Tag - iran

 
 

IRAN

U.S. allies should resist distancing themselves from Washington over Donald Trump and instead strengthen long-term economic and defense ties with the U.S. to safeguard their interests against emerging global rivals.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2026
The case for ‘hardened engagement’ with America
Allowing a distaste for one U.S. president (no matter how bombastic) to sever the ties that bind the free world is not only bad policy, it’s a recipe for strategic irrelevance.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the plenum of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem in January. His approval ratings have slipped and, with legislative elections due by late October, the political risks he faces are rising.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 16, 2026
Despite Israeli firepower, Netanyahu struggles for political gains in Iran war
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is paying ​a political price for a military campaign launched with U.S. President Donald Trump that has not delivered a decisive outcome.
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2026
Japan foreign minister urges diplomacy in call with Iran
Toshimitsu Motegi reiterated the importance of keeping the fragile ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. in place in his latest conversation with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks with other participants at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2026
Markets are too nonchalant about Iran war’s economic toll, policymakers warn
While oil prices have soared, the full extent of the pain from what the IEA has called the biggest energy shock the world has ever seen has yet to be felt.
People take part in an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally at Enghelab Square amid a ceasefire between U.S. and Iran, in Tehran on Wednesday.
WORLD
Apr 16, 2026
U.S. optimistic of deal with Iran as it increases economic pressure
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he believes the war with Iran is nearly over, even as a shipping blockade he announced in the Strait of Hormuz came into effect.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to representatives of the media at the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD
Apr 15, 2026
Trump says he asked China’s Xi not to give Iran weapons
Last week, the U.S. president threatened countries with an ​immediate 50% tariff if they supplied Iran with weapons.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters Wednesday at the Prime Minister’s Office following an online meeting with Southeast Asian leaders.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2026
Japan to provide $10 billion to Southeast Asia to secure oil
Sanae Takaichi added that Japan relies on Asian nations to secure medical supplies like surgery gloves.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shake hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
Xi meets Russian official as leaders flock to China over Middle East war
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow could “compensate” for China’s energy shortages as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains choked by the Iran war.
The Zhuque-3 rocket by China’s private rocket firm LandSpace, takes off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Dec. 3, 2025.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
Iran used Chinese spy satellite to target U.S. bases
The satellite, built and launched by Chinese company Earth Eye, was acquired by the Iran’s forces ‌after it ‌was launched into space from China, a Financial Times report said.
Smoke rises from the Thai-registered bulk carrier Mayuree Naree near the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday after it was attacked.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 15, 2026
Gulf oil crisis reveals shortcomings in government readiness
After just two weeks, the International Energy Agency concluded that the Iran war had created the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.
The Bank of Japan’s board will likely discuss lifting its key price projection for this fiscal year after oil prices surged roughly 50% since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2026
BOJ could raise price outlook sharply on oil shock, central bank watchers say
Uncertainty over the Middle East conflict will also likely lead officials to consider lowering the economic growth forecast.
Peelable paper tubes for a solid perfume made from mineral paper on display at Yonwoo's cosmetic packaging factory in Incheon, South Korea
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Apr 15, 2026
Iran war promises green edge for Asia as plastic packaging runs short
Across Asia, changes that ⁠environmental groups have sought for decades are quickly being adopted, even if they may prove a short-term flip.
An F/A-18E Super Hornet taxis the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in support of Operation Epic Fury on March 2.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
U.S. allies are steering clear of naval mission in Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump insists U.S. allies are ready to help him in the Strait of Hormuz. They’re not even close.
An explosion during an Israeli strike in Beirut on March 31
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 15, 2026
IMF cuts growth outlook and warns world drifting toward ‘adverse scenario’
Under the IMF’s worst-case outlook, the global economy teeters on the brink of recession, with oil prices averaging $110 a barrel ​in 2026 and $125 in 2027.
A ship is seen in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Sharjah, UAE, the day after the failure of U.S.-Iran peace talks on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 15, 2026
U.S. and Iran may resume talks this week despite port blockade
While the U.S. blockade drew angry rhetoric from Tehran, signs that diplomatic engagement might continue helped calm oil markets.
Bathtub makers are suffering material shortages as the Iran conflict stretches on.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 14, 2026
Japanese bathtub makers halt orders as material shortages bite
Major suppliers have stopped giving delivery dates for their own products.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an order raising tariffs in the Oval Office in Washington in February 2025.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Apr 14, 2026
Trump, ‘The Art of the Deal’ and the ‘TACO’ myth
The question is not whether Trump “chickens out,” but whether the final outcome leaves him in a stronger position.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 14, 2026
U.S. and Iran weigh further truce talks with Trump blockade underway
The two sides’ negotiating teams could return to Islamabad later this week for a second round of talks.
Visitors look at a display of semiconductor devices at the SuperSiC booth during SEMICON China, a trade fair for semiconductor technology, in Shanghai on March 25.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2026
China’s export engine stutters as Iran war chills global demand
The effects of the conflict in the Middle East have exposed the risks in Beijing’s strategy of leaning on manufacturing to sustain growth.
A vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, on Sunday. The fate of some 40 Japan-linked ships stranded in the Persian Gulf remains uncertain, with a blockade of the strait having been in place since Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2026
Fate of Japan-linked ships in Persian Gulf remains uncertain
“We don’t know again how the situation will develop,” a Japanese government official said regarding Japanese ships leaving the Persian Gulf.

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