March 23 (Reuters) - Four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organisation in north London were set ablaze, police said on Monday, adding that the incident was being treated as an antisemitic hate crime.

"An investigation has been launched after four ambulances belonging to the Jewish Community Ambulance service were set on fire in Golders Green," Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

"Officers remain on scene and the arson attack is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime."

DUBAI, March 23 (Reuters) - Iran will retaliate to an attack on its electricity sector by targeting Israel's power plants as well as power plants supplying U.S. bases with electricity in regional countries, a statement by the Revolutionary Guards on Monday said.

The statement seemingly retracted earlier threats to desalination plants in the region, which are crucial for providing drinking water in Gulf countries.

The amount of heat trapped by the Earth reached record levels in 2025, with the consequences of such warming feared to last for thousands of years, the UN warned Monday.

The 11 hottest years ever recorded were all between 2015 and 2025, the United Nations' WMO weather and climate agency confirmed in its flagship State of the Global Climate annual report.

Last year was the second or third hottest year on record, at about 1.43 Celsius above the 1850-1900 average, the World Meteorological Organization said.

Oil prices tumbled and stock markets rebounded Monday as US President Donald Trump suddenly ordered a halt to strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure after claiming "very good" talks with Tehran.

Crude futures plunged more than 14 percent after Trump's comments on his Truth Social platform, a sharp contrast to his threatening talk over the weekend.

However they later pulled back to trade down around eight percent as Iran denied negotiations had taken place.

The global economy is under "major threat" from the energy crisis caused by the Middle East war and "no country will be immune" to its effects, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said Monday.

Speaking at the National Press Club in Australia's capital, Birol compared the current energy crisis to those of the 1970s and the impact of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

"This crisis as things stand is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together," Birol said.

Energy industry leaders will converge on Texas this week for an annual conference dominated by oil and gas supply disruptions from the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.

More than 10,000 attendees are expected for CERAWeek, the spring gathering in Houston that has taken on unexpected importance as fuel prices soar since the Mideast war began in late February.

"It will be a CERAWeek for the ages," said Mark Brownstein, senior vice president of energy at the Environmental Defense Fund.

By Maayan Lubell, Alexander Cornwell and Idrees Ali

TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - Iran warned it would strike energy and water infrastructure across the Gulf if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to attack its electricity grid, raising fears of mass disruption in a region heavily dependent on desalination for drinking water.

Hundreds of Syrians protested in central Damascus on Sunday against new restrictions on alcohol sales, reflecting wider fears that the Islamist authorities may tighten curbs on personal freedoms.

The Syrian capital last week banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in restaurants and bars, only allowing stores in three Christian neighbourhoods to sell bottles for retail.

Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:

- Oil prices rise -

Oil prices sank and most stocks rose Tuesday, following a Wall Street Journal report that indicated Donald Trump was willing to end the Iran war even if the key Strait of Hormuz remained closed.

Market experts did however warn that any US ground operation or wider Iranian retaliation could send oil prices to levels not seen since July 2008, when Brent hit almost $150 a barrel.

The United States may need to "escalate" its attacks against Iran to be able to wind down the war, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, after President Donald Trump gave seemingly contradictory trajectories for the US military campaign.

Trump on Saturday threatened to "obliterate" Iranian energy plants if Tehran did not fully open the pivotal Strait of Hormuz, just a day after saying US objectives were "very close" and that he was considering "winding down" the war.