Latest news with #nuclearnegotiations
CNA
12 hours ago
- Politics
- CNA
Trump says decision on US role in Israel-Iran conflict to come in two weeks
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will decide in the next two weeks whether the United States will get involved in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, the White House said on Thursday (Jun 19). White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump was still weighing his options, citing a substantial chance of negotiations with Iran. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," Leavitt quoted Trump as saying. DIPLOMACY OR FORCE? Leavitt said Trump was open to diplomacy but insisted that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. "The president is always interested in a diplomatic solution ... he is a peacemaker in chief. He is the peace through strength president. And so if there's a chance for diplomacy, the president's always going to grab it," Leavitt said. "But he's not afraid to use strength as well, I will add." She added that any agreement with Tehran would need to prohibit uranium enrichment and eliminate Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons. Leavitt declined to say whether Trump would seek congressional approval for any military action against Iran. The White House remains convinced that Iran is closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. ESCALATING CONFLICT Leavitt confirmed that Trump was briefed on Israel's strikes on Iranian nuclear sites on Thursday, which followed a barrage of missiles and drones launched by Iran, including one that hit an Israeli hospital. She warned that Iran would face "grave consequences" if it continued pursuing nuclear weapons and failed to engage in talks. Trump's administration has sent mixed signals in recent days. While Trump has repeatedly hinted at diplomacy, he has also spoken of military action. On Wednesday, he told reporters: "Nobody knows what I'm going to do." Earlier this week, he suggested in a social media post that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could be targeted, before demanding Iran's "unconditional surrender." BACKCHANNEL CONTACTS Three diplomats told Reuters that Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has held several phone calls with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi since Israel began its strikes last week. The nature of those discussions remains unclear, but they underscore Washington's dual-track approach, maintaining open diplomatic lines while preparing for potential military involvement. The escalating war, now in its second week, has shown no signs of abating. Iran, facing its most serious security threat since the 1979 revolution, has been weighing broader retaliation options.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What the Iran/Israel conflict means for U.S. energy prices going forward
Crude oil prices, maybe surprisingly, dipped modestly on Monday after spiking at the end of last week, even as Iran and Israel continue firing missiles at each other with no easy end in sight. The U.S. oil benchmark hovered around $71 per barrel on June 16—about where it started the year—but up roughly 9% from a week prior. The current price tag is considered a relatively healthy value—profitable for most oil producers without creating particularly high fuel prices. So, even though Israel successfully targeted some of Iran's oil and gas infrastructure over the weekend, oil markets have stayed relatively calm, and Iran, which is not in a position of strength, is reportedly signaling its interest in returning to nuclear negotiations with the U.S. Why? Here are four takeaways: Israel struck Iran's South Pars gas field, the Shahran fuel depot, and the Shahr Rey oil refinery, but all of these targets are for domestic fuel and power consumption, and not global exports. That contributed to a run on fuel and potential shortages within Iran, but it has much less impact on global oil markets and Iran's roughly 1.5 million barrels per day of crude oil exports. 'Everybody is taking a hands-off approach to oil [exporting] infrastructure because it meaningfully complicates and escalates the situation,' said energy forecaster Dan Pickering, founder and chief and investment officer for Pickering Energy Partners consulting and research firm. 'Israel doesn't want to do that, and I don't think Iran does either.' On the other hand, Pickering told Fortune. 'You're one stray bomb away from a problem. If you get to a point where people stop acting rationally, things get crazy quickly.' That's why the range of outcomes is vast from $55 per barrel oil if things calm down—a low price that hurts the bottom lines of oil producers—up to $120 or so if war escalates and overall OPEC production is impacted, Pickering said. Iran sits next to the Strait of Hormuz, and the exports through that relatively narrow body of water account for about 20 million barrels daily, or one-fifth of global consumption. Impacting those flows changes everything. To be clear, oil at or above $120 per barrel is bad for almost everyone because skyrocketing fuel costs would trigger widespread demand destruction around the world. The so-called OPEC+ group increased their monthly quotas, essentially aiming to grow production by more than 2 million barrels daily by the end of the year, and undoing years of self-imposed curtailments. While the decision didn't necessarily anticipate a conflict in Iran, the OPEC's move did give President Trump more leverage in the U.S. nuclear negotiations with Iran. 'If anything in this situation could be called elegant, it is a relatively elegant set up when dealing with the risk of problems in the Middle East,' Pickering said of OPEC's moves. 'It looks like the return of production pretty closely mirrors Iran's exports, and so it was probably more geared toward a reduction of exports [through sanctions] as opposed to a conflict.' Kathleen Brooks, research director the the XTB brokerage house, highlighted how Trump wants to keep oil and fuel prices low, and that the White House could actually have a 'calming effect' on markets. 'Instead, we think that U.S. involvement could see the [Israeli] attacks on Iran narrow to nuclear sites, after Israel said that it gathered intelligence that Iran had enough uranium to make nine atomic bombs,' Brooks added. However, the math is changed with any prolonged war. 'With Israel and Iran trading attacks, oil prices have surged to multi-month highs—setting the stage for additional price hikes at gas pumps across the country,' said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. 'As long as tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate, the risk of further impacts on oil prices remains high.' De Haan projects fuel prices could rise by 10 to 20 cents per gallon moving forward. 'Motorists should prepare for what will likely be modest price increases—for now—but the situation has the potential to worsen at any moment.' Thus far, the national average price of gasoline has risen 1.1 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.08 per gallon as of the morning of June 16, according to GasBuddy. However, the national average is down 9.5 cents from a month ago and 32.7 cents lower than a year ago. As Pickering said, '[Iran] is on the naughty list, but their sanctions haven't been particularly aggressively applied because the world is so focused on oil prices and the impact on inflation and economies. The developed world has decided that cheap gasoline prices are better than truly punishing bad actors.' U.S. oil drillers were showing restraint and capital discipline—and not the 'drill, baby, drill' mentality—last year even when prices were a bit higher than today. 'The volatility is dramatic, OPEC is adding supply, and it's not a given that Iran is going to reduce supply,' Pickering said. 'So, why step up and spend capital speculatively when we could wake up in a month and oil is back to $55?' So, how should everything in the Middle East be viewed from the energy perspective? 'This is a conflict that could have meaningful impacts, so people should be paying attention,' Pickering concluded. 'Right now, it looks like an inconvenience with a potentially temporary price spike. It could become much worse, so pay attention and cross your fingers it doesn't escalate.' This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran seeks ceasefire with Israel, Trump urges Tehran evacuation
STORY: (Smoke over Tehran) Sources say Iran has sent messages through Gulf States to urge U.S. President Trump to pressure Israel to a ceasefire. In return, Tehran says it would show flexibility in nuclear negotiations with the U.S. It's the latest in the deadliest conflict between longtime enemies Israel and Iran, which have been attacking each other for five straight days. (2576) On Monday Israel escalated strikes on a number of targets. They include Iran's state broadcaster: (EDIT 2533新聞主播紛紛躲避） UPS A live broadcast was interrupted by a missile, and a news anchor had to flee the studio. Israel claimed it was serving as a communications center for Iran's military. (2639) Before dawn the same day, Iranian missiles had struck Tel Aviv and Haifa, killing several people. Israel launched its air war with a surprise attack last Friday, killing top Iranian military commanders and leader nuclear scientists. (2458 衛星圖) Its airstrikes have also put at least two of Iran's three operating uranium enrichment plants out of action. Israel has said its goal is to eliminate Tehran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon - Iran has denied it had plans to build one. (2634) Elsewhere on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he was leaving the G7 summit early to return to Washington Monday night, citing the situation in the Middle East. (Trump at G7 2635) Fox News reported he would convene his National Security Council. Trump has consistently said the Israeli assault could end quickly if Iran agreed to U.S. demands that it accept strict curbs on its nuclear program. (2527) Earlier on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump had made an offer for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. "There is an offer that has been made. Indeed, of meetings and exchanges. There is an offer that has been made, especially to have a ceasefire and to initiate broader discussions. And I think this is a very good thing. So now we need to see what the stakeholders will do." (2627) In a social media post Monday, Trump reiterated that Iran should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States - and he also urged everyone in Tehran to immediately evacuate.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US stocks close higher as oil dips on Iran's openness to ceasefire, nuclear talks
U.S. stocks closed higher after Iran signaled it wanted to deescalate the conflict with Israel. Iran signaled through intermediaries it would be open to restarting nuclear negotiations as long as the U.S. doesn't join Israel in the attacks, according to the Wall Street Journal. President Donald Trump earlier warned Iran not to touch U.S. targets or else it could face the "full strength and might" of the American military. The WSJ also said that Iran has messaged to Israel that both sides should keep attacks contained. Iran asked Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations to message Trump about pressuring Israel into an immediate ceasefire to restart nuclear deal negotiations, Reuters reported, citing sources. That helped drop oil prices, eliminating fears of an inflation surge. The blue-chip Dow added 0.75%, or 317.30 points, to 42,515.09; the broad S&P 500 gained 0.94%, or 56.14 points, to 6,033.11; and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.52%, or 294.39 points, to 19,701.21. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.456%. Oil fell 2.27% to $71.32 per barrel. Oil prices briefly extended gains over the weekend when Israel temporarily knocked out a natural gas processing facility and targeted fuel storage tanks during strikes as part of its campaign against Tehran's nuclear program. Oil jumped by the most in three years late last week when Israel first attacked Iran and Iran fired back. "There are no signs it's spiraling into a broader regional conflict and that's keeping geo-political concerns anchored" and stock markets buoyed, said Tom Essaye, founder of the Sevens Report. Investors shrugged off a mixed manufacturing report this morning. Factory activity in the New York region slipped further in June though company managers grew more optimistic about the future, according to a New York Federal Reserve survey. Read more: See Iran's nuclear sites before and after Israeli attacks, updated strike maps The Federal Reserve will meet this week to discuss monetary policy, including interest rates. Almost no one forecasts a rate cut when the Fed wraps up its two-day policy meeting mid-week, according to the CME Fed Watch tool that tracks the odds the market puts on a rate move at each Fed meeting. May inflation data last week came in cooler than expected, and the labor market is weakening but not cratering. The combination gives the Fed room to wait-and-see, especially amid so much uncertainty still with tariffs and Trump's mega tax bill still working its way through the Senate. Along with the Fed's policy statement after the meeting, the committee will also release its projections. Most economists expect the Fed's forecasts to show higher inflation later this year, slower economic growth but still relatively low unemployment rate. They are split between whether there will be one or two rate cuts this year. Japan's Nippon Steel will complete its purchase of U.S. Steel after reaching a national-security agreement with the Trump administration. Shares of U.S. Steel rose 5.10%. Victoria's Secret shares added 2.36% after an activist investor took a stake in the retailer to push the company to refresh its board and refocus on its core bra business. Roku inked an exclusive partnership with Amazon that enables advertisers to reach roughly 80 million U.S. households through the Amazon platform. Roku stock jumped 10.43%. Sarepta Therapeutics shares plummeted 42.12% after the company said a second patient died due to acute liver failure after receiving its gene therapy for a rare form of muscular dystrophy. UPS and FedEx were named shipping partners of the Trump Organization's self-branded mobile network, dubbed Trump Mobile. UPS and FedEx shares each gained around 1%. Meta said it will start monetizing WhatsApp's Channels feature through search ads and subscriptions. The Facboook parent's shares added 2.9%. Reddit unveiled AI-driven advertising tools to help brands track users' conversations. The message forum's shares gained 6.79%. Strategy bought 10,100 bitcoin for about $1.05 billion at $104,080 per bitcoin, according to a social media post by Michael Saylor, the company's founder and executive chairman. Saylor, one of Bitcoin's biggest fans, also reportedly met with Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and State Minister Bilal Bin Saqib to explore how Pakistan might add Bitcoin to its sovereign reserves and long-term financial strategy. Bitcoin was last up 2.86% at $108,667. (This story was updated with new information.) Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@ and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US stocks close up and oil falls as Iran tries to de-escalate Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
3 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
In rare ministerial call, Europeans urge Iran to resume nuclear talks, avert escalation
KANANASKIS, Alberta, June 16 (Reuters) - European foreign ministers told their Iranian counterpart in a call on Monday to return to nuclear negotiations with the U.S. and refrain from escalating conflict with Israel, to which Iran's foreign minister said Tehran's priority was to confront Israel for now, according to a French diplomatic source. Israel launched what it called Operation Rising Lion against Iran's nuclear facilities in the early hours of Friday, just two days before U.S. and Iranian negotiators were due to resume talks to forge a new deal on Iran's nuclear programme. Israel called it a preemptive strike designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran has denied plans to develop such weapons and retaliated by launching counterstrikes on Israel. France, Britain and Germany, known as the E3, are party to the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, which aimed to curb Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions lifting. Last week they put forward a resolution that was approved by the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a U.N. watchdog, which declared Iran in breach of its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. "The ministers urged Iran to return to the negotiating table as quickly as possible, without preconditions," the source said, calling on Iran to avoid any headlong rush against Western interests. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was quoted by state media saying that he had recalled Iran's seriousness in diplomacy and emphasised that, "Iran has never left the negotiating table, but that (Tehran's) focus at this stage is, of course, to effectively... confront aggression." France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ahead of the E3's call with Araqchi, the diplomatic source said. The source said the E3 had separately passed messages to Israel urging it to not strike Iranian authorities, infrastructure or civilian populations. The European powers, who were not part of Iran's nuclear negotiations with the United States, had grown increasingly frustrated by the U.S. strategy in the talks. An initial written proposal from the Trump administration at the end of May was deemed very tough and offered little in return for Iran. As part of last week's IAEA resolution, European officials had said they could refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council later in the summer to add pressure on Iran if there was no progress in the nuclear talks. That would be separate to them reimposing UN sanctions, known as the snapback mechanism, before October 18 when the 2015 accord expires. The Europeans are the only ones who can launch the snapback mechanism, with diplomats saying the three countries had looked to set a final deadline of end of August to launch it. It was unclear what their policy would now be. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that given Europe's knowledge of the nuclear dossier, it should be a key protagonist if nuclear talks resume. Asked about the call, which also included the EU's foreign policy chief, a source familiar with U.S. thinking said Washington was not overly concerned since the U.S. clearly had the biggest role to play in de-escalating the Israel-Iran conflict. "At the end of the day, there's only going to be one country in the driver's seat of ending the war, and that's going to be the United States, obviously in partnership with Israel," the source said. "If the world jumps in and it becomes more of a collaborative effort, as long as it's not undermining the foreign policy strategy of the United States or its ally Israel, I'm sure there will be no concerns," the source said.
