Iran latest: Israel to expand attack in Iran, Trump delays deadline for Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump extended his deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz as Iran’s grip on the strait and relentless attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure have sent Brent crude, the international standard, up more than 40% since the war started.

While the U.S.-Israeli campaign has hit Iran’s military and government hard, killing top leaders and striking scores of targets, Iran continues to fire missiles, and there is no sign of an uprising against the government.

Since the war began, more than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran, Deputy Health Minister Ali Jafarian told Al Jazeera.

Eighteen people have died in Israel, while three Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon. 

At least 13 American troops have been killed. More than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states have also died.

Authorities said more than 1,100 people have died in Lebanon. In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militant groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have been killed.

Here’s the latest from Friday: 

Israel warns attacks on Iran will expand

7:50 a.m. ET: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned “the Iran terrorist regime” to stop firing missiles at civilians in Israel. 

“Despite the warnings, the firing continues — and therefore (Israeli military) attacks in Iran will escalate and expand to additional targets and areas that assist the regime in building and operating weapons against Israeli citizens,” Katz said.

Iran targeted a third barrage of missiles at Israel on Friday. 

Trump extends deadline for Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz

Dig deeper:

On Thursday, Trump said he would hold off on carrying out his threat to obliterate Iran’s energy plants and extended his deadline for the country to open the Strait of Hormuz. 

The deadline was extended to April 6. 

Trump said he was delaying taking potential action because talks aimed at ending the conflict are going “very well,” despite the fact that Iran continues to publicly insist it is not negotiating with the White House on a 15-point proposal to end the war.

Global fertilizer, food supply threatened

Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz is causing gas prices to shoot up, which is causing a huge problem for supplies, specifically fertilizer that farmers use to grow food. 

Big picture view:

Fertilizer needs two major ingredients to grow food, and that’s nitrogen and phosphate. Both of these essential nutrients are under immediate threat from the blockade in the strait. 

The inability to get these ingredients through the strait could cause a snowball effect and impact the price of food around the world.