Iran war update.

Iran’s retaliation is spreading past the battlefield and into the global economy. There are reports of strikes aimed at choking off air travel and energy flows: Azerbaijan reportedly hit as flight paths shifted away from Iranian airspace, plus a tanker explosion off Kuwait that caused an oil spill, and an oil refinery in Bahrain reportedly struck by Iranian missiles and drones.

The immediate military flashpoints are getting uncomfortably close to major US assets. Qatari fighter jets reportedly intercepted Iranian bombers just minutes before they could strike Al Udeid—one of the biggest US bases in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has released the names of two additional US servicemembers killed in Kuwait in an Iranian drone attack: Major Jeffrey O’Brien and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan.

The real global tripwire is the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly 80 oil and gas tankers typically pass through every day, carrying about a fifth of the world’s oil and a major chunk of natural gas. But shipping traffic is reportedly collapsing—NYT analysis using Kpler data suggests only a handful of tankers have made it through in recent days—exactly the kind of disruption that detonates prices worldwide.

Inside the White House, the politics are fracturing while the war widens. Rubio and Hegseth are reportedly clashing over whether to deploy US ground troops into Iran. Stephen Miller is out there pitching Trump’s war posture as “consistent” with an anti-war brand because the military is “no longer woke” and regime change is now acceptable. Polling shows MAGA Republicans heavily backing the strikes, while non-MAGA Republicans are far more split.

And the economic blowback is already landing. Natural gas prices in Europe are reported up 53% in days. US crude jumped to about $78.80 and Brent to about $84.62. Gas prices are rising too—up roughly 27 cents since the war began, averaging around $3.25/gallon, with White House aides reportedly panicking about the politics of it.

One more alarm bell: Around 800 Patriot missiles were used in just the first three days—an insane burn rate—and that the Pentagon and at least one Gulf government are in talks to buy Ukrainian-made drone interceptors. There’s also reporting that AI tools are accelerating targeting (Maven “powered by Claude”), and Axios says Trump wants to personally shape Iran’s next leadership. In other words: this is drifting from “strikes” into a full-spectrum war plan—military, economic, and political—all at once.