Page 16 - Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

India should build strategic buffers for energy shock: CEA Nageswaran

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Saturday said India needs to create strategic buffers in the face of the "most difficult" energy shock that the country is facing amid the West Asia crisis. Nageswaran also said the rising prices of fertiliser and petroleum products globally due to the crisis will make it challenging to achieve the 4.3 per cent fiscal deficit target for the current fiscal, while below normal monsoon and pass-through of higher energy prices could lead to "potential inflation spike". He also said India has employment challenge emanating from AI, and there is a need to ensure that IT sector becomes more competitive and not lose jobs to AI, and instead create jobs that use AI within the IT sector or in other services. Speaking at the ICPP Growth Conference organised by the Ashoka University, Nageswaran said the current account deficit (CAD) in the current fiscal could rise to over 2 per cent of GDP, from less than 1 per cent in FY'26. "The ... priority for

US warns shipping firms of sanctions over paying Iranian tolls in Hormuz

The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The alert posted Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz. About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime. Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service. That "tollbooth" effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning. The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also "digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments," including ...

Trump prefers not to strike Iran even as frustration over talks mounts

Speaking in Florida, Trump said, 'Maybe we're better off not making a deal at all,' without elaborating, he added, 'we can't let this thing go on'

India-linked LPG tanker attempts Strait of Hormuz exit amid energy crisis

Marshall Islands-flagged Sarv Shakti - laden with around 45,000 tons of LPG, commonly used as cooking fuel - appeared to move northward through the waterway

Iran inflicts 'unprecedented damage' to US bases in West Asian countries

US military bases in West Asian nations has become Achilles heel as Iran inflicts 'unprecedented damage'

Centre allows force majeure relief for govt contracts amid West Asia crisis

Measure allows deadline extensions of up to four months without penalties for firms hit by supply disruptions, subject to case-by-case approval and only if they were not in default before February 27

Gulf, Europe would have been blown to pieces: Trump on Iran nuclear threat

He also said that Iran's military capacity had been significantly degraded, with the claim that the Iranian leadership had been weakened

'Rats in sewer pipe': US Treasury Secy Bessent slams Iranian leadership

Bessent also said that a blockade will continue till a 'Freedom of Navigation' is achieved in Strait of Hormuz

Pentagon claims US blockade has cost Iran nearly $4.8 bn in oil revenue

The Department of War assessment suggests Iran has been denied close to $5 billion in oil earnings due to disruptions linked to US enforcement operations in the region

Trump says deadline for Congress to approve Iran war doesn't apply

The White House asserted to Congress in a letter Friday that hostilities with Iran have "terminated" despite the continued presence of U.S. armed forces in the region. The message from President Donald Trump effectively skirts a May 1 legal deadline to gain approval from members of Congress to continue the war with Iran. That deadline was already set to pass without action from Republican lawmakers who are deferring to the president. The letter brings into stark relief the bold but legally questionable assertion of presidential power at the heart of Trump's war, which he began without congressional approval two months ago. "The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated," Trump wrote House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the Senate president pro tempore. He also made it clear in the letter that the war may be far from over. "Despite the success of United States operations against the Iranian regime and continued efforts to secure a .

US sanctions China-based crude oil terminal operator for trading Iran oil

The US on Friday sanctioned a China-based crude oil terminal operator for importing petroleum products from Iranian entities and warned others of facing the same consequences if they paid a toll to Tehran to cross the Strait of Hormuz. "The US is taking decisive action to disrupt Iran's illicit oil trade, the Iranian regime's primary revenue streams that fund terrorism and regional destabilization," US Department of State spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement. Pigott said the department sanctioned multiple entities, an individual, and a vessel involved in the trade of Iranian petroleum and petroleum products. The action targets a China-based petroleum terminal operator - Qingdao Haiye Oil Terminal Co., Ltd. - that has imported tens of millions of barrels of sanctioned Iranian crude oil since February last year. The US also sanctioned Xingchun Li, a Chinese national and the president of QINGDAO HAIYE, and two vessel management companies UK-based Thriving Times International an

Best of BS Opinion: India feels diplomatic squeeze from W. Asia conflict

From Iran diplomacy and artificial intelligence risks to Great Nicobar strategy and Pakistan policy, today's Best of BS Opinion highlights key strategic and economic debates shaping India's outlook

Iran has sent its latest proposal to US via Pakistani mediators: Report

The development follows Iran's absence from the last round of negotiations, held in Islamabad, aimed at ending the more than two-month-long conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States

Oil falls as Iran proposes talks but prices still set for weekly gains

Brent's June contract hit $126.41 a barrel on Thursday, marking the highest level since March 2022, before ending the session down

May Day rallies worldwide call for peace, higher wages amid Iran war costs

Activists worldwide will march in May Day rallies Friday, calling for peace, higher wages and better working conditions as many workers grapple with rising energy costs and shrinking purchasing power tied to the Iran war. The day is a public holiday in many countries, and demonstrations, some of which have turned violent in the past, are expected in many of the world's major cities. "Working people refuse to pay the price for Donald Trump's war in the Middle East," the European Trade Union Confederation, which represents 93 trade union organisations in 41 European countries, said. "Today's rallies show working people will not stand by and see their jobs and living standards destroyed." In the United States, activists opposing US President Donald Trump's policies are planning marches and boycotts. Here's what to know about May Day Rising energy prices and living costs -------------------------------------------- Rising living costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East are e

Iran 'dying to make a deal': Trump calls conflict a 'military operation'

Trump's remarks came at a time when Iran threatened fresh strikes if the US resumed the war which has been paused since the warring sides agreed to a ceasefire on April 8

Trump admin says war in Iran has been 'terminated' before 60-day deadline

The Trump administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval. The statement furthers an argument laid out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during testimony in the Senate earlier Thursday, when he said the ceasefire effectively paused the war. Under that rationale, the administration has not yet met the requirement mandated by a 1973 law to seek formal approval from Congress for military action that extends beyond 60 days. A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's position, said for purposes of that law, "the hostilities that began on Saturday, Feb 28 have terminated." The official said the US military and Iran have not exchanged fire since the two-week ceasefire that began April 7. While the ceasefire has since been extended, Iran maintains its chokehold on th

US House votes to end DHS shutdown as Senate grills Hegseth on Iran

After weeks of delay, the House on Thursday voted to fund much of the US Department of Homeland Security, excluding immigration enforcement. The bipartisan package would end the agency's longest shutdown and avoid another round of airport disruptions. The bill now heads to President Donald Trump to sign, although much of his immigration agenda - which has been central to the dispute over funding - is paid for separately. Meanwhile in the Senate, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff faced another day of intense questioning as the Trump administration seeks a historic USD 1.5 trillion military budget for 2027. It's the first chance for senators to confront or praise how the leaders are handling the Iran war. One Democrat raised "serious constitutional concerns" about Hegseth's claim that the 60-day legal limit for the war is on pause during a ceasefire. Senators also questioned the defense secretary's efforts to remake military culture, the ...

Iran's supreme leader vows to protect nuclear, missile capabilities

Iran's supreme leader vowed Thursday in a defiant tone to protect the Islamic Republic's nuclear and missile capabilities, which US President Donald Trump has sought to curtail through airstrikes and as part of a wider deal to cement the war's shaky ceasefire. In a statement read by a state television anchor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the only place Americans belonged in the Persian Gulf is "at the bottom of its waters" and that a "new chapter" was being written in the region's history. Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over as supreme leader following the killing of his father in the war's opening airstrikes. His remarks come as Iran's economy is reeling and its oil industry is being squeezed by a US Navy blockade halting its tankers from getting out to sea. The world economy is also under pressure as Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all crude oil is transported. On Thursday, the global benchmark for oil, Brent ...

Best of BS Opinion: FinMin offers sobering view of macroeconomic risks

From rising oil-linked risks and services data gaps to gold loan expansion and global capital flows, here are the key insights from Business Standard's Opinion page