US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon apparently isn’t feeling the same affordability struggles as many average Americans, as he approved spending more than $93 billion in September, including on luxury food items and iPads.

A new analysis published by government watchdog Open the Books found that in September — the end of the 2025 fiscal year — Hegseth reportedly burned through cash, including spending $9 million on crab and lobster dinners.

The European Union is preparing options to lower energy prices as the war in Iran continues to impact oil markets.

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, said on Wednesday that the bloc is considering state aid measures and gas price subsidies or caps to bring spiralling prices under control.

She reassured that there is still “room for action” in countries that are taxing electricity higher than they are gas.

Iran has said that new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound” despite sustaining injuries in the conflict.

President Yousef Pezeshkian writes on Telegram: “I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound.”

State TV reported that Khamenei was injured in the war, but did not specify his injury.

Here are the latest developments as the Iran crisis enters its 12th day.

Israel continued to pound Tehran and Beirut overnight, after targeting ‘command centres’ in Tehran and Tabriz earlier on Tuesday. Iran, meanwhile, struck sites in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, saying it was launching the “most intense” strikes of the war.

Iran’s police chief threatened to treat protesters as ‘enemies’ as the US and Israel called on the Iranian public to take to the streets.

The US, also under pressure over rising oil prices, told Israel to stop attacking energy sites, according to Axios. The US also claimed to have destroyed over a dozen mine-laying ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Pentagon said that it would release a report into the strike that hit a girls’ school in Minab on the first day of the war, killing around 165 people. A timeline was unclear.

B1 bombers were seen taking off from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire after HMS Dragon set sail. The UK also banned a pro-Iran march planned for the weekend over ‘extreme tensions’.

War escalates into global conflict

Finally, Steve Witkoff said that Russian officials told Donald Trump they did not share intelligence with Iran, after Trump dismissed concerns about the Kremlin aiding Tehran in hitting US targets. Ukraine’s Zelensky said military experts were going to the Gulf to help partners, as the war expanded.

Four people were injured when two drones fell in the vicinity of Dubai Airport, the country’s media office reported early on Wednesday.

Air traffic is continuing as usual, they added.

A cargo ship has caught fire after being hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, run by the British military, said. Iran has not claimed the attack but has been targeting vessels in and around the strait since the start of the war.

The strike is the latest blow to shipping through the narrow waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil flows from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. Iran has effectively halted cargo traffic there since the US-Israeli war began.

A bulk carrier was hit by an unknown projectile 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

The crew are reported safe and well, and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said.

The Israeli military said it has completed a fresh wave of strikes on Dahieh, Beirut, targeting Hezbollah command centres and facilities where the group stored weapons.

The military said it also struck a Hezbollah command centre near Tyre in southern Lebanon yesterday.

Earlier, Lebanese state media said Israeli strikes hit a residential building, with photos showing several floors destroyed.

The IDF said it took steps to reduce civilian casualties, including advance warnings, precision munitions and aerial surveillance.

The military said it was operating “with determination” against Hezbollah following what it described as the group’s decision to “deliberately attack Israel on behalf of the Iranian regime,” adding that it “will not tolerate any harm to the residents of the State of Israel.”