Saudi Oil Tankers Attacked, Trump's New Tariffs, Wisconsin Police Shooting

**A Martinez** (0:02)
Oil hit $100 a barrel after Iran-backed rebels struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea.

**Michel Martin** (0:08)
Fears of further escalation is causing foreign diplomats to leave their posts in Iran.

**A Martinez** (0:13)
I'm A Martinez, that is Michel Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. President Trump's global tariff expired last night, and a new one impacting the US's biggest trading partner took its place. The Supreme Court ruled some of his past tariffs illegal, will this one survive legal scrutiny?

**Michel Martin** (0:32)
And people in Madison, Wisconsin, gathered to remember Corey Ruiz. Police shot and killed him Wednesday during an attempted arrest. Four officers are on leave and none of them wore body cameras. What more do we know about what happened that day? Stay with us, we'll give you news you need to start your day.

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**Michel Martin** (1:58)
We're almost two weeks into renewed fighting in the Middle East that many hope would start to wind down, but it keeps escalating.

**A Martinez** (2:04)
Yeah, there have been new US strikes on Iran, and Iran continues to target American bases in the Gulf and Jordan. The impact is being felt in the global energy markets.

**Michel Martin** (2:13)
And Paris Hadil Al-Shalchi has been following all this from Istanbul, and she's with us now. Good morning, Hadil.

**Hadil Al-Shalchi** (2:18)
Good morning.

**Michel Martin** (2:18)
So let's start with oil prices. They jumped significantly yesterday.

**Hadil Al-Shalchi** (2:22)
That's right. So Brent crude oil, which is the international standard, jumped over 6% to $100 a barrel. That's the highest it's been since May.
It came after the Iran-backed Yemeni Houthis attacked two Saudi oil tankers trying to cross the Red Sea. Now, the Houthis got involved in the war earlier this week and said it was in retaliation for a siege the Saudi Arabia placed on Yemen and for Saudi attacks on the capital's international airport. The rebel group has threatened to blockade the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, two Saudi vessels. Besides the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab is another choke point that companies use to transport oil and fuel and of course, it's regular people who will feel the effect of this jump in oil prices, things like school supplies, fresh food are more expensive and shipping companies like UPS have imposed fuel surcharges.

**Michel Martin** (3:13)
Where is the fighting right now?

**Hadil Al-Shalchi** (3:16)
So, the US said last night that it completed a 13th round of strikes in Iran. They attacked military command centers, drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites, they said.
US Central Command also said that it redirected 12 commercial vessels to prevent ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports. Iranian state media said that there were explosions in the southwest of the country. That's where some of the most sensitive military and maritime areas are.
Iran retaliated with its own attacks on US bases. There were sirens heard in Bahrain and Kuwait. And then we also know that Kurdish media closed to the regional government, posted video from Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq of a drone in flames after being shot down. Erbil's international airport said it closed briefly, but now it's reopened to traffic. And the fighting has led to some foreign missions to reduce their diplomatic footprints in Iran. The British embassy, for example, says it's continuing to operate remotely. And they've told British citizens who are still in Iran to leave.

**Michel Martin** (4:15)
So meanwhile, the US and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement that would allow US companies to build and run nuclear power plants on Saudi soil. Almost immediately, though, there was this new wrinkle. So tell us about the deal and then tell us what happened.