Iran
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Iran's Pezeshkian backs negotiated end to war with US
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said the country should consolidate its battlefield gains through negotiations with the US.
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Is the UAE breaking away?
The UAE has left OPEC, lost a proxy war with Saudi Arabia in Yemen, armed a militia accused of genocide in Sudan, recognised Somaliland alongside Israel, and welcomed an Iron Dome battery onto its soil.
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Fitch raises 2026-27 oil and gas price assumptions on prolonged Hormuz closure
Fitch Ratings has raised its 2026-2027 oil and gas price assumptions on a longer Strait of Hormuz closure, assuming reopening around July, with Brent expected at USD100-110 per barrel through July before falling to USD70 by September.
Qatar resumes LNG shipments through Strait of Hormuz after 70-day wartime halt
Qatar has sent its first liquefied natural gas cargo through the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, marking a tentative resumption of energy exports through the strait.
The Iran war exposes fiscal fragility around the world
The Iran war has arrived at the worst possible fiscal moment for most of the world's major economies. Governments spent heavily on Covid, defence and two energy crises. Fiscal space across most of the developed world is limited or exhausted.
US strikes Iran after destroyers come under fire in Hormuz, Project Freedom collapses
The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran came under its most severe test yet on May 8 as Iranian forces launched missiles, drones and fast-attack boats against three US Navy destroyers transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel courts Panama at moment of deep isolation and maritime crisis
Israel arrived in Panama championing open waterways, just 67 days after co-initiating the strikes that closed Hormuz. Behind the diplomacy: five strategic objectives, one canal, and a Latin American alliance in construction.
Beijing becomes the chessboard as Iran pre-empts Trump-Xi summit
Araghchi's pre-emptive trip to Beijing, 14 days before Trump meets Xi, has put Iran's interests on the table before Washington can carve them off.
Russia’s oil revenues rebound on Middle East conflict price hike, but gains are modest
Russia’s oil and gas revenues rebounded sharply in April as surging crude prices linked to conflict in the Middle East boosted export earnings, offering the Kremlin temporary relief after months of mounting fiscal pressure.
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Emirates posts record profit for 2025-26, defying Iran war disruptions
UAE's Emirates Group posted a record profit before tax of AED24.4bn ($6.65bn) in 2025-26, up 7%, despite Iran war disruption in the final month of the financial year.
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Saudi Arabia denied US access to bases, forcing Trump to halt Strait of Hormuz operation
Saudi Arabia denied the US military access to Prince Sultan Airbase and Saudi airspace, forcing President Donald Trump to halt his "Project Freedom" Strait of Hormuz operation within 36 hours of its launch
Europe’s Russian Arctic LNG imports from Yamal hit record high in first four months of 2026
The EU imported more Russian Arctic liquefied natural gas in the first four months of 2026 than in any equivalent period since the Yamal LNG project began exporting in 2017, according to new analysis of Kpler shipping data.
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Iran rejects US Hormuz resolution as Trump warns of intensified bombing if no deal reached
Iran has rejected a US-led UN Security Council draft resolution on the Strait of Hormuz as President Pezeshkian told French counterpart Macron that Washington's behaviour had derailed diplomacy.
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Iran has not yet replied to latest US proposal, contradicting Trump
An Iranian source has said that Tehran has not yet responded to the latest US proposal to end the war, contradicting US reports that the White House believes a one-page 14-point memorandum is close.
ECB warns Iran war energy shock could force rate adjustment
ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone warned the eurozone may need to adjust interest rates as the Iran war energy shock pushes inflation to 3% and oil supply losses outstrip the 1973, 1979 and 2022 crises combined.
Project Freedom fails and highlights Trump's weak hand
The White House launched Project Freedom on May 4, but US President Donald Trump cancelled it less than 48 hours later in a move that the Iranian press took as a failure and retreat.
COMMENT: Iran war’s geopolitical risks alone is not enough to cause a global recession
The geopolitical shocks of the Gulf war are dominating headlines and investor sentiment, but these shocks rarely act as the primary engine of global economic downturns, according to a note by Ben May of Oxford Economics.
COMMENT: How Trump lost Europe in Armenia
Forty-eight European heads of state met in Yerevan on May 4 with no American present. The Yerevan EPC was the moment Europe stopped trying to prevent the transatlantic rupture and started managing it.
Japan quietly resumes Russian oil imports as Hormuz crisis forces a pragmatic rethink
A cargo of Russian oil arrived in Japan for the first time since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as pragmatism overtakes principles in Tokyo.
Confusion reigns as America’s Operation Project Freedom attempts to escort tankers through Hormuz
Confusion reigned after Iran claimed it had hit two US warships attempting to escort US-flagged tankers through the Strait of Hormuz on May 4, while the US said two US tankers had made the passage.