Geopolitics And Regional Stability News

Leading European nations and Japan issued a joint statement on Thursday saying they were ready to join appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and would take steps to stabilise energy markets.This is the full text of the statement from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan:We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations…

China called for an end to conflict in the Gulf and said the safety of waterways should not be disturbed on Thursday, adding that it was ready to work with Southeast Asia to address energy shortages as oil markets reel from supply shocks.While the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has allowed China to cast itself as the more reliable superpower, analysts say it is wary of global energy market uncertainty, not least because it needs the resources it has been stockpiling since the late 2000s…

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Tuesday, as renewed Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates heightened concerns about the worsening outlook for global supply if there is no quick resolution to U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, now in its third week.Brent crude futures gained $1.33, or 1.3%, to $101.53 a barrel by 1515 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude advanced $1.21, or 1.3%, to $94.71.The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran shows no signs of abating. While oil futures have not repeated the brief surge to nearly $120 a barrel from earlier in the month…

Cuba has reconnected its electrical grid across much of the island, the Energy and Mines Ministry said early on Tuesday, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric against the communist-run island, saying he could do anything he wanted with Cuba.Cuba's national electric grid collapsed on Monday, leaving about 10 million people without power amid a U.S.-imposed oil blockade that has crippled the island's already obsolete generation system.Energy officials said they had reconnected the grid from westernmost Pinar del Rio province to Holguin…

Most western oil and gas majors have significant operations in the Middle East, where the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted oil and gas shipping and halted some output.France's TotalEnergies, which has the biggest upstream exposure to the region compared with its global output, has said some 15% of its production is offline due to the war.Here are some details on the majors' production in the Middle East, in alphabetical order:BPBP's oil and gas output in the Middle East in 2025…

Windward is publishing daily intelligence reports on the crisis in the Gulf as the situation develops.The highlights of today's report are as follows:    Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains extremely limited, with only three outbound crossings recorded on March 15 and no inbound transits.Maritime security risk across the Gulf remains high, with 20 confirmed incidents involving commercial vessels and offshore infrastructure recorded since the start of the Iran war.Kharg Island remains operational despite recent strikes…

U.S. President Donald Trump called on allies over the weekend to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as Iranian forces continue attacks on the vital waterway amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, now in its third week.Trump said his administration has already contacted seven countries, but declined to identify them. In an earlier social media post, he said that he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others would participate.Iran has effectively shut the Strait, a narrow passage of water between Iran and Oman…

As the conflict in the Gulf widens, maritime insurance premiums for war coverage are surging -- in some cases by more than 1000% -- dramatically driving up the cost of moving energy through a critical maritime corridor.The conflagration sparked by Saturday's Israeli-U.S. air strikes against Tehran has paralyzed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping chokepoint. Iran on Monday said it would fire on any ship trying to pass, and at least nine vessels have suffered…

Windward is publishing daily intelligence reports on the crisis in the Gulf as the situation develops.The highlights of today's report are as follows:    Operation Epic Fury triggered immediate disruption across maritime chokepoints in the Gulf.Commercial tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz collapsed as strikes, threats, and insurance withdrawal drove operators out of the corridor.At least eight commercial vessels have been struck since the start of the conflict across the Gulf…

Windward is publishing daily intelligence reports on the crisis in the Gulf as the situation develops.The highlights of today's report are as follows:    The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed, with only five vessel crossings recorded on March 4.Bab el-Mandeb traffic surged to 23 crossings, sitting above recent averages.Suez Canal activity dropped to 23 crossings, falling below trend levels.Cape of Good Hope diversions remained elevated, confirming continued rerouting of global trade.A crude tanker explosion near Kuwait damaged a cargo tanker and triggered an oil spill…

More tankers came under attack in Gulf waters on Thursday as the U.S.–Iran war escalated, and Iranian drones entered Azerbaijan, threatening to spread the crisis to more oil producers in the region.A Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker was targeted by an Iranian remote-controlled boat laden with explosives while anchored near Iraq's Khor al Zubair port, according to initial assessments. A second tanker at anchor off Kuwait was taking on water and spilling oil after a large explosion on its port side.Nine vessels have come under attack since the conflict broke out between the U.S.…

Seafarers have the right to refuse to sail on ships passing through the Middle East Gulf, including the Strait of Hormuz, after the threat level for the region was raised to its highest level, the leading labour union and shipping industry groups said on Thursday.Around 300 ships are anchored on both sides of the Strait while the U.S.-led war against Iran escalates. Since February 28, nine ships have been damaged and at least one seafarer has been killed.As part of negotiated arrangements reached on Thursday between mariners and commercial shipping companies…

European powers said on Thursday they would work together to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and send naval and other assets to protect Cyprus as the expanding U.S.–Iran war entered its sixth day.The conflict - which has widened beyond Gulf states to the Mediterranean, where a drone strike hit a British air base on Cypruson Monday, and as far afield as Asia - has convulsed global markets and sent oil and gas prices soaring.Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands will send naval assets to protect Cyprus in the coming days…

Greek seafarers began a 24-hour strike on Thursday, halting local ferry services, as they protested over vessel crews stranded in the Gulf amid the escalating Middle East war, and demanded the area is declared a war risk zone to enable their repatriation.The Iran conflict threatens Gulf ports and has already disrupted global trade through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery accounting for about 20% of global oil and gas supply. Although the Strait is not shut, Iran has warned that it will fire on ⁠any ship trying to pass through.Greece is a dominant force in global shipping…

India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals has suspended fuel exports due to the Middle East conflict that has disrupted crude oil flows from the Gulf, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.The company has declared force majeure on all upcoming gasoline export cargoes for March and April, two separate trade sources said.MRPL had awarded two to three cargoes of gasoline via tenders for early March loading and is in discussions with buyers on settling those supplies…

The U.S.–Iran war widened on Wednesday after a U.S. strike hit an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka, deepening a crisis that has paralysed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz for a fifth day and choked off vital Middle East oil and gas flows.The U.S. submarine strike on the Iranian vessel came as U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to provide insurance and navy escorts to ships exporting oil and gas from the Middle East in a bid to contain soaring energy prices.At least 200 ships…

Russia has been unable to capitalize on this week's surge in global crude prices, as days of Ukrainian drone attacks and harsh winter storms have sharply curtailed its capacity to export oil, industry sources said.Russia's Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk port suspended oil loadings on Monday after a Ukrainian drone attack left a fuel terminal ablaze and damaged dozens of buildings, Russian and Ukrainian officials and three trade sources said.Crude oil benchmarks rose about 8% on Tuesday…

London's marine insurance market has widened the area in the Gulf it deems as high risk as the conflict in the Middle East escalates, according to an advisory issued on Tuesday.Guidance from the Joint War Committee, which comprises syndicate members from the Lloyd's Market Association and representatives from the London insurance company market, is watched closely and influences underwriters' considerations over insurance premiums.The JWC added waters around Bahrain, Djibouti…

Global oil and gas prices jumped on Tuesday as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran halted energy exports from the Middle East, with Tehran attacking ships and energy facilities, closing navigation in the Gulf and forcing production stoppages from Qatar to Iraq.The benchmark Brent crude oil contract gained nearly 8% on Tuesday to above $83 per barrel, the highest since July 2024, taking gains since Friday to more than 15%. European gas prices soared as much as 40% before paring gains, adding to a 40% surge on Monday.

President Donald Trump will review a set of policy options on Tuesday aimed at controlling energy prices during the escalating Middle East conflict, including a proposal for the U.S. government to help oil tankers in the region obtain insurance, two sources said.Global crude prices have spiked since Israeli and U.S. forces began striking Iran over the weekend, leading to fighting that has interrupted Middle East oil tanker shipments.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy…

Iraq has cut oil production by nearly 1.5 million barrels a day and those cuts could widen to more than 3 million bpd within days as the country runs out of storage and cannot export crude due to the Iran crisis, two Iraqi oil officials told Reuters on Tuesday.As of Tuesday, Iraq has cut production from the Rumaila oil field by 700,000 bpd, from the West Qurna 2 field by 460,000 bpd and from the Maysan field by 325,000 bpd, the officials, who did not wish to be named, said.That output cut could grow to over 3 million bpd if oil tankers cannot move freely through the Strait of Hormuz and reach

Refiners in China, the world's top oil importer, have enough supply on hand to weather near-term disruption from the Iran conflict, bolstered by recent record purchases of Iranian and Russian crude and robust government stockpiling, traders said.A prolonged supply disruption could, however, force the country's refiners to curb output and run down commercial stockpiles, some of the traders said.China has around 900 million barrels in strategic inventories, or 78 days' worth of imports…

At least 25 ships from seven German maritime companies, including two cruise ships carrying about 7,000 passengers, are stranded in Gulf waters and cannot leave through the Strait of Hormuz for security reasons, Germany's shipowners' association VDR said on Monday without naming the companies. Dertour and TUI Cruises said earlier they had suspended or adjusted travel plans across the Middle East after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran spurred retaliatory action.Some details from…