Bloomberg: The US and Iran are considering a two-week ceasefire extension to allow more time to negotiate a peace deal, according to a person familiar with the matter, reducing the risk of a resumption of fighting despite an intensifying standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.
With the initial truce due to expire next week, mediators between the warring sides are seeking technical talks to overcome the most contentious issues preventing a longer-term agreement, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters. Those include the reopening of Hormuz and the future of Iran’s nuclear program…
Double Blockade Keeps Hormuz Shipping at Fraction of Peace Level
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that’s become a focal point for the global economy, stayed far below peacetime levels as an effective double blockade stifles vessel movements.
White House calls oil CEOs as energy prices squeeze voters
Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will urge the heads of top U.S. oil and gas companies in a call Thursday to increase drilling in a bid to lower oil prices, three people with direct knowledge of the call told POLITICO…
Pentagon Approaches Automakers, Manufacturers to Boost Weapons Production
Senior defense officials have held talks about producing weapons and other military supplies with the top executives of several companies, including Mary Barra of General Motors and Jim Farley of Ford Motor, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The Pentagon is interested in enlisting the companies to use their personnel and factory capacity to increase production of munitions and other equipment as the wars in Ukraine and Iran deplete stocks…
Iran-Linked Ships Take New Path To Trickle Into the Persian Gulf
At least two US-sanctioned, Iran-linked vessels made their way through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Persian Gulf on Thursday, taking what may be a new route from the United Arab Emirates even as a US blockade enters its third day…
U.S. Oil Blockade Is Set to Boost American Exports—and Prices at the Pump
U.S. crude exports are poised to hit a record this month as more than 70 supertankers approach the Gulf Coast to load up on oil…
US Probes Suspicious Oil Trades Made Before Trump Pivots
The top US derivatives regulator is investigating a series of suspiciously well-timed trades in the oil futures market ahead of recent policy pivots by President Donald Trump related to the war in Iran, according to people familiar with the matter…
Ceasefire between Israel and Hizbollah expected ‘soon’, say Lebanese officials
A truce between Israel and the Lebanese militant group could come into effect “this week”, most likely after Israeli ground forces finish taking the key town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, said two people familiar with the matter…
Navy plays deadly game of hide-and-seek with Iranian mines
More than a dozen American warships are already in the region, and more are on the way. They’re primarily tasked with enforcing President Donald Trump’s blockade on Iranian shipping in and around the Persian Gulf.
But they’re also serving as mine-sweepers by marshalling surface ships, helicopters and underwater drones in a dangerous mission aimed at destroying those hard-to-find weapons before they detonate…
EU climate chief warns there is ‘no workaround’ for high energy prices
There is no financial “workaround” for “mind-boggling” energy price rises in Europe, and the latest crisis shows the need to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels through green investments, the EU’s climate commissioner has warned…
Iran’s War-Shattered Economy Means It Has an Urgent Reason to Negotiate
Damage done by U.S. and Israeli attacks will take years to repair and puts pressure on Tehran to seek financial relief in talks…
Gulf states turn to private deals in $10bn wartime borrowing spree
Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Kuwait avoid public markets for fundraising as Iran conflict delivers economic hit…
The gamble in Trump’s Iran blockade that could decide the war
The strategy assumes that Iran will respond to the pressure in a way that Washington perceives as logical. Recent history, however, suggests that US adversaries – such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia and Libya – often do not act according to Western calculations of their own national interests…
How US and Iran could reach a peace deal that both can sell as a victory
Trump may get a deal that reduces Iran’s means of building a bomb. But the unintended consequences of his first war of choice are only beginning to spill out. And the first is that Iran’s hardliners undoubtedly feel they need a bomb now more than ever…