Oil prices hit four year high: Latest news on the Middle East conflict on 9 March
Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $...
Donald Trump announced a $175 billion, three-year plan to build a sweeping missile defense system dubbed “Golden Dome,” aiming to shield the U.S. from global and even space-based threats.
President Donald Trump unveiled a $175 billion initiative to build a next-generation missile defense system, Golden Dome, designed to intercept missiles from anywhere in the world - including those launched from space.
“It will be capable of intercepting missiles launched from the other side of the world,” Trump said from the Oval Office, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The project’s first $25 billion tranche is included in Trump’s sweeping tax and spending package currently before Congress.
An executive order signed in January kicked off the multi-layered defense program, which will integrate existing Pentagon systems with new technologies such as space-based sensors and weapons. The effort will require an extensive software infrastructure to link current and future systems, according to Gen. Chance Saltzman of the U.S. Space Force.
Despite Trump’s ambitious three-year timeline, the Congressional Budget Office estimates a fully operational missile shield could cost over $500 billion across two decades. To meet Trump’s goal, Congress would need to allocate another $150 billion within the next two years.
Trump named Gen. Michael Guetlein, Space Force vice chief of operations, to lead the project. “This design for the Golden Dome will integrate with our existing defense capabilities and should be fully operational before the end of my term,” Trump said.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
Entry and exit across the state border between Azerbaijan and Iran for all types of cargo vehicles, including those in transit, will resume on 9 March, according to a statement by the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.
U.S. President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone on Sunday as tensions between Washington and Westminster deepened over the conflict involving Iran. The call came less than a day after Trump criticised Britain’s response to U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
Norwegian police are searching for a suspect after an explosion at the U.S. embassy in Oslo on 8 March caused minor damage but no injuries, in what authorities say may have been a deliberate attack linked to the Middle East crisis.
An explosion damaged a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège early on Monday (9 March) in what authorities said was an antisemitic attack that caused damage but no injuries.
The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers will meet on Monday to discuss a global rise in oil prices and a joint release of oil from emergency reserves coordinated by the International Energy Agency, the Financial Times reports.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of March, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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