Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start your Wednesday, including the US carrying out strikes targeting parts of southern Iran, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard saying it launched retaliatory attacks on 21 American military targets at US air and naval bases across the region, and six nations imposing sanctions on networks financing and enabling Israeli occupiers' attacks in the West Bank.
US strikes targeted parts of southern Iran, with explosions and projectile strikes reported in several areas of Hormozgan province, according to Iranian media.
Tasnim News Agency reported that areas in Sirik, Qeshm Island and Minab came under attacks carried out by US fighter jets.
The agency said at least six explosions were heard in the targeted areas, while Iranian state TV confirmed that a projectile struck the city of Sirik.
Iranian state media later confirmed that several projectiles also struck Qeshm Island, though the exact nature of the impacts remained unclear.
The broadcaster also reported the activation of air defense systems in Bandar Abbas, Qeshm and Sirik.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said 21 American military targets at US air and naval bases across the region had come under attack.
In a statement, the IRGC said long-range missiles destroyed four major targets at the Al-Azraq base in Jordan, including hangars housing F-35 fighter jets and a command-and-control center.
The IRGC also said it launched a drone attack targeting the Ali Al Salem Base in Kuwait in response to what it described as American aggression.
The IRGC warned that its forces were fully prepared to deliver a “crushing and decisive” response to any new attack, adding that US forces would bear responsibility for the consequences.
Earlier, the IRGC also claimed that it shot down a US MQ-9 drone over Jam County in southern Bushehr province.
The UK, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand and Norway announced sanctions targeting networks "financing and enabling settler attacks" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The move came in response to record settlement expansion and rising Israeli occupiers' violence in the West Bank, according to multiple statements.
"With our British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Norwegian partners, we are today imposing new sanctions against those responsible for intensifying colonization and violence in the West Bank," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on the US social media platform X.
In a statement, the UK Foreign Office noted that the UK also firmly advises British businesses against activity in illegal Israeli settlements.
Oil prices fell sharply after Israel and Iran agreed to halt attacks following a renewed escalation in hostilities, easing immediate concerns over supply disruptions in the Middle East.
International benchmark Brent crude declined 5% to around $90 per barrel, its lowest level since March, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell over 5% to around $86.40 per barrel.
The drop came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would pause strikes while warning that it would respond to any further attacks from Tehran. Iranian media reported a similar stance, signaling a temporary halt in mutual attacks.
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said it could take "many months" for energy flows disrupted by the US-Israeli war against Iran to return to normal.
"It's many months to get back to normal flows of energy," Wright said at the Atlantic Council Energy Forum in Washington, DC, noting that disruptions extend beyond oil and gas to include exports of sulfur, helium, lubricants and other critical products flowing through the region.
“We've seen how robust a modern economy is, that it's absorbed these blows not with no impact, but with much more modest impact than was expected,” he added.
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