Summary
Portraits of Hezbollah's late leaders Hassan Nasrallah, right, and his cousin, Hashem Safieddine, are seen, as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)2026-03-31T05:44:08Z
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A likely strike by the United States hit the central Iranian city of Isfahan early Tuesday, sending a massive fireball into the sky, and Tehran struck a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.The attacks were testament to the intensity of the monthlong war the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran, which has maintained its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, closing off the vital waterway for global energy shipments, sending oil prices skyrocketing and roiling world markets.U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been insisting there is progress in diplomatic talks toward a ceasefire, shared video of the attack on Isfahan, with fiery explosions lighting up the night sky. Isfahan is home to one of three sites earlier attacked by the U.S. military in June and some of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely stored or buried or there. Meanwhile, Israel said another four soldiers had been killed in its invasion of Lebanon, as were two more United Nations peacekeepers, prompting the U.N. Security Council to schedule an emergency session for later Tuesday.
Iranian launches new attacks on Gulf neighbors and hits oil tanker in Dubai watersSpot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, hovered around $107 a barrel in early trading, up more than 45% since the war started Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran. Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading our of Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported during peacetime, has driven up global oil prices, as have its attacks on Gulf regional energy infrastructure.In response to growing Gulf Arab anger, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted Tuesd
Key Phrases
"Direct U.S. strike on Isfahan (major Iranian military/nuclear-related site) risks severe retaliation and broadens target set beyond battlefield targets.""Attack on a fully loaded commercial tanker in Gulf waters endangers neutral shipping, increases insurance/escorts demand, and may draw Gulf states and maritime powers into kinetic responses.""Iran's control/closure of the Strait of Hormuz is already disrupting global energy flows and pushing crude prices sharply higher, amplifying global economic and political fallout.""Concurrent strikes and casualties across multiple fronts (Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Gulf) indicate a multi-domain, multi-actor conflict with high potential for miscalculation and escalation.""Targeting of nuclear-related sites raises the risk of political outrage, covert/deniable retaliatory options, and international intervention (diplomatic and military)."
