(AFP) – Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:
– **’Largest energy shock’**
The Middle East war triggered the world’s largest energy shock, with market recovery likely to extend into 2027 even if the Hormuz blockade is lifted soon, Saudi oil giant Aramco’s CEO told investors. “The energy supply shock that began in the first quarter is the largest the world has ever experienced,” said Amin H. Nasser, adding: “If the Strait of Hormuz opens today, it will still take months for the market to rebalance. If its opening is delayed by a few more weeks, then normalization will last into 2027.”
– **UN warns of crisis**
Tens of millions of people could face hunger and starvation if fertilizers are not soon allowed through the Strait of Hormuz, the head of a UN task force aimed at averting a looming humanitarian crisis told AFP. “We have a few weeks ahead of us to prevent what will likely be a massive humanitarian crisis,” Jorge Moreira da Silva, executive director of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and leader of the task force, told AFP in an interview.
– **Lebanese canvass US envoy**
Lebanese leaders urged the US ambassador to Beirut to pressure Israel to halt its attacks as it pounded the country from the air despite a truce in the Israel-Hezbollah war. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam separately met ambassador Michel Issa in preparation for a third direct meeting between Lebanese and Israeli representatives set to take place in Washington on Thursday and Friday.
– **Iran targets ex-football captain**
Iranian authorities on Monday announced the seizure of six properties allegedly linked to the former captain of the national football team, Ali Karimi, who now lives in exile and is vehemently critical of the Islamic Republic. The judiciary has repeatedly warned that people deemed to be acting against national security face asset seizures in the wake of January protests and against the backdrop of the war against Israel and the United States.
– **Israeli soldier killed**
Israel’s military said that one of its soldiers had died in fighting near the border with Lebanon, bringing its losses to 18 personnel since the war with Hezbollah began in early March. Sergeant Major Alexander Glovanyov, 47, “fell during combat near the Israel-Lebanon border” on Sunday, the military said.
– **Iran demands end to war**
Iran’s foreign ministry said it had called for an end to the war across the region and the release of frozen Iranian assets abroad in its response to the latest US peace proposal. “We did not demand any concessions. The only thing we demanded was Iran’s legitimate rights,” said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.
– **Oil prices rise**
Global stock markets diverged while oil prices rose after US President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s terms for ending the war in the Middle East. Oil prices spiked more than four percent, before easing to gains of under two percent as trading opened in New York.
– **Trump rejects Iran peace response**
Trump said Sunday he has rejected Iran’s response to a US proposal for ending the war. “I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, without providing further details.
– **Hormuz meeting**
The United Kingdom and France will host a multinational meeting of defense ministers involving 40 countries Tuesday on military plans to restore trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the British defense ministry said.
© 2024 AFP
