US President Donald Trump declared that countries dependent on oil transported through the Strait of Hormuz must take responsibility for securing the passage, with American backing. The strait, a critical route for global crude and LNG, has seen traffic collapse due to Iranian attacks.
Trump claimed the U.S. has decisively defeated Iran militarily and economically, but stressed that allies like China, France, Japan, South Korea, and Britain must send naval forces. He pledged continuous U.S. bombing of Iranian shorelines and vessels to reopen the strait.
The U.S. military intensified strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island-handling nearly all of Iran’s oil exports-threatening further attacks if shipping is disrupted. Over 15,000 targets hit in six days cost $11.3 billion; 13 U.S. personnel have died.
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the war’s opening hours. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was named successor, though reportedly wounded and unseen publicly. Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, called for a transition post-regime fall.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel following Khamenei’s death. Israel responded with air and ground assaults in Lebanon, killing at least 826 people and displacing hundreds of thousands. A strike killed over a dozen health workers at a clinic, raising humanitarian concerns.