US equities joined a global equity rout Tuesday due to surging oil prices, but cut their losses after President Donald Trump announced steps to safeguard commerce in the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway, which accounts for the transport of about one-fifth of global crude supplies, has been mostly devoid of traffic since the United States and Israel launched military attacks on Iran Saturday.
By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - U.S. Marines opened fire on demonstrators during the storming of the Karachi consulate over the weekend, two U.S. officials said on Monday—a rare use of force at a diplomatic post that could sharply escalate tensions in the country amid widespread protests over the killing of Iran's leader.
Ten people were killed on Sunday when protesters breached the compound’s outer wall after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in strikes on Iran.
By Timour Azhari
March 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by two drones resulting in a limited fire and some material damage, the kingdom's defence ministry said in a post on X on Tuesday, citing an initial assessment.
The drone attack came amid ongoing Iranian missile and drone strikes on Gulf states that host U.S. bases, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday.
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the circumstances of the incident.
Iran's first Oscar-nominated documentary will compete in Hollywood at a time of incredible tumult at home, days after US-Israeli strikes killed the country's long-time supreme leader.
As the Islamist regime scrabbles to shore itself up in the wake of the death of the hardline Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, "Cutting Through Rocks" offers a different vision of leadership in a country dominated by male clerics for half a century.
"We have a character in our film that really uses the power that she has to empower others," co-director Mohammadreza Eyni told AFP.
By Jonathan Landay
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - Iran is detaining at least six U.S. citizens or permanent residents, according to detainee advocates, raising fears they and thousands of Americans believed trapped in the country could be used as bargaining chips in the escalating war with the U.S. and Israel.
The detainees are among what some experts estimate are possibly thousands of dual U.S.-Iranian nationals and green-card holders who have remained in Iran despite repeated U.S. warnings not to travel there because of the threat of being arrested.
March 2 (Reuters) - The Israeli military said late on Monday it has begun a new wave of strikes on Tehran.
The strikes came after it issued an evacuation warning for residents in Tehran, particularly those residing near state broadcaster IRIB's headquarters.
(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Chris Reese)
By Patricia Zengerle, Nolan D. McCaskill and David Morgan
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's Republicans insisted on Monday that the attack on Iran was fully within his authority as commander in chief, while Democrats said the administration has not made its case and planned a war powers vote this week.
SYDNEY, March 3 (Reuters) - Australia said on Tuesday that all of its defence personnel stationed at the Al Minhad Air Base near Dubai were safe following a drone attack at the site over the weekend.
"All the Australians who are there are safe and accounted for. There were no injuries to Australians," Defence Minister Richard Marles told reporters in Canberra.
"We've got more than 100 personnel, actually, across the Middle East. Most of them are in the UAE where we've had an operational headquarters at Al Minhad for many, many years now."
US forces have shot down hundreds of Iranian ballistic missiles in recent days, raising questions about how long American air defense interceptor stocks will last in a war that could continue for weeks or more.
Iran responded to the massive US-Israeli air campaign launched over the weekend with barrages of hundreds of missiles and drones against countries in the Middle East that host American forces and bases.
Energy prices surged Monday as the war in the Middle East led to outages of key energy production operations and a critical waterway was essentially emptied of traffic.
European natural gas prices finished the day up more than 39 percent after surging more than 50 percent earlier in the day.
Brent oil futures rose to above $82 dollars a barrel, a gain of more than 13 percent early in the session. The benchmark finished up 7.3 percent at $77.74 a barrel, up around $15 compared with the start of 2026.
