James Walcock

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The US says it has carried out multiple strikes on targets in Iran after President Donald Trump accused Tehran of dragging out talks on an interim peace deal.

The attacks come just 24 hours after earlier US strikes launched in retaliation for the downing of an American Apache helicopter.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump said he had spoken directly with senior Iranian officials and warned that the US would carry out further strikes on Thursday unless Iran's leadership agreed to sign a deal.

William Roebuck is executive vice president of the Arab Gulf States Institute.

Former U.S.

Ambassador to Bahrain William Roebuck there.

Before the latest strikes, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the country's armed forces were fully prepared for fresh attacks and capable of targeting additional American assets.

Meanwhile, with the Strait of Hormuz still largely closed, new data shows U.S.

crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels last week as the drawdown in global oil reserves continued.

Right.

Staying in Europe, the European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates for the first time since 2023.

With more than three months of conflict in the Middle East keeping oil prices elevated, economists in a Bloomberg poll are predicting a quarter-point hike when policymakers meet later today.