NPR News: 07-13-2026 9AM EDT

Kristen Wright· Host0:01

Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kristen Wright. Oil prices are higher today following the latest US attacks against Iran. US Central Command says American forces hit about one hundred forty Iranian targets on Saturday, and dozens more yesterday. They included coastal radar sites, missile and drone capabilities, and small boats. It followed more Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. NPR's Hadiel Al-Shalchi reports on market reaction.

Hadil Al-Shalchi0:32

The price of the benchmark global oil jumped more than four percent after markets opened. That brought the barrel to seventy-nine dollars, a nine percent spike from its price before the US-Israeli war with Iran started in February. Roughly twenty percent of the world's oil supply passed through the key international waterway. Kepler, a data and analytics company that tracks global commodity and shipping markets, said that crossings through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to twenty-two ships last week, an almost eighty-five percent drop from the pre-war traffic. The status of the ceasefire talks is unknown. They were supposed to continue after the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which ended last week. Hadiel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Istanbul.

Kristen Wright· Host1:13

Congress returns to Washington from their July fourth recess today. The death of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham is a sudden major shift. Graham was elected to the Senate in two thousand and two after serving in the House. He was a close ally of President Trump and known as a strong advocate in US