Iran Financial News

Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on Yemen's capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, promising to use «overwhelming lethal force» until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. «Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists' bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,» Trump said in a social media post. «No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.» He also warned Iran to stop supporting the rebel group, promising to hold the country «fully accountable» for the actions of its proxy. The Houthis reported a series of explosions in their territory Saturday evening. Images circulating online show plumes of black smoke over the area of the Sanaa airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility. The extent of the damage was not yet clear. The airstrikes come a few days after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing in waters off Yemen in response to Israel's blockade on Gaza. There have been no Houthi attacks reported since then.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A mineral-rights deal that the Trump administration says will make the U.S. vested in Ukraine’s defense has an instructive historical precedent in Washington’s unofficial oil-for-security pact with Saudi Arabia.

state-sponsored vigilantism" to crush dissent after the «Women, Life, Freedom» protests in 2022, a UN investigation said Friday. Iran is making «concerted state efforts to stifle dissent, perpetuating a climate of fear and systematic impunity», the United Nations' Independent International Fact-Finding Mission said in a new report. These involve «the increased use of technology and surveillance, including through state-sponsored vigilantism». Iran was rocked by demonstrations after the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for women based on Islamic sharia law. Widespread anger led to weeks of taboo-breaking protests against the Islamic republic's system of government under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran's clerical leaders, engaging with the «Great Satan» to hammer out a nuclear deal and ease crippling sanctions may for once be the lesser of two evils. Though it harbours deep mistrust of the United States, and President Donald Trump in particular, Tehran is increasingly concerned that mounting public anger over economic hardships could erupt into mass protests, four Iranian officials said. That's why, despite the unyielding stance and defiant rhetoric of Iran's clerical leaders in public, there is a pragmatic willingness within Tehran's corridors of power to strike a deal with Washington, the people said. Tehran's concerns were exacerbated by Trump's speedy revival of his first term's «maximum pressure» campaign to drive Iran's oil exports towards zero with more sanctions and bring the country's already fragile economy to its knees, they said. President Masoud Pezeshkian has repeatedly highlighted the severity of the economic situation in the Islamic Republic, stating that it is more challenging than during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and pointing this month to the latest round of U.S. sanctions targeting tankers carrying Iranian oil.

Russia is using cryptocurrencies in its oil trade with China and India to skirt Western sanctions, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the matter. While Russia has publicly encouraged the use of crypto and last summer passed a law to allow digital currency payments in international trade, its use in the country's oil trade has not previously been reported. Some Russian oil companies are using bitcoin, ether and stablecoins such as Tether to smooth the conversion of Chinese yuan and Indian rupees to Russian roubles, the sources said, adding that it is a small but growing part of Russia's overall oil trade, which according to the International Energy Agency was worth $192 billion last year. All the sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Cryptocurrencies have already helped enable countries under U.S. sanctions such as Iran and Venezuela to keep their economies running while avoiding use of the dollar, the preferred currency for transactions in the global oil market.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The International Energy Agency said the macroeconomic conditions underpinning its oil-demand projections have worsened over the past month due to global trade tensions, and that it sees a bigger-than-anticipated supply surplus if OPEC+ raises output beyond April. “New U.S.

«In the current situation, we believe that all parties should maintain calm and restraint to avoid escalating the Iran nuclear situation, or even walking towards confrontation and conflict,» foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing. Beijing will host Russia and Iran for trilateral talks on Tehran's nuclear programme on Friday. The meeting will be attended by China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi. The United States withdrew from a landmark deal that had imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief during President Donald Trump's first term, which ended in 2021.

Iran's top diplomat said Wednesday an Arab country will soon deliver it a letter from US President Donald Trump, who has called for striking a nuclear deal with the Islamic republic. «The letter has not reached us yet but an envoy from an Arab country is set to deliver it soon in Tehran,» Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters after a cabinet meeting. He did not elaborate on the identity of the Arab country or the timing of the letter's delivery. On Friday, Trump said he wrote a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for talks to forge a new deal on Tehran's nuclear programme, or face a potential military option. But Iran has rejected talks under «maximum pressure» policy that Trump reinstated after his return to the White House in January.

strategic partnership, including defence engagement and connectivity via Iran through INSTC and Chabahar Port. Visiting Armenian foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan and external affairs minister S Jaishankar engaged in detailed conversation on expanding defence trade and connectivity initiatives, it is learnt. There was also focus on launching direct flights and enhancing business and people-to-people ties. Mirzoyan delivered a speech at the Indian Council on World Affairs, MEA's think tank.

Donald Trump has asked U.S. Representative Mike Waltz, a retired Army National Guard officer and combat veteran, to serve as his National Security Adviser. The position, which does not require Senate confirmation, places Waltz at the center of handling several pressing global security challenges, including the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, tensions with China, and the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Waltz’s Role and Policy Stance Waltz, a three-term Republican congressman from Florida, is known for his hawkish stance on China and Iran. He has been a sharp critic of the Biden administration’s national security strategy, including the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and handling of Chinese espionage. Waltz has pushed for a tougher U.S. approach to counter China’s influence, calling for a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights violations and concerns around COVID-19 origins.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President Trump says he’s written to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose regime insists sanctions relief precede any nuclear talks. But Iran is in no position to dictate preconditions.

The comment came a day after the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran will not negotiate under U.S. «bullying». In the post on X the mission said: «If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-a-vis any potential militarization of Iran's nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration.»

The decision came as part of President Donald Trump's «maximum pressure campaign» on Iran, which is «designed to end Iran's nuclear threat, curtail its ballistic missile programme and stop it from supporting terrorist groups,» the statement said. «We urge the Iraqi government to eliminate its dependence on Iranian sources of energy as soon as possible, and welcome the Iraqi Prime Minister's commitment to achieve energy independence,» the statement said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. ‘Climate Change & You’ is a fortnightly newsletter by Bibek Bhattacharya and Sayantan Bera. Subscribe to Mint's newsletters to get them directly in your email inbox. Dear reader, One of the first things that Donald Trump did when he became president was to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, currently on a visit to the United Kingdom, has addressed key global economic issues, including the role of the US dollar, BRICS' position on de-dollarisation, and the internationalisation of the Indian rupee. Speaking at Chatham House in London, he dismissed speculation that India is working to replace the US dollar as the world’s primary reserve currency. «I don't think there's any policy on our part to replace the dollar. As I said, at the end of the day, the dollar as the reserve currency is the source of international economic stability, and right now, what we want in the world is more economic stability, not less,» he said.

Obama administration and then-Secretary of State John Kerry, who helped in derailing and obstructing an ongoing FBI investigation into Iranian terrorists and stopping due arrests to protect the nuclear deal.

This move reverses the Biden Administration's partial arms embargo, which had withheld certain weapons and ammunition from Israel. «I have signed a declaration to use emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel. The decision to reverse the Biden Administration's partial arms embargo, which wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel, is yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump,» said Rubio.

Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, on Saturday, met with Majid Takht Ravanchi, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran for Political Affairs. The meeting discussed relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran, with both sides commending the latest round of political consultations between the two countries. The two officials underscored the importance of strengthening mutual interests and explored ways to enhance economic and trade relations between the neighbouring countries. The meeting also addressed regional and international developments of mutual concern.

The agency is implementing strict profiling measures for passengers heading to 15 countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Turkiye, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Mauritania, and Kenya. According to a report submitted to the Lahore High Court (LHC) regarding a petition from a pilgrim denied travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, the FIA stated that travelers must possess a clear travel purpose, confirmed hotel bookings, and adequate financial resources. The FIA also mentioned that those traveling for Umrah should have sufficient religious understanding, as reported by Dawn.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The U.S. is ratcheting up sanctions targeting Iran’s oil supply chain, continuing the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure" campaign to effectively blockade the country’s petroleum exports, the Treasury Department said.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russia launched more than 200 drones in an overnight attack, the largest of the war, as he condemned Russia's «aerial terror» and called for unity among Ukraine's allies.