling Hezbollah militants.
By MATT SEDENSKY and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press
Travelers are scrambling for ways out of the Middle East as the Iran war keeps much of the region's airspace closed and flights grounded. The conflict that started Saturday when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran stranded airline passengers in major Mideast cities as well as in countries far from the threat of airstrikes. With commercial flights tightly restricted across much of the Gulf for a fourth day, many were unsure what to do and appealed to their governments for information and exit strategies. The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that it was "actively securing" military and charter aircraft to fly Americans out of the region.
