Following US and Israeli strikes, Iran vowed to punish the US and sustain pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, causing global oil prices to surge and leading former President Donald Trump to frame high oil prices as a geopolitical win for the US as the world's largest oil producer.Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a new objective to foster conditions for regime change in Iran, while Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, omitting any nuclear program mention, raised US concerns about potential weaponization.Writer Tahar Ben Jelloun cautioned that the Middle East faces its gravest crisis, warning that external military actions cannot achieve internal change and that Israel miscalculated Iran's resilience.Benchmark oil prices have jumped roughly 40–50% since the campaign began, raising growth and inflation risks worldwide, with the conflict's toll including wounded
French soldiers in northern
Iraq and the crash of a
US KC-135 refueling plane.