Geopolitics

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council lists seven demands to restart US talks, including asset release and an end to the naval blockade, as Middle East tensions threaten energy markets.

Saudi Arabia intercepts a ballistic missile near Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport as Houthi rebels claim strikes on Aramco sites, raising fresh Red Sea shipping and oil-market risk.

Beijing criticizes US sanctions targeting Russian oil buyers just ahead of a high-stakes Trump-Xi meeting, with trade talks set for New York.

Diplomatic deadlock between Washington and Tehran deepens as Houthi forces strike Riyadh’s airport, with Brent crude near $103 a barrel amid escalation.

11% of French fuel stations are dry, diesel hits €2.406 a litre, and a Houthi strike on Riyadh’s main airport adds fresh shocks to global energy markets.

Six months into the US-Iran conflict, oil prices remain volatile but below dire forecasts, with China’s 1.4-billion-barrel strategic reserve credited as a global buffer ahead of Xi’s Washington visit.

A 100% tariff sanctions bill targeting Russian energy buyers, a Strait of Hormuz tanker incident, and a Fed rate hike to 3.75%-4.00% are shaking global markets.

President Trump signed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act into law, authorizing tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian energy, as Middle East tensions and a Fed rate hike add to market volatility.

A UN fact-finding mission says there are reasonable grounds the US committed war crimes in strikes on Iran that killed over 170 civilians, raising fresh Middle East risk for oil markets.