Live! Trump suggests US could seize Iran’s Kharg Island, claims Hormuz passage deal

Sensex plunges over 1,000 points, Nifty drops 300 on last day of FY

On the last trading day of this financial quarter, the Indian equity benchmarks opened in the red. At the open, the Sensex fell over 1,000 points while the Nifty was down 300. Sector-wise, the Nifty Bank and the Nifty PSU Bank were the biggest draggers.

Gold and silver futures were trading 2. per cent and 1.32 per cent down, respectively.Earlier on Friday, Nifty settled at 22,819.60, falling by 486.85 points or 2.09 per cent while the BSE Sensex closed at 73,583.22, declining 1,690.23 points or 2.25 per cent.

Asian shares decline as oil prices soar amid war in Iran

Asian shares mostly dipped in Monday morning trading as worries continued about soaring oil prices and the potential for further escalation in the US war with Iran.

The drops in Asia follow the deep declines on Wall Street last Friday that finished off a fifth straight losing week, its longest such streak in nearly four years.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 4.5 per cent in morning trading to 50,979.54. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 1.2 per cent to 8,417.00. South Korea's Kospi dove 3.2 per cent to 5,264.32. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.7 per cent to 24,519.63, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.7 per cent to 3,884.57.

Worries have been great in Japan and the rest of Asia about the effective lack of access to the Strait of Hormuz because of the war in Iran, as the region relies greatly on such access for oil shipments.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude jumped USD 2.28 to USD 101.92 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, soared USD 2.88 to USD 115.45 a barrel. Before the war, brent had been price at about USD 70 to a barrel.

Investors are now bracing for the war to last for some time, which would likely set off inflation in global markets, and eventually may stunt Asia's economic growth.

“Although we do not expect the conflict to be protracted, we anticipate heightened volatility in the near term,” said Xavier Lee, senior equity analyst at Morningstar Research.

Oil prices are again climbing after momentarily easing when President Donald Trump extended a self-imposed deadline to “obliterate” Iran's power plants to April 6.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 1.7 per cent to close its worst week since the war with Iran began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 793 points, or 1.7 per cent, and fell more than 10 per cent from its record set last month, while the Nasdaq composite sank 2.1 per cent.

Trump says he has 'no problem' with Russian oil tanker bringing relief to Cuba despite blockade

President Donald Trump on Sunday night said he has “no problem” with a Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering relief to the island, which has been brought to its knees by a US oil blockade.

“We have a tanker out there. We don't mind having somebody get a boatload because they need… they have to survive,” Trump told reporters as he flew back to Washington.

When asked if a New York Times report that the tanker would be allowed to reach Cuba was true, Trump said: “I told them, if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem whether it's Russia or not.” Tracking data shows the oil tanker carrying approximately 730,000 barrels of oil, was just off the eastern tip of the island on Sunday night and slated to land in the city of Matanzas by Tuesday.

Journalists working for Cuban state media also reported the boat was expected to land, though Cuban officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump, whose government has come at its Caribbean adversary more aggressively than any US government in recent history, has effectively cut Cuba off from key oil shipments in an effort to force regime change.

The blockade has had devastating effects on the civilians Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio say they want to help, leaving many desperate.

Island-wide blackouts have roiled Cubans already grappling with years of crisis, and lack of gasoline and basic resources has crippled hospital and slashed public transport.

Trump suggests US could take Iran's Kharg Island

US President Donald Trump has raised the idea of American forces seizing Iran's Kharg Island, its main oil terminal in the Persian Gulf.

The comment by Trump came in an interview published early Monday by The Financial Times.

“Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don't. We have a lot of options,” Trump told the newspaper. “It would also mean we had to be there (on Kharg Island) for a while.” Asked about Iranian defences there, he said: “I don't think they have any defense. We could take it very easily.” The US already launched airstrikes once it said targeted military positions on the island.

Iran has threatened to launch its own ground invasion of Gulf Arab countries and new attacks if US troops land on its territory.

Trump said that Iran's parliament speaker authorised the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The comment by Trump in the interview is the latest signal by the Americans of Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf's importance within Iran's theocracy.

“They gave us 10” Pakistani-flagged tankers, he said. “Now they're giving 20 and the 20 have already started and they're going right up the middle of the Strait.” “He's the one who authorised the ships to me,” Trump told the newspaper about Qalibaf. “Remember I said they're giving me a present? And everyone said: What's the present?' ... When they heard about that they kept their mouth shut and the negotiations are going very well.” Qalibaf has maintained a combative personality through his X account in the war, mocking the Americans and issuing threats. But the former Revolutionary Guard commander has seen his profile rise as senior members of its theocracy have been killed. PTI

Russia concerned with possibility of US taking control of Afghan airbase, says Putin's envoy

Moscow is apprehensive that the US could try to take control of a key Afghan Base amid its escalating military conflict with Iran, a senior Russian diplomat has said.

Speaking in an interview with the government news agency RIA Novosti on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy on Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said that the US demand for the Bagram airbase is not new.

The Bagram airbase, located near the capital city, Kabul, was built in the 1950s by the erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and was widely used by the Soviet forces during their intervention in Afghanistan, and later by the US and NATO forces in operations against the Afghan Taliban.

“The Trump administration constantly voices demands for the return of the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan, which the US lost after their inglorious retreat from Afghanistan in August 2021," Kabulov said.

His response came after he was asked to comment on the possibility of the US renewing its demand to the Afghan regime to access the Bagram airbase in the backdrop of massive US military deployment in West Asia.

Russia does not accept the deployment of US and NATO military facilities and infrastructure in Afghanistan or neighbouring states, he said.

"We hope the authorities of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will continue to adhere to a similar approach,” he added.

Netanyahu says Israel will widen its invasion of southern Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that Israel will widen its invasion of southern Lebanon.

Netanyahu said Israel would expand what he called the “existing security strip” in Lebanon as Israeli forces continue to target the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.

“We are determined to fundamentally change the situation in the north,” he said on a visit to northern Israel, adding that “Hezbollah still has residual capability to fire rockets at us.” There were no immediate details.

In Lebanon, officials say more than 1,100 people have been killed in the fighting since the Iran war began. 

Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it will target residences of US, Israeli officials

Iran's joint military command spokesperson declared on Sunday that the private residences of US and Israeli officials have now become legitimate targets for Iran, as the war in the Middle East enters its first month and continues to widen across the region.

The threat was aimed at United States and Israeli military and political officials living in the Middle East, including Israel.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari said that this decision has been made after the US and Israel have targeted residential homes of Iranians in various cities across Iran.

Pak says it will host US-Iran talks; Iran warns US ground troops would be 'set on fire'

Pakistan announced Sunday that it will soon host talks between the US and Iran, though there was no immediate word from Washington or Tehran, and it was unclear whether discussions on the month-long war would be direct or indirect.

"Pakistan is very happy that both Iran and the US have expressed their confidence in Pakistan to facilitate the talks. Pakistan will be honoured to host and facilitate meaningful talks between the two sides in the coming days,” Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said after top diplomats from Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia met in Islamabad.

Pakistan later said the diplomats had departed for their home countries. The talks were originally scheduled to continue on Monday.

Pakistan's foreign ministry did not answer questions, and Iran's mission to the United Nations declined to comment.

Islamabad has emerged as a mediator, having relatively good ties with Washington and Tehran, after what Pakistani officials call weeks of quiet diplomacy.

Earlier, Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, dismissed the talks in Pakistan as a cover after some 2,500 US Marines trained in amphibious landings arrived in the Middle East.

He said Iranian forces were “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever,” according to state media.

Trump says US negotiating with Iran directly and indirectly

US President Donald Trump said that Iran had agreed to allow 20 ships carrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz starting Monday morning and continuing over the next few days “out of a sign of respect.” “I would only say that we're doing extremely well in that negotiation but you never know with Iran because we negotiate with them and then we always have to blow them up,” Trump told reporters Sunday night aboard Air Force One as he flew to Washington.

Trump was asked if Iran had responded to the 15-point ceasefire plan the US has proposed and he said, they did and added, “They gave us most of the points. Why wouldn't they?” But Trump didn't offer details when asked about Iran, by his telling, appearing to make major concessions. “They're agreeing with us on the plan,” Trump said.

He also said Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei “may be alive but he's obviously, very seriously in trouble. He's seriously wounded.”

Mojtaba Khamenei breaks silence after Trump says ‘don’t know if he is alive’

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has in a written message thanked the people of Iraq for their support in the war against the United States and Israel, Iranian media said on Sunday.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei who was killed in an airstrike at the start of the war on February 28, is yet to appear in public after being named and has only issued a handful of written statements.

His failure to appear in person has led to intense speculation over his condition and whereabouts, but state television and some Iranian officials have indicated he is recovering from wounds sustained in an airstrike.

In the message, Khamenei "expressed his appreciation to the supreme religious authority (in Iraq) and the people of Iraq for their clear stance against aggression against Iran and their support for our country", the ISNA news agency said, referring to the Iraq-based Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, one of the most revered figures in Shia Islam.

The message was delivered following a meeting between the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a Shia party, and the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad, it said. No further details were given on how the message was transmitted.

US President Donald Trump last week said Washington was dealing with a "top person" in talks with Iran but made clear it was not the supreme leader. "We have not heard from the son... We don't know if he is living," said Trump.

Mojtaba Khamenei is the third supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic revolution, succeeding his father and revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.