Trump threatens hit on Iran’s main oil-export terminal

And settler violence rises in the West Bank

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Weekend Briefing Weekend Briefing From Reuters Daily Briefing   By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor Welcome to the Weekend Briefing, where we're bringing you the latest news from the Middle East. But first, consider Paraguay, something you probably don't do often. It's one of 12 countries that recognize Taiwan and is its only diplomatic ally in South America. China is trying to change that. Our reporters discuss the business and politics of the Academy Awards while Culture Current interviews Kleber Mendonça Filho about his hit film "The Secret Agent" ahead of the Academy Awards. This week's edition of City Memo explores Seattle - and it's making me hungry. Trump threatens hit on Iran's main oil-export terminal   Planet Labs PBC Kharg Island: Donald Trump said the U.S. would strike the export terminal for 90% of Iran's oil shipments if Tehran kept attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. He also said the U.S. "obliterated" military targets on the island. Iran's military said it would respond by hitting facilities owned by oil companies cooperating with the U.S. in the region. U.S. intelligence suggests that Iran's leadership is not at risk of collapse any time soon. Strait of Hormuz: Iran is holding the world's main oil lifeline as a hostage to counter U.S. and Israeli military superiority, causing the biggest supply disruption in history. Read about the Greek ship owners who are risking the passage anyway. Oil futures prices remain high even after the U.S. issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil stranded at sea. That move and a record release of oil stockpiles by world governments will not end the pain of U.S. drivers, analysts said. Iran war bedevils travel worldwide Grounded: The war is driving up airline prices, squeezing capacity and throwing holiday plans into disarray as Iran targets Gulf states that are home to major airport hubs. The rising cost of jet fuel is threatening airlines that usually rely on hedging contracts to protect against oil price spikes. Air freight rates rose more than 70% on some routes since the start of the war. Roundup: The U.S. military said it elevated an investigation into a strike on an Iranian girls' school that Iran says killed 168 children after media reported that the U.S. was likely responsible. Tehran threatened Iranians living abroad with legal penalties if they express support for the U.S. and Israel. New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded and likely disfigured, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. Zelenskiy seeks Europe's reassurances Allies: Ukraine's president said the U.S. decision to ease Russian oil sanctions would not help to end its war with Russia. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's comments suggested that the move surprised Europe. Hungary returned armored bank vehicles to Ukraine while keeping $82 million it took off seven Ukrainians. Zelenskiy called it theft. The far north: NATO's latest drills in the Arctic are placing more emphasis on civilians supporting the military as tension rises over Trump's coveting of Greenland. Our correspondent reported from a training exercise related to the drills in Narvik, Norway. Canada is boosting its Arctic defenses as it tries to decrease its reliance on the U.S. Israeli settler violence in West Bank rises Taking advantage: Settlers in the occupied zone are using curbs on movement imposed because of the Iran war to attack Palestinians, rights groups and medics said. Israel's military dropped charges against five soldiers accused of torturing a Gaza detainee. Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza is on hold because of war. Hate crimes and violence: Attacks by Islamic State supporters on a synagogue and daycare center in Michigan and Old Dominion University in Virginia added to concerns about attacks on U.S. soil during the war. Congressional Republicans voiced anti-Muslim rhetoric as incidents of Islamophobia rise in the U.S. An explosion hit a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège and Dutch police arrested four men after a synagogue attack in Rotterdam. An explosion damaged a Jewish school in Amsterdam. Police arrested three brothers and their mother over the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Oslo. Meta plans big layoffs AI strikes again: Facebook's parent company needs to offset artificial-intelligence spending and is planning to seek more efficiency through AI-assisted workers, sources said. The cuts could affect 20% of Meta's workforce, the sources said. It employed nearly 79,000 people as of the end of 2025. A buying opportunity: Trump bought more than $1.1 million of Netflix bonds as the company unsuccessfully fought Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros Discovery – and while he talked Netflix down in the press. We don't know if he made or lost money on the bonds because a filing does not disclose if or when he sold the bonds. Before I forget… Drone strikes by Haitian security forces targeting gangs have killed more than 1,200 people since last March, Human Rights Watch said. A federal judge blocked the Justice Dept.'s subpoenas issued as part of its criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell. France holds local elections on Sunday, and the far right is pushing hard on security. This story from Marseille is worth your time. So is this one, especially for those of you who have nearly been run over by Paris' enthusiastic cyclists. Venezuelan students are speaking up after years of enforced silence under Nicolas Maduro's rule. Minneapolis has settled into more familiar rhythms, but the lasting damage that ICE caused lingers. Police across Southeast Asia are dealing with a rise in the number of teenagers who are plotting violence inspired by white supremacists. The Pyongyang marathon is off, no reason given. North Korea-China train service is back on after being shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bonobos have a reputation for peace, love and lots of sex in contrast to the more belligerent chimpanzees. That reputation isn't entirely valid, a study suggests.   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website   Weekend Briefing is sent once a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions   © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036

US seeks to tame oil price surge

Plus, Banksy revealed.

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello. A complex tug-of-war inside the White House is driving Trump's shifting public statements on the course of the Iran war. Elsewhere, back-to-back outbursts of violence added to rising concerns about the possibility ‌of attacks on US soil. Plus, British street artist Banksy's identity has been debated and closely guarded for decades. Until now.  Today's Top News   Aftermath of a strike on a police station, Tehran. Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERS  War in the Middle East A complex tug-of-war inside the White House is driving US President Donald Trump's shifting public statements on the course of the Iran war, as aides debate when and how to declare victory even as the conflict spreads across the Middle East. Read our exclusive.  Trump derided Iran's leaders as "deranged scumbags" and said it was his great honor to kill them as the war in the Middle East approached the two-week mark with heavy exchanges of drone and missile strikes across the region. Follow our live updates. The Shajareh Tayyebeh School was adjacent to an Iranian military compound and was among at least seven buildings struck on February 28. Iranian officials have said students made up most of the 175 people killed that day in Minab. Read our visual investigation. In other news A convicted Islamic State supporter opened fire in a Virginia university classroom, killing one person and injuring two others before he was killed, while in Michigan a Lebanon-born US citizen crashed his truck into a synagogue and its preschool and was shot dead. Investors in World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture co-founded by Trump and his sons, have secured what the company described on its website as "guaranteed direct access"  to certain members of its team for those who lock up $5 million worth of their tokens for a six-month period in exchange for voting rights. A three-year-old party won Nepal's general elections by a landslide, authorities said, positioning its candidate Balendra Shah to become the next prime minister, with a mandate for the rapper-turned-politician to restore political stability. Ukraine is opening access to its battlefield data for its allies to train drone AI software, the defense minister said, as Kyiv seeks to harness the experience it has ‌garnered fending off Russia's four-year, full-scale invasion. Business & Markets   A view shows oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia June 4, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk The US issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea, in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was a step to stabilize ‌global energy markets roiled by the Iran war. Some governments are taking steps to protect their own energy security. Tony Munroe tells the Reuters World News podcast some Asian countries are pushing austerity measures like closing universities and fuel rationing.  US grain prices have surged since the Iran war began, triggering a flurry of corn and soybean sales by farmers who squirreled away last year's harvests due to weak prices. Britain's economy stagnated unexpectedly in ‌January and expanded only weakly in preceding months, underlining investor concerns about its vulnerability to the economic fallout from the war in Iran, official data showed. Oil prices headed for weekly gains, despite the US trying to ease supply concerns by issuing a 30-day license for countries ‌to buy Russian oil and petroleum products stranded at sea. The Week Ahead France will hold municipal elections on Sunday and March 22, votes seen as a key test ahead of next year's presidential election. Top names in Hollywood will gather on Sunday to hand out the annual Academy Awards at a red-carpet ceremony brimming with an unusual amount of drama in the major races. The US Federal Reserve concludes its two-day meeting on Wednesday. Trump's Homeland Security pick Senator Markwayne Mullin is scheduled to face a confirmation hearing on Wednesday.  It's a big day for Europe on Thursday, with euro area, Swiss and UK central banks meeting. Everything you need to know about the coming week in financial markets. In search of Banksy   REUTERS/Gleb Garanich, Simon Gardner, David Moir, Peter Macdiarmid, Luke MacGregor The identity of British street artist Banksy has been debated, and closely guarded, for decades. A quest to solve the riddle took Reuters from a bombed-out Ukrainian village to London and downtown Manhattan, and uncovered much more than a name. Read our Special Report And Finally... Figures from the "KPop Demon Hunters" toy series are on display at Mattel's booth at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany. REUTERS/ Angelika Warmuth/File Photo Netflix confirmed that a sequel to "KPop Demon Hunters," the streaming platform's most watched film of all time, is officially in development.   Read more   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website   Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions   © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036