Geopolitics And Regional Stability News

Oil prices fell 9% on Wednesday in volatile trading as investors awaited Washington's next move in the US-Israeli war with Iran after President Donald Trump's Republican Party lost control of Congress in midterm elections.Brent futures dropped $9.27, or 8.9%, to $94.29 a barrel, touching the lowest level since September 4, at 11:58 a.m. ET (1658 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $7.44, or 7.8%, to $88.54.Brent settled in the previous session at its lowest…

Oil prices fell more than 7% on Monday as talks between Iranian and Qatari officials lifted hopes for an end to the US-Israeli war with Iran and stabilization of Middle East crude supply.Iran's president said the supreme leader had granted the government "certain authorities" regarding peace talks. The country's negotiators held days of talks with Qatari mediators aimed at ending the war. A draft proposal is being circulated with a follow-up meeting possible, an official briefed on the talks said.Brent crude futures fell $8.47, or 7.47%, to $104.96 a barrel by 12:24 p.m. EST (1724 GMT).

Gulf oil producers are assembling a fleet of nearly 230 tankers to maintain crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz despite heightened security risks and reluctance among independent shipowners to operate in the region, according to a weekly intelligence report from Windward Maritime dated October 29.The report identifies five maritime developments, including changes to Gulf oil transportation, an oil spill threatening infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates, suspicious movements near subsea communications cables…

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on Wednesday for a global maritime truce after a drone attack sank a Greek container ship off Bulgaria, the latest of a series of strikes on ships in the western Black Sea this month.Speaking at a high-level debate of the Greek presidency of the UN Security Council on maritime security, Mitsotakis said commercial vessels must be able to navigate safely and freely even during times of conflict."Targeted civilian commercial shipping is completely unacceptable.

Dockworkers in 22 countries will strike on Friday, protesting against war and the use of ports for arms exports in action organisers say could disrupt over 40% of Mediterranean cargo and snarl over $2 billion worth of freight.The strike, originally called by dockworkers' unions in Italy, France, Greece, Spain's Basque Country, Turkey and Morocco, is now backed by more than 25 unions in 113 ports.The protest is expected to target major shipping hubs across Europe and beyond, including Hamburg…

Global commodity prices are set to surge 23% in 2026, the World Bank said on Wednesday, citing rising energy prices and disruptions to cargo shipping during the Middle East war, grain shipment problems in the Black Sea and high demand for safe-haven assets such as gold.Oil, natural gas, food and metals prices all rose sharply this year as global shocks mounted, the World Bank said in its latest Commodity Markets Outlook. It said the situation could worsen if the conflict in the…

Oil futures fell on Tuesday as attention turned to Middle East peace talks, though prices remain near multi-month highs as the Houthi-Saudi Arabia conflict rages and the potential for fresh US-Israeli attacks hangs over the market.Brent crude futures were down $1.00, or 0.86%, at $114.81 a barrel by 1311 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 78 cents, or 0.77%, at $100.98.Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei on Tuesday met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei a day after holding talks with representatives of Saudi Arabia…

Top officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday in a bid to de-escalate the Middle East conflict, as Yemen's Houthis launched new attacks on Saudi Arabia and Egypt approved defence support for the Gulf kingdom.The talks were the first high-level contact between Iran and the three nations — which signed the Mecca mutual defence pact in August — since a war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran also spread to Saudi Arabia and…

Oil prices fell $2 a barrel on Monday amid hopes of easing hostilities between the United States and Iran, but persistent attacks on key producer Saudi Arabia kept investors wary and prices near six-month highs.Brent crude futures were down $2.03, or 1.7%, at $114.70 at 10:37 a.m. ET (1437 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $2.60, or 2.5%, at $100.71 per barrel.On Friday, prices settled more than $3 higher, with Brent finishing the week up 6% and WTI ending the week 2.3% higher."With the jeopardy doubled by Houthi attacks into Saudi…

Oil prices rose on Friday, with Brent crude touching its highest since early May, after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concern over further disruption to energy supplies from the Middle East where UAE authorities also reported an oil spill.Brent crude futures gained $1.71, or 1.5%, to $114.99 a barrel by 1300 GMT, having earlier reached $115.16, the highest level since May 4. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained $1.80, or 1.8%, to $101.27.The Brent benchmark is on track for a 4.4% weekly rise…

October has been the worst month for attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waterways, according to data compiled by a Washington-based think tank that has tracked maritime security incidents worldwide since 2017."October has seen the highest number of ship attacks on record," said Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.Raydan, who maintains the institute's interactive shipping incident map, has recorded 28 confirmed…

Citi said on Thursday that near-term risks to oil prices remain skewed to the upside despite a recovery in Gulf crude exports, as shipping bottlenecks continue to keep delivered supplies tight."The normalization of Arab Gulf oil exports has been volumetric rather than logistical, with unprecedented shipping inefficiencies keeping delivered crude costs elevated," Citi saidMore than 1 million barrels per day of Gulf crude exports were moved via ship-to-ship transfers in September, equivalent to about 7.5% of regional flows, compared with virtually none before the US-Iran conflict.

Windward intelligence report highlights tanker and tug attacks, threats to subsea cables, an emerging oil spill and a sanctioned Russian tanker testing U.S. naval restrictions.Maritime security risks across the Strait of Hormuz, Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman are expanding beyond attacks on commercial tankers, with threats now extending to subsea communications infrastructure, offshore support vessels and coastal facilities. An October 22 intelligence report from Windward Maritime…

Oil prices slipped after touching a five-month high during a choppy session on Tuesday as traders weighed Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and reports of vessel attacks in the Gulf.Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they launched several attacks on Saudi energy, airport and military targets, such as an Aramco site in Yanbu, the Shaybah oilfield, Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and Abha airport.Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the Houthi claims and Reuters could not independently verify them.Brent crude futures fell $1.11…

Gulf markets ended lower on Thursday as the Houthis threatened more attacks on Saudi Arabia, putting the country's benchmark index on track for a sixth weekly loss.The Saudi index dropped 0.3%, pulled down by a 3.1% slide in ACWA Power Company and 0.4% fall in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco.On Wednesday, Yemen's Houthis pledged to keep attacking airports and oil facilities in the kingdom. The threat came a day after a Houthi strike caused extensive damage to Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran…

Russian forces hit two ships delivering military and dual-use cargo to Ukraine's port city of Mykolaiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday, without mentioning any energy facilities following US President Donald Trump's announcement on Sunday of an energy ceasefire.Reuters could not independently verify the report.Following are the targets in Ukraine which Russia struck overnight and during the day on Tuesday, according to Russian defence ministry:In Kyiv and Kyiv region:A workshop at the Pulp Mill Print facility…

Oil fell on Friday as Middle East supply concerns eased after President Donald Trump said the US would not attack Iran before midterm elections next month and talked of "productive" talks to end their war that has disrupted global energy markets.Plans by China, the world's top oil importer, to resume refined fuel exports after a brief halt during its Golden Week holiday, also weighed on the market. Reuters reported the development on Friday, citing sources.Brent crude futures dropped $1.10, or 1.1%, to $103.18 a barrel by 1328 GMT.

Asian countries are racing to raise their oil stockpiling capacity, complete a regional power grid and speed up renewables in response to supply risks laid bare by the Iran war.Southeast Asia has been worst hit by the energy impact as 80% of the oil transported through the Strait of Hormuz from the Gulf flowed to the region before the Iran war began."The most advanced efforts are support for the development of oil stockpiling systems in each country and regional joint stockpiling on (a) voluntary basis…

Intensifying attacks by Russia and Ukraine ahead of the winter are further endangering navigational safety in the Black Sea, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday, adding that world powers must not allow the region to be turned into a new front in the war.NATO member Turkey, which has maintained good ties with both Moscow and Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has repeatedly called on both sides to halt attacks in the Black Sea that have also struck Turkish-flagged and Turkish-owned commercial vessels.

Tankers are facing a higher risk of attacks and intimidation as they try to get critical shipments through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran issued new warnings it would block routes that it has not authorized, sources said.Last week already saw the biggest number of attacks on tankers in the key waterway since the Iran war began - cutting the number of vessels trying to get through to the lowest in more than two months.Iran has now warned regional countries that any attempt to open new routes for oil exports would be considered hostile…

Windward publishes quarterly intelligence reports tracking developments across global shipping.From the Q3 report:Four navies struck merchant ships, including Iran, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.Iranian attacks in the Middle East Gulf doubled to 45. Black Sea attacks quadrupled to about 86.The Houthis declared a blockade on Saudi-linked shipping, and Bab el-Mandeb traffic fell by a quarter.The Gulf recorded at least 12 conflict-related oil spillsFalsely flagged ships are up 39% since January.

Turkey is sending mainly defensive and technical support to Saudi Arabia to help it fight Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, two officials said on Wednesday, after the NATO member and Pakistan pledged to act on the collective defence commitment of their newly formed alliance.Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August, under which an armed attack on one member constituted an attack on all. They have been working to set the parameters of the new alliance and have held political and military meetings in response to the Houthi attacks.On Monday…

Most Gulf stock markets ended lower on Wednesday as fighting between Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces intensified on several fronts.Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces are pushing a major offensive to retake ground lost to weeks of Houthi advances, backed by stepped-up Saudi air strikes.The Houthis struck Aden International Airport on Wednesday with ballistic missiles and explosive drones, Yemen's Transport Ministry said, marking a sharp escalation…