Rob Davies
Iran’s parliament has voted to shut down the vital Hormuz shipping channel in retaliation against Donald Trump’s attack on the country, prompting fears of a sharp spike in oil prices that could cause a global recession.
A barrel of Brent crude was selling for about $77 on Friday, having risen by more than 10% since mid-June when Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear sites prompted missile strikes from Tehran against Tel Aviv.
But Trump’s decision to follow Israel by launching a US attack on Iran has set off a chain of events that analysts warned could drive prices up much further when markets open at 11pm UK time on Sunday.
A fifth of the world’s oil consumption flows through the strait of Hormuz, which is a gateway out of the Persian Gulf.
The vote, reported by Reuters, is not binding because the final decision rests with Iran’s supreme national security council. But analysts were already predicting an spike of up to $5 before the result of the vote was known.
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The Israeli military says it has detected missiles launched from Iran and warned Israelis to seek shelter.
Oil prices surged in early trade on Monday, AFP reports, after the US joined Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s atomic programme by bombing Iranian nuclear sites.
Brent and the main US crude contract WTI both jumped more than 4% to hit their highest price since January. They then pared gains and at 2335 GMT Sunday Brent was up 2.4Z% up at $78.83 per barrel and WTI was up 2.5% at $75.66.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in Moscow a few hours ago, Iranian news agencies have reported, where he will discuss “common threats” with President Vladimir Putin.
Russia has condemned the US strikes on Iran. Speaking at the UN security council meeting Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia recalled former US secretary of state Colin Powell making the case at the UN security council in 2003 that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein constituted an imminent danger to the world because of the country’s stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.
“Again we’re being asked to believe the US’s fairy tales, to once again inflict suffering on millions of people living in the Middle East. This cements our conviction that history has taught our US colleagues nothing,” he said.
Air defences have reportedly been activated in Tehran, Iranian news agencies have reported, as the Israeli military claimed it had carried out attacks on “military targets”.
The US Department of State has issued a worldwide warning regarding “demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad” after the US strikes on Iran.
The body said in a post on X:
The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East.
There is the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad. The Department of State advises U.S. citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution.
Eva Corlett
New Zealand is sending a C-130J Hercules aircraft to the Middle East as part of efforts to evacuate New Zealand citizens, once airspace reopens.
Foreign affairs minister Winston Peters said on Sunday he was “seriously concerned” about the risks to New Zealanders in Iran and Israel.
He said:
Airspace has been closed since the beginning of the current conflict, and it is highly uncertain when it will reopen. That is why we continue to recommend that New Zealanders do everything they can to leave now if they can find a safe route.
Peters said it will not be safe for everyone to leave Iran and Israel and many people will not have access to transport or fuel.
He added:
If you are in this situation you should shelter in place, follow appropriate advice from local authorities and stay in touch with family and friends where possible.
Defence minister Judith Collins said the Hercules aircraft will be on stand-by to assist, and the government is also in discussion with commercial airlines to assess how they can help.
She said:
Airspace in Israel and Iran remains heavily restricted, which means getting people out by aircraft is not yet possible. But by positioning an aircraft and defence and foreign affairs personnel in the region, we may be able to do more when airspace reopens.
The ministers called for diplomacy and dialogue in the region and said it was critical further escalation was avoided.
UN chief António Guterres warned on Sunday against yet “another cycle of destruction” and retaliation after the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which he said marked a “perilous turn” in the region, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The secretary-general told an emergency meeting of the UN security council:
I have repeatedly condemned any military escalation in the Middle East.
The people of the region cannot endure another cycle of destruction. And yet, we now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation.
Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also called for restraint as he voiced fears over “potential widening” of the conflict.
He said:
We have a window of opportunity to return to dialogue and diplomacy.
If that window closes, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels and the global non-proliferation regime as we know it could crumble and fall.
France is to send military A400M aircraft to Israel to fly any of its citizens who wish to leave out to Cyprus, the foreign and defence ministries announced on Sunday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The flights will be carried out subject to Israel’s clearance and will supplement the chartered civilian flights already operating, the ministries added.
France has approximately 250,000 of its citizens in Israel, of whom 100,00 are registered on consular lists.
A crisis team at the foreign ministry has received more than 4,500 phone calls over the last week.
Earlier on Sunday, 160 French nationals, most of them vulnerable or in urgent situations, were flown back to Paris from Jordan accompanied by a ministry doctor.
The ministry said more flights will follow.
Israeli airline El Al on Sunday said it had received applications to leave the country from approximately 25,000 people in about a day, Reuters reports.
Israel’s Airports Authority said rescue flights to the country would expand starting on Monday, with 24 a day from various destinations, although each flight would be limited to 50 passengers.
El Al said it would start servicing eight international destinations on Monday after getting the big wave of requests to leave the country.
Air France KLM said it has cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh on Sunday and Monday. Singapore Airlines said it cancelled flights from Singapore to Dubai after a security assessment and British Airways cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Doha.
Those cancellations were only for Sunday, but Singapore Airlines said other flights between Singapore and Dubai may be affected as the situation remains “fluid”.
The Israeli army said on Sunday that it attacked a surface-to-air missile launcher in Tehran in its latest wave of attacks in west Iran and the country’s capital.
The army said in a post on X:
About 20 IAF fighters recently attacked military targets in Iran under the precise guidance of the Intelligence Directorate, using more than 30 weapons.
In addition, a surface-to-air missile launcher was attacked in the heart of Tehran.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN on Sunday criticised the United States for its strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Amir Saeid Iravani told the UN security council:
The United States, a permanent member of this Council … has now once again resorted to illegal force, waged a war against my country, under a fabricated and absurd pretext: preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Israeli strikes attacked several parts of north-west Iran on Sunday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The strikes targeted “two locations in the south-western part of Tabriz” city, capital of the East Azerbaijan province, ISNA news agency reported, quoting Majid Farshi, the province’s crisis management authority chief.
It was not immediately clear what locations were targeted but Farshi said the air-defence systems had been activated to counter the attack.
Reuters reports that the office of UK prime minister Keir Starmer said that he had spoken to US president Donald Trump this evening.
A Downing Street spokesperson said Starmer and Trump discussed the situation in the Middle East, and the need for Iran to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.
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