Tag - iran

 
 

IRAN

Soldiers give a briefing on the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon system in Australia's Northern Territory last July.
WORLD
May 2, 2026
U.S. seeks to deploy hypersonic missile for the first time against Iran
If the request, which has not been made public, is approved, it would also send a signal to strategic adversaries Russia and China.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends an event at The Villages Charter School at The Villages, Florida, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2026
Trump says he’s dissatisfied with Iranian proposal as rift with allies deepens
Trump’s comments indicated the deadlock over the 2-month-old war is likely to persist, even as he looks to end a conflict that remains deeply unpopular among Americans.
U.S. Army soldiers take part in a combined military exercise at the U.S. military's Hohenfels Training Area in Hohenfels, Germany, on Thursday.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2026
U.S. withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, U.S. officials say
The drawdown would bring U.S. troop levels in Europe back to roughly pre-2022 levels, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a buildup by then-President Joe Biden.
The yen was back in ¥150-to-the-dollar territory after reports of intervention by the Japanese government.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 1, 2026
Japan mum on yen intervention, heavy on jawboning, ahead of long holiday weekend
Multiple reports say that the government did seek to prop up the currency, and traders are bracing for another round.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a government meeting on the Middle East on Thursday at the Prime Minister's Office.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2026
Japan secures enough petroleum-derived naphtha to last into 2027
Questions over a possible shortage of the material — used for products ranging from medical supplies to cheap consumer goods — have been rising due to the Iran war.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday following phone talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
JAPAN
May 1, 2026
Takaichi urges Iran president to ensure safe passage through Strait of Hormuz
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi also expressed her hopes that the U.S. and Iran will resume talks soon on ending their fighting and reach a final deal.
Japan has cut dependence on the Middle East for its liquefied natural gas in recent years, but utilities remain exposed to the cost of importing fuel.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2026
Japanese utilities withhold earnings guidance amid fuel volatility
The war in the Middle East has driven a 70% increase in LNG prices in Asia, while the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.
Tom Fletcher, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, visits a camp for internally displaced people in Baidoa, Somalia, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Society
May 1, 2026
Cost of Iran war equals aid for more than 87 million people, U.N. aid chief says
The Pentagon says it has spent $25 billion on the conflict in the Middle East, while the United Nations aid office sought $23 billion for humanitarian assistance programs.
The consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 1.5% in April from a year earlier in Tokyo, the smallest gain since March 2022, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2026
Tokyo inflation cools on childcare support, backing BOJ caution
The consumer price index excluding fresh food rose 1.5% in April from a year earlier in the capital, the smallest gain since March 2022.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on Thursday.
SOCCER
May 1, 2026
FIFA head Gianni Infantino confirms Iran will play World Cup matches in U.S.
Iran’s participation at this year’s World Cup has been shrouded in uncertainty since the eruption of war in the Middle East in February.
A worker cultivates rice plants at a farm in Bangkok. Rice supply is expected to fall this year due to impacts of the Iran war and an emerging El Nino weather phenomenon that is set to usher in hotter, drier conditions.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2026
From surplus to strain: Iran war and El Nino threaten global rice supply
Rice is central to global food security, and even small supply disruptions can ripple through countries, raising prices and straining household budgets.
People shop in a store in Tehran on Tuesday. Despite an oil-export squeeze, Iran has plentiful internal supplies, steady trade with neighbors and only limited signs of immediate stress from state-revenue losses caused by the U.S. blockade.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 1, 2026
Iranian economic collapse may come too late for Trump
If U.S. President ​Donald Trump expects Iran to blink first in their game of economic chicken, he may be waiting a while.
Iranian army soldiers stand in front of a picture of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD
Apr 30, 2026
Supreme leader vows Iran won’t give up nuclear technologies
The Islamic Republic will “guard” its “advanced technologies” like it does its own borders, Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement.
The yen is trading at levels last seen in July 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 30, 2026
Yen, Japanese government bonds and Tokyo stocks decline as oil prices spike
The Japanese currency is at its weakest since July 2024 and at levels that could trigger intervention.
Japan may see food and drink prices rise as early as this summer, as war-related disruptions to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz squeeze naphtha supply, driving up plastic packaging costs.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 30, 2026
Food prices in Japan set to rise as war drives up cost of plastic packaging
Prolonged disruption to energy flows via the Strait of Hormuz has cut the availability of naphtha, a critical ingredient used in the production of plastic packaging.
Auto rickshaw drivers, along with members of the Awami Rickshaw Union, protest rising fuel prices in Lahore, Pakistan, on April 7 amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2026
Get ready for another summer of rage in Asia
Young workers are especially vulnerable. Even before the war, the World Bank had warned of mounting unemployment among the region’s youth.
People gather at a government-organized march to show support for Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader in Iran, at Enghelab Square in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2026
Trump holds talks on prolonged Iran blockade and urges Tehran to reach a deal
The U.S. president’s talks with oil executives followed a deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the U.S. to try to squeeze Iran’s oil exports with a blockade.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, attends a meeting with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2026
UAE oil break exposes deepening Saudi rift as Gulf power shifts
The UAE’ decision to quit OPEC has brought years of tensions with Saudi Arabia into the open, marking a rebalancing of power shaped by the Iran war.
Employees of the Basra Oil Company work at the Nahr Bin Umar Oil and Gas Field on the outskirts of the city of Basra, Iraq, on Thursday. Earlier this month, Baghdad said it had reached "understandings" with the United States and Iran to reduce the impact of the Hormuz blockade on Iraqi oil exports.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 30, 2026
Trump warns Iran blockade could last months, sending oil prices soaring
“They are choking like a stuffed pig,” the U.S. president told one outlet of the naval action on Iran. “And it is going to be worse for them.”
The Embassy of Cuba in Washington was the target of a Chinese hacking campaign that began in January.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 30, 2026
Chinese hackers spied on Cuban embassy as U.S. prepared blockade
The campaign began in January and compromised the emails of 68 officials, including the Cuban ambassador and the deputy chief of mission, researchers said.

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