Al Jazeera

By Enes Abuomer, Leila Minkara and Leena Fraihat

    US President Donald Trump says that he is nearing a major choice on whether to “annihilate” his Iranian foes, telling Axios that “anything could happen” as he weighs his next move.

    Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says that it has struck a Togo-flagged tanker as it attempted an “illegal passage” through the Strait of Hormuz.

    A UN fact-finding mission has found “reasonable grounds” to believe the US was behind two attacks in Iran, including on a school in Minab in February, which it says constituted war ⁠crimes.

    Intensifying attacks between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis reportedly kill at least five people, including three children.

UN official says US-Iran war cost Arab economies $150bn in first month

    The war between the United States and Iran has cost Arab economies about $150bn in its first month alone, according to a senior United Nations official.

    Rania al-Mashat, executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), said the losses were equivalent to about 4 percent of the region’s gross domestic product.

    Speaking at an informal UN Security Council meeting on maritime security, al-Mashat said threats to navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb affected not only security but also trade, economic stability and access to essential goods.

    She said about 25 percent of the world’s seaborne oil trade and 19 percent of liquefied natural gas trade pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Gulf states are also major exporters of ammonia, fertiliser, sulphur and aluminium.

    Al-Mashat warned that the conflict could delay investment and economic diversification across the Arab world. She called for efforts to prevent the war from expanding, preserve freedom of navigation and strengthen regional preparedness for further disruptions to essential supplies and services.

Only four cargo ships cross Strait of Hormuz on Thursday

    Preliminary data released on Friday show that only four cargo ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, down from six ships the previous day and well below the 10-day average of about 16 ships.

    The figures exclude any vessels that might have passed through the waterway with their Automatic Identification System transponders turned off to avoid detection.

US Congresswoman urges Senate to block $2.8bn US bomb sale to Israel

    US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has called on the Senate to block the Trump administration’s planned sale of $2.8bn in bombs to Israel.

    “As Israel’s defence minister pledges to ‘finish the job’ of genocide in Gaza, the Trump admin is sending the apartheid regime $2.8bn of bombs, using your tax dollars,” the Palestinian American lawmaker said in a post on X.

    Tlaib said the proposed sale comprised 40,000 bombs weighing 2,000 pounds each.

    “The Senate must act to block this sale immediately,” she added.

South Korea rules out military troop deployment in US war with Iran

    President Lee Jae Myung says South Korea will not deploy military troops for any intervention in the US war in Iran that could draw the country into conflict, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

    While speaking at a news conference, Lee acknowledged that the government would take minimal action to safeguard South Korea’s merchant ships and oil transport routes.

    The president’s comments came amid public pressure and recent protests against military deployment in the Strait of Hormuz.

    Meanwhile, armed settlers have set fire to olive trees in a town near Ramallah. Israeli military raids and settler violence have significantly increased across the occupied West Bank in recent months, despite international condemnation.

US senator demands immediate release of detained West Bank American journalist

    Israeli forces detained West Bank journalist Naqaa Hamed on Tuesday at the Tuqu checkpoint located in Bethlehem as she was on her way back from a reporting assignment, according to her sister and a colleague.

    Israeli media reported that Hamed was being detained for “cooperating with an enemy entity and may also be under suspicion of espionage”, though no official statement has come directly from Israeli forces. Hamed previously worked for Press TV, an English-speaking Iranian network, as their West Bank correspondent.

    Many have come out to condemn the arrest, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent organisation that promotes press freedom, claiming that “unsubstantiated espionage allegations must not be used to criminalise journalism”.

    US Senator Chris Van Hollen also took to X to call for her immediate release, saying that Hamed was “wrongfully detained”.

    “Naqaa Hamed, an American journalist, was stopped by the [Israeli army], interrogated about her work, & now faces bogus espionage allegations,” he said.

Saudi embassy welcomes proposed F-35 fighter jet sale

    The Saudi Arabian embassy in the United States has said the potential sale of 48 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter jets to the kingdom reflects the advancement of Saudi-US defence cooperation and the strength of its strategic partnership.

    The sale, estimated at about $24.3bn, was approved by the US State Department and is aimed at improving security for “a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region”, according to the State Department.

    “For decades, Saudi-US security cooperation has contributed to regional stability, strengthened our collective defense capabilities, and advanced our shared security interests,” the Saudi embassy said in a post on X.

Houthi leader accuses Saudi Arabia of exploiting Mecca for political goals

By Yousef Mawry

Reporting from Sanaa, Yemen

    This was an hour-long speech in which Abdel-Malik al-Houthi addressed many different issues, focusing mainly on his criticism of Saudi Arabia for using what he called Mecca as its banner of oppression. A falsehood and deception, he called it.

    Saudi Arabia is accusing the Ansar Allah group of targeting Mecca. He called on the Muslim world to support Yemen in condemning Saudi Arabia for using the holy city to achieve its political-military goals in Yemen.

    He also noted that this is the 12th year of Saudi aggression, and that Saudi Arabia started this round of conflict by launching a military operation on Sanaa international airport prior to the takeover of Mocha and the Ansar Allah advance.

    That was the event that set off a domino effect, leading to Ansar Allah advancing south to capture Mocha, Dhabab and Bab al-Mandeb.

    He said Saudi Arabia forced Yemen into a defensive position, and that current battlefield actions are a defence against a country hellbent on keeping Yemen oppressed and under servitude.

    He said that the US and the Zionists are the ones leading this military effort for Saudi Arabia, and that they are the ones imposing these political policies and forcing Saudi Arabia to act militarily.

Oil prices slip below previous peaks

    Oil prices fell about 1 percent, extending losses for a third session, but held above $100 on Friday as expectations of alternative routes for Middle Eastern barrels to reach markets outweigh worries over cross-border air attacks between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis.

    Brent crude futures dropped $1.01, or 1 percent, to $103.77 a barrel as of 00:20 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures decreased $1.03, or 1 percent, to $100.88 a barrel. Both benchmarks settled down roughly 1 percent on Thursday.

    The declines came as traders largely dismissed fresh supply risks, even though Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis traded new air attacks across their border on Thursday, widening the regional conflict.

Decoding Ghalibaf’s maths jab at Trump: Is Iran fixing US interest rates

By Usaid Siddiqui

    Iran’s missiles and drones have downed dozens of US aircraft, damaged or destroyed hundreds of the United States’ buildings at its bases in the Middle East, and drained its inventories of military equipment worth billions of dollars, the Pentagon conceded earlier this week.

    On Wednesday, Tehran unleashed another unlikely weapon in its war against the US: a maths equation.

    Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has also been a lead negotiator during talks between Tehran and Washington at different stages during the past six months, typed out a version of the Taylor equation, a formula used by central banks to determine interest rates, in a post on X loaded with a wartime message.

    “Let’s see if a hike could open SOH or produce a single barrel,” he wrote, referring to interest rate hikes and the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway Iran has effectively blocked for global shipping.