Oil prices rose on Wednesday as traders weighed supply risks in the Middle East, including threats to shipping in the Red Sea and oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, Al Jazeera reported.
Brent crude futures gained $1.21 to reach $110 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by more than $1 to $99.
Gulf oil exports exceed pre-war levels
Oil exports from the Gulf have exceeded pre-war levels despite continued attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing ship-tracking firm Kpler.
Oil flows from the region, including shipments through Hormuz and alternative routes, averaged more than 24 million barrels per day (bpd) in the week ending October 18, up from 23.3 million bpd before the war.
Shipments through Hormuz, including offshore transfers in the Gulf of Oman, averaged about 14 million bpd, or 82% of pre-war levels.
US military protection, ship-to-ship transfers and alternative pipelines through Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have helped sustain exports, the report said.
About 40% of non-Iranian crude exports from the Gulf bypassed Hormuz in September, compared with 17% before the war, according to Kpler.
The increased shipments came despite escalating attacks, with about 30 incidents involving ships reported this month.
“The volumes remain high despite rising attacks, because profits make it worth the risk,” Kpler analyst Homayoun Falakshahi told the newspaper.
US says peace deal with Iran remains difficult
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told US media that reaching a peace deal with Iran was extremely difficult and that economic pressure would continue until Tehran stopped targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait would remain closed until Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions. Indirect talks were continuing through Pakistan and Qatar, he added.
Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei told visiting Pakistani army chief Asim Munir on Tuesday that Tehran would not allow nuclear material to leave the country, Iranian state television reported.
“Not even a tiny bit of enriched nuclear material will leave Iran; such materials constitute a major asset and national wealth for the Iranian people, intended for use within the country,” Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said.
“There will be no negotiations until America takes steps to build trust -- a process that must begin with the fulfilment of Iran’s conditions,” he added.
President Masoud Pezeshkian also rejected negotiations under US threats during his meeting with Munir, who was visiting Tehran as part of renewed efforts to mediate a peace deal between Washington and Tehran.
“The Americans must first remove the threats and sanctions; only then can we engage in dialogue,” Pezeshkian said.
“Today, our nation does not trust America. It believes that if we enter the negotiations, they (the Americans) will attack us again.”
Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told Munir that Washington could not win Tehran’s trust without meeting its seven conditions.
“We have nothing new to say; America cannot gain Iran’s trust unless it fulfils the seven conditions,” Ghalibaf said, adding that “threats and military manoeuvres cannot influence Iran’s strategic decisions”.
Iran has demanded a ceasefire across the Middle East, the unfreezing of its overseas assets and the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector, among other conditions.
The war began in late February when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran while Washington and Tehran were negotiating over Iran’s nuclear programme.
The parties agreed to a memorandum of understanding in June intended to establish a framework for a permanent settlement, but the agreement did not last. Negotiations have since stalled, and recent indirect talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly failed to produce a breakthrough.
Iran has previously said it would not transfer its nuclear material, enriched to 60%, to another country, although it had indicated it might dilute the material inside Iran. Weapons-grade uranium is generally considered to require enrichment to about 90%.
Washington and its allies have imposed successive rounds of sanctions on Iran, accusing it of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran has repeatedly denied the allegation.
Iran rejects claims of financial strain on military
Iran has rejected US claims that its military is running out of money and struggling to support regional allies, while acknowledging economic pressure from sanctions, military attacks and a US naval blockade, reports AFP.
US Central Command chief Brad Cooper said Washington had blocked at least $25 billion in Iranian oil exports and helped freeze about $350 million in cryptocurrency assets, leaving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unable to pay its troops.
Cooper also claimed that Iran-aligned armed groups were withholding payments to their fighters to redirect funds to the IRGC.
Iranian Central Bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati dismissed suggestions that the economy was nearing collapse, calling them “nothing more than an illusion”.
The World Bank projects that Iran’s economy will contract by 7.7% in the 2026-27 fiscal year. Pezeshkian has also acknowledged the economic difficulties caused by the war and blockade.
Analysts say Iran’s regional allies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, have faced financial difficulties, but Tehran is unlikely to abandon its support for them.
UK re-arrests two men in RAF Fairford investigation
British counterterrorism police have re-arrested two men on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service as part of an investigation into an incident involving RAF Fairford, with Iran identified as the country linked to the inquiry.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there were strong indications of Iranian involvement, an allegation Tehran has denied.
Burnham told parliament the plot was highly likely to have been coordinated in Iran and almost certainly directed by the IRGC.
On September 27, police stopped three vans they said were heading towards RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, a base used by the United States to launch bomber missions against Iran.
Police declared a major incident, made several arrests and found petrol, prompting the evacuation of a village. A week later, the United States withdrew its bombers from the base, citing a possible Iranian drone threat.
The investigation has involved seven arrests, bail and the latest re-arrests. Authorities have yet to publicly establish the motive or objective, and no charges have been announced, according to the account provided.
Quebec lawmaker raises keffiyeh in support of Palestine
Ruba Ghazal, spokesperson for Quebec Solidaire, raised a Palestinian keffiyeh during her oath-taking ceremony at Quebec’s National Assembly in Canada.
Ghazal, who is of Palestinian descent, became the first lawmaker of Palestinian heritage elected to the Quebec National Assembly in 2018.
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