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Global stocks, oil prices rebound as Iran anxiety eases

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and oil prices rebounded Thursday as anxiety over potential U.S.-Iranian conflict eased.

London and Frankfurt opened higher and Tokyo gained more than 2%. Shanghai and Hong Kong also advanced.

Markets sank Wednesday after Tehran launched missiles at bases housing Americans in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of an Iranian general. Anxiety subsided after reports indicated no Americans were killed and President Donald Trump said Iran “appears to be standing down.”

The lack of casualties “gave the markets more confidence that the Iranians had instigated little more than the intention to make a public show of force mainly to save face at home,” said Stephen Innes of AxiTrader in a report.

In early trading, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to 7,609.67 and Frankfurt’s DAX rose 1.5% to 13,520.35. France’s CAC 40 added 0.6% to 6,068.31.

On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were up nearly 0.4%.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% while the Dow advanced 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.7% to a record.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 powered ahead 2.3% to 23,739.87 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.7% to 28,561.00. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.9% to 3,094.88.

Seoul’s Kospi rose 1.6% to 2,186.45 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 added 0.8% to 6,874.20. India’s Sensex rose 1.4% to 41,409.69.

Taiwan and Southeast Asian markets also advanced while New Zealand declined.

Trump said he would add economic sanctions on Iran but the United States is “ready to embrace peace with all who seek it.”

Oil prices rebounded Thursday after first surging on news of the Iranian attack and then falling back once tensions appeared to be easing.

Benchmark U.S. crude gained 43 cents to $60.05 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract fell $3.09 to settle at $59.61. It traded as high as $65.65 following the missile attack.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, advanced 52 cents to $65.96 per barrel in London. It fell $2.83 the previous session to $65.44.

Gold had a similar whipsaw day. It climbed as high as $1,604.20 per ounce before settling at $1,560.10.

Also Thursday, China reported consumer prices rose 4.5% in December over a year earlier, propelled by surging pork prices due to an outbreak of disease.

In currency trading, the dollar gained to 109.34 yen from Wednesday’s 109.08 yen. The euro advanced to $1.1120 from $1.1105.

Omar claim of PTSD 'offensive' to US veterans, Indiana congressman says; Squad member responds

An Indiana congressman who served in Afghanistan as a member of the Navy Reserve spoke out on behalf of America's military veterans Wednesday after U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., claimed she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican, said Omar's comments were a "disgrace," calling the remarks "offensive to our nation's veterans who really do have PTSD after putting their life on the line to keep America safe."
Omar had made her remarks during a news conference with other Democrats on Wednesday, at which she said she "felt ill" because of "everything that is taking place" in the Middle East -- a reference to the recent U.S. tensions between the U.S. and Iran, including last week's U.S. airstrike in Baghdad and Iran's missile attacks early Wednesday against airbases in Iraq where U.S. service members are stationed.
"And I think every time I hear about ... I hear of conversations around war, I find myself being stricken with PTSD," she said. "And I find peace knowing that I serve with great advocates for peace and people who have shown courage against war."
After Banks took issue with her comments, Omar posted a reply on Twitter, making reference to her youth in war-torn Somalia. After leaving her homeland with her family near the start of the Somali Civil War in 1991, she would spend four years at a Kenyan refugee camp before immigrating to the U.S. in 1995.
"Hi Jim, I survived war as a child and deal with post-traumatic stress disorder—much like many who have served or lived through war," she wrote in the tweet, which was addressed to Banks but not tagged. "It’s shameful that you as a member of Congress would erase the PTSD of survivors."
But Banks doubled down on his comments later Wednesday evening, posting a video that showed Omar and other Democrats giggling in the background as their colleague, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, spoke to reporters about the more than 4,000 U.S. service members killed in Iraq over the years.
"Your words and actions at today’s press conference reveal your feelings toward our soldiers serving abroad and the video speaks for itself," Banks wrote, including a video of the news conference shared by Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga.
Omar posted another message about a half-hour later, elaborating that she had "lived in a war zone" and had "seen what conflict does to families and communities.""If you aren't familiar with Banks, he's been with the Navy since 2012," one Twitter user wrote, "and was deployed to Afghanistan about 6 years ago. So he knows a little something about PTSD."

Warren, Sanders join conference call with lobby group linked to Tehran -- sparking backlash

Democratic presidential hopefuls Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders faced criticism online Wednesday for participating in a conference call with an Iranian-American advocacy group just a day after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack in Iraq aimed at U.S. military personnel.
The group was the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), which critics claim lobbies in Washington on behalf of the Iranian government.
The “#NoWarWithIran Strategy Call,” hosted by MoveOn.org, another advocacy group and political action committee first organized in 1998 in response to former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, also included commentary from Jamal Abdi, president of NIAC. U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna, both California Democrats, and others also participated.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, called Warren and Sanders “disgraceful” for participating in the call with “pro-Iran group NIAC the day after Iran bombed our military bases.”
“Whose side are the Democrat frontrunners actually on?” he asked.
“How is this conference call with Sanders/Warren/ pro-Iran lobby group NIAC, with ties to Tehran & Iranian govt (who just bombed our military bases) different than the claims they made against Trump??” another user asked. “Are they conspiring with the enemy to overthrow our govt?? Start impeachment?”
"Willingness to engage with NIAC - the Khomeini lobby in DC - should be automatic disqualification for any candidate," another user wrote.
NIAC has been accused by other members of the Iranian-American community of working as part of a U.S.-based pro-Islamic jihad alliance. A former CIA officer alleged in a 2009 brief that NIAC was actively working to influence Democrats -- in Congress and the Obama administration -- to push a foreign policy that would benefit Tehran’s cleric regime. A federal judge ordered NIAC to pay more than $180,000 in 2013 after its failed defamation lawsuit against Iranian-American writer Hassan Daioleslam, who published pieces showing NIAC's links to the regime, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the work of NIAC’s founder, Trita Parsi, was "not inconsistent with the idea that he was first and foremost an advocate for the regime." Parsi lobbied Congress and met with Obama administration officials before the signing of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Documents uncovered during the defamation lawsuit also showed correspondence between NIAC and Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The group, meanwhile, insists it works independently from the Iranian government. According to its official website, NIAC is a “nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the voice of Iranian Americans and promoting greater understanding between the American and Iranian people.”
On the call, Warren, D-Mass., and Sanders, an independent from Vermont, both slammed President Trump for what was described as his “march to war” with Iran that they claim first began in May 2018 when he announced the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal with world powers.
Trump had signed a presidential memorandum withdrawing the U.S. from the controversial agreement signed by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama. He said he will be re-instituting the highest level of sanctions and warned other countries against helping the Iranian government. The deal had allowed the Iranian regime to garner up to $150 billion in cash – most of which was used to fund state-run terrorist operations, the Free Beacon reported.
The conference call came after Wednesday morning's firing of as many as 15 ballistic missiles at two bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops in a major retaliation by the rogue regime after the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian Quds Force Gen. Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport last week.
Iranian efforts to killed American service members were thwarted by the military's Early Warning Systems, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Wednesday. No U.S. casualties were reported.
“There seems to be a pause in the hostilities for now, and I hope it endures but let’s be clear – this is a crisis of Donald Trump’s making,” Warren told those who dialed in Wednesday night. “The first job of the president of the United States is to keep America safe, but this president’s reckless actions have made us far less safe.
“He started this back in 2018 when he tore up the Iran nuclear deal. Iran had agreed not to advance its nuclear program, and the international community had already certified that Iran was following the terms of the deal. Our allies wanted to stay in it but not Donald Trump.
“Instead he decided just to tear it up,” she said.
Warren also accused Trump of “tweeting threats of war crimes” when he threatened attacks on Iranian cultural sites, which she said was “not in America’s favor and it is wrong.” Trump had subsequently said he would take no action that violated international law.
Speaking later on in the hour-long call, Sanders accused Trump of telling “the same old lies” told by the Bush administration in 2002-03 that he said lead to the deaths of 4,500 “brave American soldiers,” the death of “hundreds of thousands of Iraqis” and veterans suffering from PTSD still today.
“When I think back in my lifetime to the disastrous wars, the unnecessary wars that have taken place. I think back to Vietnam where people I knew got killed, where my generation suffered so terribly – 59,000 dead, God knows how many wounded. People still sleeping out on the streets today from that war,” Sanders also said, recounting his personal history of America fighting in foreign wars oversees.
“I think the lesson is that war should be avoided in every way that we can. War is the last response, not the first response,” he continued.  “I will do everything I can to prevent this war.”
“I’ll be working to make sure that we pass a War Powers Act that makes it clear that the Constitution says that it is the Congress – not the president – who determines whether this country goes to war. And that I’m afraid Congress has forgotten about that under Republican and Democratic administrations. And we’re going to do everything we can to pass that resolution.
Sanders closed out his remarks referencing health care, climate change and homelessness – issues that he said were more deserving of U.S. investment than a potential war with Iran.
MoveOn used the call to promote #NoWarWithIran rallies to be held Thursday across the U.S. in an effort to show public opposition against war with Iran. Both Warren and Sanders urged listeners to attend their nearest event. Move On said more than 7,000 people dialed into the call. More than 70,000 also listened to the call on Facebook Live.

Feinstein, Manchin join Democrats pressuring Pelosi to send impeachment articles to Senate

More Democrats are urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to send the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate so a trial can get underway.
Those joining the list include Sen. Dianne Feinstein from Pelosi's home state of California, as well as Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and independent Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats.
“The longer it goes on the less urgent it becomes,” Feinstein told Politico about Pelosi's withholding of the articles approved last month, charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. “So if it’s serious and urgent, send them over. If it isn’t, don’t send it over.”
Manchin agreed with Feinstein that the House “should move on” and deliver the articles to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
"It is time," King said Tuesday, according to NBC News.
Pelosi has been holding on to the articles since December in an effort to get McConnell, R-Ky., to agree to certain conditions for a trial, such as allowing witnesses to testify.
“We need to get folks to testify and we need more information ... but nonetheless, I’m ready,” Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said, according to Politico. “I don’t know what leverage we have. It looks like the cake is already baked.”

​​​​​​​Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is seen in her Capitol Hill office in Washington, Feb. 11, 2015. (Associated Press)

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., also said it was time.
“We are reaching a point where the articles of impeachment should be sent,” Blumenthal told reporters.
Former national security adviser John Bolton on Monday said he would be willing to testify in a Senate trial if he was subpoenaed and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said he wants to hear from him.
Still, McConnell said Tuesday he has the votes to move forward with a trial without any witnesses.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has also left open the possibility that Bolton could appear before the House if the Senate doesn't call him.
Pelosi said she plans to hold on to the impeachment articles until she learns about how the Senate trial will proceed.
Fox News' Marisa Schultz contributed to this report. 

Nancy Pelosi Cartoons

High-stakes decision looms for Trump in showdown with Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump faces one of the greatest tests of his presidency after Iran launched ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. It was Iran’s most brazen direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

The strikes pushed Tehran and Washington perilously close to war, and put the world’s attention on Trump as he weighs whether to respond with more military force. The president huddled with his national security advisers on Tuesday night, but offered no immediate indication of whether he would retaliate. He said in a tweet that “All is well!” and announced plans to address the nation on Wednesday morning.

The Iranian strikes came days after Trump authorized the targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force. Iran had pledged to retaliate, though its actions did not appear to result in any American casualties, according to a U.S. official. The missiles targeted two bases — one in the northern Iraqi city in Irbil and the other at Ain al-Asad in western Iraq.

A lack of U.S. casualties could give Trump an opening to de-escalate the mounting tensions with Iran and pull the nation back from the brink of war. Trump, who is facing reelection at the end of the year, campaigned for president on a promise to keep the United States from engaging in “endless war.”

Still, Trump’s rhetoric in recent days has been menacing. Just hours before Tuesday’s missile strikes, the president told reporters in the Oval Office: “If Iran does anything that they shouldn’t be doing, they’re going to be suffering the consequences, and very strongly.”

Democrats called on Trump avoid a military escalation with Iran.

Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the administration needs to quickly “extricate us from what could lead into a full-fledged war with terrible casualties.” Engel said he feared the situation ”spirals out of control.”

The fallout for Trump’s order to kill Soleimani has been swift.

Iran announced that it would no longer be bound by the 2015 nuclear agreement and vowed to retaliate against the U.S., its allies and American interests. Iraq’s parliament also voted to expel U.S. troops from Iraq, which would undermine efforts to fight Islamic State militants in the region and strengthen Iran’s influence in the Mideast.

The counterattack by Iran came as Trump and his top advisers were under pressure to disclose more details about the intelligence that led to the American strike that killed Soleimani.

Trump said Tuesday that his decision saved American lives and that members of Congress would get a briefing on the reasons for the U.S. attack.

“They were planning something,” he said of the Iranians.

So far, Trump and top national security officials have justified the airstrike with general statements about the threat posted by Soleimani, who commanded proxy forces outside Iran and was responsible for the deaths of American troops in Iraq.

But the details have been scarce.

“He’s no longer a monster. He’s dead,” Trump said. “And that’s a good thing for a lot of countries. He was planning a very big attack and a very bad attack for us and other people and we stopped him and I don’t think anybody can complain about it.”

Soleimani was targeted while he was at an airport in Baghdad with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a veteran Iraqi militant who also was killed.

Trump said they weren’t in Baghdad to discuss vacation plans or visit a “nice resort,” but were there to talk over “bad business.”

The lack of detail didn’t sit well with Democrats, who recall how President George W. Bush justified his invasion of Iraq by accusing Saddam Hussein of having what turned out to be non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Lawmakers in recent days have been pressing for more details about why Trump ordered the killing — a decision that previous administrations passed up because of fears it would unleash even more violence.

Soleimani traveled often and relatively openly, with visits to Baghdad more frequent in recent months. He also often showed up in Syria, including along the border between Iraq and Syria.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, have called on Trump to declassify the written notification he sent to Congress after the strike. The notification was required under the War Powers Resolution Act of 1973, which requires the president to report to Congress when American forces are sent into hostile situations.

“The president must come to Congress and present clear and compelling intelligence as to why the strike against Soleimani was absolutely necessary,” Menendez said in a speech on the Senate floor. “In the wake of all its misleading statements we must make clear to the administration that the president by himself does not have the authority to launch a war against Iran.”

Trump stressed that the strike was in retaliation for Iranian attacks and that the U.S. is prepared to attack again — “very strongly.” He also said that while he eventually wants to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq, now is not the time because it would allow Iran to gain a bigger foothold there.

Trump’s top national security officials made several public appearances on Tuesday to further defend the strike.

“We had deep intelligence indicating there was active plotting to put American lives at risk,” and Iraqi lives too, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Asked if the threat was imminent in days or weeks, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said: “I think it’s more fair to say days, for sure.”

Esper said the intelligence was precise — “razor thin.” He said top Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate plus the chairmen and vice chairmen of the intelligence committees in both chambers were getting a classified briefing Tuesday afternoon on what led to the decision to kill Soleimani. He said other lawmakers will be provided general details about the attack.

He said Soleimani was in Baghdad to coordinate additional attacks against the U.S. “To somehow suggest that he wasn’t a legitimate target, I think, is fanciful,” Esper said.

Democratic lawmakers were not yet convinced it was the right decision.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called the U.S. strike on Soleimani a mistake and said, “I have yet to see how killing this man will prevent Iran from posing an even greater threat against the United States and our interests.”

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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

Iran strikes back at US with missile attack at bases in Iraq

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran struck back at the United States early Wednesday for killing a top Revolutionary Guard commander, firing a series of ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq that house American troops in a major escalation between the two longtime foes.

It was Iran’s most direct assault on America since the 1979 seizing of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and Iranian state TV said it was in revenge for the U.S. killing of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, whose death last week in an American drone strike near Baghdad prompted angry calls to avenge his slaying. A U.S. and Iraqi officials said there were no immediate reports of casualties, though buildings were still being searched. The Iraqi government later confirmed there were no casualties among Iraqi forces.

A presenter on Iranian state television later claimed, without offering evidence, that the strikes killed “at least 80 terrorist U.S soldiers” and also damaged helicopters, drones and other equipment at the Ain al-Asad air base.

The strikes, which came as Iran buried Soleimani, raised fears that the two longtime foes were closer to war. But there were some indications that there would not be further retaliation on either side, at least in the short term.

‘All is well!’ President Donald Trump tweeted shortly after the missile attacks, adding, ‘So far, so good’ regarding casualties. Moments earlier, Iran’s foreign minister tweeted that Tehran had taken “& concluded proportionate measures in self-defense,” adding that Tehran did “not seek escalation” but would defend itself against further aggression.

In Tehran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the missile strike on the U.S. bases in Iraq a “slap in the face” of the Americans, adding that military retaliation is not sufficient. “The corrupt presence of the U.S. in the region should come to end,” he said.

The killing of Soleimani — a national hero to many in Iran — and strikes by Tehran came as tensions have been rising steadily across the Mideast after Trump’s decision to unilaterally withdraw America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers. They also marked the first time in recent years that Washington and Tehran have attacked each other directly rather than through proxies in the region. It raised the chances of open conflict erupting between the two enemies, who have been at odds since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and the subsequent U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis.

Adding to the chaos and overall jitters, a Ukrainian airplane with at least 170 people crashed after takeoff just outside Tehran on Wednesday morning, killing all on board, state TV reported. The plane had taken off from Imam Khomeini International Airport and mechanical issues were suspected, the report said.

Iran initially announced only one missile strike, but U.S. officials confirmed both. U.S. defense officials were at the White House, likely to discuss options with Trump, who launched the attack on Soleimani while facing an upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned the U.S. and its regional allies against retaliating over the missile attack on the Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq’s western Anbar province. The Guard issued the warning via a statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

“We are warning all American allies, who gave their bases to its terrorist army, that any territory that is the starting point of aggressive acts against Iran will be targeted,” the Guard said. It also threatened Israel.

After the strikes, a former Iranian nuclear negotiator posted a picture of the Islamic Republic’s flag on Twitter, appearing to mimic Trump who posted an American flag following the killing of Soleimani and others Friday.

Ain al-Asad air base was first used by American forces after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, and later saw American troops stationed there amid the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. It houses about 1,500 U.S. and coalition forces. The U.S. also acknowledged another missile attack targeting a base in Irbil in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

The Iranians fired a total of 15 missiles, two U.S. officials said. Ten hit Ain al-Asad and one the base in Irbil. Four failed, said the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly about a military operation.

Two Iraqi security officials said at least one of the missiles appeared to have struck a plane at the Ain al-Asad base, igniting a fire. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the attacks, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they had no permission to talk to journalists.

About 70 Norwegian troops also were on the air base but no injuries were reported, Brynjar Stordal, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces told The Associated Press.

Trump visited the sprawling Ain al-Asad air base, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Baghdad, in December 2018, making his first presidential visit to troops in the region. Vice President Mike Pence also has visited the base.

“As we evaluate the situation and our response, we will take all necessary measures to protect and defend U.S. personnel, partners and allies in the region,” said Jonathan Hoffman, an assistant to the U.S. defense secretary.

Wednesday’s missile strikes happened a few hours after crowds in Iran mourned Soleimani at his funeral. It also came the U.S. continued to reinforce its own positions in the region and warned of an unspecified threat to shipping from Iran in the Mideast waterways, crucial routes for global energy supplies. U.S. embassies and consulates from Asia to Africa and Europe issued security alerts for Americans. The FAA also warned of a “potential for miscalculation or mis-identification” for civilian aircraft in the Persian Gulf amid in an emergency flight restriction.

A stampede broke out Tuesday at Soleimani’s funeral, and at least 56 people were killed and more than 200 were injured as thousands thronged the procession, Iranian news reports said. Shortly after Wednesday’s missile attack, Soleimani’s shroud-wrapped remains were lowered into the ground as mourners wailed at the grave site.

Tuesday’s deadly stampede took place in Soleimani’s hometown of Kerman as his coffin was being borne through the city in southeastern Iran, said Pirhossein Koulivand, head of Iran’s emergency medical services.

There was no information about what set off the crush in the packed streets, and online videos showed only its aftermath: people lying apparently lifeless, their faces covered by clothing, emergency crews performing CPR on the fallen, and onlookers wailing and crying out to God.

Hossein Salami, Soleimani’s successor as leader of the Revolutionary Guard, earlier addressed a crowd of supporters in Kernan and vowed to avenge Soleimani.

“We tell our enemies that we will retaliate but if they take another action we will set ablaze the places that they like and are passionate about,” Salami said.

Soleimani was laid to rest between the graves of Enayatollah Talebizadeh and Mohammad Hossein Yousef Elahi, two former Guard comrades killed in Iran’s 1980s war with Iraq. They died in Operation Dawn 8, in which Soleimani also took part. It was a 1986 amphibious assault that cut Iraq off from the Persian Gulf and led to the end of the war that killed 1 million.

The funeral processions in major cities over three days have been an unprecedented honor for Soleimani, seen by Iranians as a national hero for his work leading the Guard’s expeditionary Quds Force.

The U.S. blames him for killing U.S. troops in Iraq and accused him of plotting new attacks just before he was killed. Soleimani also led forces supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad in that country’s civil war. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Assad in Syria on Tuesday amid the tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Soleimani’s slaying has also led Tehran to abandon the remaining limits of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers while in Iraq, pro-Iranian factions in parliament have pushed to oust American troops from Iraqi soil.

The FAA warning issued barred U.S. pilots and carriers from flying over areas of Iraqi, Iranian and some Persian Gulf airspace. The region is a major East-West travel hub and home to Emirates airline and Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel. It earlier issued warnings after Iran shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone last year that saw airlines plan new routes to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. Maritime Administration warned ships across the Mideast, citing the rising threats. Oil tankers were targeted in mine attacks last year that the U.S. blamed on Iran. Tehran denied responsibility, although it did seize oil tankers around the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s crude oil travels.

The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said it would work with shippers in the region to minimize any possible threat.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Lolita C. Baldor and Zeke Miller in Washington, Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad and Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed.