US strike on Iran ‘ahead of game plan’ but global markets rattled, energy prices soar

US forces continued a round-the-clock assault on Iran and Israel mounted a “broad wave” of strikes on Wednesday targeting Iranian missile sites and air defence systems in a campaign that a top American commander said is ahead of the “game plan”.

Despite initial US hope for a swift and decisive ouster of Tehran’s clerical leadership, Iran kept up retaliatory strikes against Israel and around the Gulf, and vowed to select a new supreme leader to succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening salvos on Saturday.

As the war headed into the fifth day, global markets reacted to mounting concerns of a prolonged conflict in a region along a major corridor of oil and gas exports. Gold prices and the US dollar climbed on safe-haven demand.

Airline and tourism industries scrambled to deal with more than 20 000 flight cancellations and governments rushed to bring stranded travellers home from the Middle East.

US Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of the Central Command leading the campaign, said 50 000 troops, 200 jets and two aircraft carriers were engaged in “24/8 strikes into Iran from seabed to space and cyberspace,” with more assets on the way.

‘SHOOTING WHAT CAN SHOOT US’
Iran’s air defences had been badly degraded, its navy had no operational vessels on key waterways after 17 were sunk, and more than 2 000 Iranian targets had been hit, Cooper said in a video briefing released on Tuesday evening.

“My overall operational assessment is that we are ahead of our game plan,” he said. “In simple terms, we’re focused on shooting things that can shoot us.”

The Israeli military said early on Wednesday it had begun a broad wave of strikes targeting Iranian missile launch sites, aerial defence systems and command centres used to maintain control across the country.

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