Iran — Oil, Sanctions & Geopolitics

Iran attacked the Qatari LNG tanker Al-Rekayyat and a second vessel was hit by a projectile; the U.S. revoked Iran’s oil-sale license in response, sending oil sharply higher.…

Brent settled 3% higher at $74.16 after the attacks, but crude stayed near four-month lows as OPEC+ added barrels and Saudi discounted to Asia.…

Iran announced Monday it is halting all communication with the U.S. unless Israel stops its Lebanon offensive. FM Araghchi said any ceasefire must cover "all fronts, including Lebanon." Tehran threatened to close Hormuz and open the Bab el-Mandeb front.…

Trump said calls with Netanyahu and, via intermediaries, Hezbollah secured pledges that "all shooting will stop" in Lebanon, even as Iran suspended its diplomatic channel with Washington over the same escalation.…

U.S. forces struck an Iranian military site near Bandar Abbas Thursday and intercepted drones near the strait. Iran’s IRGC said it retaliated against the U.S. airbase that launched the strikes; Kuwait’s air defenses responded to threats.…

U.S. officials confirmed Trump has been briefed on a draft MOU that would reopen the strait over 60 days in synchronized steps — Iran loosening its grip as the U.S. pulls back its blockade until pre-war status quo.…

Trump said Saturday on Truth Social that an agreement involving the U.S., Iran, and several regional countries had been “largely negotiated.” The framework: 60-day ceasefire extension during which Iran clears mines, U.S. lifts blockade, and Hormuz operates with no tolls.…

U.S. Central Command said Tuesday it conducted “self-defense strikes” in southern Iran, targeting missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines. Iran’s IRGC claimed it engaged an F-35 in Iranian airspace.…

President Trump threatened renewed military strikes if U.S.-Iran talks fail to produce a deal, Bloomberg reported Friday. Tehran said the latest U.S. proposal narrows differences, but disputes over uranium and Hormuz tolls quickly reignited tensions.…

President Trump declared at the White House the U.S. will eventually recover Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Hours earlier, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a directive the uranium must stay in Iran.…

Iran is looking at setting up a permanent toll system in the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing officials familiar with the discussions inside Tehran's government.…

CNN reported this week that the Pentagon has prepared a range of military plans for Iran in case President Trump decides to resume attacks against Iranian targets.…

President Trump said Tuesday evening he called off a planned military strike on Iran that had been scheduled for Tuesday, after leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates urged him…

G7 finance ministers and central bank governors concluded their two-day Paris meeting Tuesday with a joint statement pledging not to expand fiscal spending excessively as the Iran war pushes the globa…

Iranian media reported Monday that Tehran's revised peace proposal — delivered via Pakistan as part of indirect talks with Washington — includes transferring its 60%-enriched uranium stockpile to Russ…

G7 finance ministers and central bank governors gathered in Paris on Monday May 18 to address the economic fallout of the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with the conflict now in its…

Iran has redefined the Strait of Hormuz as a “vast operational area” rather than the traditional narrow corridor surrounding the waterway, according to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Na…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is managing a coalition crisis that has turned Israel’s long-running ultra-Orthodox military draft dispute into a potential early-election trigger, addi…

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a two-day summit in Beijing on Thursday, May 14, 2026, with both sides agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support…

President Donald Trump warned Iran on Thursday, May 14, 2026, to reach a deal or face “annihilation,” saying his patience with Tehran was running out and that the United States may have to…

U.S. officials told Axios on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, that Washington and Tehran were close to a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding that would end the war and establish a framework for furt…

Pakistani officials confirmed Friday, May 1, 2026, that they had received an updated peace proposal from Iran and delivered it to the United States. The development marked the first concrete diplomati…