Trump draws US into another Middle East war

At present’s agenda: Suicide bombing in Damascus; Spain’s Nato goal opt-out; Revolut CEO in line for windfall; and Tesla’s robotaxis

Good morning, and welcome again to FirstFT. The US has been drawn into one other Center East conflict, bombing three nuclear websites in Iran yesterday. Right here’s what occurred, and what to anticipate.

The state of affairs now: US B-2 stealth bombers led an assault on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan utilizing what defence secretary Pete Hegseth known as “misdirection”. US President Donald Trump claimed the websites have been “fully and completely obliterated”, however the extent of the damage continues to be being assessed. A lot is dependent upon the whereabouts of Iran’s 408kg stockpile of uranium, enriched to ranges simply in need of weapons-grade. Israel and Iran traded extra air strikes this morning.

The worldwide fallout: Oil costs hit a five-month high over fears Tehran would retaliate by attacking power infrastructure within the area or closing the vital Strait of Hormuz. Gold costs rose throughout early buying and selling in Asia earlier than paring again beneficial properties, whereas the US greenback additionally rallied. Greater than 150 airways have suspended or diverted flights as a result of battle, with British Airways and Singapore Airways cancelling flights to Dubai yesterday.

What’s subsequent? US officers stated there have been no plans for additional assaults except Iran hits again, however Trump has raised the potential of “regime change”. He’ll chair a nationwide safety assembly right now. Tehran is weighing whether or not to retaliate or heed European nations’ and the UN’s calls to hunt a diplomatic resolution. Iran’s overseas minister Abbas Araghchi is assembly Russian President Vladimir Putin, one among Tehran’s closest allies, right now. Israel has signalled it’ll press on with its bombing raids in opposition to Iran.

Follow our live blog for the most recent updates, and we have now extra evaluation on the battle:

• Gideon Rachman: Tehran’s grand technique has failed, however that’s no guarantee Israel and the US can succeed, writes our chief overseas affairs commentator.

• Trump’s gamble: The US strike may backfire on a president who had vowed not to attract America into new world conflicts. 

• A deal is feasible: Iran wants to point out flexibility and the US should shift away from maximalist demands, writes Ellie Geranmayeh of the European Council on Overseas Relations.

• The FT View: Trump’s step into the dark makes the world a extra harmful place, writes our editorial board.

Be a part of our subscriber-only webinar on Wednesday with FT journalists and friends and put your questions concerning the battle to our panel. Register here. And right here’s what else I’m holding tabs on right now:

• UK: Sir Keir Starmer will make investments £2bn over 4 years to cut energy prices for hundreds of companies. Learn the prime minister’s op-ed within the FT as he unveils a long-awaited industrial strategy.

• Brussels: EU overseas ministers meet to debate Ukraine with sanctions on Russia on account of expire, whereas the bloc holds a summit with Canada. European Central Financial institution chief Christine Lagarde addresses the European parliament.

• Macron in Norway: King Harald V and Queen Sonja welcome the French president and his spouse Brigitte at first of a two-day state go to.

5 extra prime tales

1. At the least 20 folks have been killed in a suicide bombing at a church in Damascus yesterday night, the primary main safety incident in Syria’s capital for the reason that Assad regime was toppled final December. The Syrian authorities stated jihadi group Isis was responsible for the attack.

2. Spain has secured an opt-out from a Nato defence spending goal demanded by Trump, the nation’s prime minister stated. Pedro Sánchez introduced the deal forward of the navy alliance’s summit this week, the place allies are anticipated to agree to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence.

3. Unique: Revolut’s chief govt is in line for a multibillion-dollar windfall if he greater than triples its present valuation to about $150bn. Folks aware of the matter say Nik Storonsky, who based the fintech in 2015, would see his stake improve considerably under a long-standing Elon Musk-style pay deal. 

4. European international locations face paying extra for medicines on account of Trump’s plans to chop drug costs within the US, business consultants have warned. European international locations are doubtless to withstand vital value rises as a result of budgets are stretched and lots of contracts with corporations are lengthy. This might additionally imply drugmakers find yourself not launching new medicines in these markets.

5. Tesla’s robotaxi service launched within the firm’s residence metropolis of Austin yesterday with about 10 automobiles and a human security driver on board amid regulatory scrutiny of its self-driving expertise. CEO Elon Musk has touted the self-driving taxis as the future of his flagging electric-car maker.

Information in-depth

Mark Zuckerberg is betting greater than $14bn {that a} well-connected 28-year-old is the catalyst his firm must meet up with rivals racing to develop and commercialise synthetic intelligence. The Meta boss struck a deal just lately to purchase 49 per cent of Scale AI — however the real prize was the data labelling business’s head, Alexandr Wang.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Return to workplace: When top executives work remotely, it turns into harder to tug everybody else to their desks, writes Pilita Clark.

• Serial CEOs: Greater strain and extra scrutiny imply leaders are sometimes taking a “one and done” approach to the highest company job, writes Anjli Raval.

• Fred Smith: The person who founded FedEx in 1973, and stepped down as chief govt solely three years in the past, died on Saturday. He was 80.

Chart of the day 

Germany and Italy are dealing with calls to move their gold out of New York following Trump’s repeated assaults on the Federal Reserve and rising geopolitical turbulence.

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