Tehran fired missiles with a range of more than 2,000 miles, as the Iran war reached its third week, the average U.S. gas price hit $3.93 and President Donald Trump said the U.S. is considering “winding down” the conflict − even as thousands more Marines steamed toward the Middle East.
The British defense ministry condemned the “unsuccessful targeting” of Diego Garcia, a joint US-UK base located in the Indian Ocean, by Iranian intermedia-range ballistic missiles capable of striking targets as much as 2,500 miles away.
“Just yesterday, Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000 kilometers at an American target on the island of Diego Garcia,” the Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, said in a video on Saturday. “These missiles are not intended to strike Israel.”
Brigadier Gen. Majid Mousavi, head of the Islamic Republican Guards Corps aerospace command, said in a social media post that Iran had achieved “#missile_dominance” in a war that has seen thousands of US and Israeli strikes on the Iranian military. “The new tactics and launch systems employed in the upcoming waves will leave the American-Zionist commanders dumbfounded,” Mousavi wrote.
The Strait of Hormuz, which handles 20% of global oil production, remained closed, and missile and drone damage to energy facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait further drove up oil prices.
Thousands have been killed in the war. Among them are 13 American soldiers and scores of children killed in an apparent U.S. strike on an Iranian school. Israel has also launched a campaign in Lebanon, followed strikes from inside that country by Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group. Millions of people between Lebanon and Iran have had to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.
Dan Morrison
The average US gas price was $3.94 a gallon on Saturday evening, up more than a dollar from last month’s average, according to gasbuddy.com, with prices hitting $5.71 in California and $5.21 in Washington state. The AAA cited a national average of $3.92.
The national average for diesel fuel was $5.20, AAA said.
Reuters
An Iranian missile attack on Saturday hit the southern Israeli desert town of Dimona, badly wounding a child, according to Israel’s ambulance service, and injuring dozens of others.
Israel’s secretive nuclear reactor is near Dimona. Israel is widely believed to possess the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East. It neither confirms nor denies having the bomb, keeping a decades-old “ambiguity” policy.
Iranian media said U.S.-Israeli forces had attacked the Shahid Ahmadi-Roshan Natanz enrichment complex on Saturday morning. Technical experts found no radioactive leaks had occurred and nearby residents were not at risk. Israel said it was unaware of such a strike while the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was investigating.
Iranian media later reported strikes on a passenger terminal in the southern port of Bushehr and an empty passenger ship at nearby Kharg Island. The island, where Iran loads nearly all its oil exports, is seen as a potential target if Washington decides to hit Iranian energy or to use ground troops to seize it.
Michael Loria
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby announced the company will cut flights by about 5% as the company expects oil prices to remain high for the foreseeable future.
“The reality is, jet fuel prices have more than doubled in the last three weeks,” Kirby said in a statement. “That may sound scary, but the first piece of good news is that, for now at least, demand remains the strongest we’ve ever seen. The 10 biggest booked revenue weeks in our history have been the last 10 weeks. But it may be a challenge to continue passing through much of the increased fuel price if oil stays higher for longer.”
Kirby said he expects oil prices to rise to $175 per barrel and won’t return to $100 per barrel until the end of 2027.
Most of the cuts would come to off-peak flights, Kirby said.
Dan Morrison