A Pentagon official provided the first official estimate of the cost of the U.S. war in Iran on Wednesday (29 April), telling lawmakers that $25 billion had so far been spent on the conflict, most of it on munitions. Earlier, Donald Trump said that the U.S. had "militarily defeated" Tehran.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that King Charles III agrees Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon.
U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed aides to prepare for a prolonged blockade of Iran, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Representatives from the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran were absent from a key FIFA meeting in Vancouver on Tuesday, due to visa issues.
TotalEnergies has reported a sharp surge in quarterly net profit, with earnings climbing nearly 50% year-on-year to reach $5.8 billion in Q1, 2026
Moscow said it welcomes the UAE statement that it will continue policy coordination on Global energy markets after the country announced on Tuesday that it was leaving OPEC+ on 1 May.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with Axios that he has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should only take "surgical" military action in Lebanon and avoid a full resumption of the war.
A surveillance drone flying near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was shot down, Iraqi security sources said early on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear how it was shot down. The U.S. embassy and Iraqi defence systems were activated.
Israel has begun taking control of aid ships bound for Gaza far from Israeli shores, Israeli army radio cited an Israeli source as saying on Wednesday.
The report did not specify the number of vessels involved or their exact location.
On 12 April, a second flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza sailed from the Spanish port of Barcelona, aiming to try to break the Israeli blockade.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that peace talks with Iran were being conducted by telephone. It comes after Trump at the last minute called off a scheduled visit by U.S. negotiators to Pakistan for negotiations with Tehran last weekend.
The average U.S. gasoline price rose to its highest level in nearly four years on Tuesday (28 April), data from the American Automobile Association showed, as diruptions in shipments of oil and natural gas triggered by the Iran war intensified.
Few issues resonate with U.S. voters more deeply than price increases, and the latest inflationary upswing is unsettling Republican insiders worried about their party's prospects before November elections that will determine control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate.
President Trump's popularity has taken a beating since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran. Just 34% of Americans approve of the U.S. conflict with Iran, down from 36% in mid-April and 38% in mid-March, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the Iran war in fiery remarks to Congress on Wednesday, saying it hadn't become a hazardous situation and attacking Democratic lawmakers as "feckless" for criticising the conflict.
"You call it a quagmire, handing propaganda to our enemies? Shame on you for that statement," Hegseth said before the House Armed Services Committee, slamming "reckless, feckless, and defeatist" Congressional Democrats.
The U.S. war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday, providing the first official estimate of the military's price tag for the conflict.
Assistant Secretary of the Army Jules Hurst told lawmakers on a committee that most of the money had been spent on munitions, but didn't give further details about what the cost estimate included.
The U.S. began the attacks against Iran on 28 February and the two sides are currently maintaining a fragile ceasefire. The Pentagon has poured tens of thousands of additional forces into the Middle East, including keeping three aircraft carriers in the region.
Trump's popularity has taken a beating since the start of the conflict, which has led to a surge in gasoline prices.
Just 34% of Americans approve of the U.S. conflict with Iran, down from 36% in mid-April and 38% in mid-March, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
A total of 14 commercial ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the 24-hour period ending 12:00 GMT, tracking data shows, as diplomatic negotiations between the U.S. and Iran remain stalled.
According to AIS data, 11 vessels moved through the sea passage from the Arabian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, while three others traveled from east to west.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Wednesday said the U.S. appears to lack a coherent strategy in its war with Iran, adding to a growing chorus of European criticism.
Speaking to Swedish Radio News, Kristersson said it remained unclear how Washington intends to achieve its stated objective of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
“Right now, I’m struggling to see any coherent strategy behind this,” Kristersson said, questioning the direction of the U.S. approach.
On Monday, German Chancellor Frederich Merz said that Iran was humilitating the U.S. by getting American officials to fly to Pakistan, only for their to be no progress in talks. But speaking to reporters in Berlin on Wednesday, Merz downplayed tensions between Germany and the U.S. despite a rebuke from President Donald Trump on social media.
Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron urged a more serious and consistent approach to the conflict. “This is not a show. We are talking about war and peace and the lives of men and women,” Macron said.
Russia has not yet taken a decision on whether to return its personnel to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Alexei Likhachev, Head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying on Wednesday.
Rosatom completed the evacuation of employees from the facility, which is Iran's only functioning nuclear power plant, earlier in April. The decision to remove staff was taken after the plant was hit at least three times the previous month in Israeli and U.S. strikes.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog has called for “maximum restraint to avoid nuclear safety risks.”
Britain has asked refineries in the country to maximise jet fuel supply, Energy Minister Michael Shanks said on Wednesday in a written ministerial statement.
It comes as airlines are facing a major challenge from rising jet fuel prices due to the war in Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a fresh warning to Iran on social media website Truth Social, posting a photo of himself holding a machine gun against a backdrop of explosions, alongside a message urging Tehran to sign a nuclear deal.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sought to downplay tensions with the U.S. over the Iran war on Wednesday, saying that his relationship with Donald Trump remained "unchanged and good."
It comes after Trump hit back at comments Merz made earlier in the week, where he said Iran was humilitating the U.S. Writing on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said Merz didn't know what he was talking about and took a swipe at Germany's economic performance.
“I have had doubts from the very beginning about what was initiated with the war in Iran, and that is why I have expressed this,” Merz told reporters in Berlin.
“We in Germany and Europe are suffering considerably from the consequences, for example, of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz," he added.
A soldier from the Lebanese Armed Forces and his brother have been killed in an Israeli strike in the southern town of Bint Jbeil, the army said on Wednesday (29 April).
According to a statement, the two were travelling on a motorcycle from the soldier’s post to his home when the strike took place.
Moscow said it welcomes the UAE statement that it will continue policy coordination on Global energy markets after the country announced on Tuesday that it was leaving OPEC+ on 1 May.
Meanwhile, Russia said it will count on continuation of energy dialog with the UAE. The Kremlin said UAE's move to leave is the country's sovereign decision which Russia respects.
The Kremlin added that it hopes UAE's exit from OPEC+ doesn't mean an end of the group.
Inflation rose in three key German states in April, preliminary data showed on Wednesday, suggesting Germany's national inflation rate could increase this month amid higher energy prices due to the Iran war.
In Bavaria, the inflation rate rose to 2.9% in April from 2.8% in the previous month. In Lower Saxony, it accelerated to 3.0% from 2.6%, and in Baden-Wuerttemberg to 2.6% from 2.5%.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the consumer price index stood unchanged at 2.7%.
The war in Iran has pushed energy and raw material prices, straining household budgets and raising costs across German industries. The German government now expects inflation to accelerate to 2.7% this year and 2.8% in 2027.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his top officials met with oil and gas executives including Chevron CEO Mike Wirth at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the energy fallout of the Iran war and other topics, Axios reported on Wednesday.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were present, and topics for the meeting included domestic production, progress in Venezuela, oil futures, natural gas and shipping, according to the Axios report.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Euro zone bond yields traded around multi-week highs on Wednesday as efforts to end the Iran war appeared to be in a stalemate and oil prices nudged higher again, prompting persistent inflation worries.
German 10-year bond yields, the benchmark for the euro zone, were last 1.6 basis points higher at 3.0775%. They hit a two-week high of 3.0860% in the previous session.
The rate-sensitive German 2-year bond yield meanwhile climbed 4.3 bps higher to 2.6819%, its highest since 7 April.
Meanwhile, oil prices have been grinding higher as the crucial Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut down. Brent crude futures for June rose for the eighth day in a row on Wednesday and were last up more than 1% at $113.25 a barrel.
European agri-food and retail groups have called on the European Union to classify the sector as critical infrastructure and prioritise its access to energy and key supplies at affordable rates.
Organisations including CEJA, Copa-Cogeca, CELCAA, FoodDrinkEurope and EuroCommerce said instability in the Middle East is driving volatility in energy, logistics and input markets.
They warned that rising costs for energy, fertilisers, transport and raw materials could push up food prices and affect affordability without swift action.
The groups urged EU and national authorities to ensure secure and predictable access to energy and inputs across the supply chain, adding that targeted, temporary and coordinated measures may be needed for the most exposed sectors.
Kazakhstan has said it is not considering leaving the OPEC+, its energy ministry confirmed on Wednesday.
The statement comes a day after the United Arab Emirates announced it would quit OPEC from 1 May, a move seen as a major shift for global oil markets amid an energy crisis linked to the Iran conflict.
In a press statement, TotalEnergies has reported a sharp surge in quarterly net profit, with earnings climbing nearly 50% year-on-year to reach $5.8 billion (€4.96 billion) in the first quarter of 2026, driven by higher oil prices linked to the Middle East conflict.
The French energy company said the Gulf region represents roughly 15% of its global upstream operations, underscoring its ability to capitalise on rising prices.
Malaysia has ordered ministries and government agencies to cut their 2026 operating budgets as rising costs linked to the Iran war strain public finances, according to a treasury directive.
The order, issued by Treasury Secretary-General Johan Mahmood Merican, said the country’s subsidy bill could reach 58.4 billion ringgit ($14.78 billion) this year - far above the 15 billion ringgit (around $3.8 billion) initially allocated.
The finance ministry did not immediately comment.
Iran’s national football side will compete at the 2026 FIFA World Cup under the name “Minab-168”, in tribute to 168 students reportedly killed in a school by bombings during the conflict according to the Tehran Times.
Known as Team Melli, the squad will use the name to honour the victims while also promoting Iran’s culture and identity on the global stage, officials said on Tuesday after a meeting of the tournament’s cultural committee in Vancouver, Canada.
Iran have been drawn in Group G alongside Egypt, Belgium and New Zealand in the competition set to take place in the U.S., Canada and Mexico from 11 June.
Representatives from the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran were absent from a key FIFA meeting in Vancouver on Tuesday, due to visa issues, casting fresh doubt over its World Cup participation.
Officials did not attend the gathering of Asian football leaders led by Gianni Infantino, with reports confirming entry problems could also affect Iran’s presence at the wider FIFA Congress.
Members of the French government and parliament observed a minute’s silence at the National Assembly in Paris on Tuesday (28 April), paying tribute to Sergeant Florian Montorio and Corporal Anicet Girardin, who were killed in an ambush in southern Lebanon ten days earlier.
The Panama Canal is seeing a spike in vessel traffic as the U.S.-Iran war disrupts traditional trade routes, according to the Panama Canal Authority.
"The expectation is that this will continue until the situation in the Middle East is resolved," the agency's Finance Chief Victor Vial said at a meeting, noting that since October the canal had registered some 300 vessels crossings compared with the same period last fiscal year.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington’s naval blockade and financial crackdown will soon force Iran to cut oil production.
He said the U.S. is ramping up pressure by targeting the networks underpinning Tehran’s economy, adding that the squeeze on exports is already taking effect.
“The Treasury Department, through Economic Fury, has targeted Iran’s international shadow banking infrastructure, access to crypto, shadow fleet, and weapons procurement networks,” Bessent said in a post on X.
U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed aides to prepare for a prolonged blockade of Iran, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Citing U.S. officials, the paper says Trump is leaning towards intensifying economic pressure by restricting shipping to and from Iranian ports, targeting the country’s oil exports.
The report adds that in recent meetings, Trump judged alternatives - including renewed bombing or stepping back from the conflict - to carry greater risks than maintaining a blockade.
Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims.
Britain’s King Charles III has told the U.S. Congress that the UK and America will remain steadfast allies, despite mounting tensions over the war with Iran. However, Charles made no direct mention of the Iran war.
"Whatever our differences, whatever disagreements we may have, we stand united in our commitment to uphold democracy, to protect all our people from harm, and to salute the courage of those who daily risk their lives in the service of our countries," Charles told U.S. lawmakers during a rare speech to a joint meeting of the Senate and House of Representative on Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that King Charles III agrees Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon, speaking at the White House state dinner on Tuesday during the monarch’s state visit to Washington.
"We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we're never going to let that opponent ever - Charles agrees with me even more than I do - we're never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon," Trump said at the dinner.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned “foreigners who commit evil” have no place in the Gulf, outlining a “new phas...
The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, visited Tehran to address “urgent humanitarian...
China has warned the U.S. that Taiwan will dominate next month’s summit in Beijing, raising pressure on Washington and concern in Taipei over...
Shares in Meta Platforms fell sharply in extended trading on Wednesday after the tech giant raised its annual capital spending forecast by billions...
From Thursday, 1 May, goods from every African country with diplomatic ties to China will be able to enter the Chinese market without paying import...
The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, visited Tehran to address “urgent humanitarian concerns” following the U.S.–Israel war on Iran, according to an ICRC delegation statement.
China has warned the U.S. that Taiwan will dominate next month’s summit in Beijing, raising pressure on Washington and concern in Taipei over any shift in long-standing American policy.
Shares in Meta Platforms fell sharply in extended trading on Wednesday after the tech giant raised its annual capital spending forecast by billions of dollars.
A report published by Minval Politika has raised new questions over alleged efforts by Luis Moreno Ocampo to shape international pressure against Azerbaijan and influence political dynamics around Armenia.
A report published by Minval Politika has raised new questions over alleged efforts by Luis Moreno Ocampo to shape international pressure against Azerbaijan and influence political dynamics around Armenia.
A Pentagon official provided the first official estimate of the cost of the U.S. war in Iran on Wednesday (29 April), telling lawmakers that $25 billion had so far been spent on the conflict, most of it on munitions. Earlier, Donald Trump said that the U.S. had "militarily defeated" Tehran.
Tensions between the United States and Iran remain high after a U.S. official said President Donald Trump was unhappy with a proposal from Tehran that does not deal with its nuclear programme. Washington is insisting that any talks must address Iran’s nuclear activities.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned “foreigners who commit evil” have no place in the Gulf, outlining a “new phase” for the Strait of Hormuz, while a senior adviser said U.S. blockade efforts would fail and could trigger confrontation.
Shares in Meta Platforms fell sharply in extended trading on Wednesday after the tech giant raised its annual capital spending forecast by billions of dollars.
The United Nations has said that at least 21 people have been executed in Iran and more than 4,000 arrested since the outbreak of war involving the United States and Israel on 28 February.
President Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran's ports with oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. renewed its calls for other nations to help open the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned “foreigners who commit evil” have no place in the Gulf, outlining a “new phase” for the Strait of Hormuz, while a senior adviser said U.S. blockade efforts would fail and could trigger confrontation.
The U.S. war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday (29 April), offering the first official estimate of the military’s price tag for the conflict. The sum is equivalent to NASA’s entire budget for this year.
European airlines are facing their biggest challenge since the COVID-19 pandemic as the Iran war pushes up jet fuel prices and buffets travel through the Middle East, casting a shadow over the summer holiday season.
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