ME-crisis

Qatar's energy company QatarEnergy has extended the suspension of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply to Bangladesh, as ship movement through the Strait of Hormuz remains halted. Pakistan's buyers have also been informed that LNG will not be supplied until November.QatarEnergy has also informed Italy's energy company Edison that it will not be able to supply LNG until the beginning of December. Edison said six more LNG cargoes have been newly cancelled. With this, the total number of cargoes not...

Iran has set seven conditions for resuming peace talks with the United States. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the conditions had been conveyed to Washington through Qatar. Rezaei made the remarks in an interview with Qatar-based news outlet Al Jazeera on Saturday. He said Qatar had already communicated Iran’s conditions to the United States. Tehran is now waiting for a response from US President Donald Trump. In a post on X, Rezaei also said tha...

Turkey and several other countries have put forward new conditions and proposals to end the ongoing war between the United States and Iran. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said efforts were underway to advance negotiations between the two countries through these proposals. However, he pointed out that reaching an agreement had become difficult due to deep mistrust between Iran and the U.S.A. In an interview with Turkish television channel NTV, Fidan said, “Turkey and other countries ar...

EU petrol and diesel prices hit record highs this week, according to the European Commission. Refining margins—the cost of turning crude oil into fuel—are partly to blame, and prices could remain elevated as ECB experts tell Euronews that diesel margins are expected to peak only in October.Filling up a car has never cost more on average across the European Union, according to European Commission data going back more than two decades. At the latest average prices, it costs about €103 to fill a 50...

The Middle East war now surrounds two sea routes. On one side is Hormuz, and on the other, Bab al-Mandeb. Both are the heart of the global energy trade, and both are now facing uncertainty. The waves of these two crises are washing over the shores of import-dependent economies like Bangladesh. The longer the war drags on, the more prolonged the uncertainty in the global energy market will be. Experts believe that alongside managing reserves and seeking alternative sources in the short term, dive...

Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, ​adding to concerns about Iran-related threats to energy supplies after Saudi Arabia shut down a vital oil pipeline.The British navy-affiliated agency UKMTO said it had a report of ‌a projectile hitting a vessel as it moved through the Strait of Hormuz. The amount of damage and the status of the crew were unknown as of early Sunday, the agency said.UKMTO's report came the day after Saudi Arabia said...

US President Donald Trump recently announced what he described as "the largest oil deal in the history of the world" with Venezuela.On August 28, he claimed that this deal would more than double the United States' oil reserves. At the same time, it would lower fuel prices for Americans. Additionally, Venezuela's economy would benefit.However, analysts say the reality is different. This deal could increase oil supply in the long term. But in the immediate term, there is little chance of oil or fu...

Iran is still seeking a negotiated solution to its ‌conflict with the U.S., President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, a day after the two countries resumed hostilities for the first time since late July, driving oil prices up more than 3.5%.Pezeshkian's comments also came after U.S. President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video clip that he said showed Iran's oil hub Kharg Island being destroyed. There was no evidence of any such attack and a U.S. official said on Monday the military had...

Oil prices were trading nearly 2% higher on Monday after the U.S. attacked ‌an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz and drew retaliation from Tehran, as their conflict extended into its sixth month.Brent crude futures climbed $1.77, or 2%, to $89.87 a barrel by 0733 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $84.85, up $1.45, or 1.74%.U.S. forces ​struck two launchers on Iran's Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the first known American ​strikes on the country since late...

Iran has announced that it will not allow any military vessels to transit through the Strait of Hormuz under a potential agreement being negotiated with Oman, a move that could reshape maritime traffic through one of the world's most vital oil and gas chokepoints.Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed on Tuesday that Tehran is firmly opposed to military traffic in the strategic waterway under the terms of the emerging deal. His comments came after senior diplomats from Iran and Oman...

The world's two largest economies are now in a face-off over the United States' new sanctions against Iran. On Tuesday, a day after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced fresh economic pressure on countries and entities trading with Iran, China warned that Beijing would take necessary countermeasures if the legitimate interests of Chinese companies are harmed.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, speaking at a regular press briefing Tueday said that unilateral US sanctions...

Six months after the outbreak of war in the Middle East, the strategic Strait of Hormuz remains largely paralysed. Commercial shipping has yet to recover, thousands of seafarers are still stranded in the Gulf, and the flow of vital commodities through the waterway is a fraction of what it once was.Before Iran shut the strait in February—in retaliation for joint US‑Israeli airstrikes—roughly one‑fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through this narrow chokepoint. Today, traff...

US President Donald Trump has again inflamed tensions with Iran by sharing a map on social media that labels the strategic Strait of Hormuz as “NEW US Territory.” The post, which appeared on Truth Social on Sunday, follows an identical graphic he shared on August 18 and echoes his earlier remarks at a Long Island police event, where he said he would soon claim the waterway as American domain.The strait, a narrow chokepoint through which a significant share of global oil passes, has become the fl...

One side says the negotiating table is now empty. The other says the door to dialogue is not closed, but not by bowing down. Caught between these two positions is the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical energy routes. US President Donald Trump made it clear on Tuesday that no negotiations are currently taking place with Iran, and no new meetings are scheduled. At the same time, he claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is open and operational. Tehran, however, immediately responded tha...

Houthi rebels have carried out two consecutive attacks on a cargo ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Yemen's internationally recognized government alleges that at least 6 people were killed and 10 others injured in the strikes.The attack was launched Tuesday on the Egyptian-owned vessel Tihamah. This marks the first casualty on a ship in a Houthi-linked attack since the United States and Israel initiated a war against Iran on February 28.Yemen's Ministry of Transport reported that the Houthis fir...

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan has invited top Iranian officials for talks as mediation efforts to end the war with the United States are reinvigorated. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, inviting him "to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience." Separately, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq extended an invitation to Iranian counterpart Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.The outreach came as US President Donald Trump accused Tehran of being "unbelievably d...

After nearly two weeks of escalating military action, the United States has halted its airstrikes on Iran, as diplomatic efforts intensify to avert a full-scale war.Following 13 consecutive nights of bombing, no US strikes were reported overnight, raising hopes that the pause could open a window for negotiations. Still, President Donald Trump has repeatedly cautioned that military action could resume if diplomatic overtures fail.The lull comes just ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netany...

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian military have claimed responsibility for a series of simultaneous strikes targeting U.S. military bases across five Middle Eastern nations: Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. According to a report by Al Jazeera, Tehran stated that these operations were carried out in retaliation for continuous U.S. attacks on various regions in southern Iran.In a statement broadcast on the state network IRIB, the IRGC announc...

The United States is demanding a public commitment from Iran to completely halt attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Washington argues that while Iranian officials have privately expressed regret over the attacks, this is not sufficient—they must publicly announce a halt to the hostilities.A crucial meeting between the two countries is scheduled to take place today (Saturday) in Oman. As one of the primary conditions for these talks, Washington has demanded that Iran publicly dec...

The U.S. military launched fresh retaliatory strikes on a military installation in the strategic Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, further threatening a fragile ceasefire between the two nations.According to U.S. Central Command (Centcom), American forces neutralized four Iranian one-way attack dro...