Dollar's Haven Status Faces a Key Test After Israel Strikes Iran
Under pressure from all sides and with cracks in its global currency dominance a key market talking point this year, the dollar's traditional role as a crisis haven faces a crucial test should Israel's attack on Iran escalate.
In a departure from historical norms, the dollar initially slipped when headlines broke that Israel had carried out air strikes against Iranian targets, before it eventually rallied against most major peers. The US's position as the world's largest oil producer likely helped spark a recovery on a day when WTI crude futures soared 10%.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
14 minutes ago
- CBS News
Israel's defense minister warns "Tehran will burn" if Iran continues retaliatory attacks
Israel's defense minister warned Saturday that "Tehran will burn" if Iran continues firing missiles at Israel. Iran's retaliatory strikes come after Israel unleashed a series of blistering attacks on Iran's nuclear program and armed forces on Thursday. Speaking after an assessment meeting with the army's chief of staff, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Iran will pay a heavy price for harming Israeli citizens. At least three people have died in Israel, and dozens wounded, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials said Saturday morning. Iran's U.N. ambassador said at least 78 people have died and hundreds have been wounded in Iran from Israel's strikes. "If (Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei continues to fire missiles at the Israeli home front — Tehran will burn," Katz said. Iranian state television reported online that air defenses were firing in the cities of Khorramabad, Kermanshah and Tabriz, signaling the start of what could be a new Israeli attack on Saturday. Footage from Tabriz showed black smoke rising from the city. An Israeli military official said Saturday that the military was poised to carry out more strikes in Iran, saying, "This is not over." He spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with official procedures. Israel's initial assault used warplanes — as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, according to officials — to hit key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. Israel's army said Saturday it killed nine senior scientists and experts involved in Iran's nuclear project. "The individuals who were eliminated played a central part of the progress toward nuclear weapons," the IDF said in a news release. "Their elimination represents a significant blow to the Iranian regime's ability to acquire weapons of mass destruction." Iran retaliated by launching waves of drones and ballistic missiles at Israel, where explosions lit the night skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and shook the buildings below. The Israeli military urged civilians, already rattled by 20 months of war in Gaza sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, to head to shelter for hours. U.S. officials confirmed to CBS News that U.S. forces helped Israel intercept Iranian missiles on Friday. Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, June 13, 2025. Leo Correa / AP Both Israel and Iran said their attacks would continue, raising the prospect of another protracted Mideast conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his objective was to eliminate any Iranian threat to Israel, but he also urged Iranians to rise up against their leaders. Israel would welcome the government's overthrow even if it is not actively seeking it. "The time has come for you to unite around your flag and your historic legacy, by standing up for your freedom from an evil and oppressive regime," Netanyahu said Friday. "It has never been weaker. This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard." Strikes could derail U.S.-Iran nuclear talks Israel's strikes also put further talks between the United States and Iran over a nuclear accord into doubt before they were set to meet Sunday in Oman. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei called further nuclear talks with the United States "meaningless" after Israeli strikes on the country, state television said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the U.S. was not involved in Israel's initial strike, and that his top priority is protecting American assets in the Middle East. The State Department on Thursday informed multiple U.S.-allied governments in the Middle East in advance of Israel's strikes on Iran, four sources told CBS News. "The U.S. did a job that made the talks become meaningless," Baghaei was quoted as saying. He added that Israel had passed all Iran's red lines by committing a "criminal act" through its strikes. However, he stopped short of saying the talks were cancelled. The Mizan news agency, which is run by Iran's judiciary, quoted him as saying: "It is still not clear what we decide about Sunday's talks." Firefighters and people clean up the scene of an explosion at a residence compound after Israeli attacks in Tehran, Friday, June 13, 2025. Vahid Salemi / AP President Trump urged Iran on Friday to reach a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear program, warning on his Truth Social platform that Israel's attacks "will only get worse." "Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left," he wrote. Will Todman, the chief of staff of the Geopolitics and Foreign Policy Department and a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CBS News that Mr. Trump has "put a lot of effort into the nuclear negotiations with Iran," but "seems to have grown frustrated with the lack of success in those talks." "The Iranians tend to negotiate very slowly. And be very slow to make concessions," Todman said. "And so I think he's now viewing these military actions by Israel as a way of increasing pressure on Iran to make those concessions and ultimately come to a deal." Iranian missiles strike Israel Khamenei said in a recorded message Friday: "We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed." Iran launched waves of missiles at Israel late Friday and early Saturday. Iranians awoke Saturday to state television airing repeated clips of strikes on Israel, as well as videos of people cheering and handing out sweets. Israel's military said more drones were intercepted near the Dead Sea early Saturday. A hospital in Tel Aviv treated seven people wounded in the second Iranian barrage; all but one of them had light injuries. Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said they were wounded when a projectile hit a building in the city. A spokesperson for Beilinson Hospital said one woman was killed. An explosion is seen during a missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday, June 13, 2025. Tomer Neuberg / AP Hours later, an Iranian missile struck near homes in the central Israeli city of Rishon Lezion, killing two more people and wounding 19, according to Israel's paramedic service Magen David Adom. Israel's Fire and Rescue service said four homes were severely damaged. Israel's main international airport said Saturday it will remain closed until further notice. Meanwhile, the sound of explosions and Iranian air defense systems firing at targets echoed across central Tehran shortly after midnight. Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported a fire at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport. A video posted on X showed a column of smoke and flames rising from what the outlet said was the airport. The Israeli military said it carried out overnight strikes on dozens of targets, including air defenses, "in the area of Tehran." Israel's paramedic services said 34 people were wounded in the barrage on the Tel Aviv area, including a woman who was critically injured after being trapped under rubble. In Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, an AP journalist saw burned-out cars and at least three damaged houses, including one where the front was nearly entirely torn away. Residents of a central Israeli city that was hit Friday night told the AP the explosion was so powerful it shook their shelter door open. "We thought, that's it, the house is gone, and in fact half of the house was gone, it fell apart," said Moshe Shani. This picture shows a trail from an Iranian rocket in the sky above Jerusalem on June 13, 2025. AHMAD GHARABLI U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures. Israel's ongoing airstrikes and Iran's retaliation raised concerns about all-out war between the countries and propelled the region, already on edge, into even greater upheaval. Israel's 20-month-long war with Gaza shows no signs of ending. At least 27 people were killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza overnight Friday, according to local hospitals. Strikes raise fears of all-out war Countries in the region condemned Israel's attack, while leaders around the globe called for immediate de-escalation from both sides. Israel had long threatened such a strike, and successive American administrations sought to prevent it, fearing it would ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East and possibly be ineffective at destroying Iran's dispersed and hardened nuclear program. But a confluence of developments triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack — plus the reelection of Mr. Trump — created the conditions that allowed Israel to finally follow through on its threats. Netanyahu said the U.S. was informed in advance of the attack. On Thursday, Iran was censured by the U.N.'s atomic watchdog for not complying with obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Above-ground section of Natanz facility destroyed Among the key sites Israel attacked was Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz, where black smoke could be seen rising into the air. It also appeared to strike a second, smaller nuclear enrichment facility in Fordo, about 60 miles southeast of Tehran, according to an Iranian news outlet close to the government that reported hearing explosions nearby. Israel said it also struck a nuclear research facility in Isfahan, and said it destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran. Iran confirmed the strike at Isfahan. This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran on Jan. 24, 2025. Maxar Technologies via AP U.N. nuclear chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that the above-ground section of the Natanz facility was destroyed. The main centrifuge facility underground did not appear to have been hit, but the loss of power could have damaged the infrastructure there, he said. Netanyahu said the attack had been months in the making and was planned for April before being postponed. Israel's Mossad spy agency positioned explosive drones and precision weapons inside Iran ahead of time, and used them to target Iranian air defenses and missile launchers near Tehran, according to two security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not possible to independently corroborate those claims. Over the past year, Israel has been targeting Iran's air defenses, hitting a radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery in April 2024, and surface-to-air missile sites and missile manufacturing facilities in October. The first wave of strikes gave Israel "significant freedom of movement" in Iran's skies, clearing the way for further attacks, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the attack with the media. The official said Israel is prepared for an operation that could last up to two weeks, but that there was no firm timeline. Among those killed were three of Iran's top military leaders: one who oversaw the entire armed forces, Gen. Mohammad Bagheri; one who led the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami; and the head of the Guard's ballistic missile program, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. Two of Bagheri's deputies were also killed, Iran confirmed Saturday: Gen. Gholamreza Mehrabi, the deputy of intelligence for the armed forces' general staff, and Gen. Mehdi Rabbani, the deputy of operations. On Saturday, Khamenei named a new leader for the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division. Gen. Majid Mousavi will replace Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who was killed in Friday's airstrike. The Guard's aerospace division oversees Iran's arsenal of ballistic missiles.
New York Times
19 minutes ago
- New York Times
Will the U.S. and Iran meet for more nuclear talks?
Iran appeared to adopt an ambiguous stance on Saturday toward further negotiations with the United States over the future of its nuclear program, calling the talks 'meaningless' while also suggesting that a final decision on whether to participate was still pending. The sixth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks was scheduled for Sunday in Muscat, the capital of Oman. It was thrown into question by the Israeli airstrikes that began on Friday and continued on Saturday, targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, top military commanders and senior nuclear program officials. 'It is still unclear what decision we will make for Sunday,' Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying by Iran's state news media. After the initial round of Israeli attacks on Friday, the state news media said that the Islamic Republic was suspending its participation in the talks 'until further notice.' The senior Iranian figures killed by Israel included Ali Shamkhani, a former secretary of the Supreme National Council, who was overseeing the talks as part of a committee named by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian officials described the killing of Mr. Shamkhani as targeting nuclear diplomacy. Mr. Baghaei accused Washington of undermining the talks. The United States 'acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless,' he was quoted as saying, accusing Washington of claiming to want to negotiate while also giving Israel its consent to attack. Although Washington has denied direct involvement, Mr. Baghaei said it was 'unimaginable' for Israel to have carried out such 'adventurous aggression' without a green light from the Americans. 'Basically, the Zionist regime's constant desire was to drag Western countries into conflict and entanglement in the region,' he said. 'It seems that it has succeeded this time as well and has somehow influenced a diplomatic process with this adventure. This actually shows that American policymakers are still heavily affected and influenced by this regime.' President Trump and his administration have repeatedly urged Iran to continue with the dialogue as a means to halt further attacks. 'Iran's leadership will be wise to negotiate at this time,' McCoy Pitt, a senior State Department official, said in a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Friday focused on the crisis. Mr. Trump has written on social media that even more brutal attacks are in store for Iran if it does not make a deal. Iran has denied seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Leily Nikounazar contributed reporting.
Associated Press
19 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Why are some key Tehran allies staying out of the Israel-Iran conflict?
BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah has long been considered Iran's first line of defense in case of a war with Israel. But since Israel launched its massive barrage against Iran this week, the Lebanese militant group has stayed out of the fray. A network of powerful Iran-backed militias in Iraq has also remained mostly quiet — even though Israel allegedly used Iraq's airspace, in part, to carry out the attacks. Domestic political concerns, as well as tough losses suffered in nearly two years of regional conflicts and upheavals, appear to have led these Iran allies to take a back seat in the latest round convulsing the region. The 'Axis of Resistance' Hezbollah was formed with Iranian support in the early 1980s as a guerilla force fighting against Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon at the time. The militant group helped push Israel out of Lebanon and built its arsenal over the ensuing decades, becoming a powerful regional force and the centerpiece of a cluster of Iranian-backed factions and governments known as the ' Axis of Resistance.' The allies also include Iraqi Shiite militias and Yemen's Houthi rebels, as well as the Palestinian militant group Hamas. At one point, Hezbollah was believed to have some 150,000 rockets and missiles, and the group's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah once boasted of having 100,000 fighters. Seeking to aid its ally Hamas in the aftermath of the Palestinian militants' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel and Israel's offensive in Gaza, Hezbollah began launching rockets across the border. That drew Israeli airstrikes and shelling, and the exchanges escalated into full-scale war last September. Israel inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah, killing Nasrallah and other top leaders and destroying much of its arsenal, before a U.S.-negotiated ceasefire halted that conflict last November. Israel continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon and to carry out near-daily airstrikes. For their part, the Iraqi militias occasionally struck bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria, while Yemen's Houthis fired at vessels in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and began targeting Israel. Condolences to Iran, condemnations of Israel Hezbollah and its leader Naim Kassem have condemned Israel's attacks and offered condolences for the senior Iranian officers who were killed. But Kassem did not suggest Hezbollah would take part in any retaliation against Israel. Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia — a separate group from Lebanon's Hezbollah — released a statement saying it was 'deeply regrettable' that Israel allegedly fired at Iran from Iraqi airspace, something that Baghdad complained to the U.N. Security Council over. The Iraqi militia called on the Baghdad government to 'urgently expel hostile forces from the country,' a reference to U.S. troops in Iraq as part of the fight against the militant Islamic State group, but made no threat of force. Hezbollah was weakened by last year's fighting and after losing a major supply route for Iranian weapons with the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally, in a lightning rebel offensive in December. 'Hezbollah has been degraded on the strategic level while cut off from supply chains in Syria,' said Andreas Krieg, a military analyst and associate professor at King's College London. A changing attitude to Iran Many Hezbollah members believe 'they were sacrificed for Iran's greater regional interests' since Hamas' attack on Israel triggered the latest Israel-Hamas war, and want to focus on 'Lebanon-centric' interests rather than defending Iran, Krieg said. Still, Qassem Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah, said a role for the militant group in the Israel-Iran conflict should not be ruled out. 'This depends on political and field developments,' he said. 'Anything is possible.' Both the Houthis and the Iraqi militias 'lack the strategic deep strike capability against Israel that Hezbollah once had,' Krieg said. Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London, said Iraq's Iran-allied militias have all along tried to avoid pulling their country into a major conflict. Unlike Hezbollah, whose military wing has operated as a non-state actor in Lebanon - although its political wing is part of the government - the main Iraqi militias are members of a coalition of groups that are officially part of the state defense forces. 'Things in Iraq are good for them right now, they're connected to the state - they're benefitting politically, economically,' Mansour said. 'And also they've seen what's happened to Iran, to Hezbollah and they're concerned that Israel will turn on them as well.' That leaves the Houthis as the likely 'new hub in the Axis of Resistance,' Krieg said. But he said the group isn't strong enough — and too geographically removed — to strategically harm Israel beyond the rebels' sporadic missile attacks. Krieg said the perception that the 'axis' members were proxies fully controlled by Iran was always mistaken, but now the ties have loosened further. 'It is not really an axis anymore as (much as) a loose network where everyone largely is occupied with its own survival,' he said.
