Middle East live: UN Security Council to vote on force to protect Hormuz access

Trump warns of strikes on Iran bridges and power plants

US President Donald Trump warned on Thursday about striking and destroying bridges and electric power plants in Iran in his latest threat to hit the country’s infrastructure.

The US military “hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants,” Trump wrote on social media.

His post said that Iran’s leadership “knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!”

South Korea and France to upgrade ties to global strategic partnership

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and French President Emmanuel Macron are set to upgrade relations between the countries to a “global strategic partnership,” Korea’s Blue House said in a statement on Friday.

Macron arrived in South Korea on Thursday for a two-day state visit after also visiting Japan and is due to hold a summit with Lee in Seoul later on Friday.

It is the first state visit by a French president since 2015 and French officials have said the trip aims to strengthen France’s strategic and economic role in the region at a time of “strong international and regional tensions.”

French officials previously said the Middle East crisis would be “at the heart of discussions,” pointing to the shared economic exposure of both nations.

Nikkei rallies, trims weekly losses on oil shipment hopes

Japan’s Nikkei share average rallied on Friday, trimming its losses for the week, following global efforts to restore Gulf oil shipments interrupted by the war in Iran.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks led the Nikkei higher, with the gauge rising 1.31% to 53,147.35 in early trade, poised for a 0.4% retreat on the week. The broader Topix climbed 1.12% to 3,652.13.

UN Security Council to vote on force to protect Hormuz shipping

The UN Security Council will vote Friday on a draft resolution brought by Bahrain to authorise the use of “defensive” force to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks.

Iran has placed a stranglehold on the key shipping lane – threatening fuel supplies and roiling the global economy – in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that triggered the month-old Middle East war.

“We cannot accept economic terrorism affecting our region and the world, the whole world is being affected by the developments,” Bahrain’s United Nations ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei said this week.

He said the text, which has gone through several amendments and is supported by the United States, “comes at a critical juncture.”