Oil prices rise amid Hormuz tensions, hopes for agreement Brent crude futures rose sharply on Friday as tensions escalated between the United States and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, though gains eased later amid expectations of a possible diplomatic breakthrough. Brent crude settled at $101. 29 per barrel, up $1.
Rubio says sanctions target Chinese entities providing Iran with satellite imagery US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington had imposed sanctions on Chinese entities accused of providing Iran with satellite imagery used to support attacks against US forces in the Middle East. Rubio said the sanctions also targeted Iran’s overseas arms procurement networks and international companies alleged to have supplied raw materials for Tehran’s missile and drone programmes. “We will use our unilateral sanctions to pursue any party that violates UN Security Council resolutions on Iran,” Rubio said.
UN: Iran war pushes global food prices to three-year high Global food prices rose to their highest level since 2023 in April, driven in part by the conflict in the Middle East, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The agency said its food price index increased 2 percent year-on-year as higher crude oil prices boosted demand for seed oils used in biofuels, while concerns over weaker production in Southeast Asia also pushed prices upward. The agency warned that sustained increases in fertiliser prices could encourage farmers to shift away from wheat towards less fertiliser-intensive crops, potentially tightening global wheat supplies further and placing additional upward pressure on prices.
US sanctions target firms tied to Iran drone supply network The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on 10 individuals and companies accused of helping Iran’s military obtain weapons and materials used in the production of Shahed drones. Officials said several of the sanctioned entities are based in China and Hong Kong and are linked to supply chains supporting Tehran’s drone programme. The move comes as diplomatic efforts to end the war with Iran remain stalled and ahead of a planned visit by US President Donald Trump to China for talks with Xi Jinping.
US allegedly blocking over 70 tankers from entering or leaving Iranian ports "There are currently more than 70 tankers that U. S. forces are preventing from entering or leaving Iranian ports," the United States Central Command announced in a post on X.
EU tells airlines passenger rules maintained despite Iran crisis The European Commission on Friday told airlines that the impact of the Iran war on the jet fuel market is not severe enough to allow airlines to charge passengers a fuel hike surcharge, or to avoid compensation payments for cancelled flights. All passenger protection rules remain unchanged, the commission said. Airlines could only be exempted from paying financial compensation to passengers in case of a flight cancellation due to local fuel shortages, the EU Commission said in a series of guidelines issued for airlines, confirming a Thursday report from Reuters.
Iran army says seized oil tanker in Sea of Oman Iran has seized the oil tanker Ocean Koi over an alleged attempt to disrupt Iran's oil exports, Iranian state media said on Friday.
Toyota sees 20 percent drop in annual profit as Iran war weighs Toyota forecast a 20 percent decline in profit for the current financial year on Friday, as cost and supply uncertainties stemming from the Iran war weigh on earnings even as robust demand for its hybrid models powers sales growth. The world's top-selling automaker expects an operating income of 3. 0 trillion yen ($19 billion) in the year to March 2027, compared with a result of 3.
Iraq denies US claims deputy oil minister helped Iran evade sanctions Iraq's oil ministry has denied US accusations against its deputy minister, who the United States hit with sanctions over alleged support to Iran, as Washington escalates pressure on Baghdad to break with Iranian-linked groups. The US State Department on Thursday announced sanctions on Ali Maarij al-Bahadli, saying he "abused his government position to divert Iraqi oil in support of the Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies. " It accused him of fraudulently mixing Iraqi and Iranian oil as part of a scheme to help Iran avoid sanctions.
Oil tanker reaches South Korea after passing Hormuz blockade An oil tanker that passed through the Strait of Hormuz arrived in South Korea on Friday, the first such vessel to reach the Asian nation by that route since Iran declared the critical waterway closed. South Korea relies heavily on Middle Eastern fuel imports, most of which transited through Hormuz until US-Israeli attacks on Iran in late February prompted Tehran to effectively shut the strait. The arrival of the Malta-flagged Odessa, carrying one million barrels of crude oil, will likely ease Seoul's concerns over energy security as the Iran war drags on.
Iran can survive the US blockade on Hormuz for months: Report Iran is able to outlast the US naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz for at least three to four months, the Washington Post revealed based on a confidential CIA analysis. According to sources familiar with the document, Tehran also possesses significant ballistic missile capabilities despite intense bombardment of its sites during the war. A US official who spoke to the daily said they believe Iran’s capacity to endure economic hardship is beyond what CIA estimates indicated.
Hundreds of Iranian nationals detained by ICE amid June 2025 attack on Iran Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 05/07/2026 - 21:45 More than 500 Iranian nationals were in US detention as late as December 2025, amid a wartime crackdown US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents patrol Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, on 24 March 2026 ( Michael M Santiago/Getty Images/AFP) Off US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained hundreds of Iranian nationals during the June 2025 attack on Iran, according to US government data obtained by the National Iranian American Council under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. “ICE conducted a major surge of arrests of Iranians amid the June 2025 war,” with 220 arrests in June and 80 in July 2025, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) said on Wednesday. The crackdown came as the US capped off an Israeli attack on Iran by bombing the Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan nuclear complexes.
'Shutdown': Moody's expects Dubai hotel occupancy to plummet to 10 percent The US-based financial analysis firm Moody's predicts that hotel occupancy in Dubai is set to plummet to 10 percent from a pre-war figure of 80 percent in the second quarter of the year, which ends on 1 July, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. "This represents an effective shutdown of large parts of the hospitality sector," Moody’s said. Dubai is facing an existential crisis with the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on 28 February, forcing visitor numbers to fall sharply and leading to widespread hotel closures and job losses while decimating the global tourism hotspot's hospitality sector.
'Shutdown': Moody's expects Dubai hotel occupancy to plummet to 10 percent Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 05/07/2026 - 15:55 The UAE's tourism sector has been in crisis since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on 28 February Emirati army helicopters fly past the hotel, Atlantis The Royal, in Dubai, UAE, on 16 January 2026 (Fadel Senna/AFP) Off The US-based financial analysis firm Moody's predicts that hotel occupancy in Dubai is set to plummet to 10 percent from a pre-war figure of 80 percent in the second quarter of the year, which ends on 1 July, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. "This represents an effective shutdown of large parts of the hospitality sector," Moody’s said. Dubai is facing an existential crisis with the US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on 28 February, forcing visitor numbers to fall sharply and leading to widespread hotel closures and job losses while decimating the global tourism hotspot's hospitality sector.
World oil prices drop 5 percent on hopes over US-Iran talks Global oil prices fell more than five percent on Thursday, amid hopes that ongoing talks would bring an end to the war on Iran. International benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, shed 5. 1 percent to $96.
Gulf states paused Trump's 'Project Freedom' by cutting US access to airspace and bases Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 05/07/2026 - 10:36 Saudi Arabia was reportedly frustrated by the US announcement of a plan to reopen Strait of Hormuz The Iran-flagged container vessel Hamouna anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, in southern Iran, on 2 May 2026 (ISNA news agency/AFP) Off US President Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal on his plans to ensure the passage of ships through the shuttered Strait of Hormuz came after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait suspended US access to airspace and bases. Citing two US officials, NBC News reported that Saudi Arabia suspended US access to Prince Sultan Airbase and Saudi airspace after Trump announced "Project Freedom" on social media on Sunday afternoon. The kingdom, frustrated by the announcement, informed the US that it would not support the plan.
Iran will control Strait of Hormuz 'forever', former senior US official says Iran will control the Strait of Hormuz “forever”, regardless of what a peace deal between the US and the Islamic Republic says, forcing Gulf states to build new pipelines to bypass Iran’s chokehold, a former senior US official said on Tuesday. “The Strait of Hormuz is under Iranian control forever - basically for the foreseeable future,” Amos Hochstein, an energy and Middle East adviser to former US President Joe Biden, told Bloomberg. “Nobody in the market should look at what the deal says eventually and believe it on [the] straits.
Iran says ports ready to support shipping in Strait of Hormuz Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation said the country’s ports are “fully ready” to provide maritime services, technical assistance and medical support to commercial vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding regional waters. The statement, carried by Iran’s state news agency IRNA, came after US President Donald Trump paused the US military’s “Project Freedom” operation in the strait, citing progress in negotiations with Iran over the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Oil prices fall as markets react to possible Hormuz agreement Oil prices dropped sharply on Wednesday while stock markets rose globally amid hopes that the US and Iran may be moving towards an agreement that would allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to resume normally. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 5. 8 percent to $103.
Spain's Sanchez asks EU to block US sanctions on ICC Submitted by MEE staff on Wed, 05/06/2026 - 11:16 The leader urges the EU to protect independence of the international court and the UN and their 'actions to end' Gaza genocide Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (L) looks at European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen prior to a roundtable as part of the EU Western Balkans summit in Brussels on 17 December 2025 (Nicolas Tucat/AFP) Off Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday called on the European Commission to activate the EU's Blocking Statute to shield the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations from US sanctions. "Spain does not look the other way," Sanchez wrote on X. "The EU cannot stand idly by in the face of this persecution," he added, calling on Brussels to protect the independence of both institutions and their "actions to end the genocide in Gaza ".
