Palestine
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.
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.
COMMENT: Did Europe just hand the future to Madrid?
Spain's Socialist government is delivering Europe's fastest growth, the EU's most outspoken stance on Gaza, the continent's biggest Chinese EV investments and Latin America's only serious European interlocutor.
Iran demands Gulf states pay compensation for war damage
Iran's UN envoy has demanded that Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan pay full compensation for war damage, accusing them of complicity in aggression, in a claim that reverses the position taken by the six states themselves.
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.
Iran's Nikzad warns of further US military action
Iran's deputy parliament speaker Ali Nikzad has warned of possible further US military action but argued direct confrontation, economic siege, proxy warfare and media pressure would all backfire on Washington given Iran's deterrent capability.
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Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed as Iran maintains shipping restrictions
Only four vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on April 26 according to Kpler data, Tasnim has reported, indicating the world's most important oil chokepoint remains effectively closed at Iran's discretion despite the April 7 ceasefire.
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'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.
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.