Nervousness as markets watch Iran conflict unfold
Markets are closely monitoring whether an oil price shock will eventuate if the Middle East conflict ratchets up further.
The conflict ramped up on Sunday after the US launched unprecedented surprise strikes on three neclear sites in Iran using B-2 stealth bombers. This further escalated tensions
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South Wales Guardian
18 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Lammy says he told Iran it would be a mistake to blockade Strait of Hormuz
The Foreign Secretary said it would be a 'catastrophic mistake' for Tehran to fire at US bases in the region, after an American attack on Iran's nuclear programme over the weekend. Questions are being asked about whether the shipping channel or oil exports through it could be blocked amid the tensions. Important discussion with @SecRubio this evening on the situation in the Middle East. We will continue to work with our allies to protect our people, secure regional stability and drive forward a diplomatic solution. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 22, 2025 Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Monday morning, Mr Lammy said he had been 'crystal clear' that 'it would be a huge, catastrophic mistake to fire at US bases in the region at this time. We have forces in the region at this time. 'It would be a catastrophic mistake. It would be a mistake to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.' He said he thinks his counterpart 'gets that and understands that'. The UK has been pressing for Iran to engage in negotiations and diplomacy over the issues, and Mr Lammy told the same programme: 'Let's take the diplomatic off-ramp. Let's get serious and calm this thing down.' Mr Lammy is expected to address MPs in the Commons about the situation on Monday. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned on Sunday that there is a risk of the crisis escalating beyond the Middle East, telling reporters 'that's a risk to the region. It's a risk beyond the region, and that's why all our focus has been on de-escalating, getting people back around to negotiate what is a very real threat in relation to the nuclear programme.' Sir Keir spoke to US President Donald Trump on Sunday, and Downing Street said the leaders agreed Tehran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and called for Iran to return to negotiations. The conversation came after the air raid by American B-2 stealth bombers and a salvo of submarine-launched missiles hit Iran's nuclear facilities. 'They discussed the actions taken by the United States last night to reduce the threat and agreed that Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,' Downing Street said. 'They discussed the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and to make progress on a lasting settlement.' — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2025 Mr Lammy suggested on Monday that the action by Mr Trump 'may well have set back Iran several years'. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the US President's rhetoric was 'strong' but that strikes had been 'targeted' to 'deal with Iran's nuclear capability'. The Foreign Secretary later added: 'Donald Trump made a decision to act to degrade that capability. It may well have set back Iran by several years. That was a decision that he took.' Mr Lammy has also spoken to his Iranian and Israeli counterparts 'to stress the need for de-escalation'. 'I urged a diplomatic, negotiated solution to end this crisis,' he said over the weekend. Overnight, Mr Trump called the future of the Iranian regime into question, posting on his TruthSocial platform: 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???' It appeared to be a different approach to that of his defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who had said on Sunday that 'this mission was not and has not been about regime change'.
News18
31 minutes ago
- News18
Israel Carries Out Fresh Strikes On Iran's Underground Fordo Nuclear Site
Last Updated: Israel launched attacks on Iran's underground Fordo nuclear facility, confirmed by both Iranian and Israeli officials. Simultaneously, blasts were reported in Tehran and Jerusalem. Israel on Monday carried out a fresh round of attacks on Iran's underground Fordo nuclear site south of Tehran, Iranian state television reported. 'The aggressor attacked the Fordo nuclear site again," Tasnim news agency reported, quoting a spokesperson for the crisis management authority in Qom province, where the site is located. The development was later confirmed by Israel's Defence Minister, Israel Katz, who said his country was attacking with 'unprecedented intensity", targets in central Tehran. There was no immediate word on the damage at the site. Meanwhile, loud blasts were heard in northern Tehran. Blasts were also heard in Jerusalem after the Israeli army warned of Iranian missile strikes. On Sunday, the United States unleashed on Iran's Fordo fuel enrichment plant its massive 'bunker-buster" bombs, widely seen as the best chance of damaging or destroying the facility built deep into a mountain and untouched during Israel's week-long offensive, according to the Associated Press. Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said 14 of the bombs were used in Sunday's attack on Fordo and a second target. The US is the only military capable of dropping the weapons, and the movement of B-2 stealth bombers toward Asia on Saturday had signalled possible activity by the US Israeli leaders had made no secret of their hopes that President Donald Trump would join their week-old war against Iran, though they had also suggested they had backup plans for destroying the site. Fordo is smaller than Natanz, and is built into the side of a mountain near the city of Qom, about 60 miles (95 kilometres) southwest of Tehran. Construction is believed to have started around 2006, and it became operational in 2009, the same year Tehran publicly acknowledged its existence. In addition to being an estimated 80 meters (260 feet) under rock and soil, the site is reportedly protected by Iranian and Russian surface-to-air missile systems. Those air defences, however, likely have already been struck in the Israeli campaign. Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the goal of attacking Iran was to eliminate its missile and nuclear programme, which he described as an existential threat to Israel, and officials have said Fordo was part of that plan. 'This entire operation really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordo," Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the US, told Fox News on Friday.
Leader Live
40 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Lammy says he told Iran it would be a mistake to blockade Strait of Hormuz
The Foreign Secretary said it would be a 'catastrophic mistake' for Tehran to fire at US bases in the region, after an American attack on Iran's nuclear programme over the weekend. Questions are being asked about whether the shipping channel or oil exports through it could be blocked amid the tensions. Important discussion with @SecRubio this evening on the situation in the Middle East. We will continue to work with our allies to protect our people, secure regional stability and drive forward a diplomatic solution. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 22, 2025 Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Monday morning, Mr Lammy said he had been 'crystal clear' that 'it would be a huge, catastrophic mistake to fire at US bases in the region at this time. We have forces in the region at this time. 'It would be a catastrophic mistake. It would be a mistake to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.' He said he thinks his counterpart 'gets that and understands that'. The UK has been pressing for Iran to engage in negotiations and diplomacy over the issues, and Mr Lammy told the same programme: 'Let's take the diplomatic off-ramp. Let's get serious and calm this thing down.' Mr Lammy is expected to address MPs in the Commons about the situation on Monday. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned on Sunday that there is a risk of the crisis escalating beyond the Middle East, telling reporters 'that's a risk to the region. It's a risk beyond the region, and that's why all our focus has been on de-escalating, getting people back around to negotiate what is a very real threat in relation to the nuclear programme.' Sir Keir spoke to US President Donald Trump on Sunday, and Downing Street said the leaders agreed Tehran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and called for Iran to return to negotiations. The conversation came after the air raid by American B-2 stealth bombers and a salvo of submarine-launched missiles hit Iran's nuclear facilities. 'They discussed the actions taken by the United States last night to reduce the threat and agreed that Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon,' Downing Street said. 'They discussed the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and to make progress on a lasting settlement.' — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2025 Mr Lammy suggested on Monday that the action by Mr Trump 'may well have set back Iran several years'. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the US President's rhetoric was 'strong' but that strikes had been 'targeted' to 'deal with Iran's nuclear capability'. The Foreign Secretary later added: 'Donald Trump made a decision to act to degrade that capability. It may well have set back Iran by several years. That was a decision that he took.' Mr Lammy has also spoken to his Iranian and Israeli counterparts 'to stress the need for de-escalation'. 'I urged a diplomatic, negotiated solution to end this crisis,' he said over the weekend. Overnight, Mr Trump called the future of the Iranian regime into question, posting on his TruthSocial platform: 'It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change???' It appeared to be a different approach to that of his defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who had said on Sunday that 'this mission was not and has not been about regime change'.
