First Thing: Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ all of Iran’s South Pars gasfield if Tehran strikes Qatar

The move would be a major escalation in the US-Israel war against Iran. Plus, FBI director admits to buying data tracking Americans’ locations Good morning. Donald Trump threatened to “massively blow up” the world’s largest gasfield after Israeli strikes on Iran’s South Pars field led Tehran to take revenge on energy facilities across the Middle East. What’s happening to oil and gas prices? Brent crude rose by 8% to $116 a barrel. European gas prices jumped, with the Dutch wholesale gas price up 24%. What do we know about the war’s economic cost? The war cost the US $12.7bn by day six – the total is likely to have now exceeded $18bn. Here’s a visualization of how that has been spent. Could US-Israeli attempts to take out Iranian leaders backfire? Some analysts think so. “It is not an approach that produces Jeffersonian democrats but hardened resistance fighters. It breeds more resistance,” said Sanam Vakil, an Iran expert at Chatham House. Follow our live coverage here. Who has spoken out? Labor rights activist and co-founder of the UFW Dolores Huerta , 95, released a statement on Wednesday saying: “I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here.” The report also includes the stories of two women, who were daughters of organizers in the movement, who said they were children when the grooming and abuse began. Continue reading...