US President Donald Trump on Sunday announced that the US Navy would immediately begin blockading the Strait of Hormuz, sharply escalating tensions after marathon talks with Iran collapsed without a deal to end the war, leaving a fragile two-week ceasefire hanging in the balance.
The US and Iran failed to reach an agreement after marathon 21-hour talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad throwing the two-week Middle East ceasefire into doubt.
All eyes are on Pakistan's capital Islamabad as it hosts what are being described as “make-or-break” talks between the United States and Iran on Saturday, even as doubts persist over their prospects amid sharply divergent positions, ongoing violence in Lebanon, and renewed warnings from Donald Trump of intensified military action if diplomacy fails.
Iran continued its near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz despite US President Donald trump saying Tehran must allow oil to go through the waterway.
Iran has launched a new threat against US companies based across the Middle East, warning it will attack them in retaliation for new strikes by the US in Iran aimed against its leadership.
President Donald Trump says the US will "leave" Iran in "two to three weeks" when it is certain the regime cannot build a nuclear weapon "for years" and whether there is a deal with Tehran or not.
The first deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Oman to a German company have begun despite the war in Iran, said a spokesperson for the German state-owned gas supplier Sefe.
An Iranian drone attack struck fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday, sparking a massive fire but causing no casualties, Kuwait's state news agency KUNA said. The fuel tanks, which belonged to the Kuwait Aviation Fuelling Company (Kafco) have sustained significant damages.
Japan has instructed a national oil reserve storage site to prepare for a possible crude release after the Iran crisis disrupted Middle East supplies. Japan imports about 95 per cent of its crude from the region, much via the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices surged nearly 30% to more than $119 a barrel on Monday, hitting levels not seen since mid-2022, as some major producers cut supplies and fears of prolonged shipping disruptions gripped the market due to the expanding US-Israeli war with Iran.
