Here's the latest
• Wartime funding: US President Donald Trump confirmed he’s seeking $200 billion in new Pentagon funding, calling it a “small price to pay” to equip the military.
• Regional strikes: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country will heed Trump’s call not to repeat attacks on key Iranian energy sites like the South Pars field. Netanyahu said Israel acted alone in striking a facility linked to the gas field. Middle Eastern countries continued intercepting strikes as dawn broke on Friday.
• Oil market: The global oil benchmark hit $115 a barrel Thursday and then retreated as Asian markets opened higher on Friday.
• CNN town hall tonight: US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz and a panel of experts will answer questions from CNN’s Dana Bash and a live studio audience about what may come next in the war at 9 p.m. ET.
Middle East conflict poses risk of "record hunger" across the globe: WFP
With no quick end in sight for the Middle East conflict and key shipping routes being strangled, the World Food Programme has warned of “record levels of hunger.”
It said an additional 45 million people could fall into acute hunger as the conflict escalates, pushing the global total to 363 million people.
“As violence escalates, displacement, rising prices and disrupted food systems are pushing families closer towards hunger in the region and far beyond,” the WFP said on its website Thursday.
Fertilizer is crucial for agriculture. The United Nations says a quarter of the world’s supply passes through the Hormuz strait.
South Asia is among the areas most at risk, with the UN raising concerns about future crop yields. And in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the WFP warns farmers entering the planting season risk being unable to treat their crops, driving lower yields and higher food prices in the months ahead. “Even small increases in costs can push vulnerable families into crisis.”
Across South and Southeast Asia, more than half of agricultural fertilizer used is nitrogen-based, research fellow Robert Walker at the Lowy Institute said, leaving these regions exposed to shortages of urea - a form of crystalized nitrogen used in most fertilizers.
Around 35% of the world’s urea supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
While not officially confirmed by Beijing, Reuters, citing sources, reported that China was clamping down on fertilizer exports to protect its domestic market. That would put additional strain on global markets that were already grappling with shortages caused by the war.
Escalating attacks near the strait have brought ship transits close to a halt, sending oil prices to $115 a barrel Thursday and driving up transport, energy and insurance costs across global supply chains.
Concerns have also been raised for dairy farmers in Australia, which imports around 90% of its transport fuels, said Ben Bennett, President of the Australian Dairy Farmers advocacy group.
“Dairy cows cannot simply be switched off or milk stored indefinitely on farm. If milk tankers stop running because fuel is unavailable or unaffordable, farmers face serious animal health and environmental consequences.”
Work from home and avoid air travel to ease impact of higher fuel prices, IEA says
Working from home, using public transport and avoiding air travel are among 10 recommendations from the International Energy Agency to ease the pain of higher energy prices on consumers caused by the war in the Middle East.
The measures are designed to be implemented quickly by governments, businesses and households around the world, and focus mainly on road transport, which accounts for around 45% of global oil demand, according to a new IEA report released Friday.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the war was creating “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.” The measures below provide “a menu of immediate and concrete measures” that can be taken “to shelter consumers from the impacts of this crisis,” she added.
Here are some of the recommendations:
- Working from home where possible.
- Reducing speed limits on highways by at least 10 kilometers per hour.
- Using public transport or car sharing.
- Alternating private car use on roads in major cities.
- Avoiding air travel if alternative options are available.
- Switching to alternative cooking methods such as using electric stoves.
Gas supply squeeze forces some companies in India to cut down operations
A wave of attacks on energy facilities across the Middle East is squeezing gas supplies to the world’s most populous country, forcing some industries to scale back production.
CNN spoke to executives from ceramics and steel companies, who warned of severe financial impacts if normal operations do not resume. Both industries rely on a steady supply of gas to run industrial kilns and blast furnaces.
As the world’s fastest-growing major economy, India relies heavily on uninterrupted energy supplies to fuel its booming manufacturing sector.
The country is a leading global importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is essential for fertilizer production, electricity, and transport. It also relies heavily on imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to meet its much of its domestic cooking needs.
The war in Iran is rippling far beyond the Gulf. In India, fears of cooking gas shortages are fueling protests and panic-buying of alternatives like induction stoves. With much of India’s LPG imports passing through the Strait of Hormuz, households and restaurants are scrambling as the government works to secure supply through diplomatic talks. CNN’s Hanako Montgomery reports.
India’s ceramics hub in the western city of Morbi is also feeling the crunch, given the industry’s reliance on natural gas.
The president of its ceramics association, Hareshbhai Bopalia, said 80% of their units have shut down because of LNG disruptions.
Facing uncertainty over future natural gas prices, Nilesh Pramukh, managing director at tile manufacturer Kera Vitrified, has stopped accepting new orders. Production at his factory, which employs about 100 people and relies heavily on LPG, has been halted since March 10, he said.
The government has begun diverting LPG away from industrial users to keep flames alight on household stoves. It’s a compromise Pramukh said he is willing to accept.
“If our industry stays closed for a month, then all of Gujarat’s kitchens will still be able to operate,” he said.
Iran’s attack on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG hub, the world’s largest such facility, has also exacerbated the strain of ongoing shortages.
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal acknowledged India’s LNG supply would be impacted by the latest attacks. “But we are in discussion with several countries,” he said during a briefing Thursday.
Storied A-10 Warthogs taking on key role in Strait of Hormuz
A storied attack aircraft the Air Force had wanted to retire this year is taking on an important role in the war with Iran, Gen. Dane Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday.
“The A-10 Warthog is now in the fight across the southern flank and is hunting and killing fast-attack watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz,” Caine told a Pentagon press conference.
The twin-engine attack jet, officially called the Thunderbolt, became operational in 1976. It made its name during the Gulf War in 1991 and later in Afghanistan for its ability to provide close air support to ground troops in vulnerable positions.
Many troops considered the jets their guardian angels, and the “bbrrrrpppp” roar of their seven-barrel, 30mm Gatling guns attack enemy positions was legendary.
Besides the guns, the single-seat jets can carry missiles, guided and unguided bombs, laser-guided rockets and other munitions, according to an Air Force fact sheet. It notes the mechanical toughness of the platform, which had a mission-capable rate of more than 95% during the Gulf War.
In battle, the A-10 is heavily armored and can take a beating. The pilot is protected by titanium plating, and the jet is designed to fly on one engine and even half of a wing. It can be manually controlled if hydraulics are lost.
Despite those advantages, Air Force leaders had wanted to retire the A-10s to save on the costs of keeping the five-decade-old airframe updated, including all the support staff needed to maintain it. The plan is for the F-35 to eventually assume the A-10s ground-attack and close-air-support roles.
But the plane has supporters in Congress, which called for keeping at least 103 A-10s in the recent National Defense Authorization Act.
Now it appears to be playing a vital role in the Strait of Hormuz.
In another new mission for military aircraft, Caine said AH-64 Apache attack helicopters are being used to take down Iranian drones as well as attack Iranian-aligned militia groups in Iraq.
“More symbolic than substantive”: Analysts react to US allies’ statement on Hormuz
The leaders of seven US allies released a joint statement Thursday condemning Iran for closing the Strait of Hormuz and pledging “our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait.”
But the allies – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Canada – offered no specifics. Analysts are wondering if the statement is just an effort to mollify US President Donald Trump, who has criticized them for not sending warships to the Persian Gulf, after he insisted that they do so to escort oil tankers.
Alessio Patalano, professor of war and strategy at King’s College London, zeroed in on the word “appropriate” in the allies’ statement.
“It suggests that the conditions and the political context will matter to define what the contribution will be,” Patalano said, but he added there are things the allies can do short of sending warships.
Specialized capabilities like drones to look for mines, planners to work in joint operations centers, or support for maritime patrols could be in the cards, Patalano said.
No matter what, the allies will want guarantees from Washington on how what they offer is used, he said.
Carl Schuster, a former director of the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, said allied warships in the region are a possibility, but well back from the current combat zone “where there is little or no danger.”
That could mean naval escorts in the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea now that the threat from Iranian proxy Houthi militants in Yemen has subsided, he said.
How striking Iran’s nuclear power plant may impact the entire region
Iran’s only functioning nuclear power plant was reportedly hit by a hostile projectile. Officials say there’s no damage and no radiation leak, but the attack highlights a huge risk for the region.
Iran’s only functioning nuclear power plant was reportedly hit by a hostile projectile. Officials say there’s no damage and no radiation leak, but the attack highlights a huge risk for the region.
Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery again attacked by drones
A drone attack again targeted Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery Friday morning, sparking a fire in several of the facility’s units, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said.
The fires prompted a “precautionary shut down of parts of the facility,” KPC said in a statement.
No injuries have been reported and firefighters were actively trying to control the fires, the company added.
The Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the capital Kuwait City, was also hit by a drone on Thursday.
Friday’s attack came after Kuwait’s armed forces said the country’s air defenses were responding to “hostile missile and drone threats.”
This post has been updated with additional information from KPC.
Flight ticket prices spike due to war
CNN’s Richard Quest takes a look at rising fuel costs due to the war with Iran that are trickling down to flyers dishing out more for their flights.
CNN's Richard Quest takes a look at rising fuel costs due to the US-Israel war with Iran that are trickling down to flyers dishing out more for their flights.
The war is nearing the end of its third week. Here's the latest
The US-Israel war against Iran is nearing the end of a third week, with Israel saying it won’t attack any more major Iranian energy sites –– as Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf nations push global oil prices up.
Here’s what to know on Day 21:
- Energy strikes: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the country will heed Trump’s call not to repeat attacks on key Iranian energy sites like the South Pars field, part of the world’s largest natural gas reserve. Netanyahu said Israel acted alone in striking a facility linked to the gas field Wednesday. However, sources familiar have contradicted Trump’s claim that the US “knew nothing” about it.
- Oil market: Tehran has retaliated with strikes on energy infrastructure in Israel and Qatar. The global oil benchmark hit $115 a barrel Thursday, and one expert said gas prices could remain high for at least several weeks.
- Strait of Hormuz: The United Nations’ maritime organization said it will start negotiating with countries to establish a humanitarian corridor to free around 20,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf. The UN did not give a timeframe for when talks would begin, or whether Iran –– which has a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz –– would cooperate.
- Wartime funding: Trump is seeking $200 billion in new Pentagon funding, calling it a “small price to pay” to equip the military. His administration also bypassed Congress to expedite the sale of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
- Pearl Harbor joke: When a reporter asked Trump why he didn’t tell allies like Japan about his intention to strike Iran, the president responded in part with a joke about the World War II attack on Pearl Harbor –– while sitting next to Japan’s prime minister in the Oval Office.
- US aircraft hit: An F-35 fighter jet made an emergency landing at a US air base in the Middle East after it was struck by what is believed to be Iranian fire, sources told CNN. US Central Command said the pilot is in a stable condition.
Middle Eastern countries intercept new drone strikes Friday morning
Countries in the Middle East say they are intercepting drones and missiles as dawn breaks on Friday morning. The attacks come as Muslims around the region celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival, that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported defenses were activated against “hostile targets” in the east of the capital Tehran. The Israeli military said it had begun a “wave of strikes” across the city.
Israel’s military said it had identified missiles launched from Iran and that its defense systems were working to intercept.
Saudi Arabia shot down at least a dozen drones over the eastern parts of the country and one over its northern Al-Jawf region in the past several hours, its defense ministry said.
The United Arab Emirates said its air defenses were responding to “incoming missile and drone threats from Iran.” Dubai’s government media office said booms heard in the emirate were the result of successful interceptions.
Bahrain’s interior ministry said a fire broke out at a warehouse due to falling shrapnel following an Iranian attack.
Sirens were activated over Kuwait as the army said it was intercepting missiles and drones.
CNN will host a town hall about the Iran war tonight
CNN will host a town hall at 9pm ET tonight about the war in Iran as it enters its fourth week.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and a panel of experts will answer questions from CNN’s Dana Bash and a live audience about the Trump administration’s strategy and what may come next — while hearing from Americans about how the conflict is impacting them.
The expert panel will comprise CNN Global Affairs Analyst Brett McGurk, CNN National Security Analyst Beth Sanner and CNN Military Analyst Lt. General Mark Schwartz.
