Tag - iran

 
 

IRAN

A gasoline tanker truck at an Idemitsu Kosan gas station in Tokyo on Monday. Curbs on production of petrochemical products by multiple Japanese firms point to a brewing crisis that could stunt pressure sectors from food to technology.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 17, 2026
Limited supplies of naphtha an underrecognized supply chain risk in Japan
Curbs on production by multiple Japanese petrochemical firms point to a brewing crisis that could stunt pressure sectors from food to technology.
An Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft prepares for landing as a smoke plume rises from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai on Monday.
WORLD
Mar 17, 2026
Emirates flying near-empty jets to Dubai as locals depart
While passenger demand is slim, the company is also loading cargo into its aircraft, providing another stream of revenue.
A map showing the Strait of Hormuz and Iran. Tehran has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — the artery that carries about a fifth of global oil.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 17, 2026
Gulf states press U.S. to neutralize Iran for good as Hormuz crisis deepens
They don’t want Tehran to hold the region’s energy lifeline hostage again whenever tensions rise.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit in Osaka in 2019.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 17, 2026
Trump call for Chinese warships hits sensitive topic for Xi
Analysts see a rare strategic opening to construct a world order more suited to China’s interests as the rules-based system built by the U.S. after World War II is upended.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun speak before their meeting at the State Department in Washington on Feb. 3.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 17, 2026
Rubio and South Korea’s foreign minister agree Strait of Hormuz key to global economy, Seoul says
South Korea said it would carefully consider U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for countries to deploy navy ships to the Middle East to ensure safe passage through the waterway.
A vessel sits at anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port in Muscat, Oman, on Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2026
Gulf importers race to reroute as Hormuz closure jolts supply chains
The closure has logistics companies racing to overcome the headaches of changing vessel destinations and keeping perishable items from spoiling.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they hold a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 17, 2026
Trump seeks to delay meeting with China’s Xi by ‘a month or so’
Such a delay risks magnifying tensions between Washington and Beijing and underscores how the Iran war has upended the U.S. foreign policy agenda.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during an Upper House Budget Committee meeting on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 16, 2026
Takaichi says no current plan to deploy SDF for Hormuz escort mission
The prime minister said such an operation would be legally “very difficult,” adding that Japan had not been asked to join a coalition to help secure vessels in the waterway.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting at Gimhae International Airport, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2026
Trump threatens Xi summit delay if China doesn’t help in Hormuz
Trump stressed China’s dependence on oil from the Middle East in an interview with The Financial Times, as he reiterated a demand for Beijing to help unblock the key waterway.
Tanks at an oil refinery in Yokohama in February. Japan said Monday it began to release strategic oil reserves.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 16, 2026
Japan begins its largest-ever oil release from strategic reserves
Crude oil prices have soared as the Strait of Hormuz, through which most Japan-bound oil passes, remains effectively closed.
An Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft remains parked at the airport after the flight was canceled at Incheon International Airport in South Korea on March 5.
WORLD
Mar 16, 2026
Middle East war disrupts pharma air routes and risks cancer drugs supply
The conflict has knocked out key air transit hubs and closed shipping routes.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight to Washington on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 16, 2026
Trump accuses Iran of using AI to spread disinformation
“AI can be very dangerous, we have to be very careful with it,” Trump said to reporters.
A tanker loaded with Saudi Arabian crude arrives at a port in Mumbai, India, on March 12 after transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 16, 2026
South Korea weighs Trump’s request on sending warships to Hormuz
Seoul is wary of getting drawn into the Iran conflict.
A woman uses her phone as smoke rises following an explosion in Tehran on March 7. Despite an internet blackout, people are still finding ways to send and receive information in Iran.
WORLD / EXPLAINER
Mar 16, 2026
How Iranians are communicating through internet blackout
An internet blackout that one connectivity monitor says is government imposed hasn’t stopped information from getting in and out of Iran.
In some ways, China’s grid investments highlight how energy security — once viewed as a lofty, long-term goal of President Xi Jinping — is now becoming an immediate and crucial source of economic insulation.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2026
China’s ‘supergrid’ gives Xi buffer against energy shocks
Beijing’s long-running effort to build out its energy sources is getting fresh momentum from the war in the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 16, 2026
Trump says he’s asked seven countries to join coalition to police Strait of Hormuz
The U.S. president insisted that nations relying heavily on oil from the Gulf have a responsibility to protect the strait.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from the media before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on March 13.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 16, 2026
Trump leaves allies and foes guessing on endgame for Iran
The U.S. president has gone from declaring the war with Iran to be over soon to calling on European and Gulf allies to help.
A mother kisses her child after they returned from Dubai amid the U.S. and Israel's conflict with Iran in Mumbai, India, on March 3.
BUSINESS
Mar 16, 2026
‘Dream holidays’ in disarray as travelers count cost of Iran war
The conflict has already closed much of the Middle East’s airspace, leading to tens of thousands of flight cancellations, reroutings and schedule changes worldwide.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his supporters at a public meeting in Guwahati, India, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 16, 2026
Modi walks fine line between Iran and U.S. as war hits economy
The worsening conflict in the Middle East is causing severe gas shortages in India.
President Donald Trump speaks to attendees at a Women's History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 16, 2026
Trump rejects Iran deal on current terms as war continues
The current fighting has brought shipping in the strategic Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill and upended energy markets.

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