West Asia conflict

April 29, 2026 10:21 PM

Hormuz shipping traffic remains at a trickle as US-Iran deadlock deepens

At least six ships - a fraction of the usual traffic - have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, shipping data showed on Wednesday, while the U.S. and Iran remain deadlocked over coming to terms that would re-open the crucial waterway. The vessel traffic was mainly through Iranian waters and included the Vast Plus chemical tanker, which is subject to US sanctions, according to Kpler ship-tracking data and satellite analysis from SynMax. Most of the ships were dry bulk carriers, a...

April 29, 2026 10:24 PM

Germany’s Merz says relations with Trump are good despite spat over Iran

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump remained good despite a row between the two men over the Iran war, but he reiterated his worries over the economic impact of the conflict. The spat reflects diverging views between the Trump administration and its European NATO allies on Iran and other issues, including the Ukraine conflict. "From my perspective, my personal relationship with the U.S. President remains good. I simply had doubts...

April 29, 2026 10:53 PM

Trump urges Iran to sign a deal and discusses prolonged blockade

Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran's ports with U.S. oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. president urged Tehran to "get smart soon" and sign a deal. Tuesday's talks with oil executives followed deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the United States to try to squeeze Iran's oil exports with a naval blockade to try to force it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping. Trump has...

April 29, 2026 6:34 PM

Over 50.8 lakh LPG cylinders delivered in 24 hours as Government assures fuel stability amid West Asia crisis

Amid the evolving situation in West Asia, the Centre on Wednesday said more than 50.8 lakh domestic LPG cylinders and over 73,000 5-kg Free Trade LPG (FTL) cylinders were delivered in the last 24 hours, underscoring efforts to maintain uninterrupted energy supply and prevent panic buying. At an inter-ministerial media briefing held at the National Media Centre, officials from the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas, External Affairs, and Ports, Shipping and Waterways outlined coordinated me...

April 29, 2026 10:35 PM

Trump’s court setbacks fail to blunt his campaign against media

President Donald Trump has suffered a string of courtroom setbacks in his battles with the American media, but the rulings have done little to blunt a broader campaign of pressure and retaliation that extends beyond the press. Courts have consistently sided with news organizations, rejecting Trump’s defamation lawsuits and blocking efforts by his administration to limit press access or defund public media, citing the robust free-speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S....

April 29, 2026 10:31 PM

UAE exit weakens OPEC+ power over oil market but group to stay together, sources say

OPEC and its allies will lose some of their power over the oil market when the United Arab Emirates leaves the group on May 1, but the rest of the producer alliance is likely to stick together and continue to coordinate on oil supply policy, OPEC+ delegates and analysts said on Tuesday. The UAE is the fourth-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and said it would quit the group on Tuesday after nearly 60 years as a member. That will free Abu Dhabi from the oi...

April 29, 2026 10:30 PM

Trump push for state voter rolls rebuffed by courts as midterms near

As the U.S. midterm elections approach, Democrats are winning legal challenges to the Trump administration's push to obtain states' voter rolls, dealing a blow to the president's unprecedented effort to expand the federal government's role in elections. The Democratic-run states' victories come as their party is locked in a fierce battle to take back both houses of Congress from President Donald Trump's Republicans in the November 3 midterms. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Arizona dismissed a ...

April 29, 2026 3:18 PM

Trump approval sinks to new low as war with Iran drives cost-of-living concern

President Donald Trump's approval rating sank to the lowest level of his current term, as Americans increasingly soured on his handling of the cost of living and an unpopular war with Iran, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The four-day poll completed on Monday showed 34% of Americans approve of Trump's performance in the White House, down from 36% in a prior Reuters/Ipsos survey, which was conducted from April 15 to 20. The majority of responses were gathered prior to the Saturday night ...

April 29, 2026 3:15 PM

US imposes sanctions on 35 individuals, entities for aiding Iran’s sanctions evasions

The U.S. government ratcheted up pressure on Tehran on Tuesday, imposing sanctions on 35 entities and individuals for their roles in Iran's shadow banking sector, and threatened sanctions against banks doing business with Chinese "teapot" refineries that it said are paying tolls for shipments to cross the Strait of Hormuz. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the designated individuals and firms had facilitated the movement of the equivalent of tens of billions of dol...

April 29, 2026 3:07 PM

US spy agencies examine how Iran would react to Trump declaring victory

U.S. intelligence agencies are studying how Iran would respond if President Donald Trump were to declare a unilateral victory in the two-month-old war that has killed thousands and become a political liability for the White House, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the matter said. The intelligence community is analyzing the question along with others at the request of senior administration officials. The goal is to understand the implications of Trump potentially pulling back from a...