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How US-Iran tensions could shape world markets

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The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Saturday, targeting its leadership and plunging the Middle East into a new conflict that President Donald Trump said would end a security threat and give Iranians a chance to topple their rulers. The strikes put nearby oil-producing Gulf Arab countries on edge as fears of escalation grew, and Tehran responded by launching missiles towards Israel. Here’s how the conflict could play out across world markets. Oil spike Oil is the main barometer of Middle East tension. Iran is a major producer and lies opposite the oil-rich Arabian Peninsula across the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 per cent of global oil supply passes. Conflict could limit oil entering the global market and push up prices. Brent crude traded on Friday around $73 a barrel, already up by a fifth this year. Some oil majors and top trading houses suspended crude oil and fuel shipments via the Strait of Hormuz because of the attacks, four trading sour...
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Who is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei?

US President Donald Trump says Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “is dead”. His claim came hours after Israel and the US launched an attack on Iran and followed reports quoting Israeli officials as saying that Khamenei had been assassinated. But, subsequent Iranian media reports said that Khamenei was “steadfast and firm in commanding the field”. Khamenei, 86, became Iran’s highest authority in 1989, following the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. As supreme leader, he has held ultimate control over Iran’s political, military and religious institutions, shaping domestic policy and guiding foreign relations. An article published in Al Jazeera says “critical to Khamenei’s power is the loyalty of two of Iran’s premier security institutions – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij paramilitary forces, which have hundreds of ⁠thousands of volunteers”. Khamenei upheld the conservative vision of his predecessor, Khomein...
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Govt hikes petrol price by Rs8, high-speed diesel by Rs5

The government on Saturday raised the price of petrol by Rs8 per litre and that of high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs5.16 per litre for the next fortnight, according to a press release issued by the Petroleum Division. Following the increase, the price of petrol has jumped from Rs258.17 to Rs266.17 while the HSD price now stands at 280.86. According to the press release, the government has revised the petroleum products’ prices based on the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s recommendations. The new prices are effective from March 1, the press release said. Petrol is mostly used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws and two-wheelers and has a direct bearing on the budget of the middle and lower-middle class. While the heavy transport sector runs on HSD, its price is considered inflationary as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains and agricultural engines like trucks, buses, tractors, tube-wells and threshers, and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables a...
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Israeli strikes kill seven more Palestinians across Gaza

• Israel’s Supreme Court freezes ban on foreign aid organisations in enclave • US public sympathy shifts to Palestinians over Israel, new Gallup poll reveals CAIRO: Relentless Israeli attacks killed at least seven Palestinians in Gaza on Friday, medics said, adding to a death toll of at least 600 people killed by Israeli fire since a US-brokered ceasefire agreement came into effect last October. Gaza’s health officials reported that in southern Gaza, five people were killed and several others were injured, some critically, in Israeli drone strikes. The strikes targeted two police checkpoints in Khan Yunis and in the Abu Hujair area northwest of the Bureij refugee camp later in the day, medics said. Separately, an Israeli airstrike against a group of Palestinians in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood in northern Gaza killed two people and wounded several others. Ban on NGOs frozen Meanwhile, Israel’s Supreme Court decided in a ruling published on Friday to freeze a government ban o...
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With presidential ordinance set to lapse, Senate passes bill for regulating virtual assets

ISLAMABAD: The upper House of Parliament on Friday passed a bill for regulating virtual assets as well as the ‘establishment’ of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) — a body already set up under an ordinance approved by the president in July last year. The development comes as the ordinance was set to lapse in early March. The rules were suspended in the Senate to take up the bill, which was moved by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, for immediate consideration. The preamble of the bill, a copy of which is available with Dawn , stated that it was expedient to establish a dedicated virtual assets regulatory authority to licence, regulate and supervise virtual assets and virtual asset service providers to “ensure investor protection, transparency and market integrity in Pakistan”. It further stated that it was necessary to provide a comprehensive legal framework to empower the said authority to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, proliferation finan...
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Seven children die, 22 hurt in Chaman gas cylinder blast

• Explosion occurs in Killi Mahmoodabad on outskirts of border town • Children gathered at a tribal elder’s house to receive yoghurt after breaking their fast • President Zardari extends condolences to victims’ families QUETTA: Seven children aged between 8 and 14 years were killed and 22 others, including women and children, were injured when a gas cylinder exploded in a house in Chaman, a town on the Pak-Afghan border, on Thursday. Officials said the tragic incident occurred in Killi Mahmoodabad, a locality on the outskirts of the district headquarters, Chaman. According to police officials, children from neighbouring houses had gathered at the house of one of a tribal elder to receive yoghurt to eat after breaking their fast. Meanwhile, a powerful explosion occurred in the kitchen, rocking the border town. The blast blew off the roof of the kitchen and damaged other rooms of the house. The children waiting for yoghurt were buried under the debris. Rescue teams, along with poli...
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‘Long live Pakistan’: Politicians united in response to unprovoked Afghan Taliban aggression

Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the Afghan Taliban, after the neighbouring country opened unprovoked fire on multiple locations across the border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday. In response, leaders across the political spectrum were united in their stance, lauding the country’s armed forces and asserting that any aggression from Kabul would be responded to firmly. President Asif Ali Zardari said Pakistan will not compromise on peace and territorial integrity. “Our armed forces’ response is comprehensive and decisive. Those who mistake our peace for weakness will face a strong response — and no one will be beyond reach,” he warned. In a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the people and armed forces of Pakistan were always ready to protect the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. “There will be no compromise on the defence of the beloved homeland and every aggression will be met...
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