Middle East conflict escalates
Israeli forces launched renewed airstrikes on Tehran and Beirut on Friday after fresh Hezbollah rocket attacks tied to the killing of Iran’s former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in a joint US‑Israeli operation. Iran then fired two intermediate‑range ballistic missiles at the Diego Garcia base—one was intercepted by a US warship and the other failed in flight—and US officials say additional troops have been sent to secure choke points like the Strait of Hormuz even as Trump talks about 'winding down' operations. (theguardian.com) (foxnews.com) (cnn.com)
The Pentagon is routing a second Marine Expeditionary Unit of roughly 2,200 Marines aboard three amphibious ships—identified as USS Boxer, USS Comstock and USS Portland—toward the region. (abcnews.com) U.S. officials and multiple reports say the Pentagon is additionally accelerating deployments of “thousands” more Marines and sailors and preparing extra warships and aircraft for operations in the Middle East. (usnews.com) Brent crude settled above $112 a barrel on Friday and U.S. crude (WTI) closed near $98, marking the highest settlements in nearly four years amid the recent disruptions to Gulf oil flows. (cnbc.com) Iraq declared force majeure on oilfields developed by foreign companies on March 20, saying disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had halted most of its crude exports. (al-monitor.com) To relieve market strain, the U.S. Treasury on March 20 issued a 30‑day general license allowing sales of Iranian crude and petroleum products already loaded on vessels between March 20 and April 19, a move officials say could free roughly 140 million barrels. (finance.yahoo.com) Analysts and open‑source observers flagged the likely use of a Khorramshahr‑4 intermediate‑range missile in the long‑range launchers seen during the operation, a system assessed by some analysts to have a 3,000–4,000 km potential range. (theaviationist.com)
