Oil and natural gas prices climbed and European gas prices surged as tit-for-tat attacks on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf heightened fears that the war would set off an energy crisis.
European leaders are pushing Prime Minister Viktor Orban to stop blocking a €90 billion loan to Ukraine. But the issue is a rallying cry in remarkably close elections in Hungary set for April 12.
Israel’s attacks are part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy to encourage Iranians to overthrow their rulers. Some see that as wishful thinking.
Israel carried out deadly strikes in Beirut, intensifying its assault against Hezbollah militants. Tehran retaliated for the killing of its de facto leader.
On a Thursday evening in September, I excused myself from the family dinner table and slipped into my bedroom. I didn’t want my kids to see what I was about to do.
With the door locked behind me, I pulled out my phone and downloaded the DraftKings betting app. I felt a certain thrill as I typed in my debit-card information and deposited $500. The first game of the NFL season was a few minutes away. Anything seemed possible. …By McKay Coppins
The odds of being struck by lightning in America in a given year are one in 1.2 million. How does the experience reorient a person’s sense of chance, of fate? By Jacob Stern
Ali Larijani, Iran’s top security official, was killed in an overnight strike, the Israeli military said. His death would deal another severe blow to Iran’s power structure.
Barraged by Iranian attacks and questioning the value of security ties with the U.S., Gulf countries have turned to Ukraine, Australia and Italy for help.
With a presidential summit most likely delayed, and tensions rising over Iran, vital issues for the U.S. and China are also being cast into uncertainty.
The attack hit a drug rehabilitation facility, Afghanistan said, suggesting that its victims included civilians. Pakistan said it had targeted an ammunitions depot.
Geography and regional rivalries have prevented Gulf countries from finding a true alternative to the strait, which the war with Iran has effectively shut down.
President Trump threatened to “wipe out” oil infrastructure on Kharg Island. The U.S. embassy in Baghdad was hit for the second time, an Iran-backed militia group said.
The threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including mines laid by Iran, are complicating President Trump’s calculations about how to end the war.
Hegseth Vows to Reopen Key Strait as U.S. Measures Fail to Calm Oil Fears
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the U.S. military would stop Iran from choking off the Strait of Hormuz but did not say how. Oil prices remained high even after the Trump administration eased restrictions on Russian shipments.
Facing Energy Crisis and Protests, Cuba Acknowledges Talks With U.S
The outreach by President Miguel Díaz-Canel is widely seen as a last-ditch effort to stay in power as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure.
The Iranian state media said Mojtaba Khamenei had released his first written statement as the new leader. It included a call to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed.
Tens of thousands of flights have been cancelled since the initial strikes, and airlines that relied on Iranian airspace are now trying to find alternatives.
When news breaks that dominates the agenda to the extent of the US-Israeli attack on Iran, one challenge for the Guardian Weekly team is how to keep the magazine’s covers feeling fresh, week after week, while remaining focused on the same story.
For this week’s edition, in response to Patrick Wintour’s must-read essay on how the US has ignored the lessons of two previous Gulf wars, we asked illustrator Doug Chayka to play with the idea of a Middle East that the US either cannot, or refuses to, see. Doug’s artwork neatly captures the dilemma of a Trump administration that now finds its Iran exit strategy – assuming there was one – cut off by chaos.
Spotlight | War losses mount in rural Russia Residents of a remote village in Komi Republic say dozens have left to fight in Ukraine, leaving behind grieving families and labour shortages. Pjotr Sauer reports
Science | Is the passion for taxonomy in danger of dying out? Insect taxonomist Art Borkent fears his field of science is fading, despite millions of insects, fungi and other organisms waiting to be discovered, he tells Patrick Greenfield
Feature | The miraculous survival of Nada Itrab After a nine-year-old girl was kidnapped and taken from Spain to Bolivia, authorities feared the worst. They found her in the rainforest nine months later – but that wasn’t the end of her ordeal. Giles Tremlett picks up the story
Opinion |In this war, Britain’s enemy now is Donald Trump As the Iran disaster escalates, Simon Tisdall argues that Starmer should treat the US president as someone whose actions threaten the lawful, democratic way of life everywhere
Interview | Corinne Bailey Rae The English singer and songwriter was riding high with a hit album when her husband died tragically young. She discusses grief, fame and rebuilding her life with Simon Hattenstone
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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