Context: The US has been pressing NATO and other partners to help escort ships through the strait after Iran effectively shut it down. European countries don’t want to get dragged into direct military confrontation with Iran. EU ministers met in Brussels to discuss whether to tweak their existing Red Sea naval mission (Aspides) to cover Hormuz, but Kallas made clear member states aren’t interested in changing the mandate.

Context: Risk premiums for ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz have tripled since the conflict started. About 20% of global oil passes through this chokepoint normally, and the disruption is spiking energy prices worldwide. Air freight costs are also surging as trade routes get rerouted.

Context: Iran’s playing favorites with who gets to move oil through the strait, essentially using access as leverage. This selective blockade is part of Tehran’s strategy to pressure the global economy without completely shutting down all traffic, which would hurt countries it wants to stay neutral.

Sources: Al Jazeera

Context: This is an escalation from yesterday’s attacks. Iran’s now going after economic infrastructure across the Gulf, not just military targets. The Dubai airport incident forced a temporary shutdown of one of the world’s busiest aviation hubs. Qatar directly contradicts Iran’s assertions about limiting strikes to military targets—they’re clearly hitting civilian and economic infrastructure.

Context: Macron’s France has been taking Iranian fire—presumably because of its military support for the US-Israel operation. This is a rare direct call between the two leaders since the conflict started. Pope Francis also called for an immediate ceasefire, saying the war solves nothing and is just “brutal violence.”

Sources: Euronews

Context: This opens a new front in the conflict. Israel’s been planning a three-week operation cycle against Iranian targets, and now they’re expanding into Lebanon where Hezbollah has been firing rockets. More than a million people have been displaced in Lebanon from Israeli airstrikes, and there’s growing fear of a full ground invasion.

Sources: Al Jazeera

Context: Trump’s been claiming the US wiped out Iran’s air force, navy, and missile sites. But Iran fired missiles just yesterday using what appear to be Sejil medium-range ballistic missiles, which are mobile and harder to track. Either US intelligence missed a lot of launchers, or Iran had better dispersal than expected.

Sources: Al Jazeera

Context: The UAE stock market has crashed into bear territory. Rich people in the Gulf are spooked by the expanding war and getting their assets somewhere safer. This capital flight is happening even as Gulf states try to stay neutral—their economies are taking hits from Iranian attacks regardless.

Context: That’s just direct US military spending—doesn’t include the wider economic damage from oil price spikes and trade disruption. Countries are looking at fuel rationing, remote work mandates, and other emergency measures to cope with the oil crunch.

Context: The war’s in its third week and there’s still uncertainty about who’s actually running Iran. Mojtaba was supposedly being positioned as successor to his father (the supreme leader), but his continued absence is fueling speculation about a leadership crisis in Tehran. Nowruz is this week, when Iranians typically expect to hear from their leaders.

Sources: Euronews