LIVE: Iran Guards Say 'Turned Back' 3 Ships in Strait of Hormuz
Strike Hits Key Iranian Missile & Sea Mine Facility in Yazd
According to Israeli military statements, the targeted site played a central role in the planning, development, assembly, and storage of advanced maritime strike weapons—capable of launch from submarines, cruise platforms, and helicopters against naval targets.
US weighs sending up to 10,000 troops to Middle East: reports
The United States is weighing sending up to 10,000 extra troops to the Middle East, US media reported Friday, as speculation grows that Washington may be preparing a ground operation in Iran.
The deployment would mark a significant boost to Washington's military presence in the region, despite US President Donald Trump insisting that Tehran was taking part in peace talks with Washington to end the war.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the move would aim to provide Trump with "more military options" in the Middle East, engulfed by war since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
The troops would join thousands of paratroopers and Marines who have already been ordered to the region.
An Iranian official said Wednesday that Tehran would retaliate to a ground invasion of its territory by Washington by activating its Houthi rebels in Yemen to attack shipping in the Red Sea.
That would open up a new front in a war of spiralling economic, political and military repercussions.
Trump has repeatedly said he does not plan to send ground troops into combat with Iran.
"It is unclear where precisely forces will go in the Middle East, but they will likely be within striking distance of Iran and Kharg Island, a crucial oil export hub off Iran's coast," the Journal said.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.
Trump has pushed back his deadline for strikes on Iran's energy assets, assuring that talks on ending the war were "going very well."
Israel's military, meanwhile, said early Friday that it carried out "a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran".
West Asia Tensions: Global Economic Fallout
Oil prices fell Friday after US President Donald Trump pushed back a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though that only partially pared the previous day's surge amid growing anxiety that the conflict will last far longer than first thought.
Brent crude is down 1.5 percent at 0230 GMT, selling at $93.07 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate is down 1.8 percent at $106.12.
Brent is up almost 50 percent since the war began, while WTI has risen around 40 percent.
- Japan to ease coal restrictions -
Japan's government plans to temporarily lift restrictions on coal-fired power plants as it seeks to ease an energy crunch caused by the Middle East war, an official told AFP.
Power suppliers have been required to keep the operating rate of coal-fired thermal power stations that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide at or below 50 percent.
But the government now intends to allow full operation of older, less efficient coal-fired plants, for a year from the new fiscal year starting April, said Takahide Soeda, an industry ministry official.
- WTO says worst trade disruption in 80 years -
The global trading system is experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years", World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned Thursday at the opening of the WTO ministerial conference.
"The world order and the multilateral system we used to know has irrevocably changed," she said, adding: "We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today."
- World Bank to respond 'at scale' -
The World Bank said it was prepared to provide immediate financial assistance to emerging market countries hit by the economic fallout of the conflict, saying it was "ready to respond at scale."
The Washington-based multilateral lender said a number of its clients in affected countries had already reached out as the crisis began to impact commodity prices and logistics.
- OECD cuts eurozone growth forecasts -
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its eurozone growth outlook and forecast higher inflation for 2026 after the Middle East war caused energy prices to skyrocket.
The Paris-based group lowered its growth forecast for the currency union by 0.4 percentage points to 0.8 percent. It largely maintained its 2026 forecasts for the United States and China, but warned of further fallout should hostilities continue.
- Spain approves war-impact measures -
Spain's parliament approved a sweeping package worth five billion euros ($5.8 billion) aimed at curbing the economic impact of the Middle East war, including steep cuts to energy taxes.
- Poland cuts fuel taxes -
Poland's prime minister announced Thursday a series of measures to cushion the impact of soaring fuel costs, including reduced taxes and price ceilings.
The value-added tax was being reduced on petrol and diesel from 23 percent to eight percent, and a maximum price would be set on a daily basis by the energy ministry, said Donald Tusk.
- German consumer confidence slumps -
German consumer sentiment fell heading into April due to the war, a survey showed Thursday, adding to the woes facing Europe's top economy.
"Consumers are expecting inflation to take off again and the economic recovery to be held back as a result of higher energy prices," said Rolf Buerkl, head of consumer climate at the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions.
- South Korea prepares 'wartime' budget -
South Korea will roll out a $17 billion "wartime" supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts as the war in Iran pushes up energy prices, authorities said.
"The government will draw up a supplementary budget worth 25 trillion won next month -- funded by excess tax revenue -- in response to the prolonged Middle East conflict," the government said in a statement.
Iran Guards say carried out attacks on Israel and US forces in Gulf
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had carried out missile and drone strikes the previous day targeting sites in Israel and military facilities in the Gulf used by US forces.
The strikes involved long- and medium-range missiles and "destructive and roaming drones", and targeted sites in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, the Guards said in a statement carried by the IRNA and Fars news agencies.
The statement said a maintenance facility for US air defence system Patriot was targeted in Bahrain.
Iran Bans Sports Teams From Attending Games in Hostile Countries
Iran has banned its sports teams from traveling to countries it considers “hostile," Iranian state TV reported Thursday ahead of Tractor FC's scheduled soccer game in Saudi Arabia.
The ban announced by Iran’s Ministry of Sports in Tehran didn't mention the World Cup which starts June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The ministry's statement singled out the Tractor game against Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai that was set to be played in Saudi Arabia. It's a playoff game in the Asian Champions League Elite .
“The presence of national and club teams in countries that are considered hostile and are unable to ensure the security of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice,” it said.
Israel military says carried out 'wide-scale' strike on Tehran
Israel's military said its forces carried out strikes on "infrastructure" targets in Tehran early Friday, nearly a month into the Middle East war.
A brief military statement said Israeli forces "completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran".