Page 2 - West Asia And The Gulf

Trump likely to decide by Sunday on resuming war with Iran: Report

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was meeting with his negotiators to discuss Iran's latest offer and would likely decide by Sunday whether to resume the war, US media outlet Axios reported. Trump told Axios that it was a "solid 50/50" as to whether he would be able to make a "good" deal or else "blow them to kingdom come." The US President said he would meet with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to discuss the proposal from Tehran. Vice President J D Vance, who is in Ohio, is likely to return to Washington to join the meeting. Pakistan's Army chief Asim Munir was in Tehran to discuss with the negotiators on the fine print of the peace deal. In Delhi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, "There's been some progress done, some progress made.Even as I speak to you now, there's some work being done.There is a chance that, whether it's later today, tomorrow (Sunday), in a couple of days, we may have something to say." Rubio, who is on a four-day visit to India

Trump's 'Economic Fury' piles up 2,000 Iran sanctions with little impact

The US effort has targeted everything from oil companies and shipping firms to currency exchanges and intermediaries across China and the Middle East

US manufacturing growth hits 4-year high as Iran conflict fuels stockpiling

The figures show how manufacturing is getting a temporary boost from the conflict, which has upended supply chains and driven energy and other costs sharply higher

Country must stay alert amid West Asia crisis: Civil aviation minister

Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu on Wednesday cautioned that the country must remain vigilant and prepared to tackle any possible fallout of the escalating crisis in West Asia, although "it is not worrisome for India at present". Naidu, during his maiden visit to Ranchi, said every sector, including civil aviation, must take responsibility and plan proactively to minimise the impact on citizens and the country. "The situation is not worrisome at present, but we need to remain alert. Every sector, including civil aviation, has to assess the impact and prepare short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies," Naidu told reporters. On concerns over rising travel costs amid global uncertainty, Naidu said the Centre had already initiated measures to shield domestic passengers from any burden. He said the government reduced aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices along with landing and parking charges at airports to stabilise fares and support the aviation sector. Last

Xi calls for immediate end to West Asia hostilities during talks with Putin

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for an immediate end to hostilities in West Asia, saying the situation had reached a "critical juncture", as he held talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin here amid escalating regional tensions. Welcoming Putin at the Great Hall of the People, Xi said renewed fighting in the Gulf and the wider West Asia must be avoided and stressed that negotiations should continue. An early end to the conflict will help ease disruptions to energy supplies, industrial and supply chains, and the international trade order, the Chinese president said. The talks between Xi and Putin came days after US President Donald Trump visited China from May 14-15 and held extensive discussions with the Chinese leader on the Iran-Israel conflict, the Strait of Hormuz and bilateral trade frictions. The meeting is being closely watched as both China and Russia are key strategic partners of Iran with close economic and military ties to Tehran and could ...

Iran could trigger 'nuclear arms race' in West Asia, says J D Vance

US Vice President J D Vance has said Iran having an atomic weapon would trigger a "nuclear arms race" worldwide and asserted that the US was "locked and loaded" to restart military operations if Tehran failed to reach a peace deal. Vance's remarks at a press conference at the White House on Tuesday came a day after President Donald Trump put off the decision to resume strikes on Iran at the request of Arab nations, including Qatar and the UAE, who said that Tehran was being "reasonable" in peace talks. "We think the Iranians want to make a deal. The president of the United States has asked us to negotiate in good faith. And that's exactly what we've done," the vice president said. But Vance warned that diplomacy will not come at the cost of Trump's key demand that Iran never obtain a nuclear weapon. "So as the president just told me, we're locked and loaded," Vance said, adding that he had a meeting with Trump before coming to the press briefing. "We don't want to go down that ...

Indian markets can absorb shocks amid West Asia crisis, says Sebi chief

Volatility has shot up in the financial markets due to the ongoing West Asia conflict, but the Indian bourses have the capacity to "absorb different types of shocks", Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Monday. When there is a crisis in one part of the world, it also impacts the rest of the globe, Pandey told reporters here on the sideline of the Regional Investors Seminar for Awareness. "Due to the prevailing conflict in West Asia, the oil supply chain and its prices got affected in the rest of the world. All the economies have been affected by this and obviously, there are inflationary risks. Besides, spillover effect and second-order effect will also come in," he said. "However, the advantages of a resilient Indian market are that it is able to absorb different types of shocks, and when these end, the market again resumes its normal trajectory," Pandey said. He also admitted that there have been some foreign portfolio investment outflows since September 2024, but domestic .

Iran plans new Hormuz traffic mechanism, fees for vessels to apply

Ebrahim Azizi, head of Iran parliament's national security committee, said details of the route system would be unveiled soon

Iran welcomes India's peace push, blames 'one' BRICS nation over deadlock

Iran will welcome any initiative by major powers like India to bring peace to West Asia and it is developing a new service-and-payment-based framework for the passage of merchant vessels through the Strait of Hormuz in line with international norms, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday. Gharibabadi, currently in New Delhi, told a select group of journalists that a demand by "one member country" of the BRICS to condemn Iran has prevented the grouping from reaching a unified position on the regional conflict, an apparent reference to the United Arab Emirates. "We want India's BRICS chairship to be successful. It is not a good approach to send a signal to the world that the BRICS is divided. One country is insisting to condemn Iran," he said. "We have not attacked neighbouring countries. They handed their territories to the US to launch an attack on us. We never insisted that Arab countries should be condemned as they allowed their military bases to the .

Trump, UAE's Al Nahyan discuss bilateral ties, developments in West Asia

The two leaders also exchanged views on the latest developments in the West Asia

Qatar asks LNG ships to go dark near export hub over security concerns

At least nine LNG tankers that were anchored near Qatar stopped sending signals from May 11, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg

Kuwait accuses Iran of sending armed Guard team to attack island in nation

Kuwait on Tuesday accused Iran of sending an armed Revolutionary Guard team to attack an island in the Middle East nation. Iran didn't immediately acknowledge the allegation by Kuwait, which came under repeated attack by Iran in the war. Kuwait said that a team of six armed members of the Guard tried to infiltrate Bubiyan Island in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf near Iraq and Iran. It accused the team of planning to carry out "hostile acts." Kuwait said that it detained four of the men, while two escaped. Kuwait, which said one of its security officials had been wounded in the attack.

West Asia crisis set to dominate BRICS foreign ministers' meeting this week

The escalating crisis in West Asia and its impact on the global energy supply chain are expected to dominate deliberations at a two-day meeting of BRICS foreign ministers to be hosted by India this week. While Tehran has informed New Delhi that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to attend the May 14-15 conclave, sources suggest his plans could change if the situation in the region changes dramatically. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will skip the meeting as his presence is required in Beijing for US President Donald Trump's three-day state visit, which coincides with the BRICS gathering. Chinese Ambassador to India Xi Feihong will attend the meeting on Wang's behalf, Beijing announced on Tuesday. Foreign ministers of several BRICS member states including Russia's Sergey Lavrov have already confirmed their participation, the sources said. The BRICS foreign ministers will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India, as the chair of the BRICS, is hosting the conclave of t

West Asia crisis to hit Indian GCC sector: Nasscom president Rajesh Nambiar

Nasscom president Rajesh Nambiar warned that a prolonged West Asia crisis could delay global firms' GCC investment decisions in India

Donald Trump calls Iran proposal 'stupid' amid West Asia conflict

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump reiterated that Iran would not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon