The US Central Command has initiated a series of powerful strikes against Iran in response to attacks on three commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz. A US military statement said these strikes aim to impose heavy costs on Iran for targeting and attacking commercial shipping. Following the announcement, oil prices surged.

Dr al Ansari, in a post on X, demanded that the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately cease all actions that undermine regional security or threaten the safety of international maritime navigation. He also stated, "We hold it fully legally responsible for this attack and for any resulting damages and consequences."

The geopolitical tensions have impacted global markets, with Wall Street indices falling: Dow Jones down 0.3%, S&P 500 down 0.5%, and Nasdaq Composite down 1.2%. The Australian share market (ASX) is expected to slip in morning trade after a sell-off in technology and artificial intelligence stocks.

In Australia, Telstra's mobile network has crashed nationwide, affecting millions of customers and those using providers operating on its network, such as Boost, Aldi, Tangerine, Belong, and Everyday Mobile. Despite the outage, calls to emergency services Triple Zero (000) remain unaffected due to rerouting through other providers' networks.

The Dow briefly reached a new record high earlier in the session before losing ground amid these developments.

Sources