US president blames Tehran for loss of Apache gunship, whose crew were rescued by a drone near strait of Hormuz

• Middle East crisis – live updates

The US has launched strikes against Iran after Donald Trump blamed Tehran for downing a US army helicopter near the strait of Hormuz, imperilling a shaky ceasefire that was announced by the two countries in April.

The attacks triggered a wave of retaliatory strikes from Iran on Wednesday morning, with Tehran saying it had targeted Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.

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© Photograph: US Central Command

© Photograph: US Central Command

© Photograph: US Central Command

The Middle East conflict has caused global stockpiles of oil to plummet to their lowest level since 2003 while petroleum prices have spiked, according to a new energy data report.

The Middle East conflict has caused global stockpiles of oil to plummet to their lowest level since 2003 while petroleum prices have spiked, according to a new energy data report.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright predicted Tuesday that the amount oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz will “continue to rise” as the U.S. and Iran work to end the 100-plus day conflict. During an Atlantic Council event, Wright said that traffic through the strait, a key oil shipping chokepoint, was “rising very meaningfully.” He added that oil…

Energy Secretary Chris Wright predicted Tuesday that the amount oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz will “continue to rise” as the U.S. and Iran work to end the 100-plus day conflict. During an Atlantic Council event, Wright said that traffic through the strait, a key oil shipping chokepoint, was “rising very meaningfully.” He added that oil…

President Trump on Tuesday blamed Iran for shooting down an American Apache helicopter overnight and said a response was necessary.  “I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump posted on his social…

President Trump on Tuesday blamed Iran for shooting down an American Apache helicopter overnight and said a response was necessary.  “I have just been informed by our Great Military that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump posted on his social…

Trump said in a social media post that military officials told him "the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters." He added that both service members "are safe and uninjured."

Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday said the U.S. could reopen the Strait of Hormuz but should only undertake the effort with the support of international allies. “Certainly, the United States Navy could open the Strait of Hormuz,” Austin, who served under former President Biden, told Bloomberg during remarks at the HSBC Gulf Cooperation…

Former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday said the U.S. could reopen the Strait of Hormuz but should only undertake the effort with the support of international allies. “Certainly, the United States Navy could open the Strait of Hormuz,” Austin, who served under former President Biden, told Bloomberg during remarks at the HSBC Gulf Cooperation…

President Trump on Monday said two crew members who were aboard a U.S. attack helicopter when they crashed near the Strait of Hormuz are “fine.” The two crew members, whose AH-64 Apache helicopter was patrolling regional waters, were rescued within two hours after they crashed near Oman’s coast, according to U.S. Central Command (Centcom). The…

President Trump on Monday said two crew members who were aboard a U.S. attack helicopter when they crashed near the Strait of Hormuz are “fine.” The two crew members, whose AH-64 Apache helicopter was patrolling regional waters, were rescued within two hours after they crashed near Oman’s coast, according to U.S. Central Command (Centcom). The…

Washington and Tehran would need to defend any potential deal as a win for their side. And each has a leader whose approach to talks is vexing mediators.

© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

It was not immediately clear what led to the incident, which came at a time when the cease-fire in the war has grown tenuous.

© Reuters

President Trump is grappling with his own version of the sort of Middle East crisis that beset his predecessors, and that he promised to avoid.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Recent exchange of missiles between Iran and Israel highlights diverging views between US president and Israeli PM

The latest eruption of hostilities between Iran and Israel appears to have been contained for now after Donald Trump insisted he called “all the shots” in the Middle East, but in a dangerously fragile region Benjamin Netanyahu has again shown he is ready to take shots of his own.

The exchange of missiles on Sunday and Monday was ample demonstration of the inherent instability of the current limbo between war and peace, but it also shone a bright light on the complex and conflicted relationship between the US president and the Israeli prime minister, frenemies who could determine the fate of the current ceasefire.

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© Photograph: Ronen Zvulun,brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ronen Zvulun,brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ronen Zvulun,brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Iran now believes it is winning and will outla.st the United States

Arch-enemies Israel and Iran have returned to active confrontation while Donald Trump tries to present himself as mediator

Israel and Iran have returned to active war for the first time since a ceasefire was agreed two months ago in an exchange of rocket fire that threatened efforts to end the conflict.

Donald Trump, who started the war in February alongside Israel but has since attempted to present himself as a mediator, told the two sides to stop shooting and said “final negotiations” on peace were proceeding. By late afternoon on Monday, the attacks had stopped.

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© Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

© Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

© Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

Israel and Iran traded fire Monday in their first attacks since the U.S. struck a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago.

Chokehold on shipping route draws Houthis in Yemen back into conflict as commenters see ‘no turning back’

Iran’s reversion to large-scale military exchanges with Israel broadened the conflict that began in February not only by making the Israeli attacks on Hezbollah a direct casus belli for Iran for the first time, but also by drawing the Houthis in Yemen back into the conflict with as yet incalculable consequences.

Some in Tehran, buoyed up by past perceived military success and emboldened by the chokehold of the strait of Hormuz, would like to turn this moment into the point of no return in the conflagration with Israel. A minority would welcome the abandonment of ceasefire talks with the US, an outcome for which they have been agitating for weeks.

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© Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

© Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

© Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA