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The United States launched what it said weremilitary strikeson an Iranian island critical to the country's economy and oil exports Friday night, an attack that analysts warned raises the stakes as the US-Israel war entered its third week.

The strikes on Kharg Island, which a US official said avoided hitting vital oil infrastructure, comes as the economic fallout over the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to grow and the Pentagonannounced it is deployinga rapid response marine unit to the Middle East.

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Here's what to know on day 15.

What are the main headlines?

• Kharg Island: US President Donald Trump said the US bombed "every military target" on the island, and threatened to attack its oil infrastructure if Iran continues blocking ships from the Strait of Hormuz. Kharg Island is a five-mile stretch of land in the Persian Gulf that handles roughly 90% of Iran's crude exports. A US military official told CNN the strikes were "large-scale" and targeted naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and other military infrastructure.

• Raising the stakes: Iran's ⁠Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had earlier warned that the country would "abandon all restraint" if there is any US aggression against Iranian islands. A retired US army officer told CNN the Kharg Island strikes could ultimately send oil prices "out of control."

• Strait of Hormuz: Trump said Friday he believes US Navy escorts for tankers through the critical waterway will happen "soon." Separately, a senior Iranian official told CNN that Tehran is considering allowing some vessels to pass through the strait, provided the cargo is traded in Chinese yuan.

• Fuel crisis: Global oil prices settled at their highest level on Friday since July 2022 as anxiety about the effective closure of the strait continued across global markets. Countries are planning to dip into oil reserves as they grapple with the crisis.

• Marines heading to region: The Pentagon is deploying a Marine Expeditionary Unit to the Middle East, a rapid response unit that typically comprises around 2,500 Marines and sailors, officials told CNN. It's not yet clear what the MEU will be used for or where exactly it will be deployed.

What's happening in the region?

• Strikes on Iran: Israel says it continued to strike Iran Friday night as the death toll from the war continues to rise. US and Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 1,300 people, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations said. Israel said its targets ranged from Iranian security checkpoints in Tehran to weapons storage facilities and government offices.

• Damage in Israel: Falling debris from Iranian weapons caused blazes in two suburbs of Tel Aviv, Israeli officials said Friday.

• Grief in Lebanon: Israeli strikes killed nine people from the same family in Lebanon's south, including four children. "Everyone here knows what my girls meant to me," the children's father told CNN. Israel on Friday expanded its operations targeting the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, including in the capital Beirut.

• Deadly plane crash: The US military said all six service members aboard a refueling aircraft were killed when it crashed Thursday in Iraq. The US said the incident was "not due to hostile fire," but an Iranian proxy group claimed responsibility. An Air Force official later told CNN that the aircraft was not equipped with ejection systems or parachutes to evacuate its occupants mid-air.

• Where is the supreme leader? The US government is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on key Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. US Vice President JD Vance said Khamenei is "hurt" but "we don't know exactly how bad." While Khamenei offered a message through Iranian state media Thursday, he didn't appear on video or audio. CNN previously reported that Khamenei was wounded on the first day of the war.

• Toxic air: CNN analysis of satellite imagery and air quality data shows Israeli strikes at fuel facilities across Tehran last weekend spiked pollution levels, ignited fires and caused oil spills.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

During the first two weeks of the latest war in the Middle East, as US and Israeli strikes rained down on military and energy facilities across Iran, one site went conspicuously untouched.

Despite its tiny size,Kharg Islandis an economic lifeline for Iran, handling roughly 90% of the country's crude exports – meaning any assault on it risks major escalation.

But on Friday the UShit military facilitieson the island. Sites related to the oil trade were not hit, according to US officials and Iranian state media. But Trump has threatened to strike those too, if Iran continues blocking ships from traversing the Strait of Hormuz.

Here's what to know about this crucial spigot in Iran's oil exports operation.

Why is the island so important?

Kharg Island is a coral outcrop around a third of the size of Manhattan just 25 kilometers (15 miles) off Iran's coast, in the Persian Gulf.

Almost every day, millions of barrels of crude oil gush from Iran's major fields – including Ahvaz, Marun and Gachsaran – through pipelines to the island, known among Iranians as the "Forbidden Island" due to tight military controls.

Its long jetties, jutting into waters deep enough to accommodate oil supertankers, make the island a critical site for oil distribution. It processes 90% of Iran's crude exports.

The island has long been key to Iran's economy. ACIA document from 1984said the facilities are "the most vital in Iran's oil system, and their continued operation is essential to Iran's economic well-being." Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapidrecently saidthat destroying the terminal would "cripple Iran's economy and topple the regime."

Iran supplies about 4.5% of global oil, pumping 3.3 million barrels of crude and 1.3 million barrels of condensate and other liquids daily, according to Reuters.

And the island has been loading tankers "non-stop since the war broke out," according to TankerTrackers.com, which uses satellite imagery, shore photography and data to track crude oil shipments.

In the weeks leading up to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, exports from Kharg were ramped up to near-record levels, US investment bank JP Morgan said in a note reported by Reuters.

Storage capacity on Kharg is estimated at roughly 30 million barrels and, according to global trade analyst Kpler, about 18 million barrels of crude are currently stored there, Reuters reported.

What happened to Kharg?

Trump announced Friday that the US military conducted what he called "one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East," wiping out military assets on Kharg Island.

Video posted to Truth Social by Trump and geolocated by CNN showed US strikes on Kharg's airport facilities and runway.

A US military official told CNN the strikes were "large-scale" but avoided hitting the island's oil infrastructure. Targets included naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and other military infrastructure, the official added.

Iran said more than 15 explosions were reported on the island but no oil infrastructure was damaged, according to state-affiliated Fars news agency.

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Trump, however, threatened to attack the island's oil assets if Iran continues blocking ships from the Strait of Hormuz.

What impact would strikes have on the war and global oil prices?

Iran has said any attack on its oil and energy infrastructure will lead to retaliatory strikes on facilities in the region owned by US-friendly oil companies, Iranian state media reported, citing Tehran's military command headquarters.

The US strikes have raised the stakes in the war, a retired army official told CNN.

"It's gone simply from a 'take out the military, take out the regime' but now we're trying to take out the economic lifeblood of this country, potentially," former US Army Brig-Gen. Mark Kimmitt said.

Kimmitt said the US is holding the island "hostage" to ensure that Iran allows ships through the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has already sent crude oil prices soaring.

If that oil infrastructure is targeted, Kimmitt said, "it is clear that Iran is going to attack the rest of the infrastructure in the Middle East."

"And at that point, the prices of oil will just go out of control," he added.

If Kharg's oil facilities were attacked, it could take Iran months, if not more than a year, to rebuild, Muyu Xu, senior crude oil analyst at Kpler told CNN, adding that as the main buyer of Iranian oil, China would likely see the biggest impact.

"They (Iran) are still facing western sanctions, they can't really secure enough funds and also technology and expertise, it would be difficult for them to rebuild," Xu added.

What could happen next?

Iran could escalate even further by making good on its threat to hit oil infrastructure around the region, analysts said. It has already struck oil storage tanks in US allies Oman and Bahrain, and has targeted oil tankers and cargo vessels in the Persian Gulf.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has alsothreatened to setthe region's oil and gas infrastructure "on fire" if Iranian energy sites are attacked.

The Kharg strikes came as the US announced it would send a rapid response marine unit of about 2,500 Marines and sailors to the Middle East. Former US Army Brig-Gen. Kimmitt broached the possibility of that force occupying Kharg Island.

It's not yet clear what the MEU will be used for or where exactly it will be deployed. But these units have traditionally been used for missions like large-scale evacuations and amphibious operations that require ship-to-shore movements, including raids and assaults.

Experts have also argued that attempting to capture or attack Kharg Island would require a significant number of ground troops — something the Trump administration has so far been reluctant to call in.

CNN's Kit Maher, Natasha Bertrand, Jeremy Diamond, Alayna Treene, Ross Adkin, and Isaac Yee contributed reporting.

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BEIRUT (AP) — Fatima Nazha slept on the street for two days after she and her family fled their home in Beirut's southern suburbs following an Israeli mass evacuation order.

Lebanon Israel Iran

All of the schools the government turned into shelters were full, and the family couldn't afford a hotel or an apartment, so she and her husband eventually moved into a tentin the country's biggest stadiumwhile their kids and grandchildren found shelter near the southern coastal city of Sidon.

In just 10 days, more than 800,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced by war, just over a year since the last conflict uprooted over a million Lebanese from their homes. That's one in every seven people in the tiny country, according to humanitarian organization the Norwegian Refugee Council. Many don't have a place to stay, and the cash-strapped government has only been able to accommodate roughly 120,000 people as it scrambles to open shelters and bring in more supplies.

Nazha, who uses a wheelchair, said being forced from her home has been far more difficult this time than when Israel and Hezbollahwere last at warmore than a year ago. The strikes targeting theIran-backed militant grouphave been more intense and unpredictable, and Israel's evacuation order came abruptly, leaving her unable to gather all her belongings.

"The strikes used to target a specific area, but now they're hitting all the areas," she said, taking a drag off her cigarette. Lebanon's Health Ministry said Friday that more than 700 people, including 103 children, have died in the war.

Divisions simmer in Lebanon

Israel ramped up its strikes on its northern neighbor after Hezbollah fired several rockets into Israel following the killing ofIran's Supreme Leader Ali Khameneiat the start of the war.

Most Lebanese were hoping Hezbollah wouldn't respond to the attack on Iran, as the militant group's support for another Iran-backed group, Hamas, in 2023 led to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Resentment toward Hezbollah and its backershas surged in Lebanon, as internal tensions and divisions in the deeply divided country continue to simmer.

Fearing becoming a target, landlords have been hiking apartment rents to dissuade new tenants. Hotels, meanwhile, have been vetting guests more strictly sinceIsrael struck two hotel rooms, saying it was targetingIranian Revolutionary Guardmembers who were operating in Beirut.

Some who don't have family and friends to stay with or can't afford an apartment or a hotel room have been sleeping on the streets or in their cars around central Beirut, trading comfort for safety. That sense of safety was shattered, though, afteran overnight Israeli strikekilled at least eight people and wounded more than 30 others in the capital's Ramlet el-Bayda neighborhood, where many displaced people pitched tents by the sea or slept on mattresses on the boardwalk.

Humanitarian groups, saddled by years of underfunding, are struggling to keep up. They warn ofa humanitarian crisis.

"The needs are escalating much faster than our capacity to respond," Mathieu Luciano, the head of the International Organization for Migration in Lebanon, said during a recent press briefing.

No time to prepare

The government, meanwhile, is using Lebanon's largest sports stadium as a makeshift shelter, where Nazha, her husband and more than 800 other people have been sleeping in the semiopen corridors under the stands. It has toilets and sinks, but no showers and only sporadic electricity.

"It's not enough that they bring us food. … A tin of sardines or a loaf of bread or a gallon of water, that's not enough," Nazha said Thursday from her foldout bed.

In the parking lot of the stadium where Lebanon's national soccer team regularly plays in peacetime, children played a pickup game as an Israeli drone flew overhead, recognizable by its whirring. From there, one can see and hear the bombs that have been exploding daily in nearby neighborhoods.

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Naji Hammoud, who oversees sporting facilities for the Lebanese Youth and Sports Ministry, said he didn't expect to have to take on such a heavy responsibility.

"It's a race against time," Hammoud said as aid workers and volunteers scrambled to pitch tents.

More than a million people were displaced in the last war, but that was toward the end of it after a year of limited fighting that gradually escalated. This time, what took months took days.

Hezbollah's initial rocket attack followed by Israel's swift bombardments overnight rattled Lebanon and the mass evacuation notices caught people off-guard. Israel first called on dozens of villages south of the Litani River to flee north. It later warned residents to evacuate Dahiyeh, an area of predominantly Shiitesuburbs on Beirut's southern edgethat is one of the country's most densely populated places.

All of the main roads leading to the capital from southern Lebanon were gridlocked as people scrambled to find somewhere safe to stay.

"We were on the road for two days until we found this place here that accepted us," said Seganish Gogamo, a worker from Ethiopia who fled the southern city of Nabatieh and found shelter in a Beirut church hosting migrant workers from Asia and Africa. She fled in the middle of the night after intense airstrikes.

Uncertainty abounds

There is no end in sight to the fighting, as some 100,000Israeli troops have amassedalong the U.N.-mandated Blue Line which divides the two countries in an anticipated ground invasion. Many fear the Israel-Hezbollah conflict could continue beyond the Iran war.

Joe Sayyah was among dozens of residents who remained in their border village, Alma al-Shaab, during the first few days of the war, hoping they wouldn't have to leave. It's a Christian village, and Israel has mostly targeted Shiite communities where Hezbollah operates.

Sayyah and others appealed to the Vatican and the U.S., describing themselves as bystanders in the conflict, insisting there was no military presence or activity among them. They also spent days sheltering in a church.

But when his friend was killed in an Israeli drone strike while watering his plants, they knew it was time to leave. He and the others rang the church bell one last time before they left for the capital in a convoy escorted by United Nations peacekeepers.

Afterarriving at a churchin the northern outskirts of Beirut to hold a funeral Mass for his friend, Sayyah said the sense of relief that came with reaching somewhere safe was quickly replaced by the grim realization that this war could be different from the last.

"This time around, there's a huge possibility we may not be able to go back to our village," he said.

Associated Press reporters Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Fadi Tawil in Beirut contributed to this story.

NASHVILLE -- Vanderbilt's Duke Miles scored 30 points and Tyler Tanner added 19, leading the 22nd-ranked Commodores to a 75-68 win over No. 25 Tennessee in a Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal matchup on Friday.

Both guards grabbed six rebounds, while Miles added five assists and three steals and Tanner had four assists.

Miles was 11 of 14 from the floor and made 4 of 5 3-pointers for the fourth-seeded Commodores (25-7), who beat their in-state rivals for the second time in seven days to advance to face top seed Florida on Saturday.

Vanderbilt went through a 6:36 field-goal drought late in the game but was helped by being in the bonus with 9:21 left. The Commodores shot 84.6% from the foul line (22 of 26) and made 16 of 18 (88.9%) in the second half.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie paced No. 5 seed Tennessee (22-11) with 21 points and four assists, while Nate Ament and J.P. Estrella added 12 points each.

Ament, who scored 27 against Auburn on Thursday in his return from a two-game absence due to a leg injury, grabbed 11 rebounds but was 1 of 13 from the field.

Tennessee kept it close thanks to a 46-34 rebounding edge, including 23 offensive boards it turned into 24 second-chance points.

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Gillespie hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Volunteers a 45-38 lead with 14:51 left, the biggest for either team to that point.

Miles then took over the game for a dizzying spell that spanned 3:03 and included a pair of threes, a coast-to-coast fastbreak layup, a steal and a fastbreak assist to Tanner for his layup and subsequent free throw, a rebound and fastbreak assist to Chandler Bing for his three-point play and a pair of free throws in the midst of all that.

At the end of it all, that put Vanderbilt up 53-48 with 11:21 left.

Neither team led by four during a grind-it-out first half that ended tied at 31.

The Commodores missed their first nine 3-pointers until Miles canned one to give Vandy an 18-16 lead, its biggest of the first half.

Ament scored just one point in 14 first-half minutes for the Volunteers, missing all five field-goal attempts.

Vanderbilt, which also took a road game over Tennessee on Saturday, is 2-1 against its in-state rival this season.

--Chris Lee, Field Level Media

HOUSTON (AP) — The United States is heading to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic after a "different level of focus" helped this All-Star-studded team rebound from a shocking loss.

WBC United States Canada Baseball

The U.S. beat Canada 5-3 on Friday nightfor a spot in the semifinals Sunday against the Dominican Republic. The big win came afteran 8-6 loss to Italy in pool playleft them needing help to advance to Friday's game.

"Guys really locked in," Yankees star Aaron Judge said. "We saw a different level of focus at our workout the other day and then even pregame today. It felt like the boys were locked and ready to go."

The loss to Italy elicited criticism of the team and particularly manager Mark DeRosa after he prematurely said on a television interview the morning of the loss to Italy that: "Our ticket's punched to the quarterfinals."

Judge said he knows a lot of people had negative things to say about them after the Italy game, but they didn't pay it any mind.

"There's a lot of noise that's been going on with that," he said. "And I think it just speaks volumes to the players in this room, the manager we've got, everybody, that no matter what's being said about us, what's going on, we still got a job to do on the field."

First baseman Bryce Harper echoed Judge's sentiments that they didn't worry about what outsiders were saying about the team.

"People are going to have their opinion about us," he said. "I don't think any of them are going to be sitting at our dinner table or our Thanksgiving dinner, so it doesn't really matter what anybody says, that's always been my call on that kind of stuff."

The Americans did eventually punch their ticket to the quarterfinalswhen Italy beat Mexicoto win Pool B and give the U.S. second place.

Starter Logan Webb, who threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings Friday night, said the team's path to the semifinals was not ideal but he was proud that the guys got the job done.

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"It kind of feels like a second chance and... I felt like it was a newfound energy today," he said.

Third baseman Alex Bregman appreciated the professionalism in the clubhouse as the team dealt with the adversity from the loss to Italy.

"One of the biggest things that you see around all these great players is everyone's present and they're not worried about the future or the past," he said. "They're worried about that game, that moment, that pitch, the next pitch. And it was just a good, good response today."

Now the challenge gets even bigger as the U.S. faces a Dominican team that beat South Korea 10-0 Fridayin seven innings to advance to the semifinals.

The Americans will send reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes to the mound Sunday to contend with a roster that is also chock full of All-Stars.

"I expect it to be like one of the best games of all time," DeRosa said.

Judge is thrilled that the team is heading to Miami and can't wait for what's waiting for the U.S. there.

"The boys are excited, that's for sure," he said. "Definitely getting a taste for playoff atmosphere in March, definitely gets the juices flowing a little bit."

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Darius Acuff Jr. hit five 3-pointers among his 37 points, including a key 3 down the stretch, and No. 15 Arkansas held off 11th-seeded Oklahoma 82-79 in the Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinals in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday.

Acuff beat the shot clock on a 3-pointer for a 79-75 edge with 27 seconds left, and after Tae Davis' layup, Acuff made one of two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to close the scoring.

Nijel Pack's long 3-point attempt with six seconds remaining hit the rim, and the Sooners could not control the offensive rebound.

Arkansas (24-8) will meet surprising Ole Miss (15-19) in the semifinals Saturday. The 15th-seeded Rebels, who had lost 12 of their last 13 regular-season games, have not trailed in their three SEC tourney wins.

Trevon Brazile had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the third-seeded Razorbacks, who have won eight of 10.

Pack scored 19 points, Derrion Reid and Davis each scored 17 and Muhamed Wague added 13 for the Sooners (19-15), who had won six in a row and were left with the hope that their two SEC tournament wins were enough to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

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There were 11 ties and 16 lead changes, and Acuff's fifth 3-pointer gave the Razorbacks their largest lead, 76-69, with 2:27 left.

The Sooners were the first team out of the NCAA field of 68 in ESPN's projections Friday, just behind SMU and SEC schools Texas and Missouri and just ahead of Auburn. All of those teams finished conference tournament play with losses.

Arkansas is a projected fifth seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Acuff, the SEC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, had 21 points in the first half and showed no ill effects after missing the regular-season finale against Missouri because of a nagging left ankle injury.

He was 11 of 21 from the field, 5 of 9 on 3-pointers and made 10 of 12 free-throw attempts. He had five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Acuff scored 18 of the Razorbacks' first 24 points, and his 3-pointer just before the half cut the Sooners' lead to 39-37 at the break. Pack had 16 points in the first half.

--Field Level Media

Coco Jonesdrew attention at theESSENCEBlack Women in Hollywood event with her dazzling sheer outfit. The star-studded occasion saw many celebrities, especially women, wearing stylish attire. The singer-songwriter recently made headlines after her fiancé, Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell, expressed his love for her and stressed that she was his top priority in life.

Coco Jones stuns in black outfit

Check out Coco Jones' stunning sheer black outfit from the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood event below:

As seen in the photos above, Jones's outfit has an off-the-shoulder neckline. It also boasts a curvy, diagonal cutout in the middle that partially exposes her chest. Moreover, floral decorations cover the portion of her dress from her left chest to the bottom, adding some contrast to the overall look.

The Bel-Air actress topped off her look with black strapped heels. She also accessorized with some rings and silver earrings. Further, she donned some makeup that greatly enhanced her appearance, including thick black eyeliner, smoky eyeshadow, pink blush, and nude lipstick.

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Meanwhile, her side-parted brown hair was styled in smooth tresses, with the lower portion resting gently on her shoulders.

Jones' look scored some positive reactions. "I love this dress on her omg, one user wrote. "Beautiful, but a little mature for her," another added.

Originally reported by Abdul Azim Naushad onMandatory.

The postCoco Jones' Sheer Outfit With Big Cutout Is Almost Too Bold at ESSENCE Eventappeared first onReality Tea.