Iran’s supreme leader says closure of Strait of Hormuz should be used as leverage. Live updates here.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbours will continue. His first statement since his appointment was read on state television Thursday by a news anchor.
Iranian state television offered no explanation of why Khamenei, 56, did not appear on camera. Israeli intelligence assessments suggest he was wounded in the war, likely in the Feb. 28 Israeli strike that killed his father, the 86-year-old late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, spiked back over US$100 as Iranian strikes have hit ships and the American-Israeli war with Iran showed no signs of slowing. U.S. President Donald Trump has meanwhile promised to “finish the job,” even though he claimed Iran is “virtually destroyed.”
Thursday’s major developments include Iran’s attacks against commercial ships around the Strait of Hormuz and Iraq’s port of Basra, escalating its defence strategy of pressuring the U.S. by squeezing the oil-rich Gulf region to threaten global economic stability. The first week of the war cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon.
The Israeli military also is striking Iran and attacking Iran’s militant ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, where more than 800,000 people have been displaced by the fighting. The UN refugee agency says up to 3.2 million people in Iran have been displaced by the ongoing war.
Here is the latest:
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbours will continue. His first statement since his appointment was read on state television Thursday by a news anchor.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is again heading overseas, this time to Norway to observe NATO Cold Response exercises as Canada deepens ties with Nordic countries.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says the threat level in Canada from Iran or its proxies has not changed since the war in Iran began nearly two weeks ago, while adding that threat-related activities are “likely to continue.”
Ottawa is letting an unnamed automaker import a higher quota of U.S.-made vehicles without tariffs because the company is selling and making more cars in Canada than first expected.
World shares tumbled on Monday, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunging more than 5%, after oil prices spiked at nearly $120 a barrel, casting a shadow over economies heavily dependent on imports of oil and gas from the Middle East.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Sunday the date for three upcoming byelections.
The price of oil surged higher and showed no signs of halting its rapid climb a week after the U.S. and Israel launched major attacks on Iran that escalated into a war in the Middle East.
Scott Moe says Canada needs to separate its trade talks from its national security concerns when dealing with certain countries if it is serious about diversifying trading partners beyond the United States.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has landed in Japan on the final stop of a 10-day trip that also included Australia and India.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has landed in Japan on the final stop of a 10-day trip that also included Australia and India.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has landed in Japan on the final stop of a 10-day trip that also included Australia and India.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has landed in Japan on the final stop of a 10-day trip that also included Australia and India.
As Iran continued to exchange airstrikes with Israel and U.S. bases on Thursday, Canada’s top military commander said its Armed Forces are in talks to possibly help defend Persian Gulf states against bombing from Iran.