2 h. ago WW3 fears rise as warning issued over emergency stockpiles of food, medicine and fuel

The European Union is urging its member states to build up emergency stockpiles of critical resources, including food, medicine and nuclear fuel, as it prepares for potential conflict

Events

8 d. ago Trump reveals he is willing to bomb Iran again and warns the Ayatollah he was close to an 'ugly' death

President Donald Trump on Friday revealed he would bomb Iran again if Tehran were enriching uranium and warned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he was close to an 'ugly death.'

Events

1 week ago The Strait of Hormuz is a vital route for oil. Closing it could backfire on Iran

The war between Israel and Iran has raised concerns that Iran could try to close the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil chokepoint

Events

1 week ago Trump pleads with oil companies to keep prices down after Iran blockade threat

Crude oil prices surged following Iran vote to close critical Strait of Hormuz in wake of US bombings

Politics

1 week ago Goldman Sachs warns Brent crude could hit $100 per barrel if strait of Hormuz is disrupted; Trump demands cheaper oil – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsThe strait of Hormuz: what is it, and why does it matter to global trade?Price of oil could spike after Iran’s parliament votes to close key shipping routeThe eurozone economy has continued to flirt with stagnation this month, with little growth in its key sectors.The latest survey of purchasing managers across the euro area, just released by S&P Global, shows that the eurozone services sector is stalling this month, while factory growth slowed.“The eurozone economy is struggling to gain momentum. For six months now, growth has been minimal, with activity in the service sector stagnating and manufacturing output rising only moderately.In Germany, there are signs of a cautious improvement in the situation, but France continues to drag its feet. The momentum evident in the official growth figure of 0.6 percent for the first quarter is unlikely to have carried over into the second quarter, especially since special factors su...

Events

1 week ago The strait of Hormuz: how could Iran close it and why does it matter to global trade?

Iran’s parliament approved a measure to close the vital global trade route, through which more than a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through dailyTrump floats regime change in Iran – follow it livePresident Donald Trump’s unprecedented decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites has deepened fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East.Joining Israel in the biggest western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution, the world is now bracing for Iran’s response. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Goldman Sachs warns Brent crude could rise over $100 per barrel if Strait of Hormuz is disrupted – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsThe strait of Hormuz: what is it, and why does it matter to global trade?Price of oil could spike after Iran’s parliament votes to close key shipping routeThe eurozone economy has continued to flirt with stagnation this month, with little growth in its key sectors.The latest survey of purchasing managers across the euro area, just released by S&P Global, shows that the eurozone services sector is stalling this month, while factory growth slowed.“The eurozone economy is struggling to gain momentum. For six months now, growth has been minimal, with activity in the service sector stagnating and manufacturing output rising only moderately.In Germany, there are signs of a cautious improvement in the situation, but France continues to drag its feet. The momentum evident in the official growth figure of 0.6 percent for the first quarter is unlikely to have carried over into the second quarter, especially since special factors su...

Events

1 week ago As it attacks Iran's nuclear program, Israel maintains ambiguity about its own

Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran’s nuclear program because its archenemy's furtive efforts to build an atomic weapon are a threat to its existence

Events

1 week ago IMF chief warns of broader risks from US strikes on Iran, as oil falls back from five

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsPrice of oil could spike after Iran’s parliament votes to close key shipping routeThe eurozone economy has continued to flirt with stagnation this month, with little growth in its key sectors.The latest survey of purchasing managers across the euro area, just released by S&P Global, shows that the eurozone services sector is stalling this month, while factory growth slowed.“The eurozone economy is struggling to gain momentum. For six months now, growth has been minimal, with activity in the service sector stagnating and manufacturing output rising only moderately.In Germany, there are signs of a cautious improvement in the situation, but France continues to drag its feet. The momentum evident in the official growth figure of 0.6 percent for the first quarter is unlikely to have carried over into the second quarter, especially since special factors such as Ireland’s unusual jump in growth inflated this figure. Continue rea...

Events

1 week ago US asks China to stop Iran from ‘terrible mistake’ of closing Strait of Hormuz

The Iranian parliament approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20 per cent of global oil and gas flows

Events

1 week ago IMF chief warns of broader risks from US strikes on Iran, after oil hits five

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsPrice of oil could spike after Iran’s parliament votes to close key shipping routeThe UK stock market has dropped at the start of trading, as traders weigh up the situation in the Middle East.Airline shares are down, with easyJet (-2.1%) and British Airways parent company IAG (-2.2%) leading the fallers on the FTSE 100 share index. Higher oil prices push up their costs, and the crisis could also force airlines to cancel flights to the region. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Oil prices surge as Iran maintains threat to close global shipping route after Trump bombed its nuclear facilities

Brent crude futures were up $1.52 or 1.97 per cent to $78.53 a barrel as of 6am UK time. US West Texas Intermediate crude advanced $1.51 or 2.04 per cent to $75.35.

Events

1 week ago The strait of Hormuz: what is it, and why does it matter to global trade?

Iran’s parliament approved a measure to close the vital global trade route, through which more than a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through dailyTrump floats regime change in Iran – follow it livePresident Donald Trump’s unprecedented decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites has deepened fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East.Joining Israel in the biggest western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution, the world is now bracing for Iran’s response. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Netanyahu says Israel is close to fulfilling goals of Iran campaign

Comments towards Tehran come after top US officials insisted they were not seeking a different government there

Politics

1 week ago US bombs Iran latest: Trump claims 'we took the bomb out of Iran's hands' as Tehran threatens to close Strait of Hormuz

The US president authorised the overnight bombings of key nuclear sites, including the heavily fortified Fordow plant

Events

1 week ago No matter what Trump says, the US has gone to war – and there will be profound and lasting consequences | Simon Tisdall

Trump has fallen slap bang into the trap laid for him by Netanyahu. His reckless gamble makes a nuclear weapon for Iran more, not less, likelyBombing will not make Iran go away. US bombs will not destroy the knowhow needed to build a nuclear weapon or the will do so, if that is what Tehran wants. The huge attack ordered by Donald Trump will not halt ongoing open warfare between Israel and Iran. It will not bring lasting peace to the Middle East, end the slaughter in Gaza, deliver justice to the Palestinians, or end more than half a century of bitter enmity between Tehran and Washington.More likely, Trump’s rash, reckless gamble will inflame and exacerbate all these problems. Depending on how Iran and its allies and supporters react, the region could plunge into an uncontrolled conflagration. US bases in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere in the region, home to about 40,000 American troops, must now be considered potential targets for retaliation – and possibly British and allied forces,...

Politics

2 w. ago Iran is the enemy Netanyahu has always wanted to destroy. Even from their bomb shelters, most Israelis support his war | Aluf Benn

Within Israel, Iran is seen as the ultimate threat. The prime minister knows this is his chance to rewrite his bloodied legacy “It’s 1938 and Iran is Germany The Jewish people will not allow a second Holocaust.” Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, recited slogans like these incessantly for decades, urging action against the gravest threat to the Jewish state – a nuclear-armed Iran. He conveyed the message to successive US presidents. He presented a bomb cartoon at the UN. At countless Holocaust memorial events he described Iran’s nuclear ambitions as the present-day “final solution”.Netanyahu talked and talked about the pressing Iranian threat, but his listeners were not convinced. They dismissed him as an alarmist whose deadline Iran crossed year after year without deploying a nuclear weapon (it still hasn’t). Netanyahu’s critics at home taunted him as a chicken who would never dare to attack Iran’s nuclear installations – unlike his more decisive predecessors, who had ord...

Events

2 w. ago Trump's top spy confirms worst fears about Iran after public rebuke from president as US prepares military strike

Trump's Director of National Intelligence had testified in March that the U.S. intelligence community 'continues to assess Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.'

Events

2 w. ago The warmongers were wrong about Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. Now watch them make the same mistake about Iran | Owen Jones

Israel is the main source of terror and instability in the Middle East. But the west continually turns away from this realityAs the G7 issues a statement declaring that Israel has a “right to defend itself”, you have a right to ask if you are losing your mind. Israel launched an unprovoked onslaught on Iran. Its excuse – that Tehran may acquire a nuclear weapon – renders its attack illegal under the UN charter, which forbids wars justified by the claim of a future threat.“Iran is the principal source of regional instability and terror,” declares the G7 statement. Even though Donald Trump’s intelligence chief testified three months ago that the US intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon”. Even though it’s Israel that actually possesses nuclear weapons, while refusing to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and refusing International Atomic Energy Agency inspections. Even though, as progress was being made in nuclear talks between Ir...

Events

2 w. ago Starmer confident Trump will back Aukus pact after US launches review

The trilateral Aukus partnership involves building a new fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines and co-operating in other areas of defence.

Politics