Ceasefire in the Iran war teeters in the face of disagreements over Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A tentative ceasefire in the Iran war is staggering under the weight of Israel’s intense bombardment of Beirut, Tehran’s continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and other differences. Hours after the ceasefire was announced Wednesday, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes. That resulted in the deadliest day in the country since the war began on Feb. 28. Iran and the U.S. appear to be trying to pressure each other. Semiofficial news agencies in Iran suggested Thursday that forces have mined the Strait of Hormuz. That’s a crucial waterway for the world’s oil whose closure has proved Tehran’s greatest strategic advantage in the conflict. President Donald Trump warned Iran to fulfill the agreement. What that agreement is remains in deep dispute.
At least 182 killed as Israel strikes central Beirut after saying Iran truce doesn’t apply there
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s health ministry says that Israeli strikes during the day killed 182 people, the highest single-day death toll in the Israel-Hezbollah war. Israel launched a barrage of strikes in central Beirut and elsewhere in the country on Wednesday as a shaky ceasefire took effect between the U.S. and Iran. Iranian officials have maintained that the deal was supposed to include Lebanon, while Israel and the U.S. have insisted that it does not. The ministry says that another 890 people were wounded in the strikes. Altogether, 1,739 people have been killed and 5,873 wounded in Lebanon in just over five weeks since the outbreak of the war.
Pro-Iran groups have used AI to troll Trump and try to control the war narrative
Pro-Iran groups have used artificial intelligence to create slick internet memes in English to try to shape the narrative during the war against the U.S. and Israel, and foster opposition to it. Analysts say the memes appear to be coming from groups linked to the government in Tehran and are part of a strategy of leveraging its limited resources to inflict damage on the U.S. even indirectly. That includes Iran’s use of threats to control the flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. A ceasefire reached Wednesday raised hopes of halting hostilities, but many issues remained unresolved.
Oil prices jump back up near $100 a barrel on skepticism over fragile US-Iran ceasefire
Oil prices skipped higher and Wall Street veered toward modest losses on skepticism over a fragile and muddled ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran. Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each slid 0.4% before the opening bell Thursday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.5%. Doubts about the durability of the ceasefire arose just hours after the announcement as a round of intense Israeli strikes on Lebanon killed and injured hundreds. Iran again closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attacks in Lebanon. Oil prices rose to just under $100 per barrel.
