A top US counterterrorism official has announced his resignation. The Trump-appointee says that he cannot support the US-Israeli military operation against Iran. The Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, wrote: “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no immediate threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
The World Food Programme says 45 million more people could be pushed into acute hunger by rising food, fuel and shipping costs if the conflict in the Middle East continues through June.
Japanese trucking firms are now feeling the pinch at the pump as the escalating Iran conflict is restricting fuel supplies. Trucking firm Toshin Sangyo, based in Kobe, western Japan, buys wholesale diesel fuel and fills the tanks of its roughly 200 trucks on its premises.