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Americans struggle as Iran war puts strain on everyday costs: ‘I’m worried we won’t make it through’

The US-Israel war against Iran has sent shockwaves through global markets, leaving many Americans grappling with a growing financial squeeze on everyday living costs. Following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran – prompting retaliatory attacks on US allies in the region and Iran’s decision to close the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime passage – costs have surged across the US. Gas prices, in particular, have spiked sharply, with the national average rising by roughly 30% over the past month. Grocery bills, mortgage rates and fertilizer costs have also climbed. Now, many Americans are being forced to reassess their finances and cut back drastically on basic necessities such as food, clothing and electricity. A Minneapolis bank employee named Lore described how rising costs have reshaped his daily life, from commuting to long-term financial planning. “I’m driving less… I’m also saving money because my 2012 Mazda is getting old and I’m holding on to it for as long as possible. I feel like the car may only last for a few more years and I want to be ready with a down payment for the next car. Indianapolis has terrible public transportation so I really have to think about how I am going to get to work,” he said. “I’m concerned that I may not be able to afford another car repair. The last car repair was about $1,500. If my car needs another repair, it will really hurt my bank account.” Meanwhile, a Massachusetts-based librarian said her husband has had to take on extra work in recent weeks to keep up with rising expenses. “He currently works a delivery job where he uses his own vehicle and has to pay for gas that isn’t fully reimbursed by his employer. Between rising fuel prices, insanely high rent, rising groceries, health insurance, utilities and other basic living costs, we are drowning. The past few weeks, he has had to pick up shifts at a second delivery company just so we can make ends meet,” she said. “Sometimes he works 12 to 14 hour days. I also work full time and despite having two full-time incomes, we still are barely covering the roof over our head and the food on our table… Forget retirement, I’m worried we won’t even be able to make it through the next few years. The rate at which we are working and struggling is unsustainable and is taking a toll on our physical and mental health.” Elizabeth, a librarian based in Indiana, pointed to mounting energy costs as groceries and fuel consume an increasing share of her budget. “A tank of gas for my car used to be maybe $30, but the last time I filled up it was closer to $45… I am putting off some home repairs, probably to my detriment, because the idea of throwing down a ton of money at once seems foolish. I keep my house pretty cold in the winter because the cost of natural gas is so high. Once the weather heats up and the electricity bill goes up, I don’t know what I’ll do,” she told the Guardian. In New York, an elderly woman working at a law library while also holding a part-time job at a gas station convenience store described living “a very frugal existence” as costs rise. “Money is very, very tight. My furnace died in February and I was forced to sign a loan agreement to pay on that monthly. I live a very frugal existence. No vacations, no travel to see relatives, no movies. There’s no savings account. Just making ends meet each month is challenging. I still haven’t paid my taxes from last year and it is tax time again,” she said. “I don’t imagine there will be retirement years. I could never afford long-term care insurance. I worry about how long I can keep working multiple jobs and if I can maintain my house. I wasn’t able to buy my first house until I was 64 years old… I am concerned about Medicare, vaccines, nursing home abuse, loneliness, cost of a new car and the upcoming elections.” The strain is also hitting small business owners. A tattoo artist and father in Pennsylvania said he was forced to shut down his private studio after three years as demand dropped. “I’ve worked through one recession already and have no interest in struggling through another, given that tattoos are luxury items and when money gets tight, people get tattooed less. Now I’m working for a quick service type restaurants,” he said. “It seems our president is hell bent on making everything more expensive, from groceries, gas and energy. And now I have to worry about my 401k and whether or not my sons might get drafted to fight a war that is completely unnecessary.” Rising costs are also intensifying anxieties around healthcare. A bread factory worker in Michigan described the risks he faces simply getting to work. “I’m concerned for my health, the possibility that my medication may stop working and I start having seizures again. My walk to work is on a country[s]ide with limited lighting and no sidewalk for half of it. If I collapse, there is a real chance that I don’t get seen and lie there until I come to, my partner gets concerned at my non-response and contacts police, or somebody actually hits me,” he said. “Should any of these happen, I have to factor in increased medical bills, different meds, time off work to recover and hopefully acclimate to my meds without relapsing and that’s all hoping [for] a speedy recovery.”

Middle East crisis live: Iranian forces waiting for US ground troops and will ‘set them on fire’, warns parliamentary speaker

The funeral has taken place in Lebanon for three journalists killed by an Israeli strike on Saturday, an attack which Beirut called a “blatant crime”. Ali Shoeib, a veteran correspondent for Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV, Fatima Ftouni of the pro-Hezbollah Al Mayadeen channel and her brother, cameraman Mohammad Ftouni, were all killed when their vehicle was hit in Jezzine in southern Lebanon. Israel’s military in a statement alleged that Shoeib “operated within the Hezbollah terrorist organisation under the guise of a journalist for the Al Manar network”, without providing evidence. It did not comment on the deaths of Ftouni and her brother.

Exhausted Palestinians struggle to put lives back together as world’s gaze fixes on Iran

There is little left that connects Palestinians in Gaza with their prewar existence. The contours of life have become darker and far more brutal, as if the population has been stripped of its past. “Drones never stop buzzing overhead, gunfire and shelling continue almost daily and naval boats fire towards fishermen,” said 56-year-old Ahmed Baroud, a father of five displaced in Deir al-Balah. Seventeen months after the war in Gaza began, and five months after a ceasefire was announced, airstrikes are still killing civilians and the humanitarian situation remains dire. Health authorities said six people were killed and four others injured early on Sunday by an Israeli airstrike on al-Mawasi area in western Khan Younis. While the world’s eyes are fixed on Iran, everyday life in the streets and markets of the territory is fearful and drained of colour. People with exhausted faces queue for food and other supplies amid the ruins of destroyed buildings. Muddy waters course through displacement camps. “The situation has become even more strained since the war on Iran began,” said Baroud, reflecting a widespread view that the US and Israeli campaign against Tehran has resulted in even higher prices for food and other essentials. Ibtisam al-Kurdi, who lost both her sons in the war, said: “We are struggling to obtain firewood for cooking due to the closure of crossings and the lack of gas, which has led to a significant increase in its price.” The 64-year-old, who is originally from Jabaliya and is displaced in the Tel al-Hawa area of Gaza City, added: “We can no longer afford vegetables or meat and we rely daily on canned food and legumes, with a constant fear that famine may return. “I hope that all of this will come to a complete end … that the bombardment will stop, and that our children will no longer have to live in constant fear of the sounds of drones and explosions.” Cold temperatures and rain have lingered into spring, soaking the mattresses and flooding the floors of people living in waterlogged tents in displacement camps. Even daily conversations are no longer the same. A student’s dream is no longer to achieve high grades or pass exams but to earn enough money so their younger siblings do not have to beg in the streets, or to secure a couple of litres of clean water to quench their thirst. On makeshift minibuses – trailers hooked up to 4x4 vehicles – used for public transportation, stories of loss begin and never seem to end. The road becomes an open space for confession, each passenger telling their story, as if in a race to establish who has lost more. One man recounts spending everything he had on building the home of his dreams shortly before the war began. In quick succession his home was bombed, then his wife and children were killed. Beside him sits a woman who has lost all her children and is struggling to raise her young grandchildren. Both radiate an unbearable grief. Ibrahim Kaheel, displaced in Gaza City, said an already desperate situation had worsened since the US started attacking Iran. “After the war on Iran, food prices rose significantly and goods became scarce in the markets, and some prices are still continuously increasing,” the 34-year-old said. More than 680 Palestinians have been killed since the October ceasefire, including 26 in the last week. Aid groups say broken infrastructure and inconsistent electricity have turned untreated sewage into a growing public health risk. Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, says Kerem Shalom remains the only operational crossing for cargo, creating a major bottleneck for incoming supplies. Kaheel said: “Water, which used to be available, now only reaches us two days a week due to a malfunction in the municipal supply line. It is often not suitable for drinking, yet we are forced to drink it. “My mother suffers from cancer, and we struggle to purchase her medication from time to time.” Doctors in Gaza say basic diagnostic tools, including biopsy needles, are simply not available. Patients arrive with clearly cancerous masses, yet medics have no means to take samples or carry out the tests needed to confirm a diagnosis. As a result, many patients are lost to the disease without ever being properly diagnosed or treated. According to UN figures, before the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt reopened on 19 March for the limited movement of people, there were more than 11,000 cancer patients in Gaza requiring treatment outside the territory. The Gaza health ministry says more than 20,000 patients and wounded people are waiting to travel abroad for medical treatment. Cogat, the Israeli army unit given the task of facilitating humanitarian operations in the occupied territories, said: “Since the beginning of 2025, there has been a significant increase in the number of residents evacuated via Israel for medical treatment abroad, as well as those holding dual citizenship. “The Rafah crossing has been opened for the departure of patients and their caregivers to Egypt. The number of patients departing depends on the requests submitted by the WHO and Egypt, which are responsible for coordinating the arrival of patients from the Gaza Strip to the Rafah crossing.” It said “data on the ground” indicated that “a significant, stable and continuous volume of aid” was being delivered into Gaza, and “accordingly there is sufficient food availability in the Gaza Strip for an extended period”.

Israeli strikes and US troop buildup put Pakistan’s peacemaker role under pressure

Intensifying Israeli bombing of civilian targets in Iran and an expanding US military force in the Gulf are casting a dark shadow over Pakistan’s hopes of hosting peace talks between Iran and the US. Pakistan is attempting high-wire diplomacy, using its relative neutrality as a country with good relations with Iran and the US, to provide a venue for negotiations. It is not a player in the Middle East and does not host any American military bases, so it does not bring the baggage of other potential regional mediators. Pakistan’s de facto leader, military chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, has the US president’s ear, and Islamabad’s ties with Tehran have dramatically improved over the past couple of years. Both sides have indicated their willingness in principle to talk, according to Pakistani officials. But the conflict is widening, there’s little trust and the stated positions of Tehran and Washington are far apart. Pakistani officials believe the biggest risk to any talks is Israel playing the role of spoiler. Israel bombed two of Iran’s largest steel plants on Friday and civilian nuclear sites, which, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said contradicts President Donald Trump’s announcement of a pause in attacks on civilian infrastructure to give diplomacy a chance. Iran also said two universities were hit. Those are just the kind of attacks on non-military and non-regime targets that would derail the talks, Pakistani officials believe. Iran’s core concern is to ensure an end to the war and that there are no future attacks by the US and Israel, said Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the US. “The toughest part is believing Trump’s word. He is not a rational player. He’s completely whimsical,” said Lodhi. Trump insists Iran wants a deal “so badly”, but Tehran says he is “negotiating with himself”. Iran does not just want a ceasefire but a guarantee the war is over. One possibility is for Tehran to retain its hold over the strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for the Gulf’s oil and gas exports that Iran has been controlling during the war. That idea was described as unacceptable by the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, though Trump himself has suggested joint US-Iranian administration of the strait. So far, Pakistan has passed proposals between the two sides, in which they have taken hardline positions. Pakistani officials believe that if Iran and the US sincerely want to reach an agreement, the divide can be bridged. Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts intensified on Saturday, with the country’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, calling the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and the announcement the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will hold talks in Islamabad on Sunday and Monday about how to end the war. These four countries are emerging as a new alignment within the Muslim world, packing three of the biggest armies in the region, nuclear weapons and Saudi Arabia’s financial heft. But officials from Saudi Arabia, which has been repeatedly hit by Iran, have privately said that they want the bombardment to continue. Islamabad expects any talks to be indirect, with Pakistani officials shuttling between the US and Iranian delegations in different rooms. Tehran refuses to sit down face-to-face with US officials. Pakistan is nuclear-armed with a large army that could secure a venue for talks, while its air force could provide Iranian officials with an escort to fly in. Iran says Washington is again trying to deceive, having twice bombed them over the past year in the midst of talks. A buildup of US troops in the region suggests peace talks may not be the US’s plan. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that the Pentagon is considering sending 10,000 more soldiers, in addition to 7,000 ground troops already on the way to the Middle East. To build confidence, Pakistan suggested the US be represented by vice-president JD Vance, an idea taken up by Iran. Tehran does not trust the interlocutors they have previously dealt with, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Vance was reportedly more sceptical of the war. Vance told the “Benny Show” podcast on Friday the US had accomplished most or all of its military objectives, but added: “The president’s going to keep at it for a little while longer to ensure that once we leave, we don’t have to do this again for a very, very long time.” For Pakistan, there is also a further urgency to its peace efforts. Last year, the country signed a defence agreement with Saudi Arabia, which means it could be forced to enter the war on Riyadh’s side. With a long border with Iran and the world’s second biggest Shia Muslim population, after Iran, that is an outcome Pakistan is determined to avoid.

Houthis join the fray – as it happened

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Goodbye Graaff-Reinet: South African town’s name change stirs racial tensions

A South African town is divided over changing its name from the colonial-era Graaff-Reinet to Robert Sobukwe, after the anti-apartheid activist, in a debate that has inflamed racial tensions. Petitions have been signed, rival marches held and a formal letter of complaint sent to the sports, arts and culture minister, Gayton McKenzie, who approved the name change on 6 February. On one side are people who feel a deep attachment to Graaff-Reinet, many regardless of the fact it was named after Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff, the Dutch governor of the Cape Colony when the town was founded in 1786, and his wife, Hester Cornelia Reynet. On the other are those who insist that renaming the town after Sobukwe, who was born and buried there, is a necessary part of the “transformation” of South Africa away from colonialism and white-minority apartheid rule. Sobukwe left the African National Congress (ANC) liberation movement to found the Pan Africanist Congress in 1959, amid disagreements about the ANC allowing white members. On 21 March 1960, Sobukwe led protests against laws requiring Black people to carry pass books. Police opened fire on a march, killing 69 people in what became known as the Sharpeville massacre. Between 2000 and 2024, more than 1,500 placenames were changed in South Africa, according to an official database. They include more than 400 post offices, 144 rivers and seven airports, while the city of Port Elizabeth became Gqeberha in 2021. The department of sports, arts and culture said in a statement announcing 21 name changes, including Graaff-Reinet: “The mission … [is] to redress, correct and transform the geographical naming system in order to advance restorative justice, including addressing the colonial and apartheid-era naming legacy.” A survey carried out in December 2023 found 83.6% of the town’s residents opposed the name change, including 92.9% of Coloured people and 98.5% of white people. A third of Black residents backed the name change. Of the 367 randomly selected representative respondents, 54% were Coloured, 27.2% Black and 18.8% white. “Many residents felt that changing the name would erase part of their identity as ‘Graaff-Reinetters’,” the Stellenbosch University geography professor Ronnie Donaldson wrote of his findings. Laughton Hoffman, who runs a non-profit supporting young people, expressed concern about the name change harming tourism in the town, which has a population of about 51,000 and whose centre is filled with elegant, whitewashed Cape Dutch buildings. “We are not emotional about the Dutch … Out of the grief of the past [the name Graaff-Reinet] became a benefit for the people and for the economy of the town,” said Hoffman, sporting a bright pink “Hands Off Graaff-Reinet” T-shirt. Hoffman is Coloured and Khoi-San – indigenous South Africans who the apartheid government lumped together as Coloured with mixed-race people and the descendants of enslaved people from other parts of Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia. Hoffman said his community had been “oppressed” since the end of apartheid by governments led by the black-dominated ANC. “We have been marginalised for 32 years as a cultural group,” he said. Coloured researchers attribute much of this resentment felt by parts of their community to animosity between Coloured and Black communities fostered by apartheid. Coloured people were allowed slightly better houses and jobs, forcing them to distance themselves from Black people to access those benefits. Meanwhile, Derek Light, a lawyer who wrote the complaint letter demanding that the culture minister McKenzie reverse his decision, argued that the public consultation on the name change did not follow legal procedure. “It was a faux process,” he said. Light, who is white, lamented the tensions the name change had caused in the town. “We were living in peace and harmony,” he said. “It’s not without fault; we also have poverty and unemployment and things like that. But we don’t have racial issues amongst our people.” Black members of the Robert Sobukwe Steering Committee, a group supporting the name change, rejected this. “We have always had racial problems,” said Athe Singeni. “It was very subtle.” Her mother, Nomandla, said they would not be deterred, even after Sobukwe’s grave was vandalised by unknown people earlier this month. “We as Black people, we have a history that has been erased,” she said. “We’ve got leaders who contributed and laid down their lives for the freedom that we enjoy today. It is time to honour them.” Further up the hill in uMasizakhe, a former Black township, a group enjoying home-brewed alcohol expressed their support for the name change. “I’m happy to change this name, Graaff-Reinet,” said Mzoxolo Nkhomo, a 59-year-old jobseeker. “Because Sobukwe is our fighter. Sobukwe made us free.” Across the road, the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Museum and Learning Centre was shuttered, a statue of the politician covered up. It had never been officially opened due to family disagreements, said his grandson Mangaliso Tsepo Sobukwe. Placename changes had been instrumentalised by politicians, Sobukwe said. “It is interesting that the ANC would be seen championing the honouring of Sobukwe, because they … [have been] suppressing his legacy.” Sobukwe expected the backlash to the renaming, but added: “Going forward, I’m happy that my grandfather’s been honoured, more than anything else.”

Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy drums up defence agreements with Gulf states on countering missiles and drones

Qatar and Ukraine signed a defence agreement on Saturday that included cooperation on countering threats from missiles and drones, the Gulf state’s government said, as Iran presses an aerial campaign against its neighbours. Earlier on Saturday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy – during a previously unannounced flurry of visits to Gulf nations – said his country and the United Arab Emirates had agreed to cooperate on defence, after Iran targeted countries in the area in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes. Ukraine also signed an air defence agreement with Saudi Arabia during Zelenskyy’s visit to the kingdom earlier this week. “We are talking about a 10-year cooperation. We have already signed a relevant agreement with Saudi Arabia, we have just signed a similar agreement with Qatar, also for 10 years, we will sign one with the Emirates,” Zelenskyy told reporters at a briefing. Ukraine has quickly grown into one of the world’s leading producers of cutting-edge, battle-tested drone interceptors that are cheap and effective. They are playing a key part in its defence against Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began on 24 February 2022. In return for its aid to Gulf countries, Ukraine is seeking more high-end air-defence missiles that they possess and that Kyiv needs to counter Russia’s attacks. Last week Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was looking into whether it could play a role in restoring security in the strait of Hormuz. Ukraine wants to build long-term ties with Middle Eastern countries, Zelenskyy said, including joint production, cooperation in the energy sector, investment and sharing battlefield experience. He spoke with journalists via Zoom during an official visit in Qatar, the latest in his tour in the region. “Simple sales do not interest us,” Zelenskyy said. “We want systemic relationships, where exporters earn revenue and Ukraine receives sufficient funds to invest in domestic production.” Zelenskyy has sought to craft an opportunity from the war, which otherwise benefits Russia through higher oil prices and possible slowdowns in western arms supplies to Kyiv. Almost immediately, he started offering US allies in the region deals to get their hands on Ukrainian drone interceptors and has dispatched more than 200 military experts. “Surely no one else can help in this way today, with expertise,” he told reporters. “No one else possesses such experience.” Russian air attacks across Ukraine early Saturday killed at least four people and damaged critical infrastructure, including a port and a maternity hospital, authorities said, as Russia pressed on with its war against Ukraine. Moscow has been firing drones at Ukraine in nightly barrages during its four-year invasion, with Kyiv accusing it of attacking residential areas and targeting civilians. Iran claims it struck Ukraine-related drone warehouse in Dubai. Iran’s military joint command made the claim in a statement run by state media, without offering evidence. The Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters said more than 20 Ukrainians were in the warehouse in the United Arab Emirates and their fate was unknown. In a news briefing, Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, however, called the Iranian allegations a “lie,” according to Ukraine’s public broadcaster. Ukraine’s military struck a major Russian oil refinery in Yaroslavl, north-east of Moscow, in an overnight attack, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Saturday. It said in a statement that the attack caused a fire at the site of the refinery, which is critical for the Russian army’s logistics.

Houthi forces enter Iran conflict with missile attacks on Israeli military sites

The US-Israeli war with Iran has expanded with the entry of Houthi forces in Yemen, representing a dangerous spread of the conflict and bringing with it the threat of more damage to the global economy. Pakistan has said it would host a meeting of Middle Eastern powers on Monday in an effort to find a regional approach to ending the conflict. But the talks, which bring together the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, did not appear to include any of the warring parties, casting further doubt on persistent US claims of diplomatic progress. Houthi forces, close allies of Iran, said on Saturday they had fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at “sensitive Israeli military sites” and that they would continue military operations until the “aggression” came to an end on all fronts. Israel said it had intercepted one missile originating in Yemen. The Houthis’ military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, later said that the group carried out a second wave of strikes against Israel with a “barrage of cruise missiles and drones” targeting military sites. In a televised speech, Saree vowed to continue military operations in the coming days until Israel “ceases its attacks and aggression”. Multiple outlets reported that the Houthis, the Iran-aligned militant group in Yemen, had attacked Israel for a second time in less than 24 hours, after joining the war on Saturday. Despite US claims to have devastated Iran’s military, Reuters cited intelligence sources as saying Washington could only be certain it had destroyed a third of Iran’s missile and drone arsenal. US media reported that a missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan airbase in Saudi Arabia wounded at least 12 US soldiers, two of them seriously. Drones also struck Kuwait international airport on Saturday, causing significant damage to its radar system. The entry of the Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous areas, poses a direct threat to the Bab al-Mandab strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, a second major choke point in the supply chain of energy supplies and other trade in and out of the Middle East. With Iran’s near total closure of the strait of Hormuz, a shutdown of the Bab al-Mandab, located between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, would amplify the already grave impact of the war on the global economy, and could also reignite a Saudi-Yemen conflict that caused huge humanitarian suffering for seven years before a 2022 truce. Since the US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February, Saudi Arabia has been able to divert some of its oil exports by pipeline to the Red Sea. Saudi commentators have said that if this route was also threatened, Riyadh could also enter the war directly. On Saturday evening, Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said Iran had agreed to allow an additional 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to pass through the strait, with two permitted to transit daily. Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow in Middle East and north Africa programme at the Chatham House thinktank, said: “The decision by the Houthis to join the broader Middle East conflict marks a serious and deeply concerning escalation. “The potential impact on key commercial maritime routes, especially in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab strait, cannot be overstated. At the same time, vital economic and military infrastructure across the Gulf region may become increasingly exposed.” In a further sign of the war’s potential to spread, Iran’s central operational command said it had targeted a Ukrainian anti-drone system depot in Dubai, which it said was assisting US forces. There was no immediate confirmation of the strike from Dubai authorities. Ukraine has been providing anti-drone technology and expertise to the Gulf states since the war began, drawing on years of experience of being attacked by Russia with Iranian-designed fixed-wing unpiloted aircraft. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced on Saturday that his country had signed defence agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, after a similar pact with Saudi Arabia last week. In the early hours of Sunday local time, air defences shot down a drone near the residence of the leader of the Iraqi Kurdish ruling party, Masoud Barzani, in Erbil, security sources told Reuters, in an incident that comes as tensions continue to rise across northern Iraq. There was also evidence of escalation in the array of weapons being used in the conflict with reports that the US has dropped cluster munitions. Experts cited by Bellingcat said that mines photographed in an Iranian village near a missile base in Shiraz were Gator anti-tank mines, a cluster munition that has been banned by more than 100 countries because of its indiscriminate nature. The US is the only party in the Iran conflict to possess the weapon, though Tehran has been using ballistic missiles carrying cluster warheads in its strikes on Israel. Condemning those strikes on 16 March, the head of US Central Command, Adm Brad Cooper, described cluster bombs as “an inherently indiscriminate type of munition”. As the war entered its second month, Pakistan has sought to act as a peace broker. The country’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and army commander, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had hoped to encourage US-Iran talks. Donald Trump has claimed, without evidence, that such contacts had already started and were “going very well”, while Tehran denied there had been any talks at all. Sharif said on Sunday that he had held “extensive discussions” with Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian, briefing him on Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts. It is unclear how much a regional meeting without any of the protagonists can achieve. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has privately been urging Trump to escalate the offensive against Iran, apparently anxious that a wounded but undefeated regime in Tehran could be one of the worst possible outcomes for Riyadh. Trump suggested on Friday night that he had hoped Bin-Salman would join four other Arab countries in normalising relations with Israel in return for the attack on Iran, Saudi Arabia’s longstanding rival in the region. The US president said: “Mohammed would say: ‘Oh yes. As soon as we do this. As soon as we do that.’ It’s now time. We’ve now taken them out, and they are out bigly. We’ve got to get into the Abraham Accords.” Trump was speaking at a Saudi-sponsored investors meeting in Miami, where he sought to talk up the US economy’s prospects in the face of the oil price shock caused by the war and a consequent sell-off of stocks. The survival of the Islamic Republic’s regime after a month of bombing has left Trump with the choice of looking for a way to extricate the US from the costly war or intensifying the campaign, possibly including ground troops. Thousands of US marines and airborne forces have been deployed in the region in recent days, raising speculation of a land incursion on Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, or on islands in the Hormuz strait. Tehran has warned that, if that happened, it would completely shut down the strait and escalate its attacks on regional infrastructure, including desalination plants essential for the water supply in several Gulf countries. Such an escalation, possibly combined with renewed direct confrontation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, could lead to a major regional conflagration, Al-Muslimi said. “Any such war would likely be more intense, more destructive, and even more devastating than previous rounds of fighting.”