War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Gold prices fall, pressured by a firmer US dollar on expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this year, while investors asses US-Iran peace talks.

Spot gold downs 0.7 per cent at $4,162.60 per ounce, as of 0228 GMT, after falling nearly 1pc earlier in the session. US gold futures for August delivery fall 0.5pc to $4,180.50.

“Gold had received some relief from lower oil prices this week, but it is getting no such favours from the US dollar, which continues to push higher on expectations of Fed rate hikes,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

Asian equities fluctuate following a tech-led sell-off on Wall Street as investors again questioned a long-running AI-fuelled boom, while crude largely held losses that came on the back of positive US-Iran talks, AFP reports.

Tech firms — the main driver of a surge across world markets as investors pile into all things AI — took a hit in Asia.

South Korean chip giants SK hynix and Samsung tumble to drag the Kospi index down more than three per cent, though it is still up more than 100pc since the turn of the year.

Tokyo was also in the red, with tech investment titan SoftBank shedding more than seven percent and chipmaker Tokyo Electron down.

Taipei and Shanghai were down, with Hong Kong and Sydney flat. Singapore, Wellington and Manila edged up.

The tepid performance followed a sharp drop on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq sank more than one percent as market giants Amazon, Nvidia and Microsoft were sharply down.

But the main victim of the day was Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which plunged more than 16pc — wiping hundreds of billions off its valuation — after a record IPO and a winning trio of opening trading sessions.

Democrats on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee have accused the US president of granting Iran sanctions relief before making progress on key issues under negotiation, including Tehran’s nuclear programme.

In a post on X, they said the Trump administration’s actions were “inconsistent with its own rhetoric about how it would approach any deal” with Iran.

“While ending this illegal war is better than disastrously doubling down, the admin’s steps are inconsistent with its own rhetoric about how it would approach any deal,” the post said. “Trump officials repeatedly said sanctions relief would be tied to Iran addressing its nuclear program and terrorist proxies. Neither has been addressed, but the regime has been gifted sweeping sanctions relief it has dreamed of for decades.”

United States President Donald Trump said “I will do what I have to do” if Iran does not stick to its agreement with Washington, Reuters reports.

“If Iran doesn’t live up to their agreement, or if they’re not behaving, I will do what I have to do,” Trump told reporters.

Trump also said Iran was supposed to use the money being unfrozen to buy food exclusively from the US, while Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency cited Iranian central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati saying that Tehran is under no obligation to purchase agricultural inputs from the US under the current memorandum of understanding.

“All that money’s coming back in the form of purchases of food which they desperately need. They have 91 million people, they can’t feed them. So, the money that we lift is going to go to our farmers,” Trump asserted.

Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the Strait of Hormuz will be administered by Tehran, state media reported, following talks pushing to end the US-Israeli war on the Islamic republic, AFP reports.

“The Strait of Hormuz will never return to its pre-war conditions and will be administered by the Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with international law,” Ghalibaf said on his return from the talks, according to IRNA.

In a video posted to Ghalibaf’s Telegram account, he said the talks at the luxury Swiss resort of Burgenstock produced “good achievements”.

“In my view, this trip had good achievements, especially regarding the discussion of the Strait, the Lebanon discussions, the question of oil waiver, and the matter of releasing the frozen funds,” he said.

Qatar’s PM and FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has held separate phone calls with Turkiye’s FM Hakan Fidan and Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty.

Regional developments were among the matters they discussed, the Qatari foreign ministry said.

The Islamabad Police have said the entry of all types of heavy traffic into Islamabad has been closed from 12am, citing the arrival of a “foreign delegation”.

All entry routes to the Red Zone except Murree Road and Margalla Road will remain completely closed for all types of traffic, it said.

Diversions will be in place for traffic on the Expressway, Murree Road, and Club Road from Koral to Faizabad. Srinagar Highway will remain completely closed from Zero Point to Dhokri Chowk.

The police also shared an alternative traffic plan in case of road closures. Traffic coming and going to Zero Point from Faisal Avenue will be diverted towards 9th Avenue.

Qatar’s PM and FM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani has held a telephone call with Saudi Arabia’s FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

During the call, they discussed bilateral cooperation relations and exchanged views on the latest regional developments, particularly diplomatic efforts to enhance security and stability in the region following the Islamabad MoU, Qatar said.

The premier reaffirmed Qatar’s full support for the ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran to “reach sustainable solutions to outstanding issues through dialogue and peaceful means, thereby strengthening regional security, opening new horizons for cooperation, development, and prosperity, and achieving the common interests of the peoples of the region and the world”.

Switzerland has welcomed the “constructive progress achieved through the intensive diplomatic exchanges held at the Bürgenstock between the United States, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar”.

It noted that the establishment of a high-level committee based on the MoU and the agreement on a roadmap towards a final agreement within 60 days are “positive steps that provide a framework for the next phase of the process and enable immediate technical discussions”.

Switzerland affirmed it “remains available, through its good offices, to support dialogue, de-escalation, regional stability and peace”.

US President JD Vance has said that Iranian assets would not be unfrozen “unless we continue to see progress” in the peace talks.

“And that will obviously be a big part of the negotiation in the days to come,” he added while speaking to reporters before departing Switzerland.

At the heart of the deal to end the Middle East war lies a $300 billion fund to rebuild and develop Iran – but so far it is unclear who will foot the bill.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) says Washington “undertakes with regional partners to develop a definitive mutually agreed plan with at least $300 billion for the reconstruction and economic development” of Iran.

“The mechanism for the implementation of this plan will be finalised as part of a final deal within 60 days,” it added.

The text does not say who will contribute to the fund.

Gulf countries, divided over Iran in the aftermath of the war, have not confirmed they would invest in the scheme to rebuild their powerful neighbour.

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Crude prices fell after the US said it is temporarily lifting sanctions on Iran to allow it to export oil and optimism on talks towards a final peace deal, AFP reports.

Internationally, the main focus remained firmly on the Middle East and the prospects for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to tanker and cargo traffic.

“The latest developments out of the Middle East have turned more constructive,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Jim Reid, adding that a pickup in oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz was “helping to calm markets”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declared that Israeli forces had been granted “full freedom” to engage any threat encountered in southern Lebanon, reaffirming that troops would remain deployed in the region for as long as deemed necessary, AFP reports.

“My directive, and that of the minister of defence, to the IDF is clear and has not changed: Our fighters in southern Lebanon have full freedom of action to thwart any direct or developing threat to them or to the residents of the north,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

“The IDF has no restrictions on this matter.”

US President Donald Trump has said in a post on Truth Social that Iran will agree to have weapons inspections to ensure “nuclear honesty” long into the future, echoing comments made by Vice President JD Vance, Reuters reports.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Turkiye welcomes the agreement reached between Iran and the US and is ready to provide any support needed to help the process conclude peacefully, Erdogan’s office says according to Reuters.

In a phone call, Erdogan said it was important to remain vigilant against attempts to sabotage the negotiations and that new steps to strengthen regional peace were both necessary and important, according to a statement from his office.

The ⁠Iran-related global ⁠energy crisis will drive electrification, as ⁠countries look to improve domestic ⁠energy security and protect themselves from fossil fuel price shocks, the ‌chief of the International Energy Agency says according to Al Jazeera.

“Many governments are reviewing their energy strategies, policies, ⁠partnerships and technology ⁠choices, and my expectation is this crisis is ⁠going to give ⁠an additional ⁠boost to electrification,” Fatih Birol said.