Overview
- In his first statement since taking power, Mojtaba Khamenei called for continued attacks, warned U.S. bases remain targets and urged keeping the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, with the message read on state TV as he did not appear on camera.
- Hezbollah launched roughly 200 rockets into northern Israel, while Israeli officials said about half of Iran’s missiles carry cluster warheads that spread bomblets, and the IDF struck multiple Hezbollah sites in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
- Israel signaled an expanded campaign in Lebanon with new evacuation warnings up to the Zahrani River and reported additional strikes inside Iran, including a previously damaged nuclear-related site.
- Oil rose back above $100 a barrel as Iran attacked shipping and energy facilities across the Gulf, with reports of tankers hit near Basra and off Dubai, Gulf states intercepting drones and missiles, and Iraq halting operations at its oil terminals.
- The IEA announced a coordinated release of 400 million barrels from emergency reserves, including 172 million from the U.S., as the Pentagon opened a formal probe after a preliminary assessment suggested U.S. responsibility for a strike on an Iranian girls’ school that killed at least 165 civilians.