LIVE | UK urges reopening of Strait of Hormuz as Macron questions success of military operation to do so

Wall Street stocks tumbled early Thursday on the latest jump in oil prices as tough rhetoric between the United States and Iran lessened hopes of a Middle East war resolution.

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.3 percent at 45,962.28.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent to 6,485.66, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.9 percent to 21,421.77.

Oil prices extended gains on Thursday in the wake of US President Donald Trump threatening further heavy strikes on Iran, dampening hopes of de-escalation.

The main US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, jumped 10.3 percent to $110.47 per barrel. International benchmark Brent North Sea crude rose 8.2 percent to $109.40 per barrel.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Thursday stressed the "urgent need" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, at a virtual meeting of representatives of "more than 40 countries" ready to mobilize to restore the safety of this sea lane.

"We are counting on more than 40 countries to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, the consequences of its closure, the urgent need to restore freedom of navigation for international shipping and the strength of our resolve to see the strait reopened," said the head of British diplomacy, who is chairing Thursday's meeting.

For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron said a military operation as proposed by the United States to "liberate" the Strait of Hormuz by force would be "unrealistic."

"There are those who advocate the liberation of the Strait of Hormuz by force through a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the United States," Macron said in South Korea, where he is on a state visit.

"It is absolutely not the option we contemplate and we consider it unrealistic," added the French leader, who considered that such an operation "would take an infinite amount of time" and would entail "numerous risks."

Iran's two largest steel plants have been forced out of action by several waves of U.S. and Israeli attacks, the companies have said.

"Our initial estimate is that restarting these units will take at least six months and up to one year," Mehran Pakbin, deputy head of operations at the Khuzestan Steel Company, was quoted as saying by the Mizan Online website on Thursday.

Mobarakeh Steel Company in central Isfahan province said that its "production lines have completely shut down following the high volume of attacks".

Digital repression against the Iranian population and members of the diaspora intensified in recent months marked by anti-power protests and war in the Middle East, according to a report by a Miaan released on Thursday.

According to Miaan, a human rights advocacy organization, threats on social networks soared nearly 170% between July 2025 and March this year compared to the previous six months, "a paradigm shift in digital repression."

The Iranian government has also been enforcing an unprecedented internet outage since January.

Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Reza Najafi, denied that his country has resumed uranium enrichment following the June 2025 bombings by Israel and the United States against some of its nuclear facilities.

"We have not resumed [uranium] enrichment; that is a lie, a big lie, like so many others," Najafi said in an interview with AFP, referring to the U.S. accusations that led to the current conflict.

Oil prices rebounded Thursday following Trump's address to the nation, in which he failed to quell fears over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for the transit of crude blocked by Iran.

The North Sea Brent barrel, the global market benchmark, was up more than 4.5% at $105.71, while its U.S. equivalent, West Texas Intermediate(WTI), was up 3.6% to $103.69 in Asian trading.

For their part, Asian stock markets fell sharply: the Japanese Nikkei index gave up 1.45% while the South Korean Kospi plunged 3.62%.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad warned Thursday that pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq may attack the city in the next one to two days.

"Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may intend to carry out attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours," the embassy said in a statement on X, again urging Americans in the country to leave immediately.

China on Thursday demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East war, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran in the coming weeks and bomb it back to the "Stone Age."

"Military means cannot solve the problem in a fundamental way, and the escalation of conflicts benefits neither side," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning assured a press conference, urging "the parties involved to immediately cease military operations."

The Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah, an ally of Iran, claimed that its terrorists launched drones and rockets against northern Israel on Thursday, while the Israeli army's Home Front Command said anti-aircraft sirens were activated across the border, although no casualties or damage were reported.

Iran's military promised Thursday to launch "devastating" strikes against Israel and the United States after President Donald Trump threatened in an address to bomb the Islamic republic back to the "Stone Age" in the coming weeks.

"With confidence in Almighty God, this war will continue until their humiliation, disgrace, permanent and certain repentance, and surrender," the Iranian military command Jatam Al Anbiya assured in a statement broadcast on state television. "Expect our most devastating, wide-ranging and most destructive actions," he added.

The Israeli Army reported Thursday that air defense systems were responding to the fourth Iranian missile attack in six hours, as sirens sounded in some areas of northern Israel.

The military had reported during the third bombing some minor injuries in the Tel Aviv area.