… It said it had hit a US base in Jordan, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain all said they had responded to missiles and drones from Iran. …
… It said it had hit a US base in Jordan, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain all said they had responded to missiles and drones from Iran. …
… Vice-President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and two people who have been heavily involved in Middle East talks – special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – are expected to lead negotiations, which were expected to take place in Oman on Saturday …
… Phil Belcher, marine director at Intertanko, an international organisation for independent tanker owners, said the number of ships travelling through the Strait via the southern route closer to Oman was now in “single figures” following the step up in hostilities. …
… from about 70 a week ago and well below the normal number of 130 ships that was seen before the Iran war began earlier this year. “The number of ships that are going through overnight is sort of about single figures in the southern route, which is maintained off the coast of Oman …
… On Tuesday, Iranian and Omani officials held talks in Oman’s capital of Muscat to discuss “the future management of navigation”, although Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi said both countries were committed to “toll-free safe passage”. …
… Oman said it would keep the strait open to shipping without imposing tolls and had designated two temporary routes north and south of the existing shipping lane to facilitate the safe passage of vessels leaving the region. …
… IMO secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez said the “large-scale operation” would be carried out in cooperation with Iran, Oman, the US, other coastal states in the region and the maritime industry. …
President Trump has halted attacks on Iran for the third consecutive night to create space for talks, according to US ambassador Mike Waltz, while an Iranian spokesperson confirmed Tehran has also paused retaliatory attacks. Oil prices have dropped below $90 per barrel following the pause.
President Trump has halted attacks on Iran for the third consecutive night to create space for talks, according to US ambassador Mike Waltz, while an Iranian spokesperson confirmed Tehran has also paused retaliatory attacks. Oil prices have dropped below $90 per barrel following the pause.
The US ambassador to the UN said President Trump has paused attacks on Iran for the second night to give diplomacy more time, after nearly two weeks of daily US strikes and tit-for-tat attacks. Iran's army spokesperson said Tehran had halted "retaliatory" attacks in response, and Iran and Oman held technical talks on managing the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, saying they violated a blockade of Saudi ports, while the US carried out its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran. Oil prices surged to $100 per barrel following the escalation.
Oil prices settled over 1% higher on Monday as traders weighed hopes of renewed U.S.-Iran negotiations against Yemen's Houthis imposing a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. Brent crude futures rose $1.12 to $89.22 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate closed 74 cents higher at $83.23.
Brent oil prices rose 2% to above $90 per barrel as escalating U.S.-Iran hostilities in the Middle East restricted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict saw the U.S. conduct a ninth straight night of attacks against Iran over the weekend, while Kuwait and Bahrain reported additional Iranian strikes.
Iran has accused the US of hitting civilian infrastructure including bridges, a train station and an airport in air strikes since peace talks collapsed. BBC Verify confirmed an attack on a bridge in Hormozgan province, and provincial authorities said seven people were killed on Thursday night.
Iran has accused the US of hitting civilian infrastructure including bridges, a train station and an airport in air strikes since peace talks collapsed. US Central Command says the attacks were intended to degrade Iranian military capabilities, and seven people were killed in strikes on Thursday night according to provincial authorities.
A tentative US-Iran deal signed last month is now fracturing over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, with Iran citing point five of the memorandum of understanding as granting it authority over the maritime corridor's management, while the US interprets the same clause as requiring Iran to ensure free passage of global commerce.
The UAE accused Iran of attacking two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, killing one and wounding eight crew members. The US launched fresh strikes as tensions escalate, with Trump announcing a 20% charge on the waterway, while Iran said it would remain the Strait's guardian.
Oil prices rose nearly 3% on Tuesday to their highest in four weeks after the U.S. reimposed a naval blockade of Iran while the two countries stepped up attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, with Brent crude reaching $84.80 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate rising to $79.84. The escalation has injected fresh risk and uncertainty into energy markets.
President Trump announced the US is reinstating a naval blockade of Iranian ports and will impose a 20% charge on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, following recent military strikes between the US and Iran. The blockade takes effect Tuesday at 16:00 Eastern Time, while Iran's foreign minister countered that whoever provides safe passage should be compensated and that Iran remains the strait's guardian.
The US says the Strait of Hormuz remains open while Iran claims it has closed the waterway following renewed hostilities. The US struck over 140 targets across Iran on Saturday in response to Iranian forces hitting a ship; Iran's IRGC launched wide-ranging attacks on US bases and regional allies on Sunday, and Centcom announced another round of strikes.
The US struck over 140 targets across Iran, saying Iran had hit a ship in the Strait of Hormuz; Iran responded with wide-ranging attacks on US bases and allies across the region, claiming it closed the waterway, though the US insists it remains open. The escalation jeopardizes an interim ceasefire agreement signed last month.
The US said it carried out a fresh wave of strikes on Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked a Cyprus-flagged vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says it has closed the waterway until further notice after the ship turned off its systems and diverted from the approved route.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has called for revenge for the death of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an air strike on 28 February during the first day of the US-Israeli war against Iran. In a statement read on state TV, Khamenei pledged to avenge "the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars" from "the criminal and disgraced killers."
The US is demanding Iran publicly declare the Strait of Hormuz open and pledge to stop firing on commercial ships as part of negotiations scheduled for Saturday, following this week's fighting that the White House says violated a June ceasefire agreement. According to US officials, Tehran has privately acknowledged the ship attacks were a mistake, attributing them to a rogue hardliner faction.
The US and Iran continued trading military strikes Thursday, with the US hitting 90 military targets and Iran reporting 14 killed over two days and launching strikes on US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, and Iraq. Simultaneously, massive crowds gathered in Iran's Mashhad as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was buried after six days of funeral events.
The US and Iran have traded strikes for a second night, with the US military striking some 90 military targets near the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian authorities report 14 people killed in the past two days, and shipping through the Strait has declined sharply as observers report a "dramatic" drop in vessel traffic.
Oil prices rose nearly 2% after the U.S. military launched airstrikes against Iran and reimposed crude sales sanctions in response to Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns about supply disruptions and the fragility of a recent U.S.–Iran truce.
Brent crude fell 0.9% to $72.51 a barrel as investors focus on potential U.S.-Iran negotiations in Doha amid a strained interim ceasefire, with prices down around 22% from last month and nearly back to pre-war levels from February 27.
The US military conducted strikes on Iranian missile, drone storage facilities and coastal radar positions in response to an Iranian attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command described the strikes as a "powerful response" to the drone attack and said Iran's action violated a ceasefire and undermined freedom of navigation.
Brent crude futures closed at $73.74 a barrel on Wednesday, down 4.3%, after oil tankers resumed exiting the Strait of Hormuz with military escorts. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said around 20 million barrels exited the strait in the last 24 hours and that flows are now similar to pre-conflict levels, though Iranian mines had delayed normal navigation.
Oil prices fell more than 1% on Wednesday, extending weekly losses and trading near four-month lows, as signs emerged that stranded tankers in the Gulf are set to move through the Strait of Hormuz. Prices also came under pressure from Washington's 60-day sanctions waiver allowing Iran to sell oil and easing hostilities in Lebanon.
The UN's International Maritime Organization plans a large-scale evacuation of more than 11,000 sailors stranded in the Gulf due to the US-Israel war against Iran, working with Iran, Oman, the US, and other regional partners. An interim deal was signed to end the conflict, but the US and Iran continue to dispute details of the Memorandum of Understanding, particularly regarding nuclear inspections and missile provisions.
Carlos Queiroz will match the record of five consecutive World Cup tournaments as a coach when Ghana begin their Group L campaign against Panama on Wednesday, continuing a run that began with Portugal in 2010 and included three successive tournaments with Iran in 2014, 2018, and 2022. Queiroz was appointed Ghana coach in April after Otto Addo was fired.
The US military struck the Palau-flagged MT Settebello in the Gulf of Oman after accusing it of violating an American blockade by attempting to transport oil from Iran, killing three Indian sailors of the 24 crewmen aboard; 21 were rescued.
Donald Trump said the US will hit Iran "hard" on Wednesday after the two sides exchanged strikes overnight, and reiterated a call for Iran to "sign a deal." Iran's foreign ministry spokesman accused the US of damaging diplomatic efforts through contradictory messages and violations of a ceasefire.
A US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopter crashed early Tuesday near the Strait of Hormuz off Oman's coast; its two crew members were safely rescued by an unmanned drone boat in what US Central Command described as a historic first for American forces. The cause of the crash remains unknown and is under investigation.
Fans from more than a quarter of World Cup nations face travel bans, tighter restrictions, or high visa rejection rates, preventing them from attending matches in the US. Iraqi fan Abdulla Adnan, whose country qualified for only the second time in its history, spent $1,800 on tickets and travel to Jordan seeking a visa, only to be denied because he was not a Jordanian citizen.
Qatar qualified for the 2026 World Cup under new Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, appointed in May 2025, though the team won only one of 11 games before warm-ups. The hosts, grouped with Canada, Switzerland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, aim for a more solid defensive approach after their poor 2022 campaign.