Trump Warns Iran to Watch What Happens as War Hits Two-Week Mark

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Kuwait reported on Thursday that several drones were fired at its international airport, resulting in material damages.

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Israel’s military said it struck more than 200 targets in central and western Tehran, including ballistic missile launchers, defense systems and weapon-production sites.

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Iran has likely begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, UK Defense Secretary John Healey told reporters on Thursday. Iran’s deputy foreign minister denied that his country was doing so, according to the AFP.

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Even so, there’s little sign that Hormuz will be reopen for normal levels of traffic soon.

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Three commercial ships were struck in the Arabian Gulf in the past two days, highlighting the risk that maritime disruptions to transport are expanding.

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Ports in Oman and on the UAE’s east coast — both outside the narrow waterway — are being used as emergency gateways for goods bound for the region. The US Navy could start escorting tankers through the strait by the end of this month, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

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The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted millions of barrels a day of supply and caused what the International Energy Agency described as the biggest hit to global production on record. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have all have had to curb crude output.

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On Thursday evening, the US announced a second authorization for buyers to take Russian oil cargoes already at sea to help ease prices. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move was designed to be a “narrowly tailored, short-term measure” that “applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.”

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The US and Israel first launched airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, after accusing the Islamic Republic of pursuing nuclear weapons — an allegation Tehran has long denied. Iran struck back, firing missiles and drones at Israel and nations across the Gulf, plunging the oil-rich region into crisis.

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Some 1,858 people have died in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Almost 700 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is battling Iran-aligned Hezbollah. Around a dozen Israelis and several more people in other Arab countries have also died.

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Trump has sent mixed messages about the likely duration of the war, signaling at times that an end was imminent and at others that it could continue for weeks. Surging gasoline prices, the approach of midterm elections in November, and widespread opposition to the war in the US are increasing pressure on him to quickly halt the fighting.

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Although Trump has cited the overthrow of Iran’s leadership as a motive for the military campaign, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said there was no guarantee the government that has ruled the country for 47 years would be toppled — even in its now-weakened state. 

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“A regime is ultimately brought down from within,” he said at his first press briefing since the war began.  

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The new supreme leader, a 56-year-old hardline cleric, was appointed after his father was killed in the first day of US-Israeli attacks. Iranian media had reported that the younger Khamenei had been injured.

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Trump said he thinks the new supreme leader is “damaged” but “alive in some form,” in an interview on FOX.

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US officials told lawmakers the first six days of the war cost more than $11.3 billion, a person familiar with the matter said, the most detailed assessment yet of campaign’s expense. The US Central Command reported about 6,000 targets had been struck since military operations started.

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