DUBAI: Iran fired drones and missiles at Israel and Gulf states Tuesday as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed his country will keep striking the Islamic Republic, saying the aim of the campaign was the popular overthrow of its government.
“Our aim is to bring the Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny; ultimately, it depends on them,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israel's hospital and health system leaders. “But there is no doubt that with the actions taken so far, we are breaking their bones."
US President Donald Trump sent contradictory signals about how long the war could last, fueling uncertainty that is causing markets to swing.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf dismissed any suggestion that Tehran sought a ceasefire in the war and would keep fighting.
Trump late Monday told Republican lawmakers that the war was likely to be a “short excursion,” but hours later threatened in a social media post that the US would dramatically increase attacks if Iran tried to close the Strait of Hormuz.
The group of industrial nations on Monday held off releasing oil stocks to bring down prices, but is picking up the issue again with more discussions between their energy ministers on Tuesday, according to France.
France, which currently holds the G7's rotating presidency, wants “to advance on that question, with one objective, which is to bring down prices,” government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told broadcaster France Televisions.
“France is working on that for a very simple reason: If you put volume back into the market, you can have an impact on the lowering of prices,” Bregeon said.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the G7 ministers will meet on Tuesday afternoon by video call.
“It's a process, we are working on it,” Lescure said. “All options are on the table.”
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul says there is no need now to send his country's warships or other military hardware to Cyprus or the eastern Mediterranean.
An Iranian Shahed drone struck a British air base on Cyprus' southern coast last week.
Wadhophul lauded Greece, France and Italy for dispatching warships to the region as a “pragmatic step,” adding that Germany would augment a European force presence if needed.
Following talks with his Cypriot counterpart, Constantinos Kombos, Wadephul said he doesn't have intelligence indicating “a real current threat” to Cyprus or another European country from the Iran war.
But he added, “You can never predict what will happen the next day” with groups like Hezbollah.
The Saudi oil giant Aramco says it will reach the capacity of its East-West pipeline “in a couple of days” to get its product out to the global market.
Amin Nasser, Aramco's CEO and president, said the East-West pipeline has a daily capacity of 7 million barrels.
“We should be reaching capacity in a couple of days. It's all been going on with the repositioning of tankers from the East to the West,” Nasser said. “You know, this crisis happened all of a sudden, and tankers need to reposition to the West coast for loading.”
He added: “The situation at the Strait of Hormuz is blocking sizable volumes of oil from the whole region.”
The East-West pipeline sends oil to the Red Sea for transport. Saudi Aramco operates the pipeline from the Aqaiq oil processing centre near the Persian Gulf to the Yanbu port on the Red Sea, avoiding the chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz.
Amin Nasser, the president and CEO of Aramco, said the firm remained “focused on safety and meeting our commitments.”
“That situation continues to evolve, and the safety of our people and our operations remains our highest priority,” Nasser said.
He did not immediately elaborate on any effects from the war on the company's output.
Nasser hinted at global oil markets being squeezed the longer the Iran war goes on, and shipments from the Mideast being affected.
“Given the current geopolitical situation, we may see inventories eroding and being drawn down faster as shipments are being curtailed from the region,” he said. “This is at a time when current global spare capacity remains extremely low.”
That likely could push the price per barrel globally even higher, translating to higher costs for gasoline and jet fuel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday that Israel will continue striking Iran.
“Our aim is to bring the Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny; ultimately, it depends on them,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israel's hospital and health system leaders.
“But there is no doubt that with the actions taken so far, we are breaking their bones,” he said.