Live! India gets 30-day waiver from US to buy Russian oil amid Iran war

Stocks drop after oil spikes to its highest price since 2024 summer

Stocks sank on Wall Street Thursday after the price of oil spiked to its highest level since the summer of 2024 because of the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6 per cent and erased what had been a small gain for the year so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly dropped more than 1,100 points before finishing with a loss of 784, or 1.6 per cent. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3 per cent.

The losses came as financial markets around the world kept following the cue of oil prices. Sharp increases there are raising worries that a long-term surge could grind down the global economy, exhaust households' ability to spend and push interest rates higher.

The price for a barrel of benchmark US crude shot up 8.5 per cent on Thursday to settle at USD 81.01 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 4.9 per cent to USD 85.41 per barrel and is likewise near its highest price since 2024.

Oil prices gave back some of those gains later in the day, which helped stocks in the US moderate their losses at the end of trading. But worries nevertheless remain high about how long disruptions will last for oil production because of the escalating war with Iran.

Prices at US gasoline pumps have already leapt because of them. The average price for a gallon is USD 3.25, up 9 per cent from USD 2.98 a week ago, according to the auto club AAA.

If oil prices spike further, like to USD 100 per barrel, and stay there, some analysts and investors say it could be too much for the global economy to withstand. Uncertainty about what will happen has caused frenetic swings across financial markets this week, sometimes hour by hour.

US closes its embassy in Kuwait as Iran war escalates

The US Embassy in Kuwait shut down after retaliatory Iranian strikes on the country, becoming the second American diplomatic mission to fully halt work as the war in Iran escalates. Kuwait is also where six American soldiers were killed by an Iranian drone on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he should have a role in choosing Iran's next supreme leader, raising questions about whether Washington and Israel seek regime change or policy concessions as the conflict has appeared increasingly open-ended.

Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East's military and economic infrastructure, and the war has rattled financial markets, with the Dow dropping 1,000 points as oil prices climb further.

The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries.

New Iranian attacks target Israel, US bases as more Israeli strikes hit Lebanon

 Iran launched more missiles at Israel and US bases as the war in the Middle East entered its sixth day. Israel announced multiple incoming attacks early Thursday and said it was intercepting the missiles. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it began new strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.

At least eight people were killed there late Wednesday into Thursday, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry and the state news agency. Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East's military and economic infrastructure, and the war has rattled financial markets, with most taking their cues from what the price of oil is doing. Early Thursday, oil prices resumed their ascent. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six US troops have been killed.

Israel strikes Beirut's southern suburbs after issuing blanket evacuation order

Israel launched a series of strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday after ordering all residents of the densely populated area to evacuate.

Traffic was gridlocked in Lebanon's capital on Thursday as panicked residents tried to flee after Israel's military issued an evacuation notice telling residents to “save your lives and evacuate your homes immediately,” and specified which routes they should take to escape. Hours later, strikes began to hit the Beirut suburbs.

Since the resurgence of hostilities between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, Israel has struck sites in Beirut's suburbs and issued a blanket warning for residents south of the Litani River — an area in southern Lebanon stretching to the border with Israel — to evacuate their homes, but had not previously issued a blanket evacuation order for Beirut's southern suburbs.

After the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran triggered a new war in the Middle East, Hezbollah launched missiles and drones into Israel on Monday for the first time in over a year, and Israel has retaliated with bombardment of southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.

The conflict had claimed 123 lives and forced the displacement of more than 83,000 people in Lebanon before Thursday's evacuation order.

Israel's far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, warned Thursday that the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a strong presence, will look like Khan Younis, a city in Gaza that Israel has decimated during the war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack in southern Israel.

US House joins Senate in rejecting war powers resolution to halt Trump's attacks on Iran

House lawmakers rejected a war powers resolution to halt Trump's attack on Iran in a 212-219 vote, a day after the Senate voted down a similar measure.

The US Embassy in Kuwait shut down after retaliatory Iranian strikes on the country, becoming the second American diplomatic mission to fully halt work as the war in Iran escalates. Kuwait is also where six American soldiers were killed by an Iranian drone on Sunday.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he should have a role in choosing Iran's next supreme leader, raising questions about whether Washington and Israel seek regime change or policy concessions as the conflict has appeared increasingly open-ended.

Tehran has warned of the destruction of the Middle East's military and economic infrastructure, and the war has rattled financial markets, with the Dow dropping 1,000 points as oil prices climb further.

The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries.

India gets 30-day US waiver to buy Russian oil shipments stranded at sea

The United States has issued a temporary waiver allowing Russian oil cargoes currently stranded at sea to be sold to India, two senior US officials told Reuters on Thursday, a move aimed at easing pressure on global oil markets amid geopolitical tensions.

Washington approved a 30-day waiver to allow the shipments to proceed despite restrictions tied to sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, the officials said.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the measure, saying it is intended to keep oil flowing into global markets. “To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the US is issuing a 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil,” Bessent said.

He said the temporary waiver would apply only to cargoes already at sea and would not significantly benefit Moscow financially. 

“This short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” Bessent said.