FirstFT: Israel launches attacks against Iran

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Israel launched strikes against Iran early on Friday morning, Israeli and western officials said, in what appeared to be limited retaliatory action for last weekend’s drone and missile attack by Tehran.

Iran’s air defences shot at incoming targets and explosions were reported near the cities of Isfahan, in central Iran, and Tabriz in the north-west. Israel notified the US of its intention to carry out strikes in Iran last night, an Israeli official said.

The warning did not outline details of the attack, but did make it clear that Israel would avoid Tehran and its vicinity, and was focused on a specific military programme or facility related to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the official also said.

Oil futures jumped following the reports before falling back after Tehran appeared to play down the significance of the strikes. Futures for Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 4.2 per cent to $90.75 per barrel and then retreated to trade 1.1 per cent higher at $88.04. West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, added 1.2 per cent to $83.75 a barrel.

We’ll bring you the latest updates on this developing story here.

• Palestine: The US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution yesterday that would have granted a Palestinian state full UN membership.

• Middle East tensions: Iran has warned Israel it is likely to review its nuclear stance if its atomic facilities are threatened.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today and over the weekend:

• Donald Trump: The selection of alternate jurors will continue for the former president’s ‘hush money’ trial, in a process that involves vetting for political bias by the court.

• Federal Reserve: Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee will participate in a question-and-answer session about monetary policy and the US economy before the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing’s annual conference.

• American Express: The credit card group is forecast to report net interest income jumped 22.5 per cent to $3.6bn for the three-month period ended in March. P&G, Fifth Third Bank, and SLB will also report earnings before the bell.

• India election: The first phase of voting in the country’s six-week election started today. The world’s largest democracy is expected to hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi a third term in power.

• Sport: The London marathon and Chinese grand prix will take place on Sunday. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll lapped fastest in today’s sole free practice session at the Shanghai International Circuit. For more sports news sign up for our weekly Scoreboard newsletter.

How well did you keep up with the news this week? Take our quiz.

Five more top stories

1. Netflix blew past Wall Street’s earnings forecasts yesterday, helped by its crackdown on password sharing launched last year. The company’s operating income surged 54 per cent in the first quarter as it added 9.3mn subscribers worldwide, but shares fell after it said it planned to stop regularly disclosing subscriber numbers. More from the streaming platform’s latest results.

2. Apple said it had removed WhatsApp and Threads from its online store in China under direction from the country’s internet regulator. The iPhone maker said that the Cyberspace Administration of China had ordered the delisting of two Meta-owned apps because of “national security concerns”. “We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” Apple said. Read the full story.

3. Exclusive: PwC plans to reverse a controversial restructuring of its tax practice in the US after just three years, in a U-turn under its incoming senior partner Paul Griggs. The Big Four firm will reunify its tax division when Griggs takes over in July, after PwC departed from the industry’s historic model of having tax as a standalone business unit in 2021. Read more about the senior partner-elect’s plans for PwC here.

4. Google will streamline its structure to speed up its artificial intelligence efforts after facing criticism for falling behind rivals such as Microsoft. All teams working on its AI models, including its flagship Gemini chatbot, will be unified under its DeepMind division run by Demis Hassabis, according to an internal memo sent to staff yesterday. Here’s more from chief executive Sundar Pichai’s note.

• More on AI: Meta has released a new and less “sanctimonious” version of its AI model, Llama 3, in response to criticisms that the previous version refused to answer “innocent and innocuous” questions.

5. Columbia University called in New York police to break up a pro-Palestinian protest yesterday, as part of an intensifying clampdown by US institutions on demonstrations triggered by the Israel-Hamas war. New York mayor Eric Adams said the police had made 108 arrests. Columbia also suspended students who had occupied part of its main campus for more than 30 hours. Find out more about how police intervention could further inflame tensions.

The Big Read

Many migrant graduates in Europe are suffering from a phenomenon often referred to as “brain waste”: either finding themselves overqualified for their new jobs, working fewer hours than they would like or, for some, spending time unemployed. A joint investigation led by Lighthouse Reports in partnership with publications including the FT shows that European countries are failing to provide good job opportunities for highly educated migrants, at a potentially significant cost to their labour forces and economies.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Dangerous driving: Why are American roads so hazardous? Asks John Burn-Murdoch. It seems poor driving may be a large part of the answer.

• The economics of running: Data shows that the richest Britons also run the most, writes Soumaya Keynes. But beyond that, the economic correlations are a little hazier.

• Simon Kuper: What advice would those near the end of their careers give to those just starting out? As his career enters its final stretch, Simon Kuper shares lessons on jobs, life and money after three decades in journalism.

Chart of the day

House prices in London have underperformed the rest of the UK for the past eight years, with a recent drop making it the worst-performing region. Analysts partly attributed the trend to affordability, as the capital remains the most expensive part of the country, with a typical property costing £503,000, well above the national average of £281,000.

Take a break from the news

The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift’s 11th album is released today. Although the title is a bit of a mouthful, says the FT’s pop critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, it includes the standout track ‘So Long London’, inspired by last year’s break up with her British actor boyfriend Joe Alwyn.

Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Benjamin Wilhelm