US says second day of strikes ‘completed’ – as it happened

This blog has now closed – our coverage of this crisis in the Middle East continues here This blog has now closed, but our live coverage of the Middle East continues here. Fresh worries about the Middle East ceasefire and the prospect of a US interest rate hike have hit stocks and oil prices on Thursday. Oil prices climbed more than $2 a barrel after the US launched its additional strikes against Iran. Investors also took little heart from closely watched data Wednesday that showed May US inflation had come in around expectations, but still hit a more than three-year high as fuel costs surged owing to the Iran war. Stock markets it Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Wellington and Taipei were down, while Seoul – at the forefront of the region’s tech-led rally to record highs – shed more than 1%, having seen wild swings over the previous two days. The US embassy in Jordan has issues an alert, saying “reports indicate missiles, drones, or rockets are in Jordanian airspace.” In a statement online, the embassy says Americans in the region should “seek overhead cover and shelter in place immediately. Remain indoors and pay attention to local announcements and a