Iraq
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.
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.
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.
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.
COMMENT: Gulf economies face uneven shocks to their external position as war disrupts trade flows
The impact of the war on Gulf economies’ external positions is diverging sharply, with some states facing severe current account deterioration while others benefit from higher energy prices Capital Economics said in a note.
Where food accounts for a large slice of imports - Statista
Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and supply chain disruptions caused by the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, concerns over global food security have intensified, Statista reports.
The Strait of Hormuz is also a digital chokepoint
The IRGC closed the Strait of Hormuz on March 2, choking off a fifth of the world’s oil supplies and causing the “worst oil crisis in history.” However, the IRGC has another card to play: cut the internet cables that run through the Strait.
Trump congratulates Iraq's al-Zaidi after Maliki bid collapses
US President Donald Trump congratulated Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi on April 30, ending a four-month standoff in which Washington derailed Nouri al-Maliki's bid under threat of sanctions on Iraq's central bank, oil and political figur
How China captured the Gulf while Washington forgot to send an ambassador
Beijing now trades nearly $400bn a year with the Middle East, runs the region's largest infrastructure programmes, and brokers its diplomacy. America still sells the weapons. It is not enough
How Tehran systematically dismantled America's Gulf military network in the first days of the war- NBC
When US and Israeli forces launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28, striking Iran's nuclear sites, missile factories and military infrastructure, the Trump administration was expecting a walk in the park. It wasn't.
Iran's oil sector fails to "explode" as Trump's shut-in deadline passes
The US blockade of tankers serving Iran’s oil exports is intended to cut Iranian oil exports to near-zero and force its production to stop as storage tanks fill, forcing Tehran to return to the negotiation table. The plan hasn't worked.
Why global population collapse will keep the wars coming
Demographers warned for decades that ageing, declining states grow more dangerous, not less. The wars now spreading from Eastern Europe to the Gulf to East Asia look increasingly like the opening engagements of a long contest over who outlasts whom.
Iraq’s President tasks Ali Al-Zaidi with forming new government
Iraq’s President, Nizar Amidi, formally tasked Ali Al-Zaidi, the nominee of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-aligned political parties, with forming a new government within 30 days.
COMMENT: Russia’s Iran gamble risks sacrificing Gulf strategy for tactical gains
Russia’s deepening entanglement in the crisis around Iran is delivering short-term geopolitical dividends, but at a potentially high strategic cost.
Gulf oil output could recover within months of Hormuz reopening, Goldman Sachs says
Gulf crude oil production could recover to close to pre-war levels within a few months of the Strait of Hormuz safely reopening, according to Goldman Sachs.
Iran war's fertiliser shock sets the stage for a slow-burning food inflation crisis
The Iran war's most insidious economic aftershock may not be measured in oil price spikes or shipping costs, but in the price of the nutrients that grow the world's food.
Trump's blockade of Hormuz fails as dozens of tankers pass through - FT
The Trump administration naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz failed after at least 34 tankers with links to Iran passed through the narrow waterway and exited the Persian Gulf in defiance of the US warships attempts to halt Iran’s oil exports.
COMMENT: Why China is hedging for now in the Middle East
As the US-Israel-Iran war enters its second month, one of the most consequential geopolitical actors has been conspicuous by its silence. China has not intervened, has not condemned, and has not chosen sides in any meaningful public way.