War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Iran’s IRGC chapter in Hormozgan Province has claimed the “discovery and neutralisation of more than 15 heavy American missiles” used during the current war, IRNA reports.

It said the munitions were largely advanced US-made types, including GBU and BLU models, whose explosive mechanisms had failed to function properly and were recovered intact by specialised forces.

“Following successful neutralisation, the equipment was transferred to technical and research units for reverse engineering,” the report stated.

The statement added that the discovered hardware included bunker-buster and cruise missiles, as well as advanced enemy drones such as Harop, LUCAS, MQ-9, and Hermes models. Many of these systems were reportedly recovered intact.

At least one person has been killed in an Israeli drone attack in the town of Qalila, southern Lebanon, the NNA news agency reports, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran internet blackout has entered it’s 59th day after passing 1,392 hours, according to NetBlocks.

Global orders to build liquefied natural gas carriers (LNGC) are set to rebound this year after a 2025 slump as growing LNG output and vessel fuel efficiency drive demand, industry executives and analysts say, reports Reuters.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed the United States for the peace talks in Pakistan failing to reach a deal, after arriving in Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, AFP reports.

“The US approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of the excessive demands,” Araghchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.

He also said that “safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is an important global issue”, as the US and Iran continue their rival blockades in the waterway.

Japan’s Nikkei closed above the key 60,000 mark for the first time on Monday as optimism over corporate earnings overshadowed concerns about the Middle East conflict, Reuters reports.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.38 per cent to finish the session at an unprecedented 60,537.36. The broader Topix climbed 0.5pc to 3,735.28. The Nikkei has gained 18.6pc so far this year.

Major indexes on Wall Street closed at record highs on Friday after Intel beat its earnings estimate, helped by surging demand in the artificial intelligence sector. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index extended its record run of gains to 18 consecutive sessions.

Hezbollah says it targeted a group of Israeli army vehicles and soldiers at Tel al-Nahas on the outskirts of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon, reports Al Jazeera.

The Israeli army has confirmed siren alerts in northern Israel, adding that the “hostile aircraft” was launched from Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports.

The aircraft was “lost”, and no injuries were reported, according to a statement on Telegram.

Missile and rocket alerts were also sounded over concerns about falling debris from interceptions.

Israeli forces reportedly raided the entrance to Kafra in southern Lebanon at dawn and blocked the road leading to the town, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The Israeli military says it’s responding to “hostile aircraft infiltration” in northern Israel, reports Al Jazeera.

The European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady again this week as it waits to see if the inflation spike triggered by the Middle East war will prove temporary or begin to weigh on growth, reports Reuters.

Inflation in the 21-nation single currency area jumped to 2.6 per cent in March, above the ECB’s two-percent target, and the bank has warned it could surge far higher in a worst-case scenario.

ING economist Carsten Brzeski said the ECB’s mantra before the war — that it was in a “good place” on rates — was “no more”.

“The bank is back in crisis mode, shifting its focus from longer-term projections to actual developments and back to a ‘driving at sight’ approach,” he said.

China’s yuan inched higher against the dollar, supported by a firm central bank fixing and the fastest growth in industrial profits in six months, even as Middle East tension kept investors on edge, reports Reuters.

The yuan was 0.03 per cent higher at 6.8289 to the dollar by 0231 GMT. Its offshore counterpart traded at 6.8285 yuan per dollar, up about 0.1pc in Asian trade.

Gold recouped early losses to trade largely steady, helped by a slightly softer dollar, while investors looked for progress on the stalled peace talks between the United States and Iran, reports Reuters.

Spot gold was steady at $4,707.75 per ounce, as of 0233 GMT, after shedding 0.8 per cent earlier in the session. Last week, the metal fell 2.5pc to snap a four-week winning streak.

US gold futures for June delivery fell 0.4pc to $4,720.50.

Lending support to bullion, the dollar eased after a report said that Iran through Pakistani mediators gave the US a new proposal on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war.

“We’re just sort of watching now whether there’s progress in the (US-Iran) talks at all in the coming days and that’s going to be the biggest driver for gold,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

Profits at China’s industrial firms grew at their quickest pace in half a year last month, adding to broader signs of an uneven economic recovery in the first quarter as policymakers brace for the impact of the Middle East war, Reuters reports.

The country’s export engine stuttered last month while retail sales and industrial output cooled, although producer prices emerged from a years-long deflationary stretch, a shift that analysts warn could leave companies boxed in by rising costs but limited pricing power as demand remains fragile.

“The data has likely not reflected the impact of the Iran war yet,” said Lynn Song, ING’s chief economist for Greater China, underscoring growing risks to growth at home and abroad from the conflict as governments and businesses scramble to soften the blow.

Maritime analytics firm TankerTrackers reports that Iran loaded the equivalent of 4.6 million barrels of oil at crude export terminals, according to Al Jazeera.

An additional 4m barrels of Iranian oil appear to have exfiltrated the US blockade line, it added.

US forces have directed 38 ships to turn around or return to port as the US blockade against Iranian ports continues, according to its Central Command (Centcom) on X.

A top Russian lawmaker has said that the US was “clearly unprepared” militarily for a war on Iran, because it relied on the “misguided belief” that force could quickly achieve results, Al Jazeera reports.

Alexey Pushkov, chairman of the information policy commission of Russia’s Federation Council, told the TASS news agency the US approach could have been influenced by its experience in Venezuela.

“The kidnapping of (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro and the very, I would say, weak reaction to it from the Venezuelans … convinced (Trump) that a precise surgical military operation is a good tool for forcing a foreign regime to behave as the Americans please,” the senator said. “After this, Trump apparently decided that something similar could be done in Iran.”

Pushkov added that Iran, on the other hand, had prepared well for a conflict with the US, moving “virtually all of their missile facilities underground, where they are extremely difficult to reach” and building up a missile and drone arsenal numbering in the tens of thousands.

Oil prices have risen as peace talks between the US and Iran have stalled while shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain limited, keeping global oil supplies tight.

Brent crude futures rose $2.22, or 2.11 per cent, to $107.55 a barrel by 22:02 GMT (3:02am PKT) and US West Texas Intermediate was at $96.42 a barrel, up $2.02, or 2.14pc.

Gold has fallen today, pressured by a firm dollar, while higher oil prices have heightened fears of inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates as US-Iran peace talks remain stalled.

Spot gold was down 0.3 per cent at $4,694.26 per ounce, as of 00:59 GMT (5:59am PKT). US gold futures for June delivery fell 0.9pc to $4,697.60.

IRNA is reporting that the Iranian foreign minister has arrived in St Petersburg ahead of his talks with President Putin, according to Al Jazeera.