Russia has gained a short-term financial boost from the Gulf crisis, earning roughly $1.3–$1.9 billion in additional oil tax revenue as global prices surged.

Source: FT

Netanyahu:

We also work to create the conditions for the Iranian people to expel this brutal regime.

Netanyahu on Mojtaba Khamenei:

We eliminated the old tyrant. And the new tyrant, the new puppet of the Revolutionary Guards, cannot show his face in public.

Netanyahu on Mojtaba Khamenei and Naim Qassem:

If I were an insurance agent, I wouldn’t issue life insurance policies to these two individuals.

Netanyahu on Mojtaba Khamenei and Naim Qassem:

I believe there will be surprises, and I am required to maintain some degree of combat fog at this press conference.

What I can tell you is that we have the upper hand far more than we anticipated, and we will achieve all our objectives.

Netanyahu:

I promised you that we would change the entire Middle East — in terms of enemies and friends — and that Israel would be much stronger than ever.

Everyone recognizes this now, including our neighbors, both enemies and friends.

Reporter: Does Israel work toward arming opposition groups in Iran?

Netanyahu: I can say with certainty that the regime cannot be toppled without the efforts of the Iranian people, and we have informed them of that. We have told them that help is on the way.

I cannot tell you what will happen at the end of the day. I will not tell you. We know, we hope, and we understand that you also hope this regime will fall.

If the regime does not fall, it will be much weaker. But if it does fall, the problem will be solved.

Netanyahu:

We will make it to the return of the Messiah, but this will not happen next Thursday.

Netanyahu on Lebanon and Hezbollah:

We told the Lebanese government that they are playing with fire. If they continue to allow Hezbollah to operate without disarming it, it means they are choosing their own fate with their own hands. And if they do not act, we will act.

How that will be done on the ground—whether through territorial means or other methods—is something I will not go into detail about.

But I promise you that Hezbollah will pay a heavy price.

Netanyahu on his bribery case:

I received a Bugs Bunny doll and a pack of cigars from a friend, and I am being prosecuted for it as if it were a big deal.

Netanyahu:

I am speaking with heads of state who are astonished by our power and strength.

They want to become closer to us and want to be our friends.

Netanyahu:

Extreme Islam, both Sunni and Shia, is a threat to the entire world.

We can't say that this will solve itself.

Senior Turkish security sources to Al Jazeera:

Türkiye’s current position could change if a new Iranian attack occurs on our territory.

An attack on Türkiye would mean an attack on NATO.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Iran:

That was always in our planning—the chance that the U.S. Navy, or perhaps an international coalition, would be escorting tankers through.

There are tankers coming through now.... We know that they have not mined the Straits.

Russia is reportedly helping Iran’s attacks against the US, Israel, and Gulf allies by sharing intelligence such as satellite imagery and drone-targeting tactics, according to Western intelligence sources.

Source: Bloomberg

Iranian state media claims Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the wife of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is alive, contradicting earlier reports that she had died from injuries after the Feb. 28 U.S.–Israeli strikes.

Source: Fars

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi:

Iran's proposal to ensure NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS was dismissed because U.S. counterparts didn't grasp the technical details.

Americans won't "make money" from surging oil prices and tariffs. They enrich corporations and crush households.

Trump privately advised Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado not to return to Venezuela yet, citing security risks.

Source: NYT

Oil prices could surge sharply if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for an extended period, according to projections from Bloomberg Economics.

The outlook suggests Brent crude could spike to around $100 if the strait is shut for one month.

About $130 with a two-month disruption.

And up to roughly $150–160 if closures last three months, before gradually easing as markets adjust.

German Chancellor Merz on nuclear energy:

Previous German federal governments decided to phase out nuclear energy. That decision is irreversible.

I regret this, but it is the reality.

Hezbollah reportedly fired shells from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley toward Syrian Army positions near the Syria–Lebanon border this week, according to U.S. officials and a Syrian diplomat.

Syrian troops did not respond. Hezbollah denied the attack, saying it already has an open front with Israel.

Source: WSJ