Washington, United States. The U.S.-Israeli air war against Iran expanded on Monday, with Israel attacking Lebanon in response to strikes by Hezbollah and Tehran firing missiles and drones at Gulf states and a British air base in Cyprus.
Wider regional strikes and reported friendly fire incident
Kuwait mistakenly shot down three American F-15E fighter jets during an Iranian attack, with all six crew members ejecting and being safely recovered. Video filmed at a location verified by Reuters showed one of the planes spiralling out of the sky with an engine on fire.
Market reaction after weekend escalation
After a weekend of bombing that killed Iran’s supreme leader, drew neighbouring countries into the war and shut shipping traffic in the Gulf, markets opened on Monday with energy prices rising sharply, raising risks to the global economic recovery.
Pentagon briefing and stated objectives
In the first formal Pentagon briefing since the campaign began, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declined to set out a timeframe to end the campaign, saying it was up to President Donald Trump. Hegseth said the military’s aim was to destroy Iran’s ability to project force beyond its borders, which he said Iran had used to provide cover to develop a nuclear weapon, adding: “We’re hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically.”
Scope of operations
Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine described a campaign of overwhelming force that included hitting more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, and said more forces were still on their way to the region. “This is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives that CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work,” Caine said.
Iranian response and Trump’s decision
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and said it had been offering to curb its nuclear programme at talks when the United States launched what it called an unprovoked assault. President Trump launched the campaign alongside Israel against Iran, described as the biggest U.S. foreign policy gamble in decades.
How do you think the widening conflict could affect regional security and global energy markets?
