By CATHY BUSSEWITZ

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices rose sharply when market trading began Sunday, as U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes against Israel and U.S. military installations around the Gulf sent disruptions through the global energy supply chain.

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Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East would slow or grind to a halt. Attacks throughout the region, including on two vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, have restricted countries’ ability to export oil to the rest of the world. Prolonged attacks would likely result in higher prices for crude oil and gasoline, according to energy experts.

West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, was selling for about $72 a barrel Sunday night, up around 8% from its trading price of about $67 on Friday, according to data from CME group.

A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at around $79 per barrel Sunday night, according to FactSet, up about 8% from its trading price of $72.87 on Friday, which had been a seven-month high at the time.

Higher global energy prices could lead to consumers paying more for gasoline at the pump and shelling out more for groceries and other goods, at a time when many are already feeling the impacts of elevated inflation.

Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil per day — about 20% of the world’s oil — are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, making it the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, according to Rystad Energy. Tankers traveling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran.

FILE – Fishermen work in front of oil tankers south of the Strait of Hormuz Jan. 19, 2012, offshore the town of Ras Al Khaimah in United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

Iran had temporarily shut down parts of the strait in mid-February for what it said was a military drill, which led oil prices to jump about 6% higher in the days that followed.

Against that backdrop, eight countries that are part of the OPEC+ oil cartel announced they would boost production of crude Sunday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in a meeting planned before the war began, said it would increase production by 206,000 barrels per day in April, which was more than analysts had been expecting. The countries boosting output include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.

“Roughly one-fifth of global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for world trade, meaning markets are more concerned with whether barrels can move than with spare capacity on paper,” said Jorge León, Rystad’s senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis, in an email. “If flows through the Gulf are constrained, additional production will provide limited immediate relief, making access to export routes far more important than headline output targets.”

Iran exports roughly 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, mostly to China, which may need to look elsewhere for supply if Iran’s exports are disrupted, another factor that could increase energy prices.

By MARC LEVY

Hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers scrambled to make new connections and get through to airlines on jammed phone lines Sunday after the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel shut down much of the Middle East to air travel.

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Tourists and business travelers crowded hotels and airports, with no word on when many airports would reopen or when flights to and through the Middle East would resume. Some governments advised their stranded citizens to shelter in place.

Shutdown airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha — including Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world — are important hubs for travel between Europe, Africa and the West to Asia. All three were directly hit by strikes.

Mohammad Abdul Mannan, in the crowd at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, said he wasn’t concerned about the war, but that he needs to get his flight to the Middle East to make a living.

“We have set out to go for work, and we must go,” he said. “My only concern is how to go abroad and how to earn an income.”

Confusion reigned for many travelers as they tried to get answers on online portals or through busy phone lines.

In Dubai, stranded travelers could hear fighter jets overhead and an explosion when the Fairmont Palm Hotel was hit by a missile strike.

Many were unable to get updated flight information from tour operators or Dubai-based Emirates, which suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Monday afternoon.

Louise Herrle and her husband had their flight to Washington canceled on their way back to their Pittsburgh home after a tour of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with no word when they could reschedule.

“We’re in the hotel room, we are not leaving it, so you’re not going to give it up until we know we have a flight out of here,” Herrle said. “I’m sure everyone else is in the same situation.”

Flights canceled, airports and airspaces still closed

Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, said it is hard to calculate the number of travelers stranded worldwide.

However, it estimated that at least 90,000 people alone change flights daily in the airports in Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi on just three airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways.

Airspace or airports in Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were closed, according to flight tracking sites and government agencies there.

More than 2,800 flights were canceled Sunday to and from airports across the Middle East, including those that remained open in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, according figures on flight tracking site FlightAware. International airports in London, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangkok, Istanbul, Sri Lanka and Paris each reported dozens of flights canceled, as well.

Cancellations will extend beyond Sunday, at least.

Emirates suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Monday afternoon. Air India suspended all flights to and from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar until Tuesday. Israeli airline EL AL said it was preparing to fly home Israelis stranded abroad once the airspace reopened and closed ticket sales for flights through March 21 to ensure stranded customers get priority.

Two airports in the United Arab Emirates reported strikes as the government there condemned what it called a “blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles” on Saturday.

Officials at Dubai International Airport said four people were injured, while Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi said one person was killed and seven others were injured in a drone strike. Strikes were also reported at Kuwait International Airport.

Iran did not publicly claim responsibility.

Flight disruptions are likely to continue

Airlines urged passengers to check their flight status online before heading to the airport. Some airlines issued waivers to affected travelers that will allow them to rebook their flight plans without paying extra fees or higher fares. Others offered full refunds.

“For travelers, there’s no way to sugarcoat this,” said Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group. “You should prepare for delays or cancellations for the next few days as these attacks evolve and hopefully end.”

Mike McCormick, who used to oversee air traffic control for the Federal Aviation Administration, said countries might reopen their airspace once American and Israeli officials tell airlines where military flights are operating and how capable Iran remains at firing missiles.

‘No one really knows what’s going on’

The reverberations echoed far outside the Middle East — for example, airport authorities in the resort island of Bali in Indonesia said more than 1,600 tourists were stranded at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Sunday after five flights to the Middle East were canceled or postponed.

Airlines that are crossing the Middle East will have to reroute flights around the conflict with many flights headed south over Saudi Arabia. That will cause delays and higher costs.

Kristy Ellmer, an American who had been on business meetings in Dubai, said she was staying in a hotel and keeping multiple flights booked in case airports reopen.

She said she was gaining confidence in the government’s ability to protect the city from missiles, but also keeping away from windows when she hears explosions.

“You hear a lot of explosions at times, there’s hundreds of them,” Ellmer said. “And so when we hear them we sort of just don’t stay near the windows just in case the glass was to break or there was some impact.”

___

Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press writers Julie Walker in New York, Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, Adam Schreck in Bangkok, Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.

By BEN FINLEY

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three American service members have been killed and five others seriously wounded during the U.S. attacks on Iran, the military announced Sunday, marking the first American casualties in a major offensive that President Donald Trump said could likely lead to more losses in the coming weeks.

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U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, announced the deaths in a post on X but did not say when and where they occurred as the Islamic Republic retaliates over the joint strikes by the U.S. and Israel. The post said “several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions” and were going to return to duty.

“We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen,” Trump said in a video posted to his Truth Social platform on Sunday afternoon. “And sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more, but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.”

In the roughly six-minute video, Trump called those killed “true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.” He said the U.S. will avenge their deaths.

Trump earlier told the Daily Mail in a phone interview Sunday that the U.S. troops who were killed were “great people.”

“You know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately,” Trump told the newspaper. “Could happen continuous — it could happen again.”

He also told the Daily Mail that he believes the conflict could last for “four weeks or so.” He had previously warned that American troops could be killed or injured in the operation.

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows an F/A-18E Super Hornet preparing to launch from the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)

“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties,” the Republican president said in a video address released early Saturday. “That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for now. We’re doing this for the future.”

Central Command, meanwhile, described the situation “as fluid” and said it would withhold the identities of the service members who were killed for 24 hours after their families were notified.

Following the U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other leaders, Iran’s counterattacks have struck U.S. bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

The U.S. military denied Iranian claims that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was struck with ballistic missiles, saying on X that the “missiles launched didn’t even come close.”

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has threatened to launch its “most intense offensive operation” ever targeting Israeli and American military installations.

Before the strikes, Trump had built up the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades. The arrival of the Lincoln and three accompanying guided-missile destroyers at the end of January bolstered the number of warships in the region.

This image provided by U.S. Central Command shows the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) firing a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) in support of Operation Epic Fury, on Sunday, March 1, 2026. (U.S. Navy via AP)

The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and four accompanying destroyers later were dispatched from the Caribbean Sea to head to the Middle East.

The Ford was part of the U.S. raid in Venezuela that captured leader Nicolás Maduro, who was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges. The operation in January claimed no American lives but left seven U.S. troops with gunshot wounds and shrapnel-related injuries.

One of those injured received the Medal of Honor during Trump’s State of the Union address last week. Trump said Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover piloted the lead CH-47 Chinook helicopter that descended on the “heavily protected military fortress” where Maduro was staying.

Trump has launched several military operations during his second term, including strikes on members of the Islamic State group in Syria in retaliation for an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter in December.

The U.S. military has also struck IS forces in Nigeria, after Trump accused the West African country’s government of failing to rein in the targeting of Christians.

The Timberwolves pursuit of the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference took another major step in the right direction Sunday in Denver.

Minnesota downed the Nuggets 117-108 for its third straight victory, and sixth in its last seven contests.

Naz Reid (11) of the Minnesota Timberwolves reacts to making a shot against the Denver Nuggets during the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves’ 117-108 win at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

As has been the case for all of those victories, the Nuggets were down two of their top six players in the nationally-televised matinee, as both Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson remained out with injuries.

That proved pivotal, specifically relating to the damage those absences do to Denver’s bench — which is where the Wolves won the game.

Minnesota got off to a sluggish start and trailed by nine after one. But the Nuggets opened the second frame without Nikola Jokic nor Jamal Murray. The Wolves responded by scoring the first nine points of the quarter, forcing Denver coach David Adelman to sub Murray back into the game.

But by then, momentum already belonged to Minnesota (38-23), who received a 15-point first half from Bones Hyland. The likes of Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle rode the wave upon their re-entry, and the Wolves led by eight at the break.

Jonas Valančiūnas, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown were Denver’s top three reserves on Sunday. Minnesota won their minutes by 15, 17 and 12 points, respectively.

On the flip side, Minnesota won Jaden McDaniels’ minutes by 20 points. He was excellent on both ends, limiting Murray’s effectiveness for the first three quarters while going 9 for 12 from the field for 20 points offensively.

Rudy Gobert had 15 rebounds and three steals while Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle combined for 13 assists.

Rudy Gobert (27) of the Minnesota Timberwolves runs down the ball as Julian Strawther (3) and Cameron Johnson (23) of the Denver Nuggets watch during the third quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, March 1, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Jokic had 35 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists as Denver won his 37 minutes by four points, but the Nuggets (37-24)  struggled to find any production outside of their top two players. Denver went 6 for 22 from 3-point range.

All eight of Minnesota’s players who saw time Sunday finished with at least seven points on a day where it shot 54% from the floor and 39% from deep.

Naz Reid was slightly inconsistent, but he had a couple buckets in transition in the fourth quarter to help maintain necessary cushion. Donte DiVincenzo was excellent, tallying 17 points on the strength of five triples to go with five dimes.

Denver shot 56% from the field in the fourth quarter Sunday, but turned the ball over seven times, including a Murray giveaway with the Wolves leading by seven in the final three minutes that effectively put the game on ice.

The Wolves turned 14 Nuggets turnovers into 22 points on the day. In total, Minnesota tallied a gaudy 30 fast-break points.

The win moves Minnesota a game clear of Denver in the West standings, critical given the Nuggets hold the season-long tiebreaker. The Wolves and Rockets are now tied for the No. 3 seed in the conference.

Minnesota next hosts Memphis on Tuesday. It’s possible expected signee Kyle Anderson will be available for that game. It’s worth noting ahead of his arrival that Terrence Shannon Jr. nor Jaylen Clark saw minutes off the bench Sunday.

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