The US and Israel exchanged air strikes with Iran’s military across the Middle East as the surrounded Tehran government warned its state security forces were ready with “fingers on the trigger” to confront any revival of anti-government protests. Following of some of the heaviest bombardments in the region yet on Tuesday, the combatants renewed their attacks on opposing targets in Israel, Lebanon and the Gulf early on Wednesday as the war stretched into its 12th day.
The war has blocked crucial shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, stopping the flow of one-fifth of the world’s fossil energy supplies from the petroleum-rich Gulf. But after a major hike in crude oil prices on Monday, global energy prices have tumbled and stock markets rebounded as investors bet that US President Donald Trump would seek to end the war soon.