(AFP) – Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:
**Long war would hurt**
If the war drags out more than six months, “all the economies of the world will be damaged,” said the head of French oil giant TotalEnergies. “If this conflict lasts three, four months, we can swallow it” thanks to existing oil inventories, CEO Patrick Pouyanne said in an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CGTN. But with Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz blocking the usual route for around 20 percent of global oil production, a longer war would cause “real impacts,” he warned.
**Iran threatens Hormuz**
Iran’s military threatened to completely shut the Strait of Hormuz if US President Donald Trump acts on his threats to target the country’s power plants. The statement came after Trump on Saturday gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to open the strait, warning the United States would “obliterate” Iranian power plants otherwise. “The Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed, and it will not be reopened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt,” the Iranian military’s operational command Khatam Al-Anbiya said in a statement on state television.
**N. Macedonia cuts fuel tax**
North Macedonia has cut the value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel from 18 percent to 10, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski told journalists after a government session to tackle surging prices fuelled by the war.
**Sri Lanka hikes fuel prices**
Sri Lanka raised petrol and diesel prices by more than 25 percent, the second increase in two weeks, as it prepared for more impact from the war.
**Vietnam, Russia to sign energy deal**
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh left for an official visit to Russia during which the two nations will sign several agreements, including on oil and gas cooperation, Hanoi said. The trip, scheduled from Sunday to Wednesday, comes as Vietnam seeks to shore up its fuel reserves amid the global supply disruptions caused by the war.
**G7 slams Iran attacks**
Top envoys for the Group of Seven advanced economies and the European Union on Saturday urged an “immediate and unconditional” end to Iran’s attacks against allies in the Middle East. “We call for the immediate and unconditional cessation of all attacks by the Iranian regime,” the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the EU foreign policy chief, said in a joint statement.
**EU urges gas-storage target cut**
The European Commission on Saturday urged European Union members to lower their target for filling natural gas storage in the coming months to alleviate price pressures caused by the war. EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen sent a letter asking countries to “consider reducing your filling target to 80 percent as early as possible in the filling season to provide certainty and reassurance to market participants,” down from the usual 90-percent goal.
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