Iran Financial News

OPEC and allies led by Russia (OPEC+) have agreed to extend voluntary first-quarter oil output cuts into the second, sources said on Sunday. OPEC+ in November agreed to voluntary cuts totalling about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter, led by Saudi Arabia rolling over its own voluntary cut. OPEC+ has implemented a series of output cuts since late 2022 to support the market amid rising output from the United States and other non-member producers and worries over demand as major economies grapple with high interest rates.

The Indian Express. Pakistan has also decided to hold its National Day celebrations in New Delhi for the first time since 2019. For India until May this year -- when the Lok Sabha poll results would be declared, it will be a wait and watch situation to assess the vision of the Pakistan’s military-backed new Sharif-Zardari government.

MILAN is an India-hosted biennial multi-national naval exercise that originated in 1995. The exercise aims to enhance cooperation and interoperability among the navies of diverse participating countries.

A shop in Iran’s capital has been offering consumers in the Islamic Republic one of the hottest products in the country — an iPhone that came out in 2021

Red Sea operations, the Iran-aligned group's leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Thursday. Houthi militants have repeatedly fired on international commercial ships since mid-November in solidarity with Palestinians over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Iran as the country faces a multitude of challenges following a tumultuous period since the last parliamentary elections in 2020. This will be the first elections in Iran since the nationwide anti-government protests of 2022 that were triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini. The previous election in Iran in 2019 were held after major protests.

Algeria will flex its muscle as a critical supplier for European countries seeking to lessen dependence on Russian gas as it welcomes leaders from other energy rich nations to a summit in Algiers this week

Oil prices slipped in early Asian trade on Wednesday as the prospect of a delayed U.S. rate cutting cycle offset the boost provided by talk of extensions to production cuts from OPEC+. Brent crude futures fell 38 cents, or 0.45%, to $83.27 a barrel by 0110 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) were down 35 cents, or 0.44%, to $78.52 a barrel.

The U.S. and United Kingdom sanctioned a deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a Houthi militant member, Tuesday

BERLIN—Russian expansionism and fears about American disengagement from Europe are causing such alarm here that Germany is beginning to ponder a question once considered unthinkable: Does it need to have its own nuclear weapons? In recent weeks, German officials have called on France and the U.K.—Europe’s two nuclear powers—to work with Berlin to develop a fallback plan for nuclear deterrence for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, should the U.S. no longer be willing to fulfill that role.

By Arathy Somasekhar and Andrew Hayley

Oil prices ticked up in early Asian trading on Monday, extending gains for the third straight day, as shipping disruptions spurred supply worries. Brent crude futures rose 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $82.69 a barrel by 0106 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) climbed 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $77.73 a barrel.

By Colleen Howe

By David Milliken

The U.S. and Britain have struck 18 Houthi targets in Yemen

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

Mint. Mrkrtchyan also said that his country is keen to deepen defence ties with India. “We have cooperation in the defence and we are looking for what to make our cooperation much deeper," he said in response to a question about planned defence deals between the two countries.

propaganda is almost as effective and persuasive as real propaganda, a team of researchers have found after a study involving more than 8,000 US adults. They also warned that propagandists could use artificial intelligence (AI) to expose citizens to many articles, thereby increasing the volume of propaganda and making them harder to detect. For the study, researchers at the Stanford University and the Georgetown University in the US identified six English language articles, which, according to investigative journalists and the research community, likely originated from Iranian or Russian state-aligned covert propaganda campaigns.

Yemen on Saturday, answering a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including a missile strike this past week that set fire to a cargo vessel. According to U.S. officials, American and British fighter jets hit about 18 sites across multiple locations, targeting missiles, launchers, rockets, drones and unmanned surface and underwater vehicles. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to provide early details of an ongoing military operation. This is the fourth time that the U.S. and British militaries have conducted a combined operation against the Houthis since Jan. 12. But the U.S. has also been carrying out almost daily strikes to take out Houthi targets, including incoming missiles and drones aimed at ships, as well as weapons that were prepared to launch.

Houthi sites in Yemen on Saturday, according to officials. As reported by Reuters, this marks the latest in a series of military operations against the Iran-backed group, which has been implicated in ongoing attacks on shipping in the region.

Also Read: OPEC+ to support Brent at $80/bbl; ONGC/Oil India placed well on dividend pay, valuations Back home, on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), crude oil futures due for a March 19 expiry, last settled 0.05 per cent higher at ₹6,356 per bbl, having swung between ₹6,344 and ₹6,498 per bbl during the session, against a previous close of ₹6,353 per barrel. -The Federal Reserve has held its policy rate steady in a 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent range since last July. Minutes of its meeting last month show most central bankers were worried about moving too quickly to ease policy.