Iran-US battle newest: Trump broadcasts historic talks between Lebanon and Israel with White House optimistic for peace | EUROtoday

Six weeks of US and Israeli bombardment have served to degrade Iran’s nuclear amenities and cripple components of its army.

But the Islamic Republic’s offensive capabilities have been constructed up over almost 50 years, throughout which Iran has been both at battle or underneath the specter of battle.

As an skilled in army historical past and idea, I consider that to know what might come subsequent in Operation Epic Fury, it’s worthwhile to understand the event of Iran’s trendy army construction, capabilities and worldwide actions, writes Paul J. Springer.

Hajar and Rashid Hathaleen have at all times walked to high school from their neighborhood on the outskirts of Umm al-Khair.

But when courses resumed this week for the primary time because the Iran battle started, coiled barbed wire blocked the Palestinian siblings’ path to the village middle.

Israeli settlers had put in it in a single day, in keeping with a video that Palestinian residents supplied to The Associated Press.

Palestinians say the improvised fence is simply the newest try by settlers to increase management in a part of the occupied West Bank the place state-backed demolitions, arson and vandalism usually happen and settler violence, at occasions deadly, isn’t prosecuted.

The commander of Iran’s joint army command has threatened to halt commerce within the Gulf area if the US doesn’t elevate its blockade on Iranian ports.

No vessels have made it previous US naval forces in the course of the first 48 hours of the blockade, in keeping with the US Central Command. Even so, Trump mentioned on Wednesday the battle in Iran was “very close to over”.

The military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei also warned that Iran would sink American ships in the Strait of Hormuz if the United States decided to “police” the key shipping bottleneck.

“Mr Trump wants to become the police of the Strait of Hormuz. Is this really your job? Is this the job of a powerful army like the US?” Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander-in-chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards who was named as a military adviser by Khamenei last month, told state TV.

“These ships of yours will be sunk by our first missiles and have created a great danger for the US military. They can definitely be exposed to our missiles and we can destroy them,” Rezaei, wearing his military uniform, told the state broadcaster.

Japan’s Nikkei reached a fresh record in early trading, up 2.2 per cent, while MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.9 per cent, putting it on track for a third consecutive day of gains. S&P 500 futures were also higher.

The gains followed a strong Wednesday session on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 rose 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq gained 1.6 per cent after strong quarterly results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley lifted both indexes to record highs.

With around 6 per cent of companies having reported earnings, 84 per cent have beaten analyst expectations.

A fire at one of Australia’s only two remaining oil refineries burned for 13 hours on Wednesday night before being extinguished, threatening petrol supplies in a country already struggling with the fallout from the US-Iran war.

The blaze broke out just after 11pm at Viva Energy’s Corio facility in Geelong, about 75km south-west of Melbourne, after multiple calls to emergency services reported explosions and flames.

Fire Rescue Victoria said the blaze was contained to the Mogas section – the part of the plant where motor gasoline is produced – an area of roughly 30 by 30m.

The Trump administration is reportedly reaching out to U.S. automakers about using their factories to produce military gear, as the ongoing wars in Iran and Ukraine drain American defense supplies.

Defense officials have spoken with top executives at General Motors, Ford, GE Aerospace, and machinery maker Oshkosh about the effort, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The Wisconsin-based Oshkosh told The WSJ it began speaking with Pentagon in November, prior to the Iran war, in response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s call to put U.S. military manufacturing on a “wartime footing.”

Oil prices fell in early trade this morning as hopes for easing US-Iran tensions, following reports that Iran could allow ships to pass through around ​the Strait of Hormuz, outweighed concerns over ongoing supply disruptions.

Brent crude futures dropped ‌44 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $94.49 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures was down 70 cents, or 0.8 per cent, at $90.59 a barrel.

The White House expressed optimism ​yesterday about reaching a deal to end the war with Iran, while also ​warning of increasing economic pressure against Tehran if it remains defiant.

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, has said that Donald Trump’s forces have “completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea”.

The command said yesterday that no vessels have made it past its forces during the blockade’s first 48 hours. The blockade started on Monday.

Central Command noted that 10 vessels have complied with directions to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area.

The blockade is being enforced “impartially against all vessels of all nations entering or leaving coastal areas or ports in Iran,” the Command said. Vessels avoiding Iranian ports are not affected.

Paramedic groups say a fourth Lebanese rescue worker has died after three consecutive, targeted strikes by the Israeli military yesterday that also wounded six others.

The back-to-back Israeli attacks on the southern village of Mayfadoun hit the first group of medics responding to a distress call from wounded civilians.

A second group trying to assist their wounded colleagues and a third group rushing to aid the first two teams that had been targeted were also hit in the attack.

The Israeli military has previously accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of using ambulances as cover for militant activities, without offering evidence.