Tag - iran

 
 

IRAN

U.S. President Donald Trump (left), U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (second from left), U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (third from left) and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2026
Can Trump pull the U.S. out of NATO?
The U.S. president has been harshly critical of the 77-year-old trans-Atlantic alliance for years.
Health deputy minister Hirobumi Niki (center left) receives a petition from patient groups in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 2, 2026
Patients in Japan seek stable supply of medical goods as war concerns loom
Shortages of naphtha — used in plastic — has patients worried about access to life-saving equipment as the Iran war continues to disrupt supply chains.
The Iran conflict has created ‌one of ‌the largest supply shortages in global energy market history, pouring political pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump to quickly end it.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2026
Trump says U.S. may exit Iran war soon and threatens to quit NATO
The U.S. will soon end its war on Iran, the U.S. president said, while scaling up threats to pull out of NATO over what he sees as its failure to support Washington with the war.
People attend a funeral ceremony for the Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri in Tehran on Monday. Regional analysts say the assumption that removing top Iranian leaders would cause the system to fracture ignored the country's record of resilience, with the result not of surrender but radicalization.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2026
U.S.-Israeli war, intended to break Iran, could leave Tehran stronger
A premature end to the war without security guarantees would leave Gulf states exposed to an Iran that was supposed to surrender but instead has been radicalized.
A Japan Airlines airplane flies past an oil refinery as it approaches to land at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, as seen from a park in the Keihin Industrial Zone in Kawasaki, on March 17.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2026
Japan’s international flights to get pricier due to hike in fuel surcharge
Fuel surcharges are expected to rise up to double their current rates due to the ongoing Iran conflict.
Women sit in their home, which was damaged by an airstrike in Tehran on Monday.
WORLD / Politics / EXPLAINER
Apr 1, 2026
When do attacks on civilian installations amount to war crimes?
⁠Some experts say attacks against oil facilities, electricity production sites and desalination plants that supply civilians could amount to war crimes.
An Emirates jet flies past plumes of smoke from an Iranian drone strike near Dubai International Airport on March 16.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2026
Why Iran’s escalation strategy is likely to backfire
By widening the scope of the fighting and threatening the Persian Gulf states’ economic lifelines, Iran wants to raise the perceived price of continuing the war.
The business sentiment index advanced in March to 17 from a revised 16 in the previous quarter, the Bank of Japan’s <i>tankan</i> business survey showed Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2026
Japan’s manufacturer mood improves, supporting BOJ’s rate stance
The business sentiment index advanced in March to 17 from a revised 16 in the previous quarter, the BOJ’s tankan business survey showed Wednesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to makes an announcement about lowering the cost of drug prices, at the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Dec. 19, 2025.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 1, 2026
Drugmakers delay some European launches with a wary eye on Trump’s pricing policies
The White House has been pushing to lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S., which has traditionally paid significantly more than other wealthy countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a poster showing what was described as reciprocal tariffs during an announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 2, 2025.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 1, 2026
Oil shock from war on Iran unwinds traders’ playbook since Trump’s tariffs
Fallout from the conflict for energy markets and global trade is forcing a shift away from popular, crowded trades that had come to define markets.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) speaks with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 1, 2026
China and Pakistan outline five-point plan to end Mideast war
The two countries outlined a joint initiative “for restoring peace and stability in the Gulf and Middle East region,” after senior Pakistani officials visited Beijing.
An Emirates aircraft prepares for landing as a smoke plume rises from a fire near Dubai International Airport in Dubai on March 16.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 1, 2026
Arab nations may lose $200 billion from Iran war, U.N. says
Middle Eastern countries stand to lose between $120 billion and $194 billion from gross domestic product as a result of disruptions from the war, according to an analysis.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 1, 2026
U.S. eyes swift end to war as fresh attacks hit Gulf states and Iran
The remarks underscored the shifting and at times contradictory timelines and statements from Washington about how and when the war might end.
Industry minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks during an online gathering of officials of Group of Seven leading industrialized nations on Monday. Akazawa has been named Japan’s critical-materials czar by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2026
Akazawa appointed critical-materials czar in response to conflict in the Middle East
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the industry minister is tasked with reviewing the supply situation and developing policy responses.
Facilities of Huanyang Chemical Industry and Ningbo Huanyang New Materials in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, on March 21. Petrol and plastic prices have risen for China since the U.S. and Israel began their strikes on Iran a month ago.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
What the Middle East war means for China’s ties with Iran
China and Iran’s relationship is transactional despite them sometimes being considered as part of a broader anti-Western group — alongside Russia and North Korea.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi exchange bows during a news conference following their summit in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
At Japan-Indonesia summit, energy security takes center stage amid war in Middle East
The two Asian nations’ leaders on Tuesday pledged to coordinate closely on this issue, as oil and gas prices soar due to the ongoing war.
Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Moscow in 2025
WORLD / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
Pakistan’s foreign minister to visit China as outlook for Mideast war uncertain
Pakistan has emerged as a key player in seeking to broker peace in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, in United Arab Emirates on March 11. So far in March, barely six vessels per day on average have traversed the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the world, in either direction. That compares with about 135 a day in normal times, according to ship-tracking data.
WORLD
Mar 31, 2026
Iran’s grip on Strait of Hormuz tighter than ever after first month of war
The near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz has proved an exceptionally effective asymmetric weapon in Iran’s fight against two of the world’s most powerful countries.
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 1.7% in the capital from a year earlier in March, according to the internal affairs ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 31, 2026
Tokyo inflation cools for now as BOJ monitors Mideast impact
Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 1.7% in the capital from a year earlier in March, marking the smallest increase since April 2024.
An aerial view shows tugboats helping a crude oil tanker to berth at an oil terminal, off Waidiao Island in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, China, in 2022.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 31, 2026
China puts home energy needs above cooperation as Mideast war halts supplies
China is the world’s second largest fertilizer ‌exporter and also ‌a large supplier of fuel, with imports from China a major source of supply for many countries in Asia.

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The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
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