Politics
Iran threatens US-linked oil facilities after Kharg Island bombed
The military’s Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a statement cited by Iranian media that oil and energy infrastructure belonging to firms that cooperated with the United States would “immediately be destroyed and turned into a pile of ashes” if Iran’s energy facilities were attacked.
The announcement, reported by Iran’s Fars and Tasnim news agencies, was in “response to statements” made by the US president who had earlier said in a social media post that strikes had “obliterated” military targets on Kharg Island.
Trump had also threatened to hit the island’s oil infrastructure if Tehran did not allow passage for ships via the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally pass.
Kharg Island, located around 30 kilometres off the Iranian mainland, handles roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude exports, according to a recent JP Morgan note.
The war has sparked chaos in global markets and sent oil prices soaring.
Iranian strikes have all but halted maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving investors and governments globally nervous about the risk of dwindling energy supply and higher inflation.
Trump says Iran ‘totally defeated’
US President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has been “totally defeated” in the US-Israeli military campaign against the country and wanted a deal he would not accept, despite Iranian officials pledging to continue the fight.
“The Fake News Media hates to report how well the United States Military has done against Iran, which is totally defeated and wants a deal – But not a deal that I would accept!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without elaborating.
Trump’s comments came after he said that Washington had heavily bombed military targets on Iran’s oil hub Kharg Island and the US Navy would soon begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
But as the US strikes on Iran persisted, Tehran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Israel and its Gulf neighbours.
Meanwhile, several top Iranian officials joined a defiant pro-government rally in Tehran on Friday, marching alongside demonstrators waving banners reading “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
Iran’s top diplomat said this week that talks remain off the table and attacks would continue for as long as necessary.
“I don’t think talking with the Americans would be on our agenda anymore,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told PBS News this week, adding Tehran had a “very bitter experience” during previous negotiations with the US.
New supreme leader wounded, likely disfigured, Hegseth claims
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded and likely disfigured, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said according to Reuters, questioning Khamenei’s ability to govern after nearly two weeks of US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
“We know the new so-called not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured. He put out a statement yesterday. A weak one, actually, but there was no voice and there was no video. It was a written statement,” Hegseth told a briefing.
“Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why. His father — dead. He’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run and he lacks legitimacy.”
Baghdad strikes
Explosions rocked Iraq’s capital Baghdad on Saturday after two strikes targeted the powerful Iran-backed group Kataeb Hezbollah, killing two members including a “key figure”, security sources told AFP.
The sources did not identify who was behind the strikes, but since the start of the war, several attacks that targeted Iran-backed fighters across Iraq have been blamed on the US and Israel.
Trump says US to escort tankers ‘very soon’
Trump told reporters Friday that the US Navy would start escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz “very soon” to restore oil exports as he struggles to tackle soaring energy prices.
Iran targets Israel
Iran launched a fresh round of missiles towards Israel, state media reported just after midnight on Saturday in Tehran, but Israeli rescue workers said there were no reported casualties following the strikes.
Israel’s military said it had identified missiles from Iran and “was operating to intercept the threat,” as air raid sirens in multiple areas sent people into shelters.
Lebanon says health centre hit
An Israeli strike on a healthcare centre in southern Lebanon killed 12 medical personnel, the Lebanese health ministry said.
The ministry said the attack was “the second against the health sector in a few hours”, following a strike on Sawaneh that killed two paramedics affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally Amal.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 773 people in Lebanon since March 2, according to the health ministry.
Hezbollah defiant
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said his group was ready for a long confrontation with Israel, as the latter threatened to make Lebanon pay an “increasing price” in damage to infrastructure.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when the Tehran-backed militant group attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes.
Israeli strikes continued Friday, including an attack that killed eight people in a south Lebanese village near the port city of Sidon, according to the health ministry.
US bulking up military presence
The United States appears to be reinforcing its Middle East deployment by sending an amphibious assault ship and Marines to the region, The Wall Street Journal reported.
CNN reported that the deployment includes an Expeditionary Unit, which are typically made up of 2,500 Marines and sailors.
Oil stays above $100
Oil prices stayed over $100 a barrel Friday while stock markets slid as investors worry about an extended crisis that could fan inflation and hammer the global economy.
The price of Brent crude, the international crude benchmark contract, closed at $103.14 a barrel, having soared by more than 42 percent since the start of the conflict.
US offers $10m reward for Iran leader info
The US State Department offered a $10-million reward for information about Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei and other top officials.
F1 races cancelled
Formula One races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will be cancelled or rescheduled as war engulfs the region, a source with knowledge of the matter told AFP.
The Bahrain race is currently scheduled for April 10 to 12, and Saudi Arabia a week later.
Israel has carried out 7,600 strikes on Iran
Israel’s military said it had carried out around 7,600 strikes across Iran and 1,100 in Lebanon since launching its joint operation with the United States.
Israel hit
Smoke could be seen rising from two locations around Israel’s commercial hub Tel Aviv, an AFP journalist saw, after blasts were heard following a warning that missiles were fired from Iran.
Qatar intercepts two missiles
Qatar said on Saturday it intercepted two missiles, after blasts were heard in the capital Doha and authorities said they had evacuated some key areas.
Interceptors were seen downing two projectiles over the Qatari capital’s downtown area and blasts were heard, according to AFP journalists, as Iran presses on with its retaliatory air campaign against Gulf states.
The country’s defence ministry said in two separate posts on Saturday that its military had “intercepted” a missile attack targeting the country.
Earlier, the interior ministry said in a statement it was “evacuating several key areas as a temporary precautionary measure, within the framework of ensuring public safety until the danger has passed”.
In Doha’s central Musheireb district some residents received phone alerts telling them to “evacuate the area immediately… to the nearest safest place as a temporary precaution”.
Scores of residents and some hotel guests in Musheireb rushed into underground car parks for shelter, an AFP journalist witnessed.
Law enforcement were out on the streets and some areas were cordoned off in Musheireb, which hosts a country office for US tech giant Google and the US payments firm American Express.
Drone hits US embassy in Baghdad
A drone struck the US embassy in Baghdad on Saturday, an Iraqi security official said, as an AFP journalist saw smoke rising from the complex.
“A drone hit the embassy,” the official said, with a second security source confirming that an attack had targeted the diplomatic mission.
The attack took place shortly after two Iran-backed fighters were killed in strikes on Iraq’s capital, according to several sources.
- Clerks falsely claimed as crime victims.
- Fake armed robberies caught on surveillance.
- Victims allegedly paid to join scheme.
Eleven Indian nationals have been charged in the United States over an alleged visa fraud conspiracy involving staged armed robberies at stores so clerks could falsely claim to be victims of violent crime on immigration applications.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the alleged purpose of the scheme was to enable participants to seek a U non-immigration status, or a U Visa, which is available to victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and have helped law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting criminal activity.
Prosecutors alleged that in March 2023, Patel and his co-conspirators set up and carried out staged armed robberies at at least six convenience/liquor stores and fast-food restaurants in Massachusetts and elsewhere.
During the alleged robberies, the “robber” would threaten store clerks and/or owners with an apparent firearm before taking cash from the register and fleeing, while the interaction was captured on store surveillance video, according to court documents.
The clerks and/or owners would then allegedly wait five or more minutes until the “robber” had escaped before calling police to report the “crime”.
Prosecutors said the supposed “victims” each paid Patel to take part in the scheme, while Patel allegedly paid store owners for the use of their stores in the staged robberies.
The statement said Patel, the “robber”, and the getaway driver were previously charged and convicted.
The eleven defendants charged in the latest case are alleged to have either arranged with the organiser to set up each robbery, or paid for themselves or a family member to participate as a “victim”.
Those charged with one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud are:
- Jitendrakumar Patel, 39, unlawfully residing in Marshfield, Massachusetts;
- Maheshkumar Patel, 36, unlawfully residing in Randolph, Massachusetts;
- Sanjaykumar Patel, 45, unlawfully residing in Quincy, Massachusetts;
- Dipikaben Patel, 40, deported to India after unlawfully residing in Weymouth, Massachusetts;
- Rameshbhai Patel, 52, unlawfully residing in Eubank, Kentucky;
- Amitabahen Patel, 43, unlawfully residing in Plainville, Massachusetts;
- Ronakkumar Patel, 28, unlawfully residing in Maryland Heights, Missouri;
- Sangitaben Patel, 36, unlawfully residing in Randolph, Massachusetts;
- Minkesh Patel, 42, unlawfully residing in Perrysburg, Ohio;
- Sonal Patel, 42, unlawfully residing in Perrysburg, Ohio; and
- Mitul Patel, 40, unlawfully residing in Worcester, Massachusetts.
According to the statement, Jitendrakumar Patel, Maheshkumar Patel, Sanjaykumar Patel, Amitabahen Patel, Sangitaben Patel and Mitul Patel were arrested in Massachusetts and released following initial appearances in federal court in Boston.
It said Rameshbhai Patel, Ronakkumar Patel, Sonal Patel and Minkesh Patel were arrested and made their initial appearances in Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio, and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
The charge of conspiracy to commit visa fraud carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B Foley and Ted E Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division.
The statement added that the details in the charging documents are allegations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Five US Air Force refuelling planes were damaged in an Iranian missile strike on a key military base in Saudi Arabia, a media report said.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the planes were struck while they were on the ground at the Prince Sultan Air Base, a major facility hosting US forces in Saudi Arabia.
The aircraft sustained damage during the missile attack, the report added.
The report said that the attack occurred amid missiles and drone strikes launched by Iran targeting US military installations in the region.
The damaged planes were identified as Boeing KC‑135 Stratotanker aircraft manufactured by Boeing.
The report noted that although the aircraft were damaged in the missile strike, they were not completely destroyed and are currently undergoing repairs.
No casualties were reported in the incident.
Prince Sultan Air Base is located about 70km southeast of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
The incident is being seen as part of a series of recent setbacks for the United States Air Force in the region.
Earlier, two KC-135 refuelling aircraft collided during an operation, causing one of the planes to crash.
The Pentagon confirmed that all six personnel aboard the aircraft destroyed in the collision were killed.
Following the latest incident, the number of US aerial refuelling aircraft damaged or destroyed in recent days has risen to at least seven.
- Traders rapidly reduce Fed rate cut wagers for year.
- All major US stock indexes log daily and weekly declines.
- US dollar continues its climb amid crisis.
Stocks fell and the US dollar strengthened on Friday as uncertainty over the Iran war continued to disrupt energy supplies, heightening concerns over fuel prices and interest rates.
The price of oil crossed $100 per barrel even as an Indian tanker sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and the US put forth measures to try to ease supply concerns.
All three major US stock indexes logged daily and weekly declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished Friday down 0.25%, the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9%.
European shares extended their declines as well, with Europe’s STOXX 600 down 0.5% on Friday. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.9%.
The dollar has become the safe haven of choice during the tumult, putting most other currencies under pressure. The US currency gained for the second consecutive week, up 0.8% on the day against a basket of currencies .
Oil price driving market
President Donald Trump said the US was going to be hitting Iran “very hard over the next week,” shortly after issuing a partial 30-day waiver for purchases of sanctioned Russian oil, hoping to ease prices.
Front-month WTI crude futures settled at $98.71 per barrel, up 3.11%. Brent rose 2.67% to $103.14, settling above $100 per barrel for the first time since August 2022.
Traders are trying to predict how long the disruption to oil supplies will last.
“Headlines are coming at the market like water from a fire hose, which is impacting the price of oil, and consequently, financial markets,” said Mitch Reznick, group head of fixed income at Federated Hermes.
With Iran stepping up attacks across the Middle East as its new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane closed, investors are bracing for a prolonged conflict and higher oil prices.
The spectre of rising inflation has led markets to rapidly reprice what they expect from central banks this year, with traders now anticipating just 20 basis points of easing from the Federal Reserve compared to 50 bps of cuts priced in last month.
Two-year Treasury yields, which typically move in step with Fed interest rate expectations, hit a six-month high on Thursday.
Elsewhere, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.3% in January on a monthly basis, in line with economists’ estimates.
At the same time, US economic growth slowed more sharply than initially thought in the fourth quarter amid downward revisions to consumer spending and business investment, government data showed on Friday.
“With markets laser-focused on oil prices and geopolitics, today’s numbers may mostly fly under the radar,” Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said in an email.
“Despite signs of economic softening, more sticky inflation data simply strengthens the idea that the Fed will remain on the sidelines.”
Shifting rates outlook
Interest rate futures that had been priced for two quarter-point cuts by the end of the year before the conflict began are now barely pricing in one.
For US government bond trading on Friday, the two-year note yield fell 3.3 bps to 3.73% after hitting its highest level since August 22 on Thursday. US 10-year notes ticked up to 4.283%.
Investor focus will switch to a slate of policy meetings next week, with the Fed, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England all due to meet, with most expected to keep rates unchanged.
In currencies, the euro fell 0.8% to $1.1417, while the yen hit its weakest since July 2024 at 159.66 per US dollar on Friday as Japan warned it was ready to take action to protect against yen declines.
Analysts said the bar for intervention is higher this time around, as any action now could prove futile in the face of relentless dollar buying.
Gold was 1.27% lower at $5,014 per ounce on Friday, capping a drop on the week.
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