The 2026 Persian Gulf Crisis represents the most significant military confrontation in the Middle East since the 2003 Iraq War. Triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury, the crisis has engulfed the entire Gulf region with Iranian retaliatory strikes on six countries, airport closures across the region, oil shipping halted in the Strait of Hormuz, and global markets in turmoil.
The crisis has three dimensions: military (US-Israel vs Iran and proxies), economic (oil supply disruption threatening global recession), and humanitarian (civilian casualties, mass displacement, regional instability). Every Gulf Cooperation Council member state has been affected, with the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait directly targeted by Iranian missiles.
The geopolitical ramifications extend far beyond the Gulf. Russia and China have condemned the strikes, NATO has invoked solidarity clauses, India and Pakistan are evacuating millions of citizens, and the UN Security Council is in emergency session. The risk of further escalation — including potential Iranian mining of the Strait of Hormuz or deployment of nuclear-capable missiles — keeps the world on edge.
Israeli settlers have been filmed vandalising a boys’ school in Huwara.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard calls Trump a 'deceitful American president', accuses him of 'contradictory behaviour'.
U. S.
US President Donald Trump says ‘there’s a very good chance of a deal’ to end the US-Israel war on Iran.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron said Lebanon’s fight against threats to its security is ‘just’.
Civilian targets have been struck by all three warring parties.
Israel's far-right finance minister says Litani River must be 'the new Israeli border', as attacks on Lebanon ramp up.
Israel's president was forced to take cover as a missile struck nearby shortly after he gave a press conference.
Ukraine said it hit a key Russian oil terminal at Primorsk and a refinery in Ufa on Monday.
After announcing the US will postpone strikes on Iran’s power plants, Donald Trump said Iran called him to make a deal.
Shortly before the war with Iran began, I wrote that the seeming complacency among government officials and financial market participants was based on two assumptions which I argued were unlikely to turn out to be true: 1) President Donald Trump would make a last-minute deal with the Iranians and de
“If we trust him, we lose.
Air Force says plane was carrying 114 passengers and 11 crew members, and authorities are investigating cause of crash.
The United States is the world’s biggest crude oil producer—it has been for years, and it has been pumping more than 13. 6 million barrels per day of oil for the past few months.
Rerouting and diversification cannot help when a significant chunk of oil and gas have been taken off the market.
Strikes on gas sites in the Iran war are driving up energy costs, pushing up prices for power, food and more worldwide.
Lebanon fears that Israel’s attack on Qasmiyeh Bridge could be a “prelude to a ground invasion”.
Whilst most people will have seen the virtue of stopping Iran from ever developing nuclear weapons, many may now regard U. S.
Worldwide LNG exports have plunged in the past week to a six-month low as Middle Eastern supply collapsed with the de facto closed Strait of Hormuz and the outage at the world’s biggest LNG complex in Qatar. Global LNG shipments have plunged to about 1.
Donald Trump's Strait of Hormuz deadline for Iran raises concerns about attacks on energy in the Middle East.
President Donald Trump has ordered the US military to postpone strikes against Iranian power plants and energy.
President Donald Trump has spoken to reporters after announcing the US was postponing attacks targeting Iran’s energy.
Long before trade wars and tariffs, China secured manufacturing dominance by controlling rare earths - a reality so consequential that the United States and its allies are now pledging more than $8. 5 billion just to claw back some control of the supply chain.
The Strait of Hormuz, a 33-kilometer-wide chokepoint through which roughly a third of the world's seaborne oil passes, is effectively closed to normal commercial traffic. Iran has not blockaded the strait with a chain or a fleet.
Vessels posing as tankers that were sent for scrap years ago have appeared to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, in another example of how the Middle East war and the heavy signal interference in the region are affecting global shipping and energy flows. The vessel Nabiin, which was
Esmaeil Baghaei denies the long-range missile attack, which could change the calculus of the war for US allies.
Locals in northern India have a growing concern over costs of essential resources due to the Iran war.
Avaaz analyses the timeline of events to conclude that violations show Israel systematically kills first responders.
UK PM Keir Starmer says routine assessments conclude that the UK is not a target of Iran amid global tensions.
Saudi Arabia is slashing its crude oil exports to Asia in April, for a second month in a row, as the de facto closed Strait of Hormuz is stranding most of the supply from the world’s top crude exporter. Saudi oil giant Aramco has notified customers of term supply in Asia that they would receive in
Iraq is increasingly caught between the US and Iran as the regional war escalates, deepening economic woes.
Threat to punish broadcasters for coverage not in 'public interest' comes amid wider roll-backs, analysts say.
Spokesman for the IRGC took jabs at US president Trump, mimicking his catchphrases and language.
The Israeli tactics of mass expulsion of Lebanese civilians risk directly violating international law.
Oil prices opened the week elevated but stable in early Asian trading on Monday, holding near multi-year highs after another weekend of escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. At the time of writing, WTI crude was trading at $98.
Trump faces a simple but difficult choice: Iran’s enriched uranium still needs to be secured, and airstrikes haven’t accomplished that. The only clear way to control it would likely require U.
Real stay within four points of league leaders Barcelona with hard-fought win in Madrid derby.
Trump, who cut off oil supplies to Cuba after abducting Venezuela's Maduro, has threatened to take over the nation.
Strikes intensify across Gaza as health officials say 680 Palestinians have been killed since October's 'ceasefire'.
Israeli army chief says the operation against Hezbollah "has only begun" and would be "prolonged".
With US-Ukraine talks set to resume in Florida, Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns Russia is increasing its oil revenues.
Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to back US strikes on Iran’s power grid if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian attacks on Arad and Dimona near Israeli nuclear site raise serious questions about Israel's defence strategy.
What role has the UK played in Israel’s war on Gaza? We meet those who say it’s complicit in atrocities committed there.
Iran says it launched multiple ballistic missile and drone strikes, targeting bases across Israel, UAE, and Kuwait.
Iranians are concerned about the impact of potential attacks on power plants as the scope of US-Israel war expands.
With the war in its fourth week, the Trump administration sends contradictory messages on how to proceed.
Under the guise of preserving secularism, this law allows the exclusion of people based on their religious identity.
Iran warns of 'irreversibly' destroying vital infrastructure across region after Trump threatens to bomb power plants.
Hezbollah has been launching attacks in response to US-Israel war on Iran as more Israeli troops enter southern Lebanon.
UK condemns what it says is Iranian attack on airbase in Indian Ocean, but Tehran denies it carried out the launches.
David Owiro says that African countries are particularly vulnerable to the economic consequences of the Iran war.
It was the first time Iranian missiles had penetrated Israeli air defence systems in the area around a key nuclear site.
Lebanese nurse remains at her post in the Bekaa Valley after losing her fiance in the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war.
Footage shows Israeli firefighters attempting to put out a fire caused by a missile attack from Lebanon.
Israel’s air defence system failed to stop at least two Iranian missile strikes on southern Israel.
The Yemeni armed group says all options are on the table.
Iran responds to Trump's threat by saying all US energy infrastructure in the region will be targeted if it is attacked.
Donald Trump threatens to 'obliterate' Iran's power plants if it fails to open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
The left-wing Brazilian president is critical of US actions throughout Latin America, though he does not name Trump.
Move follows attack on Red Sea port of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia's main oil export outlet, after Iran blocked Hormuz Strait.
Iran targets Dimona and Arad, injuring nearly 100, in retaliation for an attack on its Natanz nuclear site.
The attack on a teaching hospital in Al Deain, the capital of East Darfur state, has rendered the facility non-functiona
Day of intense hardship as mothers mourn children lost in war and children face day without their mothers.
Joe Kent says he resigned as director of the US National Counterterrorism Center over opposition to the war in Iran.
War, which saw Iran attack Qatar facility, has caused 'high, volatile' gas prices that could hit EU storage projections.
Amid war and supply restrictions, Gaza’s toy markets face shortages and high prices, leaving children without Eid gifts.
Eid al-Fitr prayers were held in Tehran after overnight air strikes on the capital.
Bahrain's account differs from how the US military described the March 9 incident, which led to civilian injuries.
The Iran war revealed how dependent Israel’s Arab neighbours are on its gas exports.
The UK says Iran launched ballistic missiles at the joint US-UK Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean.
The dominant narrative over the last two years in global gas markets has been one of impending abundance; everyone was warning of an upcoming LNG tsunami. Market analysts kept pointing to a wave of new LNG supply, mainly driven by expansions in Qatar, the United States, Canada, and parts of Africa.
The fate of an Iranian woman caught in a US-Israeli bomb attack is unknown, after video emerged of her filming it.
No leakage of radioactive materials reported in the area in central Iran, Tehran's atomic energy organisation says.
From Washington to Tehran to Tel Aviv, the fight to control the narrative seems as critical as the war itself.
One police officer killed in strike by 'outlaw groups' on headquarters of Iraqi National Intelligence Service.
Millions of people have rung in the ancient Persian New Year, Nowruz, as war grips the Middle East.
Trump says Strait of Hormuz must be protected from Iranian attacks 'by other nations who use it'.
In his ruling, Judge Paul Friedman ruled the Trump administration sought to force out 'disfavoured journalists'.
The stock market spent the first week of the Iran war doing something strange: mostly shrugging. Oil spiked.
Indian textile workers are returning home after days without cooking gas, as an LPG crisis linked to the Iran war.
The US is moving military assets to the Middle East that are key to providing support for ground troop operations.
At least 15 people have been killed by attacks in Israel since the war on Iran started late last month.
In an initial statement, the US military said three people survived the strike but did not offer additional details.
Europe is under pressure as Trump pushes allies to support the Iran war. How are they responding?
Oil and gas facilities in the Gulf have been attacked since early in the war on Iran.
QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi says he warned US of 'consequences' of attacking Iranian energy infrastructure.
US President Donald Trump said that Iranian leaders are “all gone” and that the White House has “nobody left to talk to.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says request made on February 26, two days before US and Israel launched war on Iran.
Residents of Tehran exchange new year's wishes as US and Israeli attacks continue through the spring equinox.
An explosion struck Jerusalem’s Old City seconds after sirens warned of an incoming Iranian missile.
Oil prices pulled back Friday, but not because the market suddenly feels safe. This is more of a tactical breather than a trend change.
Amid the Iranian war and oil price crisis, the Department of Energy, alongside the Department of Commerce, has unveiled a public-private partnership with SoftBank and AEP Ohio that centers on one thing the AI boom desperately needs but rarely talks about plainly—power. Not theoretical power.
Refiners in Asia are paying huge premiums for crude that could replace some of the supply stuck in the Middle East, with the most suitable grades from Norway and the U. S.
Move comes as Swiss government also closed its airspace to US military flights directly linked to the Iran war.
The US says it is considering removing sanctions on Iranian oil stranded on tankers at sea.
The price of Russian Urals has soared in recent weeks. How Russia - and other energy producing nations - could profit.
When Israeli jets struck the South Pars gas complex near Asaluyeh, they hit more than pipes and compressors. They struck the single piece of infrastructure most essential to Iran's ability to function -- a field that provides 75 percent of Iran's domestic gas supply and powers roughly 80
Experts say while Gulf states need support in face of Iranian attacks, it is less clear what their allies can provide.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency has released military video said to show air defence systems hitting a US F-35.
Israeli and US air attacks pound Iran as assassination campaign of country's leadership continues.
From Sunday through late Thursday, oil swung sharply as traders moved between two competing forces: escalating war risk in the Middle East and a growing policy response aimed at easing supply shortages. As of late Thursday, nearby WTI crude oil traded at $94.
Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Trump’s “51st state” comment on Venezuela comes as the country’s power structure is being reset in a way that looks controlled, not transformed. Delcy Rodríguez has replaced longtime defense chief Vladimir Padrino López with Gustavo González López, an intelligence f
Everything is about leverage. Hormuz is no longer the only story as the White House loses control of its version of the narrative.
Israeli air strikes target army camps in response to alleged attacks on the Druze community in Suwayda on Thursday.
Women's Asian Cup hosts Australia face criticism for the political tug of war over the Iranian women's football team.
Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery was hit by Iranian drones early on Friday in attacks that caused a fire in several units at the facility, as the war in the Middle East shows no signs of de-escalation despite the most recent U. S.
Qatar’s state firm QatarEnergy expects the damage to the Ras Laffan LNG complex, the world’s single largest LNG-producing facility, to cost it about $20 billion per year in lost revenue and to take up to five years to repair. The Iranian missile attacks on Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City (RLIC)
Lloyd's List reports that ships could be allowed to pass through 'safe corridor' once they are approved by IRGC.
People gather with family and for congregational prayers to mark the end of the holy fasting month.
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