Iran Financial News

Lloyd Austin recently spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant to explore opportunities for de-escalation amidst rising Middle East tensions. Their conversation highlighted the US' support for Israel's security, particularly in the face of threats from Iran and Iranian proxies. Sharing a post on X, Austin wrote, «I spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant today to discuss opportunities for regional de-escalation. I reaffirmed that the United States remains fully prepared to defend US personnel, Israel, and partners across the region against threats from Iran and Iran-backed proxies.»

Sunni lawmaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani as its speaker, lawmakers said, breaking a nearly year-long deadlock over the position that had remained vacant due to protracted disagreements among political factions. The stalemate followed a decision by the Federal Supreme Court last November which upended the career of former speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, Iraq's most powerful Sunni Muslim politician and set the stage for a fight over succession. Mashhadani, who previously served as parliament speaker from 2006 to 2008, was elected to the post again with significant support from the coalition that includes influential Shi'ite parties and Iran-aligned groups along with the State of Law coalition, which is led by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

US elections, Bitcoin prices have climbed over the $71,000 mark for the first time since June. The digital currency increased by more than 2%, reaching $71,310 while other cryptocurrencies, such as Ether and Dogecoin, also saw gains of about 4%. Bitcoin is often linked to Donald Trump’s campaign because he has been vocal about supporting digital assets and even vowed to make the US the crypto capital of the planet while Kamala Harris has called for a regulatory framework for digital assets.

Hezbollah's new leader Naim Qassem on Wednesday said the group would agree to a ceasefire with Israel under acceptable terms, but added that a viable deal has yet to be presented. Qassem, who was named Hezbollah secretary-general on Tuesday, did not explicitly link a Lebanon ceasefire to an end to fighting in Gaza, a position previously held by the Iran-backed group. «If the Israelis decide that they want to stop the aggression, we say we accept, but under the conditions that we see as appropriate and suitable,» Qassem said in a pre-recorded speech, his first since he was named the group's new leader.

The two, brothers of Kurdish origin, each had four fingers on their right hands amputated by a guillotine machine at the prison in the city of Urmia in northwest Iran on Tuesday, the reports said. They were then transferred to hospital for medical care, the reports added.

Iranian authorities have lifted a ban on imports of new iPhone 14, 15 and 16 models by the U.S. tech giant Apple

Gaza war, the Israeli army's reservists are exhausted and it is struggling to recruit soldiers just as it opens a new front in Lebanon. Some 300,000 reservists have been called up since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, according to the army, 18 percent of them men over 40 who should have been exempted. Military service is mandatory from the age of 18 for Israeli men and women, though several exemptions apply.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Iran’s “axis of resistance" has suffered a series of blows delivered by Israel over the past month, including operations targeting the leadership of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah, and a strike last week on Iran’s missile-making facilities used, in part, to supply the groups. That hasn’t stopped Yemen’s Houthis from targeting more ships this week in the Red Sea with drones and missiles, the latest demonstration of how an escalating regional war appears to be boosting a once minor Iran-backed player in the region.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—The U.S. is running low on some types of air-defense missiles, raising questions about the Pentagon’s readiness to respond to the continuing wars in the Middle East and Europe and a potential conflict in the Pacific.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s reliance on imported crude oil is getting worse. The latest government data shows that the country imported 88.2% of the oil it consumed in the first half of 2024-25, up from 87.6% a year earlier.

Oil prices edged up on Tuesday, after a sharp plunge in the previous session, as a U.S. plan to purchase oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve provided support while investors remained focused on developments in the Middle East. Brent crude futures climbed 44 cents, or 0.6%, to $71.86 a barrel by 0025 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $67.83 a barrel, up 45 cents, or 0.7%.

North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to train and likely fight against Ukraine within «the next several weeks,» the Pentagon said Monday, in a move that Western leaders say will intensify the almost three-year war and jolt relations in the Indo-Pacific region. Some of the North Korean soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said, and were believed to be heading for the Kursk border region, where Russia has been struggling to push back a Ukrainian incursion. Earlier Monday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte NATO confirmed recent Ukrainian intelligence reports that some North Korean military units were already in the Kursk region.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of Iran, has had a bad week. Elon Musk’s X suspended his new Hebrew-language account, and the Israel Defense Forces unleashed a devastating series of air raids against his country’s military infrastructure.

U.S. stocks are rising as gains for Big Tech make up for slides in oil-and-gas stocks after the price of crude tumbled sharply

Global oil prices are falling sharply after a retaliatory strike by Israel over the weekend targeted Iranian military sites rather than its energy infrastructure as had been feared

Middle East, India has solid oil reserves sufficient to last 12 days, with additional supplies in refineries that can sustain the country for about 18 days. However, any breakdown in the Strait of Hormuz lasting beyond 30 days could have significant lagging effects on the global economy and Indian markets, said former Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai on Monday. “Moreover, there is concern that if a war spreads into the Gulf, it could affect the eight million expatriates living there,” he added. The diplomat made these observations while discussing “The Middle East Quagmire: Will the Iran-Israel War Spiral Further?” at an event organized by Synergia, a Bengaluru-based think tank. Speaking about the recent developments and Israel's decision to scale back its attacks on Iran, Mathai believes that US influence remains a key stabilizer in the region, as its presence deters large-scale conflict. “While Israel has formidable military and technological capacities, its vulnerabilities are showing. It currently needs U.S. assistance and must therefore rely on maintaining a solid line of communication with the decision-making authorities in Washington,” Mathai explained, adding that recent figures indicate as much as 40% of the next supply of missiles for the Iron Dome and Arrow will need to come from American sources.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that the West Bank’s economy could collapse if Israel doesn’t preserve its banking relationship with Palestinian financial institutions in the territory it occupies, highlighting another potential source of instability as Israel also fights foes in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yellen and several of her global counterparts urged the Israeli leader’s government to approve a waiver that would continue to allow Palestinian and Israeli banks to correspond.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has expressed concerns about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the growing cooperation between US adversaries including Russia, China, North Korea and Iran. “The risk is extraordinary,” he said. “World War III has already begun. You already have battles on the ground being coordinated in multiple countries," he said at the Institute of International Finance’s annual meeting in Washington DC. Jamie Dimon has given a stern warning about geopolitical threats that could hurt the global economy. “Recent events show that conditions are treacherous and getting worse,” he wrote in a press release. According to a report in Business Insider, Jamie Dimon said US adversaries want to topple the world order, and the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts could explode into a new world war.

The recent surge in the prices was a momentum play following an escalation in the Middle East conflict, with Israel preparing to act on Iran’s missile attack. The US Fed Reserve’s interest rate cut, central banks' gold buying, upcoming US election and geopolitical risk are continuing to remain the key supportive factors for bullion prices. Investors may look for accumulation on any decline in the prices. The current market environment could be favourable for a strategic allocation in gold as an investment in the portfolio, said Tapan Patel, Fund Manager-Commodities, Tata Asset Management.