Opening Summary
Welcome to our ongoing live coverage of the Middle East crisis and its implications for the region, global politics, and the economy.
US President Donald Trump stated he was “not at all” concerned about potential war crimes as he reiterated threats to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants if Tehran does not comply with his Tuesday 8pm ET deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“I’m not worried about it,” the US president said. “You know what’s a war crime? Having a nuclear weapon.”
Speaking from the White House, Trump declined to specify whether civilian targets would be exempt from attacks. Meanwhile, Iran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal on Monday, insisting on a permanent resolution to the conflict.
“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told the Associated Press.
At a press conference, Trump warned that all of Iran could be “taken out” in a single night, possibly as soon as Tuesday night. He declared that without an agreement, “every bridge in Iran will be decimated” by midnight ET (0400 GMT Wednesday), and “every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again.”
On Monday, Israel and the US conducted coordinated attacks on Iran, resulting in over 25 fatalities. Iran retaliated with missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors.
The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on Tuesday on a resolution aimed at protecting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. However, the resolution has been significantly diluted after China, a veto-wielding member, opposed authorizing the use of force, according to , citing diplomatic sources.
The Israeli military announced early Tuesday that it had completed an “air strike wave” targeting Iranian regime infrastructure in Tehran and other locations across Iran. Shortly after, it reported missile launches from Iran toward Israel, with Israeli defense systems intercepting the projectiles.
Israel also stated it struck three airports in Tehran, targeting multiple Iranian aircraft and helicopters.
The World Health Organization suspended medical evacuations from Gaza to Egypt via the Rafah crossing after a WHO contract worker was killed in Gaza on Monday. Separately, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 10 people outside a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza, according to health officials. Prior to the strikes, some Palestinians clashed with members of an Israeli-backed militia, who were accused of attacking the school, reported citing medics and residents.
Oil prices continued to rise on Tuesday amid President Trump’s intensified rhetoric against Iran. The International Monetary Fund’s head warned the conflict would cause “higher inflation and slower global growth.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross emphasized that “deliberate threats ... against essential civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities must not become the new norm in warfare.” Mirjana Spoljaric stated, without naming any country or leader, that
“Any war fought without limits is incompatible with the law.”
Israel reported striking Iran’s largest petrochemical complex on Monday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the facility had been “destroyed” and that Israel was “systematically eliminating the Revolutionary Guards’ money machine.”
The intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Major General Majid Khademi, was killed in US-Israeli strikes at dawn on Monday, according to the Guards.
Saudi Arabia intercepted seven ballistic missiles aimed at its eastern region, with debris falling near energy facilities, the Saudi defense ministry reported Tuesday.
Two explosions were heard near Erbil airport, which hosts advisers from the US-led anti-jihadist coalition, in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region, an Agence France-Presse journalist reported.
Iran has rejected a proposed ceasefire deal, state media confirmed, indicating diplomatic negotiations were faltering a day before President Trump’s deadline, during which he threatened to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants.
“Iran has conveyed to Pakistan its response to the American proposal to end the war,” the news agency IRNA said, without disclosing the source or details of the US offer.
Several countries have attempted to halt over five weeks of fighting triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
“In this response – set out in ten points – Iran ... has rejected a ceasefire and insists on the need for a definitive end to the conflict,” the Iranian state news agency added.
IRNA further reported that Tehran’s demands include “an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reconstruction, and the lifting of sanctions.”
The New York Times, citing two unnamed senior Iranian officials, reported that Tehran also seeks guarantees against future attacks and a cessation of Israeli strikes against its ally Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Oil prices climbed on Tuesday while equity markets showed mixed results as investors evaluated President Trump’s latest deadline for Iran to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz or face destruction.
The US president warned that Iran’s civilian infrastructure would be destroyed if it did not allow shipping through the waterway, which handles a fifth of global crude and gas shipments.
Both major oil benchmarks rose Tuesday, with West Texas Intermediate surpassing $115 per barrel, its highest level in a month, and Brent crude around $111.
Equity markets fluctuated, with declines in Tokyo, Singapore, Manila, and Jakarta, while Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, and Taipei saw gains.
This followed a positive start to the week on Wall Street.
Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management commented,
“Financial markets are oscillating in a narrow, uneasy range as traders sized up the countdown to Donald Trump’s deadline. Tentative ceasefire optics [were] offering brief relief but never fully offsetting the lingering risk of escalation.”
