Iran Financial News

Shipping major MSC in a client advisory announced that it will implement a contingency surcharge of $1,500 per container on all shipments from the Indian sub-continent to Europe and Black Sea destinations. CMA CGM announced a similar Red Sea surcharge of $1,575 for 20-foot dry containers and up to $3,000 for reefer containers and special equipment. Other major shipping lines too have announced such surcharges.

Iran terror attack LIVE: Amid the twin explosions in Iran's Kerman – about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of Tehran – Iran officials have called it a terrorist attack.Mohammad Saberi – the head of Kerman’s emergency services – has confirmed to state media that more of the critically injured in the blasts have now died, bringing the total number of dead to 103, adding over 141 are wounded and the numbers may rise.Meanwhile, an emergency has been imposed in all the hospitals of the province.Iran’s head of Judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, has released a statement He had said, as quoted by Al Jazeera, “The agents and perpetrators of this grievous crime will undoubtedly be punished."“Responsible intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies are obligated to promptly pursue all the evidence and perpetrators and hand them over to the Judiciary."No outfit has claimed responsibility of the attack as of yet.As per details, the explosions took place in quick succession near the grave of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, as the country marked the anniversary of his killing in a US drone strike in Iraq.Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said that the initial explosion took place at 3.00 pm local time, with a subsequent explosion occurring after people had assembled to assist in the aftermath of the first incident, adding, the majority of casualties resulted from the second explosion.Here are the live updates.Iran terror attack LIVE: Russian President Vladimir Putin on 3 January condemned the Iran blasts and referred to it as 'shocking in cruelty and cynicism', reported AFP.Iran terror attack LIVE: Iran declared Thursday a day of mourning following twin blasts that killed at least 103 people near the grave of

Israeli strike killed the deputy leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas. The day after loud blasts ripped through the district from the drone attack that killed Saleh al-Aruri, armed men of Hezbollah were standing guard in the mainly Shiite Muslim area that is their stronghold. Local residents said they were surprised to learn that their busy street housed the secretive Hamas bureau in a non-descript three-storey building nestled next to a pharmacy and a sweets shop. Israel has not claimed the deadly attack but Hamas, the group behind the October 7 attack that sparked the Gaza war, and Lebanese officials have no doubt it was Israel who killed Aruri and six Hamas operatives. Beirut's southern suburbs have long been a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah armed group, but it is also an overcrowded residential area packed with civilians, shops and restaurants. «No one knew that there was a Hamas office here,» said Ahmed, 40, who works in the nearby sweets shop.

By Laura Sanicola and Trixie Yap

The top commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East says Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are showing no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea

The hacking of a municipal water authority in a small Pennsylvania town is prompting new warnings from U.S. security officials as states and the federal government are wrestling with how to harden water utilities against hackers

AFP. A high-level security official told the agency that the leader was killed along with his bodyguards in the strike by Israel, which vowed to destroy Hamas after the movement's unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel. Israel has previously announced the killing in Gaza of Hamas commanders and officials during the war, but Aruri is the most high-profile figure to be killed, and his death came in the first strike on the Lebanese capital since hostilities began.

NEW DELHI : India saw a slump in its tea export earnings during April-November 2023 amid regulatory challenges in Iran, a large market, and due to the ongoing Ukraine crisis impacting exports to the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and Western European region, latest data from the commerce ministry showed. India exported tea worth $531.63 million between April and November 2023, down from $562 million in the year-ago period, according to official data from the Niryat Portal. Geopolitical disturbances, especially in Middle East and Ukraine, subdued economic conditions along with a drop in export prices have led to a decline in export earnings for the commodity, experts said.

Markets opened the year on a cautious footing as mounting tensions in the Red Sea drove oil prices higher and weak Chinese data weighed on Asian shares. 

₹5,942 per bbl, having swung between ₹5,935 and ₹6,148 per bbl during the session, against a previous close of ₹6,027 per barrel. Also Read: India increases oil imports from Saudi as Russian purchases fall to 11-month low in December -A Reuters survey of economists and analysts predicted that Brent crude would average $82.56 a barrel this year, up slightly from the 2023 average of $82.17, with weak global growth expected to cap demand. Geopolitical tensions, however, could provide price support.

By Elizabeth Howcroft

Markets opened the year on a cautious footing as mounting tensions in the Red Sea drove oil prices higher and weak Chinese data weighed on Asian shares. 

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By Florence Tan

ALSO READ: BRICS Summit 2023 Highlights HERE "Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joined BRICS as new full members which is a strong indication of the growing authority of the association and its role in international affairs," the Russian president said. 1. In a statement on the start of Russia's BRICS Chairmanship, Putin said in the statement published on the Kremlin website that the Russian 2024 BRICS Chairmanship will "focus on positive and constructive cooperation with all countries concerned".

BRICS bloc of top emerging economies, including India, Russia and China, has announced induction of five full members into it as part of an attempt to expand its strategic heft against the backdrop of Western dominance in world affairs. As Moscow assumed the presidency of BRICS, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that the grouping has become a 10-nation body now with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joining it as new members.

Every month, Mint’s Plain Facts section brings out an update on key global economic data to thread together the biggest developments in the world that are worth paying attention to. The accompanying analysis and charts attempt to explain how each story is creating ripples on the global stage, where it is headed in the coming weeks, and whether it can impact India. This time, we explain the impact of the attacks on vessels in the Red Sea on world trade and the policy pivot by the US Federal Reserve signalling rate cuts this year.

The US Navy headquarters reported sinking three small boats affiliated with Houthi militants in the Red Sea, according to military officials. This occurred as a response after a US warship answered a distress call from a merchant vessel in the region. The incident involved a Maersk container ship being targeted by Houthi forces at approximately 6.30 am local time, facing an attack from four small Houthi boats. Reuters quoted accounts by American, Maersk, and Houthi officials stating that US helicopters repelled an attack by Iran-backed Houthi militants on a Maersk container vessel, sinking three boats and killing 10 militants.

A surprise surge in American oil and gas production and exports is helping to keep the world stocked, blunting the impact of widening conflict in the Middle East that has crimped key shipping lanes. When Iranian-backed Houthi militants began launching missiles and drones at ships crossing the Red Sea near Yemen in October, many feared disruption to the vital shipping lane would drive up energy prices. But oil and gas prices this past month have sunk about 5% and 23%, respectively.

India monitoring Red Sea developments; got info on US-led naval task force It appeared to be undamaged in that attack and "was able to continue its transit north", said Maersk, one of the world's largest shipping companies. Why the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are worrisome It was then attacked by four ships operated by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, which "engaged fire in an expected attempt to board the vessel", the Danish shipping company said.

In the coming year, we will see not greater multipolarity, but greater bipolarity. China has replaced Russia as America’s main competitor in a new cold war that is less about ideology and more about markets and technology. The $18 trillion Chinese economy has already overtaken that of all 27 European Union countries combined, and China is the largest trading partner to more than 120 countries.