Gold rises as investors seek safe havens amid Middle East conflict fears
NEW YORK: Gold prices inched higher on Monday as investors turned to safe-haven assets amid growing fears of a broader Middle East conflict, with markets closely watching for Iran's response to US attacks on its nuclear sites.
Spot gold was up 0.1 per cent at US$3,371.30 an ounce, as of 0020 GMT. US gold futures were steady at US$3,387.20.
The world braced on Sunday for Iran's response after the US attacked key Iranian nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
In a televised address, US President Donald Trump warned Iran against retaliating, stating that any response would trigger further attacks unless Iran agreed to pursue peace.
Tehran vowed retaliation, with missile exchanges between Iran and Israel continuing over the weekend. Israeli fighter jets struck military sites in western Iran, according to officials, while Iranian missiles wounded scores of people and flattened buildings in Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, the close split at the US Federal Reserve over whether to keep hedging against inflation risks or move forward faster with rate cuts came through on Friday in the first public comments from policymakers following a decision this week to hold borrowing costs steady for now.
The Fed's latest Monetary Policy Report to Congress, released on Friday, said that US inflation remains somewhat elevated and the labor market is solid.
However, it suggested that the full impact of Trump's tariffs is likely yet to be felt, reiterating the Fed's stance that it can wait for greater clarity before making policy moves.
On Friday, Trump once again floated the idea of firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whom he has long criticized for not lowering interest rates as much as he wants.
Elsewhere, spot silver was up 0.1 per cent at US$36.03 per ounce, platinum fell 0.3 per cent to US$1,260.78, while palladium edged down 0.1 per cent to US$1,043.
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The Star
10 minutes ago
- The Star
Global media should report accurately on aggression against Iran, says IRNA
In this photo released on Monday, June 23, 2025, by Iranian army press service, Iran's army commander-in-chief Gen. Amir Hatami attends a meeting in Zolfaghar central headquarters, Iran. -- Iranian Army Press Service via AP KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) -- Media outlets around the world should play a vital role in providing the public with accurate information on the attacks by Israel and the United States (US) against Iran, said managing director of Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) Hossein Jaberi Ansari. Ansari, who is also Iran Group of Newspapers chief executive officer (CEO) in a letter to Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) CEO Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin said Israel's airstrikes had even targeted the main building of the Iranian TV and Radio complex (IRIB) on June 16 to restrict freedom of the press and conceal its war crime. He said the agency is undeterred. "IRNA, in return, remains fully committed to supplying international media with up-to-date news, photographs, and footage to ensure accurate and timely dissemination of information,' he said in the letter dated June 22. Hostilities between Israel and Iran came to a head on June 13 when Israel carried out unprovoked airstrikes on multiple locations in Iran, including its nuclear facilities. Tehran retaliated. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump confirmed that American forces had carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Ansari condemned the attacks on the nuclear facilities which are operating under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), calling them a violation of the UN Charter. He said prior to Israel's attacks, Iran and the US had conducted five rounds of negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme. Iran was expected to present its proposal for a potential agreement during the sixth round. "Israel and the United States have brought diplomatic negotiations to a standstill with the aggression and clear violation of international laws carried out simultaneously with the negotiations,' he added. -- Bernama
The Star
25 minutes ago
- The Star
Succession plans for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hit top gear
DUBAI (Reuters): The clock's ticking for senior clerics seeking a successor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A three-man committee from a top clerical body, appointed by Khamenei himself two years ago to identify his replacement, has accelerated its planning in recent days since Israel attacked Iran and threatened to assassinate the veteran leader, five insiders with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. Khamenei, 86, is being regularly briefed on the talks, according to the Iranian sources who requested anonymity to discuss highly sensitive matters. He has gone into hiding with his family and is being guarded by the Vali-ye Amr special forces unit of the Revolutionary Guards, a top security official said. The ruling establishment will immediately seek to name a successor to Khamenei if he is killed, to signal stability and continuity, according to the sources who acknowledged that predicting Iran's subsequent political trajectory was difficult. A new leader will still be chosen for his devotion to the revolutionary precepts of the Islamic Republic's late founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, according to one insider, who is close to Khamenei's office and privy to succession discussions. At the same time, the top echelon of power is also considering which candidate might present a more moderate face to ward off foreign attacks and internal revolts, the person said. Two frontrunners have emerged in the succession discussions, the five insiders said: Khamenei's 56-year-old son Mojtaba, long seen as a continuity choice, and a new contender, Hassan Khomeini, grandson of the father of the Islamic revolution. Khomeini, a close ally of the reformist faction that favours the easing of social and political restrictions, nonetheless commands respect among senior clerics and the Revolutionary Guards because of his lineage, the sources added. "I once again humbly express that this small and insignificant servant of the Iranian people stands ready to proudly be present on any front or scene you deem necessary," the 53-year-old said in a public message of support to the supreme leader on Saturday, hours before the United States bombed Iran's nuclear facilities. Khomeini has come into the frame as a serious candidate this month amid the conflict with Israel and America because he could represent a more conciliatory choice internationally and domestically than Mojtaba Khamenei, the five people said. By contrast, Khamenei hews closely to his father's hardline policies, according to the insiders who cautioned that nothing had been determined, candidates could change and the supreme leader would have the final say. However, with the military conflict continuing, it remains unclear whether any new leader could be chosen easily or installed securely or if he could assume the level of authority enjoyed by Khamenei, they added. Israeli strikes have also killed several of Iran's top Revolutionary Guards commanders, potentially complicating a handover of power as the elite military force has long played a central role in enforcing the supreme leader's rule. Khamenei's office and the Assembly of Experts, the clerical body from which the succession committee was drawn, were not available to comment. Trump: Khamenei is easy target Planning for an eventual handover was already in the works because of Khamenei's age and the longstanding health concerns of a leader who has dominated all aspects of Iranian politics for decades, the sources said. The urgency of the task was underlined in September when Israel killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a close ally of Khamenei's, and the planning accelerated significantly this month following the Israeli attacks on nuclear sites, which were followed by the American attacks at the weekend. "We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding," US President Trump warned on social media last week, calling for Tehran's unconditional surrender. "He is an easy target." Khamenei hasn't publicly expressed any preference for his successor. The sources said he had repeatedly opposed the idea of his son taking over, in succession discussions in the past, concerned about any suggestion of Iran returning to the kind of hereditary rule that ended with the ousting of the shah in 1979. The role of Supreme Leader was created after the revolution and then enshrined in the constitution giving a top cleric ultimate authority in guiding the elected president and parliament. Officially, the leader is named by the Assembly of Experts, made up of 88 senior clerics who are chosen through a national election in which a hardline watchdog body aligned with Khamenei must approve all the candidates. "Whether the Islamic Republic survives or not, it will be a very different one, because the context in which it has existed has fundamentally changed," said London-based Iranian political analyst Hossein Rassam, adding that Hassan Khomeini could fit the bill for a leader to take Iran in a new direction. "The regime has to opt for someone who'll facilitate slow transition." Hassan Khomeini's close links to the reformist faction of Iranian politics, which pursued an ultimately unsuccessful policy of opening Iran to the outside world in the 1990s, saw hardline officials bar him from running as a member of senior clerical body the Assembly of Experts in 2016. The succession planners are aware that Khomeini is likely to be more palatable to the Iranian population than a hardliner, the five insiders said. Last year he warned of a "crisis of rising popular dissatisfaction" among Iranians due to poverty and deprivation. By contrast, Mojtaba Khamenei's views echo those of his father on every major topic from cracking down on opponents to taking a hardline with foreign foes, the sources said - qualities they saw as hazardous with Iran under attack. A mid-ranking cleric who teaches theology at a religious seminary in the city Qom, the centre of Iranian religious life, Mojtaba has never held a formal position the Islamic Republic, though exercises influence behind the scenes as the gatekeeper to his father, according to Iran watchers. The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Mojtaba in 2019, saying he represented the Supreme Leader in "an official capacity despite never being elected or appointed to a government position" aside from working his father's office. Other candidates fall away Several of the candidates long seen as possible successors to Khamenei have already died. Former presidents Hashemi Rafsanjani passed away in 2017, former judiciary chief Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi died of natural causes in 2018 and former President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in 2024. Another senior cleric Sadegh Amoli Larijani, has been sidelined. Others, such as the Assembly of Experts member Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, are still in contention but have fallen behind Mojtaba Khamenei and Hassan Khomeini, the five sources said. Beyond the most likely candidates, it's also possible that a less prominent cleric could be chosen as a pawn of the Revolutionary Guards, said Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group think-tank. "It is possible that they would put forward a candidate that no one has ever heard of and would not really hold the same levers of power that Ayatollah Khamenei has held now for more than 30 years," he said. The supreme leader's voice is powerful. After the death of the Islamic Republic's founder Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, Khamenei was publicly hailed as his predecessor's choice. Although he had already served as president, Khamenei was only a mid-ranking cleric and was initially dismissed by influential clerics as weak and an unlikely successor to his charismatic predecessor. However, he steadily tightened his grip to become Iran's unquestioned decision-maker, relying on the Revolutionary Guards as he outmanoeuvred rivals and crushed bouts of popular unrest.- Reuters
The Star
25 minutes ago
- The Star
Airlines weigh Middle East cancellations after US strikes in Iran
SOUTH-EAST ASIA (Reuters): Airlines on Monday were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights as a conflict which has already cut off major flight routes entered a new phase after the U.S. attacked key Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran vowed to defend itself. Cancellations in recent days to typically resilient aviation hubs such as Dubai, the world's busiest international airport, and Qatar's Doha by international carriers show how aviation industry concerns about the region have escalated. The usually busy airspace stretching from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean has been largely empty of commercial air traffic for 10 days since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, as airlines divert, cancel and delay flights through the region due to airspace closures and safety concerns. Finnair was the first to announce a prolonged suspension of flights to Doha, with cancellations until June 30. Leading Asian carrier Singapore Airlines, which described the situation as "fluid", moved to cancel flights to Dubai through to Tuesday, having previously cancelled only its Sunday service. Air France KLM, IAG-owned Iberia and British Airways, and Kazakhstan's Air Astana all cancelled flights to either Doha or Dubai both on Sunday and Monday. Air France also cancelled flights to Riyadh and said it would suspend flights to and from Beirut, Lebanon until Wednesday included. A spokesperson for Iberia said the carrier has not made a decision regarding later flights. BA said its teams were keeping the situation under review. Carriers are likely avoiding airports in UAE and Qatar and, to a lesser extent, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, due to concerns that Iran or its proxies will target drone or missile attacks on U.S. military bases in these countries, aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions said. With Russian and Ukrainian airspace also closed to most airlines due to years of war, the Middle East had become a more important route for flights between Europe and Asia. Amid missile and air strikes during the past 10 days, airlines have routed north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Added to increased fuel and crew costs from these long detours and cancellations, carriers also face a potential hike in jet fuel costs as oil prices rise following the U.S. attacks. Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group said it is getting a small number of customer requests to route journeys to Europe away from Middle Eastern hubs. "The most common transfer hubs that we're seeing requested are Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Johannesburg, or even direct between Perth and London," said Graham Turner, CEO of Australia-based Flight Centre Travel Group. AIRSPACE RISKS Proliferating conflict zones are an increasing operational burden on airlines, as aerial attacks raise worries about accidental or deliberate shoot-downs of commercial air traffic. Location spoofing and GPS interference around political hotspots, where ground-based GPS systems broadcast incorrect positions which can send commercial airliners off course, are also a growing issue for commercial aviation. Flightradar24 told Reuters it had seen a "dramatic increase" in jamming and spoofing in recent days over the Persian Gulf. SkAI, a Swiss company that runs a GPS disruption map, late on Sunday said it had observed more than 150 aircraft spoofed in 24 hours there. Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information, said U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear sites could heighten the threat to American operators in the region. This could raise additional airspace risks in Gulf states like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it said. In the days before the U.S. strikes, American Airlines suspended flights to Qatar, and United Airlines and Air Canada did the same with flights to Dubai. They have yet to resume. While international airlines are shying away from the region, local carriers in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq are tentatively resuming some flights after widespread cancellations. Israel is ramping up flights to help people return home as well as leave. A handful of so-called rescue flights landed in the country on Monday morning, with 24 in total scheduled for the day. The country's Airports Authority said that Israeli airlines would resume outbound flights on Monday, with a limit of 50 passengers. Israeli airline El Al on Sunday said it had received applications to leave the country from about 25,000 people in about a day. (Reporting by Jack Queen in New York and Lisa Barrington in Seoul; additional reporting by Inti Landauro in Madrid; Editing by Sonali Paul, Kate Mayberry and Louise Heavens) - Reuters
