President Donald Trump is cycling through what seems to be an increasingly desperate list of options as he searches for a solution to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. After trying diplomacy, he's now threatening Iran’s civilian power grid. On Saturday, he said he was giving Iran 48 hours to open the vital waterway or face strikes on major power plants. Critics in Congress say he has no clear plan and is panicking. Legal experts say attacks on power plants could qualify as war crimes. Trump aides defend the threat as leverage to force Iran to back down.

Iran is threatening recreational and tourist sites worldwide and insisting it is still building missiles three weeks into an escalating war in the Middle East. The United States is deploying more warships and another 2,500 Marines to the region. However President Donald Trump said on social media that his administration in fact was considering “winding down” military operations. His post came after another climb in oil prices sent the U.S. stock market sharply lower. As Iranians celebrated the Persian New Year on Friday, Israeli strikes landed in Tehran. Iran launched more attacks on Israel and energy sites in neighboring Gulf Arab states in response.

The Treasury Department is easing sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company, with some limits. The Trump administration is looking for ways to to ease oil prices that have soared during the Iran war. The U.S. issued a license on Wednesday that lets Venezuela's state-run company sell and export Venezuelan oil to U.S. buyers and on global markets. The move could have the effect of getting more oil into the world market. Separately, the White House says Trump will waive, for 60 days, requirements for goods shipped between U.S. ports to be moved on U.S.-flagged vessels for 60 days. That 1920s law is often blamed for making gas more expensive.

Israel killed two senior Iranian security officials in a major blow to the country’s leadership. Iran, which confirmed both killings, renewed its attacks Wednesday on its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the deaths of Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force. Larijani was considered one of the most powerful figures in the country since Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is calling for "new people in charge" of Cuba as the socialist island experiences its third nationwide blackout in four months. U.S. President Donald Trump has called Cuba a “very weakened nation.” He said on Monday that he believes he’ll have the “honor of taking Cuba.” On Tuesday Rubio, who is of Cuban heritage, said the current government is incapable to addressing the problems. The island's government blames its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba. The country's aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, leading to daily outages.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is ready for the next trilateral peace talks with the U.S. and Russia, but the meeting depends on Washington and Moscow. He says the U.S. offered to host talks, but Russia refused to send a delegation. Zelenskyy warned the new conflict in the Middle East, which led to the postponement of the talks, could drain air defense supplies Ukraine needs. He says he is discussing alternatives to Patriot missile systems with France. He has also disputed President Donald Trump’s claim that the U.S. does not need Ukrainian drone technology.