Iran News

Oil prices steadied on Wednesday after rising earlier in the session after the U.S. shot down an Iranian drone and armed Iranian boats approached a U.S.-flagged vessel, rekindling fears of an escalation in tensions ahead of planned talks.But a broader selloff of software equities, which often move in tandem with oil prices, capped gains.Brent crude oil futures were up around 0.1% at $67.38 a barrel by 1423 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 2 cents at $63.19.Both…

Oil prices climbed about 3% to a five-month high on Thursday on rising concerns that global supplies could be disrupted if the U.S. decides to attack Iran, one of the biggest crude producers in OPEC.Brent futures rose $2.10, or 3.1%, to $70.50 a barrel by 11:07 a.m. EST (1607 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $2.09, or 3.3%, to $65.30.That pushed both crude benchmarks into technically overbought territory and put Brent on track for its highest close since July 31 and WTI on track for its highest close since September 26.U.S.

The U.S. Navy has sent an additional warship to the Middle East, a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday, amid a large military buildup in the region and soaring tensions.The official, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Delbert D. Black had entered the region in the past 48 hours. This brings the number of destroyers in the Middle East to six, along with an aircraft carrier and three other littoral combat ships. The additional warship in the region was first reported by CBS News.(Reuters)

Egypt said on Wednesday that it is working on securing the release of four citizens who were detained by Iran last month after Tehran seized a foreign tanker on charges of carrying "smuggled fuel" in the Gulf.In a statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry said four Egyptian crew members were currently on board the Reem alKhaleej vessel at Iran's Bandar Abbas port.Iran said last month that it had seized a foreign oil tanker carrying 4 million litres of smuggled fuel near the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Gulf.

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on nine vessels of what is known as the shadow fleet and eight related firms, the U.S. Treasury Department said, as the Trump administration sought to escalate pressure on Iran over the recent killing of protesters.The Treasury said the vessels and their respective owners or management firms, which include entities based in India, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, have collectively transported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth…

Dozens of commercial ships have dropped anchor at a distance outside Iran's port limits in recent days, according to data and shipping sources, as tensions with the United States grow.Such movements were precautionary given the tensions amid ongoing protests in Iran, the shipping sources said. Port limits are significant because they run a higher risk of collateral damage in the event of air strikes on nearby infrastructure.The U.S. is withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a U.S.

Oil prices fell slightly on Monday after Iran said it had total control following the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years, easing some concerns over supply, while investors also weighed efforts to resume oil exports from Venezuela.Brent crude futures lost 28 cents, or 0.44%, to $63.06 a barrel by 1402 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $58.78 a barrel, down 34 cents, or 0.58%."Lower European equity markets and lack of additional supply disruptions is moderately weighing on oil prices…

OPEC's oil output fell in December due to lower supply from Iran and Venezuela, which offset an OPEC+ agreement to raise production for the month, a Reuters survey found on Friday.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 28.40 million barrels per day last month, down 100,000 bpd from November's revised total, the survey showed, with Iran posting the largest decline.OPEC+, comprising OPEC and allies including Russia, has slowed the pace of its monthly output increases amid concerns of a supply glut.

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday on 29 vessels and their management firms as Washington targeted Tehran's "shadow fleet", which it says exports Iranian petroleum and petroleum products.The targeted vessels and companies have transported hundreds of millions of dollars of the products through deceptive shipping practices, the U.S. Treasury said.The shadow fleet refers to ships that carry oil that is under sanctions. They are typically old, their ownership opaque…

Iran confirmed on Saturday that its Revolutionary Guards had seized a tanker in Gulf waters carrying a cargo of petrochemicals bound for Singapore over alleged violations, Iranian state media reported.A U.S. official and maritime security sources had said on Friday that Iranian forces intercepted the oil products tanker and diverted it into Iranian territorial waters. It was the first report of Tehran seizing a tanker since Israeli-U.S. strikes on Iran in June.Iranian state-run…

The latest U.S. sanctions on Iranian petroleum exports deal a blow to Chinese refining giant Sinopec by targeting a terminal through which the state major handles one-fifth of its crude oil imports, industry executives and analysts said.The sanctions announced on Thursday further complicate U.S.-China relations, coming ahead of planned talks between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping later this month.The move follows China's decision to tighten controls on rare earth exports…

A Tanzania-flagged vessel is partially submerged south of Iran's Kish Island, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday, adding that the cause of the incident was under investigation.The agency cited an Iranian official as saying the nine crew members were rescued from the vessel, which was carrying 2,500 tons of white cement.The incident occurred around 13:30 local time.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned a network of shipping companies and vessels led by an Iraqi-Kittitian businessman for smuggling Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil.The administration of President Donald Trump is keeping pressure on Iran while nuclear talks have stalled. A sixth round of negotiations was suspended after the start of a 12-day war in June.A senior Iranian official said on Tuesday that the path to nuclear negotiations is not closed but U.S. demands for curbs on Iranian missiles are obstructing prospects for talks.The Treasury said the network…

Britain sanctioned an Iranian oil magnate and four companies on Thursday, saying they are part of a network that supports Tehran's overseas activities, including "destabilisation" in Ukraine and Israel.The sanctions include an asset freeze and travel ban on Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, and an asset freeze on companies in the shipping, petrochemical and financial sectors, the Foreign Office said."Iran's reliance on revenues from trading networks and connected organisations enables it to carry out its destabilising activities…

The Trump administration on Thursday issued more Iran-related sanctions, targeting 13 entities based in Hong Kong, China, the United Arab Emirates and the Marshall Islands, as well as eight vessels, the U.S. Treasury Department said.The measures cover Greek national Antonios Margaritis and his network of companies and vessels that Treasury said was involved in transporting Iranian oil exports in violation of sanctions.Treasury also designated Ares Shipping Limited in Hong Kong…

China's oil imports from Iran surged in June as shipments accelerated before the recent conflict between Israel and Iran and demand from independent refineries improved, analysts said.The world's top oil importer and biggest buyer of Iranian crude brought in more than 1.8 million barrels per day from June 1-20, according to ship-tracker Vortexa, a record high based on the firm's data.Kpler's data put the month-to-date average of China's Iranian oil and condensate imports at 1.46 million bpd as of June 27…

A damaged unit of the South Pars refinery's Phase 14, which was hit by Israel in its first strike on Iran's oil and gas sector, has returned to operation, the Iranian state-run agency Nour News reported on Thursday.South Pars, the world's biggest gas field, is located offshore in Iran's southern Bushehr province and is responsible for the lion's share of the country's gas production.Iran is the world's third largest gas producer after the United States and Russia.Gas production was not halted and the damaged unit was repaired in about 10 days…

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that China can continue to purchase oil from Iran after the U.S. bombed the OPEC member's nuclear facilities and hoped that China would also buy "plenty" of it from the United States."China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran. Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also," he said in a post on Truth Social.Trump's post came after he had announced that Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire following the U.S. bombing over the weekend on three nuclear facilities.

Iran and Israel accused each other of endangering commercial activity in sea lanes around the Gulf and the Red Sea at the UN's shipping agency on Wednesday, as their military conflict escalated.Iran's delegation told a session of the International Maritime Organization's security committee that Israel had in recent days extended its "unlawful attacks" to include petrochemical and gas infrastructure in Asalouyeh along Iran's Gulf coast."These actions directly endanger international maritime security and the global energy supply chain…

The Front Tyne oil tanker was sailing through the Gulf between Iran and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday when just past 9:40 a.m. shiptracking data appeared to show the massive vessel in Russia, in fields better known for barley and sugar beets.By 4:15 p.m., the ship's erratic signals indicated it was in southern Iran near the town of Bidkhun, before later placing it back and forth across the Gulf.Mass interference since the start of the conflict between Israel and Iran has affected nearly 1…

Former Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi has said that tankers and LNG cargoes should only transit the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian permission and this policy should be carried out from "tomorrow [Wednesday] for a hundred days."It was not immediately clear whether Khandouzi was echoing a plan under theIranian establishment's consideration or sharing his personal opinion.Tehran has long used the threat of blocking the narrow waterway as a means to ward off Western pressure, without acting on its threats.

The Front Tyne oil tanker was sailing through the Gulf between Iran and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday when just past 9:40 a.m. shiptracking data appeared to show the massive vessel in Russia, in fields better known for barley and sugar beets.By 4:15 p.m., the ship's erratic signals indicated it was in southern Iran near the town of Bidkhun, before later placing it back and forth across the Gulf.Mass interference since the start of the conflict between Israel and Iran has affected nearly 1…

When tensions rise in the Middle East, it can be helpful to look at what is not happening as much as what is.In the crude oil market, this means focusing on the fact that so far not a single barrel of crude oil supply has been lost. It is in the interests of all involved parties that this remains the case.Crude oil prices rose again in early trade in Asia on Monday, with global benchmark Brent futures LCOc1 gaining 2.1% to trade at $75.76 a barrel.This built upon the 7% leap on June 13…