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Explainer: After nine straight nights of strikes, where is the US-Iran conflict headed?

The US carried out a ninth consecutive night of military strikes against Iran early on Monday, targeting command centres, missile facilities, air defence systems, maritime assets and communications infrastructure. The latest developments indicate the conflict is expanding beyond direct military exchanges, with growing implications for regional security, global energy supplies and international shipping. Here is what to know. Why are the US strikes continuing? President Donald Trump said US forces had struck Iran “very hard,” describing the operations as retaliation for the deaths of US service members in the Middle East. The latest casualty on the US side came in northern Iraq, where a service member was killed during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance recovered from a downed Iranian drone. According to American media, at least 17 US soldiers have been killed since Feb 28, when the US and Israel attacked Iran. Strait of Hormuz at the heart of the co...
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Global energy watchdog says over 40 Mideast energy sites heavily damaged by conflict

More than 40 energy assets across nine countries in the Middle East have been “severely or very severely” damaged amid the ongoing conflict, the International Energy Agency said, according to media reports on Sunday. IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said the damage could prolong disruptions to global supply chains even after the conflict ends. “It will take some time for the oil fields, refineries and pipelines to come back online,” he said. Birol said more than three weeks of fighting have disrupted the entire energy supply chain and nearly halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Read More: Iran to completely close Hormuz if Trump executes threats on Iranian energy, Revolutionary Guards say He said the impact of the disruptions is comparable to “the two major oil crises in the 1970s and the 2022 natural gas crisis … all put together”. “Not only oil and gas, but some of the vital arteries of the global economy … their trade is all interrupted,” he added. Birol warned that Asia is particularly affected due to its reliance on regional energy supplies. “Every country first looks at its own domestic interest, but … serious export restrictions without justification might not be something which gets plus points,” he said. The IEA plans to release 400 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves to ease supply shocks, he said, adding that additional reserves could be released if disruptions continue. Also Read: Iran minister says US, Israeli strikes caused ‘heavy damage’ to water, energy infrastructure Birol stressed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz remains critical to restoring global energy flows. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively disrupted since early March. Around 20 million barrels of oil normally pass through it daily, and its disruption has driven up shipping costs and pushed global oil prices higher. US-Israeli strikes against Iran began on February 28 and have reportedly killed at least 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

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