Iran Financial News

Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general, Naim Qassem, has reportedly fled crisis-stricken Lebanon and is now residing in Tehran, according to local media sources. The move, reportedly ordered by Iranian leaders, is seen as a precautionary measure amidst rising concerns for Qassem’s safety, as he is believed to be a potential target of an Israeli assassination.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The annual festival season that typically sees a scramble for gold may see a fall in demand this time, the first in four years, as runaway prices put the yellow metal out of reach for many Indians. Gold price nearing ₹80,000 per 10 gm has curbed new purchases and turned customers to exchanging old ornaments in the December quarter, jewellers said, a time when festivals and weddings spark gold purchases.

Hezbollah on the defensive after a series of heavy Israeli blows, the United States and Iran are locked in a showdown over Lebanon's future, analysts said. Hezbollah, the most powerful regional force backed by Iran, which arms and finances it, has long held sway in Lebanon. But the group's influence is now in question after Israel's assassination of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a significant setback.

air strikes targeted south Beirut on Sunday after the Israeli army warned civilians to evacuate the stronghold of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, state media said. The reported strikes came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement of trying to assassinate him by attacking his residence. «Enemy (Israeli) airplanes carried out two strikes this morning on Beirut's southern suburbs, one of them hitting a residential building in Haret Hreik» near a mosque and a hospital, the National News Agency reported.

The two documents were prepared in recent days by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which is responsible for analyzing images and information collected by American spy satellites. They began circulating Friday on the Telegram app and were being discussed by largely pro-Iran accounts. The documents, which offer interpretations of satellite imagery, provide insight into a potential strike by Israel on Iran in the coming days. Such a strike has been anticipated in retaliation for an Iranian assault earlier this month, which was itself a response to an Israeli attack.

Keir Starmer told Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu that he was «alarmed to hear about the drone launched towards» his residence earlier Saturday, the UK leader's office said. Netanyahu has accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of trying to assassinate him, after his office said a drone was launched Saturday toward his residence in the central town of Caesarea while he and his wife were elsewhere. Iran's United Nations mission later said that Lebanon's Hezbollah group — armed and financed by Tehran — was behind the drone attack, which Netanyahu's office has noted caused no injuries.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. AFTER THE Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in 2021 Yahya Sinwar appeared sitting on a sofa in the open air, surrounded by rubble and smiling. It became a defining image of resistance for many Hamas supporters.

Israel's promised retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month, Iran has balanced threats of a fierce response to any Israeli attack with diplomatic efforts to prevent escalation into all-out regional war. Iran launched 200 missiles at its arch-foe on October 1 in response to an Israeli strike that killed Iranian general Abbas Nilforoushan and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut late last month. The missile barrage was also in retaliation for Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran in July in an attack widely blamed on Israel.

Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea was hit by a drone launched from Lebanon. The Israeli military confirmed the incident, stating that the drone “hit a structure” near the prime minister’s home, according to AFP. Israeli media outlet Channel 12 reported that a senior government official confirmed Iran’s involvement in the attack. Netanyahu’s office released a statement assuring that the prime minister and his wife, Sara, were not at home during the attack, and no injuries were reported. «There were no injuries,» the statement emphasized. The attack marks a significant escalation in hostilities along Israel’s northern border, with Hezbollah suspected of orchestrating the strike. Two additional drones fired from Lebanon were intercepted by Israel’s air defense system, preventing further damage. Sirens blared across several northern Israeli cities, including Haifa Bay, Kfar HaMaccabi, Kiryat Yam, and Kiryat Atta, warning of incoming rocket fire from Lebanon, The Times of Israel reported.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind behind the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, has reportedly been killed.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Israel’s yearlong military campaign in Gaza has hollowed out the Palestinian militant group Hamas and killed some of its top leaders. But the death of Yahya Sinwar this week deprived the group of its chief strategist and leading proponent of all-out war with Israel.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. IN THE END Yahya Sinwar died brutally in the rubble of Gaza, like tens of thousands of victims of the war he unleashed a year earlier. In a firefight with an Israeli patrol in southern Gaza, the leader of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement, was killed on October 17th.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently announced that his country has successfully attracted $400bn in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), with plans to bring in an additional $150bn by 2029. This new investment cycle will be spearheaded by the Investment Council. During his address at the Astana International Forum, President Tokayev highlighted the significant political reforms underway, which aim to bolster stability and cater to the democratic aspirations of the populace. He cited the recent referendum on the construction of a nuclear power plant as evidence of Kazakhstan's commitment to democratic values. In addition to attracting foreign capital, Tokayev reaffirmed Kazakhstan's commitment to regional cooperation, particularly within Central Asia. He noted the beneficial impacts of increased collaboration among neighboring countries and highlighted the significant transformations in the region over the past decade.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Warren Buffett's warning about 'a pin waiting for every bubble' seems prophetic as the Indian stock market faces a much-needed correction. Despite the slew of reasons offered by mainstream media, such as Iran-Israel conflict, China stimulus, regulatory changes, the underlying reality is that Indian markets have been overvalued for some time now.

Sinwar spent nearly two decades in custody whose 'high tolerance for suffering' vision shaped his role as Hamas leader. On Thursday, Israel said troops in Gaza had killed Sinwar. The secretive figure feared on both sides of the battle lines engineered the surprise October 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel, along with the even more shadowy Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’ armed wing. Israel said that it killed Deif in a July airstrike in southern Gaza that killed more than 70 Palestinians.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) surged over 2% in Tuesday's trading, with Bitcoin hitting its highest level since July at $65,900 in early trading. As of 11:57 AM IST, Bitcoin was trading 2.3% higher at $65,438, while Ethereum rose 2.8% to $2,603.

underground bunkers used by Yemen's Houthi rebels, officials said. It wasn't immediately clear what damage was done in the strikes. However, it is incredibly rare for the B-2 Spirit to be used in the strikes targeting the Houthis, who have been attacking ships for months in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. HARROWING FOOTAGE of limbs attached to intravenous drips inside burning hospital tents in Deir al-Balah in Gaza on October 14th was a reminder that the war there—one of several fronts Israel has been fighting on since Hamas massacred 1,200 people a year ago—is far from over. Although the world’s focus is on Lebanon and a possible Israeli retaliation against Iran, the horror in Gaza continues.

Michael Rubin has described the concept of Khalistan as artificial as Pakistan was in its infancy and cautioned the USA establishment against entertaining any Khalistani figures. In an article titled ‘Khalistani Extremism: A Growing Threat In The U.S. And Canada’ in the National Security Journal, Rubin explained, “Khalistan today is as artificial as Pakistan was in its infancy. Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Choudhry Rahmat Ali and Muhammad Ali Jinnah created the concept of Pakistan to be a separate state for Muslims upon India’s independence. The name Pakistan, coined by Rahmat Ali, was completely artificial: It was both an anagram, taking the P from Punjab, A from Afghan, K from Kashmir, S from Sindh, I from the Indus River Valley, and the last four letters from Baluchistan, and a pun: Pakistan is both a Persian and Urdu word meaning “land of the pure.”” “Khalistan, likewise, has no historical basis. As with Pakistan, Khalistan literally means “land of the pure,” although it substitutes the Persian/Urdu “Pak” for the Punjabi/Arabic “Khalis.” Khalistani separatists use the term to frame their demand for an independent Sikh state in Punjab. Sikhs comprise slightly over half the population of Indian Punjab; their population is now near zero in Pakistani Punjab due to decades of Pakistani sectarian cleansing,” he alleged.

«If you look at OPEC and their announcements in terms of usage, they continue to revise the fact that consumption is actually going down over time. And we do hear that coming from them,» says Jonathan Barratt, CIO, Probis Securities. I think that we have seen this volatile move in crude oil prices ever since we saw Iran launching that ballistic missile against Israel. We saw that spike in crude oil prices. And ever since then, we have been monitoring the movement quite closely. How are you looking at all of these developments and where it is likely to take crude oil prices from here on? Jonathan Barratt: Look, obviously a lot of volatility, crude prices under a lot of pressure. I guess there is a sense of relief that we get that Israel has decided, based on what the US has maybe just told Israel, that they would not attack any of Iran's oil facilities and we get a sense of relief that. And part of that geopolitical risk has sort of come off. But we have also got other influences there in oil prices, which are making it come down at the moment and that is also, of course, China and some of the weak data we are getting out of there. So, there are some major things at the moment and at the moment, they are causing the price of oil to come lower.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. ZIV HOSPITAL is nestled at the bottom of Safed, the highest city in Israel, not far from the border with Syria and Lebanon. In November the hospital acknowledged that hackers had penetrated its computer systems.