US-Israeli Strikes Hit 24 Iranian Provinces — 201 Killed, Strait of Hormuz Closed as Middle East Edges Toward Full-Scale War

TEHRAN / WASHINGTON / TEL AVIV: The Middle East has been plunged into its most dangerous crisis in decades as US and Israeli strikes across 24 Iranian provinces have killed 201 civilians and wounded 747 others. News agencies report that Iranian Supreme Leader and the President were among the targets of the coordinated assault.
Iran has responded with immediate retaliatory strikes on Israel and has targeted US military bases in Riyadh, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar, dramatically widening the theatre of conflict across the entire region.
Strait of Hormuz Shut Down
In a move with potentially catastrophic global economic consequences, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, declaring that no vessels will be permitted to pass through the waterway until further notice.
The Strait of Hormuz, only 40 kilometres wide, is the world’s most critical oil chokepoint. Approximately one-fifth of the world’s crude oil supply passes through this narrow passage, serving major exporters including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Iran itself. Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), also depends entirely on the strait for its exports, as do OPEC member states supplying crude oil to Asian markets.
The closure is expected to send shockwaves through global energy markets, with oil prices likely to spike sharply in the coming hours.
The United Nations Security Council has convened an emergency session tonight as world leaders scramble to prevent the crisis from spiralling into an all-out regional war.