Middle East crisis

Oil Market
US reportedly considering attacks on energy targets – oil prices rise

The US is considering attacking energy targets in Iran. Several US officials told the Wall Street Journal.

Military strategists are reportedly drawing up target lists to give Donald Trump different options for striking energy infrastructure.

At 7 p.m., oil prices rose by up to 1 percent after the news.

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Trump: Iran can be knocked out overnight – maybe tomorrow

Iran can be knocked out overnight, maybe tomorrow night. Donald Trump said this at a press conference on the Iran war on Monday evening.

Trump has set a deadline of Tuesday for Iran to accept an American proposal for a ceasefire, which Iran rejected earlier on Monday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the same press conference that the largest bombings of the war are expected to take place on Monday, and that Tuesday will be even worse.

During the press conference, Trump also praised the special operation that led to the rescue of an American who ejected from a fighter jet from Iran.

– It is inconceivable that no one was injured, he says.

At the same time, he threatened media outlets that reported on the rescue operation first and demanded to know the source that provided the information.

– We will say: national security. Release him, otherwise prison awaits, he says and continues:

– It is a sick person.

Energy crisis in Europe
Sources: EU urges calm on subsidies

The EU is urging member states not to respond to soaring energy prices with excessive subsidies, sources tell the FT. Brussels is said to want to avoid a repeat of the energy crisis in 2022 and the resulting ballooning budget deficits.

The Commission is providing "technical advice and assistance to countries to design the policy tools and instruments they want to use within the fiscal space they have," EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen told the newspaper.

At the same time, the finance ministers of Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Austria are calling for a common tax on energy companies' excess profits.

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Analysis: Trump is determined to keep the world off balance

Donald Trump seems determined to keep the world off balance with his recurring threats and shifting messages about the war in Iran. The New York Times' Michael Shear writes in an analysis.

And he is succeeding, writes Shear.

Around the world, leaders have tried to prevent the war from escalating, and many are angry "and more than a little worried about what may be waiting around the corner".

"Even considering Trump's previous erratic actions, his handling of the war in Iran has shaken the world, with a series of contradictory statements about how the conflict might end", he writes.

On Monday, Donald Trump made new threats against Iran and said that the United States will bomb all the bridges in the country if Iran does not agree to a US proposal for a ceasefire.

“It was perhaps the most detailed and concrete threat Trump has made since the war began in late February,” writes the BBC’s Daniel Bush in an analysis.

But whether he will follow through on the threats is unclear.

“He has previously backed down from similar threats against Iran since the war began,” writes Bush.