The Iran War entered its eighteenth day on Tuesday, as senior U.S. counter-terrorism official Joe Kent resigned his position in protest of the war.
The U.S. military said Monday that the number of U.S. troops wounded in the conflict has reached at least 200 across seven countries.
President Donald Trump said on Monday he was “shocked” by Iran’s retaliatory strikes against neighboring Gulf states which host U.S. bases, claiming “nobody expected” such an escalation. Many Iran experts had warned that the Islamic Republic could ignite a regional war if the U.S. and Israel attacked.
A high-ranking Iranian leader, Ali Larijani, was killed in an airstrike, the Israeli military said Tuesday. Larijani has been seen as a pragmatist and potential negotiating partner for the U.S.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was targeted with a wave of drone and rocket attacks on Monday evening, with a pro-Iran Iraqi group releasing drone footage of its reconnaissance on the compound. The UAE was forced to temporarily close its airspace on Monday due to Iranian drone attacks, with flights resuming a few hours later.
Israel and the U.S. continued airstrikes on Iran, with Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) claiming that U.S.–Israeli attacks damaged 153 medical centers and Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage claiming 56 world heritage sites destroyed.
Oil prices rose again Tuesday as fears of prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz caused Brent crude to rise to $103 a barrel and WTI up to $96.90 amid the ongoing uncertainty caused by the war. AAA reported that the average national gas price increased on Tuesday to $3.79.
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