And Donald Trump confirms he called Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu crazy.
Happy Thursday and welcome to your morning wrap of the latest political and business headlines from around the world.
First up, tensions are rising once again in the Middle East, as Iranian air strikes targeted Kuwait and Bahrain overnight, while the US military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.
Kuwait’s military said Iranian air strikes have hit a terminal at its international airport, killing at least one person and wounding 63 others in what is the first deadly attack in the Gulf since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8.
Earlier, Iranian media reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had attacked the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and a US airbase, as well as vessels.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied its bases had been hit. CENTCOM also said it carried out defensive strikes in southern Iran, targeted missile launch sites and Iranian boats seeking to lay mines, and conducted strikes on Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz after attempted Iranian attacks.
The hostilities have seen the price of Brent crude oil rise more than 2.2% overnight to US$98.20 per barrel.
Staying in the region, the BBC reports that Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said it fired rockets into northern Israel.
Lebanon's health ministry said the dead included two paramedics whose ambulance was hit in a strike in the southern Chehour area.
Israel’s military said it intercepted a drone and two projectiles that crossed the border.
The strikes have tested a partial ceasefire that was agreed earlier this week, under which Lebanon said Israel would refrain from bombing Beirut in exchange for Hezbollah not attacking Israel.
The outlook for the war between Israel, the United States, and Iran is increasingly tied to Israel’s fight in Lebanon, with Iran insisting that any larger potential truce must also include its ally. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to keep the issues separate.
Relations between Trump and Netanyahu came under scrutiny overnight as Trump confirmed to a New York Post podcast that he called the Israeli leader "crazy" during a tense phone call this week. Meanwhile, Netanyahu told CNBC that he and Trump have “tactical disagreements”, but agree overall, amid the war.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump.
In other news, Ukrainian long-range drones struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, sending smoke billowing over the city where President Vladimir Putin hosts Russia’s leading event for attracting foreign capital, the Associated Press reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the attack on social media, saying the drones flew more than 1,000 kilometres to hit the terminal, a day after Moscow launched a major drone attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
Russian authorities said only that the strikes targeted the city’s infrastructure and provided no details.
It comes as Putin is set to speak on Friday at the economic forum in St Petersburg, which the Kremlin views as a prestige event. Major investors have stayed away since Russia began its war with Ukraine in 2022, but Saudi Arabia is a special guest this year and is due to send a large business delegation.
In business news, the United States is proposing additional tariffs of 10% or more to be imposed on a number of its trading partners following a probe into countries importing goods allegedly made with forced labour, Deutsche Welle reported.
The US Trade Representative's report said it had found that 60 economies had failed to enforce a ban on imports produced with forced labour, calling it a “burden” on US commerce.
The new tariffs could help Trump bypass a Supreme Court ruling in February, which stated that his tariffs were largely illegal.
An additional 10% levy has been proposed on imports from Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, Pakistan, the UK and EU nations. These are countries which, according to the US, have partially prevented the import of forced labour goods.
An additional 12.5% tariff will be imposed on imports from 45 other countries, including New Zealand, China, India, Japan and Australia, for failing to impose and effectively enforce the prohibition, the statement said.
Staying with business, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is planning to set a fixed price of $135 a share ahead of the official marketing of its IPO, a source confirmed to CNBC.
Typically, new issuers will offer a price range that allows a company and its advisers to gauge demand sensitivity at different levels. In this case, SpaceX has taken a unique approach after several meetings leading up to its roadshow.
The company plans to sell 555.6 million shares, implying an initial float of US$75 billion worth of shares. The offer price values the company at $1.75 trillion, which would make it the seventh-biggest company in the US.
SpaceX released its prospectus last month, revealing billions in losses and Musk’s massive ownership.
Finally, it was a muted day on Wall Street, with the main indices edging lower following the rise in oil prices, which also sent bond yields creeping higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq were all down between a range of 0.92% and 0.6%.
US Treasuries advanced, with the 10-year yield approaching 4.5%, while the 30-year yield nears 5%.
Meanwhile, crypto has continued to soften with Bitcoin falling a further 2% to trade at just over US$65,600.
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