Trump's Iran war is spreading – and Netanyahu is eager to pull Israel deeper in

US President Donald Trump has chosen economic pressure over all-out war with Iran, according to Haaretz. The situation is escalating, with the Houthis confronting Saudi Arabia. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to draw Tehran into the fighting through Lebanon.

According to the Jerusalem Post and Al-Monitor, Trump recently brushed aside a report that Iran acquired satellite images of a base in Jordan from Chinese entities before an attack that killed three US troops there in July. When asked about the issue at an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump did not directly answer. Instead, he equated the surveillance activities of China and the United States, saying that both countries spy on each other.

The conflict is disrupting energy markets, with oil prices rising above $100 a barrel and US diesel prices hitting a record high, as reported by the Times of India. Trump said that once the war ends, US gasoline prices would "drop like a rock". He also mentioned that the US could remain in Iran after the war and take control of its oil resources, drawing a comparison with the US role in Venezuela.

Brief written by urgent.news from Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, Times of India, Al-Monitor — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.