Israel
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's record internet blackout is destroying the urban middle class
Iran's nationwide internet blackout has run since February 28 and remains largely in place after the April 7 ceasefire, with global access available only via a paid "Pro" tier.
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Iran offers US three-stage talks formula via mediators
Iran proposed a three-stage talks framework to the US through mediators, Al Mayadeen has reported, with the conflict's end and Lebanon guarantees first, the Strait of Hormuz second alongside Oman, and the nuclear programme only in the third phase.
Saudi Arabia moves to reclaim Lebanon from Iran's shadow — but the ceasefire it helped build is already fraying
Saudi Arabia has launched its most intensive diplomatic engagement with Lebanon in years, deploying a royal envoy to Beirut, coordinating with Washington on ceasefire terms and invoking a 35-year-old Saudi-brokered accord as the political framework.
UAE launches climate-smart crops initiative to cut food import reliance
The UAE has launched a National Initiative for the Adoption of Climate-Smart Crops, targeting millet, sorghum and salinity-tolerant feed grass to cut import reliance and build drought-resilient food production under the 2051 food security strategy.
COMMENT: Iran was the prequel, China is the target
A growing chorus of analysts from Moscow, Beijing and Washington think tanks argues that the US campaign against Iran was really aimed at China's oil supply chain, making Tehran the prequel to a longer confrontation
Lebanon urges UN action over Israel's targeting of journalists amid reports of IDF looting
Lebanon has urged the UN to take urgent action over Israel's targeting of journalists with 28 media workers killed since October 2023, as IDF soldiers testify to widespread looting of civilian property in southern Lebanon.
Pakistan playing both sides in US-Iran negotiation is a high-risk balancing act
Pakistan is not undertaking the facilitation of negotiations purely as an act of international statecraft, but rather as a nation with a vested interest in avoiding more of the economic fallout from the continuation of hostilities in the Gulf.
Israel's buffer zone in Lebanon won't stop Hezbollah's fibre optic drones
Israel’s security buffer zone in southern Lebanon is supposed to be a shield against Hezbollah attacks that have battered its northern communities for months. But even if the IDF occupies the entire territory it won’t be protect it form drones.
Israel's Lebanon offensive threatens to unravel US-brokered gas deal and block Beirut's energy future
Israel's military occupation of southern Lebanon is threatening to upend a landmark 2022 US-brokered maritime border agreement and derail Lebanon's best remaining hope of tapping its offshore gas wealth.
Threatened, Bombed, Abandoned: Israel kills Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil
Israel targeted and killed well-known Lebanese Al-Akhbar correspondent Amal Khalil on April 23 after she received death threat messages from an Israeli number WhatsApp number.
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.
Italian UNIFIL troops replace statue of Jesus destroyed by Israeli soldier in Lebanon
Italian UNIFIL troops have replaced a statue of Jesus destroyed by an Israeli soldier in southern Lebanon, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani saying Italy is proud of the peacekeepers amid a 10-day Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.
Palestinian women speak out on sexual abuse by Hamas
Testimonies emerging from Gaza have documented a pattern of sexual abuse and exploitation carried out by Hamas militants and affiliated organisations against women.
Iran says first Hormuz toll revenue deposited at central bank
Iran's parliament vice speaker Hamidreza Haji Babaei has said the first revenue from Strait of Hormuz tolls has been deposited at the Central Bank of Iran.
Military use of Caspian Sea is intolerable, says Kazakhstan’s leader
At ecological summit, Tokayev names no countries, but Russia’s lobbing of missiles at Ukraine from the sea and Ukrainian oil platform attacks come to mind.
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.
Iran's Assembly of Experts selects Mojtaba Khamenei as new supreme leader
Iran's Assembly of Experts has selected Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader, succeeding his father, as Sunni and Shia clerics declare allegiance during the US-Iran ceasefire and ongoing naval blockade.
Gulf war poses major threat to global fertiliser markets and food security, IFPRI warns
The ongoing Iran war is disrupting global fertiliser markets with up to 30% of global fertiliser trade passing through the Strait of Hormuz, IFPRI warns, with Africa and South Asia particularly vulnerable to food security risks.
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.