War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Thailand’s economic growth and tourist arrivals are forecast to drop this year as the Middle East war roils global energy prices, the finance ministry said, AFP reports.

The country’s GDP growth is projected to dip to 1.6 per cent, the ministry said in a statement, down from 2.4pc in 2025.

Growth in the Southeast Asian nation is anaemic, with the tourism sector vital but arrivals yet to return to their pre-Covid highs.

The government said in February that this year’s growth forecast was between 1.5 to 2.5pc.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally turned critic, has taken to social media to condemn the war on Iran and the impact the conflict is having on US farmers, Al Jazeera reports.

She wrote, “One day in the future, parents will tell their children that it was because of Trump’s war on Iran that caused farms to fail bc farmers couldn’t afford fertilizers and the cost of farming was too high.”

She was responding to a survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation that found some 70 per cent of US farmers cannot afford the fertiliser they need and are planning to reduce their crop size to compensate.

The Israeli military said it has launched an interceptor missile towards a “suspicious aerial target” in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on Telegram, the military said the aerial target was identified in the area where soldiers were operating and that it had not crossed into Israeli territory.

It added that the results of the interception were currently under review.

The Israeli military said a drone attack launched by Hezbollah wounded two soldiers in southern Lebanon.

According to the military, one soldier was severely injured while another sustained light injuries.

It added that the wounded were evacuated to a hospital for treatment and their families have been informed.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the war in the Middle East has had a “disproportionate impact” on the Asia-Pacific region, as she vowed to work closely with Japan to “navigate global disruption”, reports AFP.

Wong spoke during a visit to Tokyo, which comes just days before Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is due to travel to Australia and Vietnam.

Takaichi’s trip from May 1-5 is part of efforts to boost economic security and ensure the stable supply of energy as well as critical minerals, top government spokesman Minoru Kihara said.

In Tokyo, Wong met with counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi and hailed their “closely linked” supply chains which have seen Australia receive fuel imports from Japan.

The economic relationship “is increasingly important as we navigate global disruption”, she said.

“I look forward to continuing to coordinate with you our response following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the disproportionate impact on our region.”

Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil normally flows through the vital waterway and its closure has threatened supplies to Asian nations lacking their own energy resources.

Oil prices rose 1 per cent , extending gains from the previous session, as efforts to end the US-Iran war appear stalled, with the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway still mainly shut, keeping energy supplies from the key Middle East producing region out of the reach of global buyers, reports Reuters.

Brent crude futures for June climbed $1.41, or 1.3pc, to $109.64 a barrel as of 0400 GMT, after gaining 2.8pc in the previous session to its highest close since April 7. The contract is up for a seventh day.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June rose $1.27, or 1.3pc, to $97.64 a barrel, after gaining 2.1pc in the previous session.

Japan’s central bank hiked its inflation forecasts and halved its growth projections after the Iran war sent oil prices soaring, reports Reuters.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) said it expected inflation this fiscal year to hit 2.8 per cent, up from its previous projection of 1.9 percent, while it also kept its main policy rate at 0.75pc.

“Comparing the projections… with those presented in the previous Outlook Report, the projected year-on-year rate of increase in the CPI (all items less fresh food) for fiscal 2026 is significantly higher, and that for fiscal 2027 is also somewhat higher, reflecting the effects of the rise in crude oil prices,” the BoJ said.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that the Democrats will force a sixth vote in the US Senate on a war powers resolution this week.

“Senate Democrats will force a SIXTH vote on our War Powers Resolution ending Trump’s war of choice in Iran,” Schumer said on X, terming the war “reckless and unpopular”.

Democrats have tried, and failed repeatedly in both the Senate and House of Representatives, to force Trump to stop the war on Iran and to obtain lawmakers’ authorisation before launching ⁠military operations.

US Central Command (Centcom) has said that its guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta stopped the M/T Stream “after it attempted to sail to an Iranian port” on Sunday, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on social media, alongside a photograph of the two ships, Centcom said the action was part of the “US blockade of Iranian ports”.

Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said he welcomes Russia’s support for diplomacy and praised the strength of ties between the two countries, after meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Monday, saying recent events had demonstrated the depth of their strategic partnership according to a post on social media.

“Recent events have evidenced the depth and strength of our strategic partnership,” he said. “As our relationship continues to grow, we are grateful for solidarity and welcome Russia’s support for diplomacy.”

Iran shared on Tuesday a breakdown of the death toll from a deadly strike on an Iranian school on the first day of the Middle East war, state media reported according to AFP.

Seventy-three boys and 47 girls were killed in the February 28 strike on an Iranian elementary school in Minab, state broadcaster IRIB and local media reported.

Twenty-six teachers, seven parents, a school bus driver, and a pharmacy technician at the clinic next to the school were also killed, IRIB said in a Telegram post. This puts the death toll at 155 instead of more than 175 reported earlier.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack in a video address to the United Nations Human Rights Council as a “calculated, phased assault”.

Gold is holding steady as investors await more clarity on stalled peace talks between the United States and Iran, as well as key central bank decisions this week to see if the Middle East conflict has altered the interest rate outlook, Reuters reports.

Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $4,693.04 per ounce, as of 00:53 GMT (5:53am PKT). US gold futures for June delivery rose 0.3pc to $4,707.80.

Analysts have raised their annual gold price forecasts, a Reuters poll showed, with strong central bank demand and economic uncertainty expected to offset risks from surging inflation and hawkish policy bets due to the conflict.

Oil prices have extended their gains as efforts to end the US-Iran war appear stalled, with the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway still mainly shut, keeping energy supplies from the key Middle East producing region out of the reach of global buyers.

Brent crude futures for June climbed 45 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $108.68 a barrel as of 00:51 GMT (5:51am PKT), after gaining 2.8pc in the previous session to its highest close since April 7. The contract is up for a seventh day.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June rose 58 cents, or 0.6pc, to $96.96, after gaining 2.1pc in the previous session.

A US official says that President Donald Trump is unhappy with an Iranian proposal because it does not address Iran’s nuclear programme.

“He doesn’t love the proposal,” the US official said, referring to Trump.

Earlier in the day, Trump discussed the proposal with his top national security aides.

Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov has held talks in Kyrgyzstan with Iran’s Deputy Defence Minister Reza Talaei-Nik, state-run TASS news agency reports according to Reuters.

Belousov reiterated Russia’s longstanding position that the Iran war should be resolved exclusively through diplomatic means and said he was confident Moscow and Tehran would continue to support one another.

Talaei-Nik also traveled to Belarus, one of Russia’s closest allies, where Belarus’ Defence Ministry said he discussed the Middle East situation with Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin.

The ministry, quoted by the state BelTA news agency, said both officials agreed that the sole way to resolve the conflict was “a return to the sphere of a political-diplomatic settlement and the intensification of the process of negotiations”. The ministry statement said the meeting “confirmed the mutual interest of Minsk and Tehran for a further deepening of their joint interaction”.

Businesses working with Iranian airlines risk US sanctions, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said according to Reuters, calling the warning a part of a campaign to put economic pressure on Tehran during the war.

Iranian state media reported over the weekend that Iran has resumed commercial flights from Tehran’s international airport for the first time since the start of the war.

The US Treasury Department has said Washington is imposing a “financial stranglehold” on the Iranian government.

“Doing business with sanctioned Iranian airlines risks exposure to US sanctions,” Bessent said in a post on X.

“Foreign governments should take all actions necessary to ensure that companies in their jurisdictions do not provide services to those aircraft, including the provision of jet fuel, catering, landing fees or maintenance,” he said.

Iran needs guarantees against another US-Israeli attack before it can ensure security in the oil-rich Gulf, Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations has said, reports AFP.

“Lasting stability and security in the Persian Gulf and the wider region can only be achieved through a durable and permanent cessation of aggression against Iran supplemented by credible guarantees of non-recurrence and full respect for the legitimate sovereign rights and interests of Iran,” Amir Saeid Iravani told a Security Council session.