terça-feira, 31 de março de 2026
As of March 31, 2026, the Italian government has officially denied the U.S. military permission to land aircraft, including bombers carrying weapons, at the Sigonella Air Base in Sicily.
Italy
denies use of Sicily airbase to US planes carrying weapons for Iran war
As of
March 31, 2026, the Italian government has officially denied the U.S. military
permission to land aircraft, including bombers carrying weapons, at the
Sigonella Air Base in Sicily.
Key
Reasons for Denial
The
refusal is based on both procedural violations and long-standing bilateral
treaties:
Lack of
Prior Authorization: The U.S. reportedly requested landing permission while the
aircraft were already en route, failing to follow the required protocol of
seeking advance clearance from the Italian government.
Treaty
Restrictions: Under agreements dating back to the late 1950s, the Sigonella
base (which is under Italian sovereignty) is authorized primarily for logistics
and training. Using it as a transit hub for weapons of war requires specific
parliamentary approval in Italy, which was not obtained.
Case-by-Case
Review: The office of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that all requests
for base use are examined on a case-by-case basis in full compliance with
international agreements.
Regional
Context
This move
follows similar restrictions from other European allies regarding the ongoing
conflict involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran:
Spain:
Has fully closed its airspace and jointly operated military bases to U.S.
aircraft involved in the Iran war.
France:
Has reportedly refused overflight rights for planes carrying U.S. military
supplies to Israel.
Italy denies use of Sicily airbase to US planes carrying weapons for Iran war
Italy
denies use of Sicily airbase to US planes carrying weapons for Iran war
Defence
ministry says US failed to request authorisation in time for parliament to give
approval as required by international treaty
Angela
Giuffrida in Rome
Tue 31
Mar 2026 14.17 BST
Italy has
denied the use of an airbase in Sicily to US military planes carrying weapons
for the war in Iran after the US did not follow the required authorisation
procedure.
A source
at the Italian defence ministry confirmed a report in Corriere della Sera that
“some US bombers” had been due to land at Sigonella – one of seven US navy
bases in Italy – before heading to the Middle East, but that use of the base
had been denied because the US sought authorisation to land only while the
aircraft were already en route to Sicily.
The
source said this meant there was not enough time to seek approval in
parliament, as is required for aircraft landing on naval bases with weapons.
According
to treaties established in the late 1950s, the US navy bases can be used for
logistical and training purposes but not as transit hubs for aircraft used to
transport weapons for war unless in an emergency situation.
The
office of Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, issued a statement
on Tuesday denying that the move – which comes a day after Spain ramped up its
opposition to the US-Israeli war on Iran by closing its airspace to US aircraft
involved in attacks – had caused “critical issues or frictions” with
international partners, and said relations with the US were “solid and based on
full and loyal cooperation”.
In
another sign of rising tensions between the US and some European countries,
Donald Trump criticised France on Tuesday because it “wouldn’t let planes
headed to Israel, loaded up with military supplies, fly over French territory”,
writing on his Truth Social account that the country had been “VERY UNHELPFUL”.
Regarding
the use of its military bases, the statement from Meloni’s office said Italy
was “acting in full compliance with existing international agreements” and
parliamentary procedures and that each request was “carefully examined on a
case-by-case basis, as has always been the case in the past”.
In Italy,
where there is a deep-rooted anti-war culture, opinion polls consistently show
very strong opposition to the conflict and strong dislike towards Trump. The
unpopularity of Trump in Italy has also started to erode the popularity of
Meloni, who is ideologically in tune with the US president and has established
good working relations with him.
Opposition
parties have for weeks been urging the government to block the US from using
Italy’s bases for involvement in the Middle East conflict.
Giuseppe
Conte, leader of the Five Star Movement, said Italy had “a duty” to deny the US
bombers access to Sigonella and now needed to “take a further step” and deny
the logistical support offered at all the country’s bases since the US-Israeli
conflict in Iran was being carried out “in clear violation of international
law”.
Earlier
this month, Meloni strongly criticised the US-Israeli military strikes, telling
parliament that it was part of a growing and dangerous trend of interventions
“outside the scope of international law”.
At the
same time, she said “we cannot afford a regime of ayatollahs in possession of
nuclear weapons combined with a missile capacity” that could threaten Italy and
Europe. Meloni has said several times that Italy would not enter the war,
although the country has provided defensive assets to Gulf countries.
Anger in
Sicily has been swirling for weeks owing to increased activity at the Sigonella
base since the start of the conflict, and especially after the US navy shared a
photo on its Instagram account earlier this month showing a US military
helicopter landing at the Unesco-listed Madonie natural park close to Palermo
during a training exercise.
“Sicily
does not want and will not contribute to any war,” said Nuccio Di Paola, a Five
Star Movement politician in Sicily. “Sicily is a land of peace and must remain
so … we cannot allow Sicilians to be put at risk because of our country’s
subservience to other countries.”
Here’s the latest.
Updated
March 31,
2026, 3:12 p.m. ET2 minutes ago
John
Ismay Greg
Jaffe Helene
Cooper and Aurelien Breeden
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/31/world/iran-war-oil-trump
Here’s
the latest.
The U.S.
military has begun flying B-52 bombers over Iranian territory for the first
time since the war began, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on
Tuesday, suggesting that Iran’s air defenses have been significantly degraded.
But
despite a monthlong U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign, Tehran still retained the
ability to retaliate, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters.
“They
will shoot some missiles; we will shoot them down,” Mr. Hegseth said at the
Pentagon alongside Gen. Dan Caine, the Joint Chiefs chairman. It was their
first public briefing on the war in nearly two weeks; they last took questions
from reporters on March 11.
General
Caine said that U.S. warplanes were focused on destroying supply chains that
fed Iran’s missile, drone and ship building facilities, choking off the
country’s ability to replace munitions destroyed in thousands of American
bombing runs.
B-52
bombers — unlike the agile or radar-evading aircraft in the U.S. arsenal — are
considered highly vulnerable to antiaircraft systems. The decision to fly the
planes directly over Iran signifies the American military’s confidence that it
has largely destroyed Iran’s capability to take down the lumbering bombers.
Mr.
Hegseth also revealed he had made an unannounced trip to the Middle East over
the weekend to visit troops at bases around the region. He again said that the
United States was “closer than ever before to winning.”
President
Trump has offered conflicting messages about his objectives in the war and has
struggled to contain its economic fallout. He has tried to pressure Iran to end
its de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — normally a conduit for
one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies — by alternating threats of destruction
with unverified claims of diplomatic progress.
Iran has
denied holding substantive talks with the United States and has rejected the
Trump administration’s conditions to end the war as unreasonable.
Mr. Trump
has also complained about a lack of support from U.S. allies in the war, even
as he has insisted that he does not need it. On Tuesday, he criticized
countries that “refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran,” saying on
social media, “You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself.”
Here’s
what else we’re covering:
American
kidnapped: An American woman and journalist was kidnapped in Iraq’s capital on
Tuesday evening and security forces were trying to find her, Iraq’s Interior
Ministry said. Iraqi and American officials did not immediately identify the
woman. The Iraqi ministry said that security forces had pursued the kidnappers,
arrested one suspect and seized a vehicle used in the abduction. The suspect is
a member of the Iran-allied paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah, two senior
Iraqi security officials said.
Gas
prices: Gasoline in the United States crossed an average of $4 a gallon on
Tuesday, a threshold it hadn’t reached since August 2022. The average cost of
gas has jumped 35 percent since the war began on Feb. 28, according to data
from the AAA motor club, becoming a political burden for Mr. Trump. Oil and gas
prices also rose again.
Persian
Gulf: Gulf countries reported more missile and drone attacks on Tuesday. A
Kuwaiti oil tanker erupted in flames at a Dubai port in a drone attack that its
owner, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, attributed to Iran. The authorities in
Dubai and Saudi Arabia reported that debris from interceptions had injured
several people. In the United Arab Emirates, remote learning will continue at
all schools until mid-April, the education ministry said.
Lebanon:
Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, on Tuesday outlined more explicitly
plans for the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese people and
the destruction of Lebanese villages along Israel’s northern border. Israeli
forces have taken control of more territory in southern Lebanon as they have
battled Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group. He said that the Israeli
military would maintain control over all of southern Lebanon up to the Litani
River, which is about 20 miles from the Israeli border at its farthest point.
Casualties:
The Human Rights Activists News Agency said at least 1,574 civilians had been
killed, including 236 children, in Iran since the war began. Lebanon’s health
ministry said that more than 1,260 Lebanese had been killed as of Tuesday, with
more than 3,750 others wounded, since the latest fighting between Israel and
Hezbollah began. In Iran’s attacks across the Middle East, at least 50 people
have been killed in Gulf nations. In Israel, at least 17 had been killed as of
Friday. The American death toll stands at 13 service members, with hundreds of
others wounded.
Regional
economy: One month of the war could plunge four million more people across the
Arab world into poverty and shave off up to 6 percent of the region’s economic
output during that time, according to projections by the United Nations
Development Program.
The day so far
2h ago
17.56 BST
The day
so far
- In a post on Truth Social, the US president, Donald Trump, has suggested that countries like the UK should build up the “courage” to go to the strait of Hormuz and “just take” fuel. “You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the USA won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” Trump said as he criticised countries who “refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran”.
- Extra UK troops are being sent to the Middle East to help the UK’s allies defend their skies from Iranian attacks. On a trip to Gulf nations, defence secretary John Healey announced the UK will deploy the Sky Sabre air defence missile system in Saudi Arabia and extend UK Typhoon jets’ action in Qatar, PA reported.
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday they will target US companies in the region as of 1 April in retaliation for attacks on Iran, state media reported. The 18 companies listed in the IRGC’s threat included Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla and Boeing.
- Areas near the World Health Organization’s Tehran office were hit by strikes over the past two nights, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an X post on Tuesday. “Fortunately all WHO Iran office colleagues are accounted for and none were injured,” he added.
- Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney on Tuesday denounced Israel’s deployment of troops against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as an “illegal invasion” that violates its “integrity and sovereignty.” “The government of Lebanon has banned Hezbollah, is taking action, is trying to take action against Hezbollah and their terrorist activities and their threats to Israel, and that is the purported justification for this invasion,” Carney told journalists at an event in Wakefield, Quebec.
- Israel said on Tuesday that it will occupy wide swathes of south Lebanon and destroy the homes along the border to prevent the return of some 600,000 residents, prompting concerns of long-term forced displacement.
- The Lebanese health ministry said yesterday that nine people had been killed and 137 others injured in Israeli attacks on Lebanon over the past day. It said the latest figures brought the death toll from Israeli attacks since 2 March to 1,247, with 3,680 other people reported injured.
- Israeli airstrikes killed at least five people in the Gaza Strip in two separate attacks on Tuesday, health officials said. An Israeli airstrike killed at least three people in Jabalia, in the north of the territory, while two other people were killed in another airstrike in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to medics.
- A UN security source told AFP on Tuesday that Israeli fire had killed an Indonesian peacekeeper at the weekend, after the UN force said it was investigating the incident. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon had said that the peacekeeper was killed on Sunday evening when a projectile of unknown origin “exploded in a UNIFIL position near Adchit al Qusayr”, while two more Indonesian blue helmets were killed in south Lebanon the following day.
- Iranian state media reported yesterday that an Iranian parliamentary committee had approved a proposal to collect a toll on vessels travelling through the strait of Hormuz. The strait will be closed to ships from the US, Israel and countries that have been involved in sanctioning Iran, according to a Telegram post from the Fars news agency, which said that Iran will have a “sovereign” role in the implementation of the new system.
- Italy has denied use of an airbase in Sicily to US military craft carrying weapons for the war in the Middle East. A source at the Italian defence ministry confirmed a report in Corriere della Sera that “some US bombers” had been due to land at Sigonella – a key US navy installation and Nato base – before heading to the Middle East.
- A US-Israeli attack on the Iranian city of Mahallat last night (at about 11pm local time) killed 11 people and injured 15 others, the Tasnim news agency has cited a deputy security officer as having said. Four residential units were “completely destroyed” in the attack, in which three children were killed, according to the report, which we have not yet been able to independently verify.
The use of nuclear weapons by Israel would likely cause catastrophic radiological, environmental, and human consequences across the Middle East, according to studies and expert warnings.
.jpeg)
The use
of nuclear weapons by Israel would likely cause catastrophic radiological,
environmental, and human consequences across the Middle East, according to
studies and expert warnings.
Based on
current scenarios and regional analysis as of March 2026:
Mass
Radioactivity and Fallout: A nuclear detonation would spread deadly
radioactivity across the region, contaminating air, crops, and water supplies.
Prevailing westerly winds could carry fallout from Iranian nuclear sites across
to Pakistan and India within 48 to 72 hours, similar to the spread seen after
the Chernobyl disaster.
Regional
Environmental Disaster: Even a limited nuclear exchange in the Middle East
could induce a "nuclear winter." Burning cities could send 5 million
tonnes of black carbon soot into the stratosphere, causing a drastic drop in
surface temperatures and a global food crisis.
Impact of
Targeting Nuclear Sites: Attacks on operational nuclear reactors, such as
Bushehr in Iran, could release high-level radioactive materials like Cesium-137
and Iodine-131, potentially making areas uninhabitable and damaging vital
desalination infrastructure.
Targeting
Iranian Nuclear Sites: While early 2025 airstrikes on Iranian facilities like
Natanz did not cause massive leaks, studies suggest that striking active,
highly enriched uranium sites could release toxic uranium hexafluoride, turning
into acid upon contact with air moisture, a major danger to nearby regions.
Long-Term
Contamination: Radioactive contamination could persist long after the initial
blast, rendering regions difficult to rehabilitate and causing long-term health
crises.
Israel is
widely believed to possess a nuclear triad—missiles, aircraft, and
submarines—and maintains a policy of "nuclear opacity," neither
confirming nor denying its nuclear arsenal.
On March 26, 2026, a CNN news crew led by correspondent Jeremy Diamond was assaulted and detained by Israeli soldiers while reporting in the village of Tayasir in the occupied West Bank.
.jpeg)
A CNN
Crew Was Choked on Camera.
On March
26, 2026, a CNN news crew led by correspondent Jeremy Diamond was assaulted and
detained by Israeli soldiers while reporting in the village of Tayasir in the
occupied West Bank.
Incident
Details
The
Assault: While documenting a settler outpost, a soldier placed photojournalist
Cyril Theophilos in a chokehold and slammed him to the ground.
Detention:
The crew was held for approximately two hours, with soldiers expressing
far-right, retaliatory views on camera.
Response:
The IDF called the behavior unacceptable and initiated disciplinary action
against the involved unit.
Condemnation:
The Foreign Press Association (FPA) condemned the incident as a "violent
assault".
This
incident followed another physical confrontation with CNN staff in Jerusalem
that same month.
The U.S. State Department has reportedly directed all American embassies and consulates to launch a coordinated global campaign against foreign propaganda, specifically endorsing Elon Musk’s platform, X, as an "innovative" tool for this mission.
Trump
news at a glance: US promotes Elon Musk’s X to fight foreign propaganda
The U.S.
State Department has reportedly directed all American embassies and consulates
to launch a coordinated global campaign against foreign propaganda,
specifically endorsing Elon Musk’s platform, X, as an "innovative"
tool for this mission.
Key
details from the March 30, 2026, cable signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio
include using X’s Community Notes to fight disinformation, coordinating with
the Pentagon's Miso (formerly Psyop) to combat hostile influence, and enforcing
"flag-forward branding" on foreign aid. These efforts, targeting
adversaries like Iran, Russia, and China, replace previously shuttered
disinformation units.
Key
details from the March 30, 2026, diplomatic cable signed by Secretary of State
Marco Rubio include:
Endorsement
of X: The cable highlights X’s Community Notes feature as a
"crowdsourced" instrument for countering disinformation.
Military
Coordination: Embassy staff are directed to work with the Pentagon's Military
Information Support Operations (Miso)—formerly Psyop—to address hostile foreign
influence.
Aid
Branding: Consular posts are instructed to use "flag-forward
branding" for clear identification of American foreign aid.
Targeted
Adversaries: These actions target adversaries such as Iran, Russia, and China.
Trump news at a glance: US promotes Elon Musk’s X to fight foreign propaganda
Explainer
Trump
news at a glance: US promotes Elon Musk’s X to fight foreign propaganda
Cable
signed by secretary of state Marco Rubio endorses Musk’s platform by name and
suggests staff work with Pentagon psychological operations unit – key US
politics stories from Monday 30 March at a glance
Guardian
staff
Tue 31
Mar 2026 02.00 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/30/trump-news-at-a-glance-latest-updates-today
The
United States has directed every American embassy and consulate across the
world to launch coordinated campaigns against foreign propaganda and endorses
Elon Musk’s Twitter/X as an “innovative” tool to help do it.
The
cable, signed by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Monday and obtained by
the Guardian, also suggests embassies and consulates work alongside the US
military’s psychological operations unit to address the problem of rampant
disinformation. It lays out a sweeping set of instructions for how embassy
staff should push back against what it describes as coordinated foreign efforts
to undermine American interests abroad.
The cable
also endorses Musk’s platform X by name – specifically its Community Notes
feature – as an “innovative” and “crowdsourced” instrument to cull
disinformation in “countering anti-American propaganda operations without
compromising free speech or privacy”.
It comes
as the United States is at war with Iran, whose government has for decades
operated one of the world’s most sophisticated and prolific state
disinformation apparatuses, and as Russian and Chinese influence operations
continue to target American allies across Europe, Asia and Latin America.
How could US forcibly reopen strait of Hormuz and what are the risks?
.jpeg)
How could
US forcibly reopen strait of Hormuz and what are the risks?
US ground
troops have arrived in Middle East but military options to open strait risk
strong retaliation from Iran
Saeed
Shah in Islamabad
Mon 30
Mar 2026 10.32 BST
The
arrival of US ground invasion forces in the Middle East over the weekend
provides Donald Trump with the muscle for a perilous attempt to forcibly open
the strait of Hormuz, Iran’s biggest pressure point in the war.
Iran’s
chokehold on the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil trade
normally passes, gives Tehran leverage that Trump understands, sending oil
prices rocketing to more than $100 a barrel. The US president has said he is
prepared to give diplomacy a chance, though bombing of Iran continues. But he
also said on Sunday that he wanted to “take the oil in Iran”.
Trump has
two military options to open the strait: seizing territory, or deploying a
massive naval presence in the waterway. Even the limited ground incursion being
considered risks the kind of body count that could sink a presidency, experts
say. For Iran, boots on the ground would be a red line.
Emma
Salisbury, a senior fellow in the national security programme at the Foreign
Policy Research Institute, said she believed Trump would not be able to resist
escalating the conflict by capturing one of the Iranian islands in the Gulf.
“At every
point so far he’s gone for it, and I can’t see this being any different. He
will use the soldiers if they’re available,” she said. “I think that will go
horribly wrong and there will be a lot of casualties.”
Iran has
sent a threat, according to mediators: it will carpet bomb its own territory to
kill any American soldiers on its soil. Tehran warned that it is prepared to
blow up its own infrastructure to hit the invading forces, according to
diplomats involved.
The
speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, on Sunday accused the
US of publicly seeking talks while planning a ground assault. “Our men are
waiting for the arrival of the American soldiers on the ground to set them on
fire and punish their regional allies once and for all,” said Ghalibaf, who is
regarded as a likely Iranian representative if peace talks take place.
Half of a
contingent of 5,000 marines, specialised in amphibious landings, arrived in the
Middle East on Saturday. About 2,000 paratroopers are also due to arrive.
Kharg
Island, a tiny Iranian outpost used as the country’s main oil export terminal,
is the most obvious target. Seizing one or more small islands would be the
easier part, though a force of this size would be spread thin, experts say.
Once there, the danger would really begin as Iran would rain down rocket,
missile and drone attacks.
The
numbers are far short of requirements for a significant land operation – about
150,000 troops were deployed in the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, and Iran’s
territory is more than three times the size. US media reports said a third
aircraft carrier was heading to the Middle East and that the administration was
considering dispatching another 10,000 soldiers.
Trump is
also weighing a riskier and more complex mission: swooping into the Iranian
mainland to seize the country’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, thought
to be buried at one or more sites that were bombed last year. That would
require special operations forces.
“Maybe we
take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump told the
Financial Times. “It would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a
while.”
Kharg is
deep inside the Gulf, well past the strait of Hormuz, adding logistical
difficulty and vulnerability for US soldiers.
Sitting
in the strait itself is a series of Iranian islands that command the waterway,
the largest of which is Qeshm. Three of the smaller islands, Abu Musa, Greater
Tunb and Lesser Tunb, claimed by the United Arab Emirates, provide the backbone
of Iran’s hold over the channel.
Ruben
Stewart, a senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for
Strategic Studies, said the deployment may just be a show of force to
strengthen the American negotiating position, as it would be tough to hold any
island for more than a few days. “It is feasible that they could land on some
of those locations,” he said. “It seems extremely unlikely that could achieve
anything in a military sense.”
Ground
operations may not end the Iranian threat anyway. To open the strait for
navigation, while attacks on ships continue, would require naval escorts for
commercial vessels along with minesweeping and air support.
That
mission would need so many warships that the US would have to lean on allies
such as the UK and European nations. The US is short of minesweepers in
particular. So far, its military says it does not have the resources to guard
commercial ships.
The
challenge could be about to multiply. Iran-allied Houthi forces in Yemen
entered the conflict on Saturday, firing missiles at Israel. They could begin
attacks on vessels passing the narrow strait at the southern end of the Red
Sea, another crucial shipping route in the Middle East, leaving the US with two
waterways to secure.
Brent crude prices surged to $116.89 per barrel in early trading on Monday, March 30, 2026.
.jpeg)
Brent
crude hits $116 a barrel as Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ Iran’s oilwells and
export hub
Brent
crude prices surged to $116.89 per barrel in early trading on Monday, March 30,
2026. This spike followed a series of aggressive statements from U.S. President
Donald Trump regarding Iran's energy infrastructure amid an ongoing military
conflict that began on February 28, 2026.
Market
Drivers and Threats
Targeting
Kharg Island: Trump threatened to "obliterate" Iran’s primary oil
export hub, Kharg Island, which handles approximately 90% of the country's
crude exports.
Infrastructure
Destruction: In social media posts, the President warned of strikes against all
Iranian oil wells, electric generating plants, and desalination facilities if
the Strait of Hormuz is not immediately reopened.
Strategic
Intent: Trump expressed a preference to "take the oil" in Iran,
suggesting U.S. troops could seize and control key export terminals
indefinitely.
Economic
Impact (As of March 31, 2026)
Record
Gains: Brent is on track for a ~60% monthly surge, its largest gain since the
benchmark's inception in 1988.
WTI
Performance: U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also climbed, settling above
$100 per barrel for the first time since 2022.
Consumer
Costs: U.S. gasoline prices have hit a national average of $3.99 per gallon,
the highest level in four years.
Volatility:
While prices briefly touched $119.50 earlier in March, they have fluctuated
between $105 and $116 as traders weigh reports of potential diplomatic
"de-escalation" against the threat of renewed strikes.
Reports
from The Guardian indicate that analysts warn of $150–$200 oil if the conflict
persists, which could trigger a global recession.
Brent crude hits $116 a barrel as Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ Iran’s oilwells and export hub
.jpeg)
Brent
crude hits $116 a barrel as Trump threatens to ‘blow up’ Iran’s oilwells and
export hub
Investors
nervous over escalation of Middle East conflict as US president says he wants
to ‘take the oil in Iran’
Lauren
Almeida
Mon 30
Mar 2026 15.06 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/mar/30/price-of-oil-trump-iran-stock-markets-middle-east
The price
of oil hit nearly $117 (£89) a barrel on Monday as Donald Trump threatened to
“blow up” and “completely obliterate” Iranian electricity plants, oilwells and
its export hub Kharg Island if it did not agree to a deal.
Brent
crude rose after the US president wrote on his social media platform Truth
Social that if a deal was not agreed and the strait of Hormuz was not reopened,
the US would take further action.
He wrote:
“We will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely
obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg
Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully
not yet ‘touched’ …
“This
will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has
butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year ‘Reign of Terror’.”
Jerome
Powell, the US Federal Reserve chair and a regular target of the president’s
ire, claimed on Monday that the central bank was in a “good place … to wait and
see” how the economic fallout of the war on Iran unfolds. But he cautioned that
policymakers would monitor two conflicting factors – the stability of both the
US workforce and prices – as they consider what to do with interest rates.
“There’s
sort of downside risk to the labor market, which suggests keep rates low, but
there’s upside risk to inflation, which suggests maybe don’t keep rates low,”
Powell said during a Q&A session at Harvard University. “You’ve got tension
between the two objectives.”
Trump,
who has repeatedly provided conflicting signals around the aims and possible
duration of the conflict, threatened to seize the Iranian export hub of Kharg
Island in an interview with the Financial Times on Sunday.
Trump
said: “To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran,
but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But
they’re stupid people.
“Maybe we
take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” he said.
The oil
price rose by 2% to $116.89 a barrel in early trading on Monday – not far off
the $119.50 highest level since the US-Israel war with Iran started on 28
February – before later dipping to $112 a barrel. In Europe, stock markets rose
slightly, with the European Stoxx 600 index rising by 0.9%. The UK’s blue-chip
FTSE 100 share index rose 1.6%.
In the
US, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones were up slightly in early afternoon trading
on Wall Street. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was roughly flat.
Natural
gas prices rose slightly in Europe on Monday. Dutch month-ahead futures rose 1%
to €54.70 a megawatt-hour.
In Asia,
where economies are highly exposed to the shortage in oil and gas coming out of
the Gulf, stock markets dropped sharply before Trump’s latest post. Japan’s
Nikkei fell by 2.8%, while the South Korean Kospi dropped 3%. Hong Kong’s Hang
Seng index shed about 0.8%.
Investors
have grown increasingly nervous as the conflict in the Middle East has
escalated in recent days as a further 3,500 US troops have arrived in the
Middle East. Houthi rebels in Yemen have now also entered the conflict, firing
ballistic missiles at Israeli sites in a dangerous spread of the war that could
also worsen the global energy crisis.
“There’s
still no sign of a clear end to the conflict, and given the various headlines,
investors remain fearful about a fresh escalation,” analysts at Deutsche Bank
said.
The war
in the Middle East has ramped up oil prices to historic levels, with Brent
crude now poised for its biggest monthly gain ever in March – up by 54% –
beating the previous record of 46% in September 1990 after Saddam Hussein
invaded Kuwait.
The
disruption has fed through to prices at the petrol pump. The breakdown company
RAC found that average petrol prices in the UK are now at 152p a litre, the
highest level in 28 months. Diesel has reached 181.2p a litre, its highest
level since December 2022, the RAC said. Industry figures have warned that
there could be “temporary shortages” at petrol pumps in the UK.
Keir
Starmer was expected to hold talks on Monday afternoon with bosses from Shell,
BP and the Norwegian energy company Equinor, as well as executives from the
finance, insurance and shipping industries, about the crisis in the Middle
East. The UK prime minister was expected to discuss what emergency measures
might be needed to contain the crisis from the blockade in the strait of
Hormuz.
Brent
traded as high as $119.50 a barrel during March, its highest level since June
2022, after Iran all but closed the strait, through which a fifth of global oil
and gas would normally pass.
Ipek
Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote, said: “There are bets that crude
could rise to $150 and even to the $200 per barrel level if the war doesn’t end
quickly. I believe that demand would be heavily hit if prices go that high.
Above $120-130 per barrel, global recession odds would take the upper hand and
tame upside pressure.”
Aluminium
prices jumped more than 5% in Asia after Iran struck aluminium producers in
Bahrain and the UAE over the weekend, she added.
Meanwhile,
the UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to tell G7 nations that they must
move faster on clean energy to insulate economies against global price shocks
from oil and gas, as she and the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, virtually meet
G7 finance and energy ministers on Monday.
segunda-feira, 30 de março de 2026
On Monday, March 30, 2026, the Israeli Knesset passed a controversial law that makes the death penalty by hanging the default punishment for Palestinians convicted of lethal "nationalistic" attacks.
.jpeg)
Israel
passes law to give death penalty to Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks
On
Monday, March 30, 2026, the Israeli Knesset passed a controversial law that
makes the death penalty by hanging the default punishment for Palestinians
convicted of lethal "nationalistic" attacks.
Key
Details of the New Law
Default
Sentence: The law mandates the death penalty for those convicted in military
courts of murdering an Israeli "as an act of terror".
Targeted
Application: While technically applicable to all citizens under certain
conditions (acts intended to "negate the existence of the State of
Israel"), critics and legal experts state the law is designed to apply
almost exclusively to Palestinians.
Judicial
Process:
Sentences
can be passed by a simple majority of judges; a unanimous decision is no longer
required.
Military
courts can only commute the sentence to life imprisonment in "special
circumstances".
The law
severely limits avenues for appeal and provides no right to clemency or pardon.
Execution
Timeline: Death sentences must be carried out within 90 days of the final
verdict.
Not
Retroactive: The law will not apply to cases prior to its passage, including
the perpetrators of the October 7, 2023 attacks, who are being addressed by a
separate proposed bill.
Context
and Reaction
The
legislation was a major campaign pledge of far-right National Security Minister
Itamar Ben-Gvir, who celebrated the 62-48 vote in the Knesset. Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu also voted in favor of the measure.
Within
minutes of the vote, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the
Israeli Supreme Court to strike down the law, calling it "discriminatory
by design". International allies, including the EU, Britain, France,
Germany, and Italy, had previously urged Israel not to pass the bill, warning
it violates democratic principles and international law.
Prior to
this law, Israel had only carried out two executions in its history: Meir
Tobianski in 1948 and Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1962.
Israel passes law to give death penalty to Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks
.jpeg)
Israel
passes law to give death penalty to Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks
Knesset
approves measure that has been criticised by European nations and rights groups
Lorenzo
Tondo in Jerusalem
Mon 30
Mar 2026 20.29 BST
Israel’s
parliament has passed a law imposing the death penalty on Palestinians
convicted of fatal attacks, a measure sharply criticised as discriminatory by
European nations and rights groups.
The
legislation makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in
the Israeli-occupied West Bank found guilty of intentionally carrying out
deadly attacks deemed acts of terrorism by a military court.
According
to the bill, those sentenced to death will be held in a separate facility with
no visits except for from authorised personnel, with legal consultations
conducted only by video link. Executions will be carried out within 90 days of
sentencing.
Israel
has rarely used the death penalty, applying it only in exceptional cases. The
Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was the last person to be executed, in 1962.
The
national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, one of the bill’s strongest
backers, has repeatedly worn a noose-shaped lapel pin, symbolising executions
under the proposal. He described hanging as “one of the options” alongside the
electric chair or “euthanasia”, claiming some doctors had offered to assist.
A
security committee made some amendments to the bill, which last week passed its
first vote. Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that executions would be
carried out by hanging.
The
measure will allow courts to impose the death penalty without a request from
prosecutors and without requiring unanimity, instead permitting a simple
majority decision. Military courts in the occupied West Bank will also be
empowered to hand down death sentences, with the defence minister able to
submit an opinion.
For
Palestinians under occupation, the bill closes off avenues for appeal or
clemency, while prisoners tried inside Israel could see their sentences
commuted to life imprisonment.
The
legislation, initiated by the far-right Otzma Yehudit party led by Ben-Gvir,
has drawn sharp criticism from opponents who warn it would mark a significant
escalation in Israel’s penal policy.
Military
officials and ministries have said the bill could breach international law and
expose Israeli personnel to arrest abroad.
Once
enacted, the law formally enters into force but it can still be reviewed – and
potentially struck down – by Israel’s supreme court.
Directly
before voting began, Ben-Gvir made a bellowing speech from the podium,
describing the law as long overdue and a sign of strength and national pride.
“From
today, every terrorist will know, and the whole world will know, that whoever
takes a life, the state of Israel will take their life,” he said.
When the
measure passed, the chamber erupted into cheers and Ben-Gvir brandished a
bottle in celebration. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who had
come to the chamber to vote yes in person, sat motionless.
Israel’s
leading rights groups decried the law as “an act of institutionalised
discrimination and racist violence against Palestinians”. The Association for
Civil Rights in Israel said it filed an appeal against the law with Israel’s
supreme court.
The
Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the legislation as a breach of
international law and a doomed bid meant to intimidate Palestinians.
“Such
laws and measures will not break the will of the Palestinian people or
undermine their steadfastness,” his office said in a statement. “Nor will they
deter them from continuing their legitimate struggle for freedom, independence,
and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem
as its capital.”
Last
month UN experts called on Israel to withdraw the bill, warning it would
violate the right to life and discriminate against Palestinians in the occupied
territories. They said the measure removed judicial discretion, preventing
courts from weighing individual circumstances or imposing proportionate
sentences. They said hanging constituted torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishment under international law.
The EU’s
diplomatic service also condemned the proposal, saying capital punishment
breached the right to life and risked violating the absolute prohibition on
torture.
In
February, Amnesty International urged Israeli lawmakers to reject the
legislation, which it said “would allow Israeli courts to expand their use of
death sentences with discriminatory application against Palestinians”.
On
Sunday, Britain, France, Germany and Italy expressed “deep concern” over the
legislation, which they said risked “undermining Israel’s commitments with
regards to democratic principles”.
Subscrever:
Comentários (Atom)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
