Middle East crisis live: rescue effort under way after US refuelling plane with five onboard crashes in Iraq | US-Israel war on Iran
important events
Asian stocks were mostly lower on Friday, tracking Wall Street’s losses. Oil prices were hovering around $100 per barrel due to ongoing concerns about the Iran war and its impact on crude oil and natural gas supplies.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.1%, while South Korea’s Kospi index fell 1.3%. Australia’s ASX 200 index rose 0.1%, while Taiwan’s Taiex index traded down 0.7%.
Oil prices remained stable. Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 0.6% to $97.22 per barrel. It rose above $100 on Thursday, a few days after approaching $120 earlier this week.
Iran’s new religious leader on Thursday Ayatollah Mojtaba KhameneiIn his first public statement, he promised that Iran would continue fighting. It will continue to use the Strait of Hormuz, which is an important waterway for oil and natural gas transportation and has been virtually closed due to serious traffic disruptions, as a trump card against the USA and Israel.
Macron said French soldier was killed in attack in Iraq
Emmanuel Macron confirmed on social media that a French soldier was killed in an attack on Erbil in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region; this was the first French military death in the Middle East war..
The French president named him Publish on X As Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion Alpins of Varces, of the 7th Chasseurs Battalion, said that he “died for France.”
I want to express all the love and solidarity of the nation to his family, his comrades in arms.
Macron also said in his post that many French soldiers were injured. He added:
This attack on our forces fighting against DAESH [Islamic State] Unacceptable since 2015. Their presence in Iraq is part of the strict framework of the fight against terrorism. The war in Iran cannot justify such attacks.
As previously mentioned, the French army had previously announced that six French soldiers, who were training with their Iraqi partners, were injured and taken to the medical center after a drone attack in the region.
US and Israeli strikes hit parts of Tehran on Friday, Iranian media reported, adding that houses were shaken by the explosions.
“The intensity of the explosions was so great that residents of these areas reported that their houses shook. No further details were given about the extent of damage or possible casualties,” Iran’s Fars news agency reported.
Iran’s mine-laying in the Strait of Hormuz surprised the Trump administration
Robert Mackey
US officials reported that Iran on Thursday began laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a key Gulf passage that provides 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. he told the New York Times.
Although Donald Trump boasted that the US military had destroyed Iran’s navy, officials said Iran began using smaller boats to plant mines and close the strait it was imposing on its Gulf neighbors, sending oil prices sky-high.
Iran’s move to close the narrow gorge was long anticipated by war planners in previous administrations but appears to have caught the Trump administration by surprise.
CNN reported On Thursday, senior Trump administration officials told lawmakers in recent classified briefings that Iran was not planning for the possibility of closing the strait in response to attacks by the United States and Israel.
“Planning to prevent this exact scenario… has been a central tenet of US national security policy for decades,” a former US official who served in Republican and Democratic administrations told CNN. “I’m surprised.”
Welcome summary
Hello and welcome to our ongoing live coverage of the US-Israeli war against Iran and its impact on the region and the global economy.
Here are the latest developments:
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US Central Command said it was conducting rescue efforts after losing a military refueling plane in “friendly airspace” in Iraq.while saying neither enemy nor friendly fire was to blame. In the statement made after the incident in which two planes were involved and the second one landed safely, it was stated that “rescue efforts are continuing.”
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According to the US official, there were at least five crew members on the crashed KC-135 plane. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. US central command said the crash was not caused by enemy fire or friendly fire.
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Israel launched new attacks on Tehran and Beirut.
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Donald Trump said his war against Iran was “moving very quickly” and “going very well.” He called Iran “a country of terror and hatred” and said it was “paying a huge price right now.”
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a veiled threat to kill Iran’s new religious leaderHe said he would “not take out a life insurance policy” for Iran’s new ayatollah or Hezbollah leader. Using his first press conference since the start of the war to defend his joint military assault with the US against Iran, he said Israel aimed to stop Iran from moving its nuclear and ballistic projects underground, and that some Israeli strikes had killed top Iranian nuclear scientists.
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US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Sky News that the US Navy, perhaps in conjunction with an international coalition, would escort ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz whenever militarily feasible. The plan to escort ships comes after the U.S. “skies and… [Iran’s] “The missiles’ rebuilding capabilities have been completely diminished,” he said.
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French President Emmanuel Macron said that a French soldier was killed in the attack on Erbil in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region; this was the first death of a French soldier in the war.. He said many soldiers were also injured. The French army had previously announced that French soldiers were training with Iraqi partners during the drone attack in the region.
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Trump said he “welcomed” Iran’s national football team participating in this summer’s World Cup, but added: “I really don’t believe it’s appropriate for them to be there for their own lives and safety.” The US president did not provide detailed information about the nature of the risk in the Cup held in the US, Canada and Mexico.
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A US defense official told BBC News that a base in Erbil, Northern Iraq, where British and US forces are located, was attacked by an Iranian drone last night, but no significant injuries occurred and all American soldiers there remained on duty. As far as the broadcaster understands, no British soldiers were injured in the attack.
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The Israeli army’s home front command said a ballistic missile fired from Iran hit an open area in central Israel and did not cause any injuries.According to Haaretz.
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Saudi Arabian defense forces announced that they captured a drone heading towards the Shaiba oil field. – an area that drones have regularly targeted this week – as well as a ballistic missile and three drones launched towards the country’s eastern region.
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Qatar’s defense ministry said two ballistic missiles, a cruise missile and several unmanned aerial vehicles launched from Iran were seized.
