Shortly after US President Donald Trump said Iran’s missile programme had been destroyed following US-Israeli military action, Iranian forces launched missiles toward the northern Israeli port city of Haifa, state media Press TV reported.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the launches on Telegram, saying defensive systems were operating to intercept the threat. “A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the statement said.
Nearly three dozen countries will meet virtually on Thursday to press for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane that has been effectively choked amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the meeting, chaired by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, “will assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and to resume the movement of vital commodities.”
The United States is not attending the meeting. Trump has said securing the waterway “is not America’s job” and told allies to “go get your own oil,” and in his address said US forces would keep hitting Iran and would “finish the job.”
Markets reacted quickly after the speech. Oil prices jumped—Brent crude rose roughly 5% to about $106 a barrel and US crude increased more than 4%—while Asian stock markets fell. Tokyo’s Nikkei slipped about 1.4%, South Korea’s Kospi fell 3.4%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined.
Democrats criticised Trump’s primetime remarks as confusing and incomplete. Senator Mark Warner said the president “owed Americans more clarity about a war that has raised fuel and commodity prices with long-term economic consequences.” In Thailand, recent fuel subsidy cuts sent diesel above 44 baht ($1.35) per litre, a roughly 12% increase in recent days.
The New York-based Soufan Center suggested the speech indicates the US may be “willing to leave the Strait of Hormuz off the table,” potentially forcing Gulf Arab partners to manage the fallout. The centre warned that a faster US pullback without securing the strait could leave energy-dependent regional economies exposed.
Diplomatic talks remain unclear. The US has presented Iran with a 15-point ceasefire plan calling for reopening the strait and rolling back parts of Iran’s nuclear programme; Iran insists its programme is peaceful and has its own conditions, including retaining sovereignty over the waterway. Iranian deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he received direct messages from US envoy Steve Witkoff but that there were no direct negotiations and “the trust level is at zero.”
Humanitarian operations are also being affected. The International Rescue Committee says more than $100,000 of lifesaving aid is trapped at its Dubai hub because of disruptions to shipping through the Hormuz route. IRC president David Miliband warned of possible food-security crises in vulnerable countries, noting about 30% of the world’s fertiliser transits the strait and urging safe passage for goods.
Earlier Thursday, Israel’s military reported Iran had launched an earlier missile barrage that set off sirens in Tel Aviv, parts of central Israel and the occupied West Bank.
