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U.S. relaxes Iran sanctions following talks; Lebanon violence eases

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The United States on Monday suspended sanctions on Iran for 60 days after the first negotiations under a new peace pact, as officials reported a continued pause in fighting in Lebanon under the agreement to end hostilities across the region.

The developments came after a weekend that threatened to jeopardise the week-old pact, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to reignite the war if Iran impeded shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Tehran declared the crucial waterway blocked. Traffic in the strait picked up Monday and oil prices began their drop.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said meetings with Iranian officials in Switzerland had built a good basis for a final peace agreement, however Iran denied it had begun talks over its nuclear program.

U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and uprooted millions. The conflict with Iran has also roiled markets throughout the world and driven up global oil prices, which closed down 3 percent Monday after Vance said some progress had been made.

The two sides negotiated a plan for a permanent agreement within 60 days at discussions in the Qatari-owned Swiss alpine resort of Buergenstock, where they tried to expand on the temporary arrangement they reached last week, mediators Pakistan and Qatar said.

They also agreed on a mechanism to cease hostilities in Lebanon between US ally Israel and Iran-aligned Hezbollah and created a communications channel to help assure safe passage for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz to avert war in the crucial waterway.

In one of the first of numerous steps under the agreement, the U.S. Treasury announced a waiver until Aug. 21 on sanctions that allow Tehran to sell oil and related products and get paid for them, providing economic relief to Iran.

Vance upbeat on assessment

Vance, positive since the memorandum of understanding was signed, said Tehran has agreed to let in nuclear inspectors and to create systems for dealing with its frozen assets overseas and for managing cease-fires.We built a very excellent basis for a successful final deal,” he told reporters after participating in the talks.

But Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told the official IRNA news agency Iran had not yet discussed nuclear problems and made new pledges.

“Iran will agree to weapons inspections to ensure ‘nuclear honesty,’ ” Trump stated Monday on Truth Social.Later Trump told reporters, “If Iran doesn’t live up to their agreement, or if they’re not behaving, I will do what I have to do.

Iran has cut back on inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency since the U.S. and Israel conducted an initial round of air strikes last year, then stopped them altogether when war broke out in February. It insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated on social media that Tehran had received waivers for oil and petrochemical exports, release of some of its blocked assets abroad and launching of a rehabilitation and development plan for Iran.

White House envoy Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, had worked out a procedure under which the U.S. and Qatar would oversee Iranian finances when they were unfrozen and the money could be used to buy U.S. corn, soy and wheat, Vance said.“So the money that we lift is going to go to our farmers,” Trump told reporters.

Iran’s Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati claimed there was no such duty and stated at least some of the remaining frozen funds might be used to buy other non-sanctioned items, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.

Cease-fire

Technical conversations are scheduled to continue through the end of the week.

The interim peace accord calls for a halt to all hostilities, including Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March after Hezbollah fired across the border.

Israel has not signed the peace accord and has said it will not withdraw its troops from Lebanon but approved a new truce on Friday. Lebanese officials said the fighting had subsided since Saturday night but continued fiercely for another day.

Israel and Lebanon are scheduled to begin a fresh round of discussions in Washington on Tuesday, with Beirut eager to move forward with direct negotiations, even as they seem to be overshadowed by Iran’s intention to include Lebanon in its negotiations with the United States.

“The first two full days of quiet since the war started,” said Hassan Wazni, director of a hospital in the brutally battered city of Nabatieh.I’m taking it day by day and most of the time I’m sleeping at the hospital. “This is the longest ceasefire to hold,” he told Reuters over the phone.

More than a million Lebanese have been displaced by the war, some have begun to return home, but many are still afraid.

In the southern village of Qennarit, mourners carried the bodies of four women killed in the latest round of Israeli attacks on Saturday. The coffins were covered with yellow Hezbollah banners and the group’s green insignia of an arm holding an assault rifle.

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Diesel crosses Rs400 after petrol price up by Rs5 per liter

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The federal government on Friday again increased the costs of petrol and diesel. The price of diesel has crossed the Rs400 per liter mark amid fresh hike in the rates of petroleum products.

According to a statement published by the Petroleum Division on Friday, the price of fuel has been hiked by Rs5.02 per liter, which will now cost Rs375.82. The price of high-speed diesel has risen by Rs5.28 a liter to Rs403.32.

According to the notification, the new tariffs will be applied for three days and will be effective from September 12, 2026.

The new revision came a day after the administration increased petroleum prices again. Petrol had increased by Rs3.05 a liter, while diesel was Rs5.37 costlier a liter on Thursday.

A series of hikes have driven up costs of both the major fuels considerably in a short span of time.

In the latest notification, petrol will now be sold for Rs375.82 a liter, compared to its previous pricing after Thursday’s hike, while diesel has crossed the Rs400 threshold for the first time in the latest round of changes.

The new pricing are to be in effect until September 14, when the government can announce another change.

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Amid the spike in fuel prices, goods transporters announce a 5% increase in freight.

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Prices of fuel products have gone up and goods transporters have announced another 5% increase in freight costs.

Addressing a press conference, All Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance President Malik Shehzad Awan said diesel rates had been increased by Rs20 per liter and petrol prices by Rs24 per liter in last four days. Petrol and fuel prices have already gone up by up to Rs23 a liter between August 20 and September 7, he claimed.

He added the government’s decision to adjust prices of fuel products on daily basis was unacceptable. During the statewide strike from August 8 to 17, the petroleum minister had told the carriers that fuel prices would not be revised on a daily basis, he said.

Transporters had suspended their countrywide protest for 40 days on the guarantee of the federal and provincial administrations, said Malik Shehzad Awan.

He warned that transporters across Pakistan will observe another countrywide strike if the agreements reached the government were not implemented.

The federal and provincial governments had asked for 40 days to work out the difficulties and the deadline will expire next week, he said.

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Dollar wobbles, oil’s dash to $100 chills sentiment, Yen stands big

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The Japanese yen was pinned near its best level since February on Wednesday, leaving the dollar on the ‌defensive as traders grappled with oil prices heading toward $100 a barrel amid an expanding war in the Middle East.

Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen attacked several Saudi cities, drawing a U.S. partner further into a battle that has dragged on for more than six months, as U.S. forces struck multiple Iranian oil tankers and Iran threatened a U.S. station in Jordan.

Brent crude futures rose by more than 1.48% to $99.37 a barrel, weighing on global markets ahead of a U.S. inflation data on Friday that will set the stage for central bank meetings next week in the U.S. and Japan.

The currency market nudged the dollar down a touch in response, though some analysts said that was due to the yen’s swift rally over the past week.

The euro held constant at $1.1631 while the pound was last bought at $1.3546. ​The dollar index, measuring the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, was at 98.15, near its lowest level in nearly two weeks.

OCBC strategists said the current increase keeps Fed policy implications from higher energy prices in focus, especially after last week’s robust U.S. payrolls report reignited expectations of another rate hike. “Higher oil and rates should help limit USD fall for now but we anticipate a more dramatic move will await confirmation from the impending inflation data,” they said in a note.

The yen has been under focus after its 4% surge in September that has altered the math for the popular carry trade in which investors borrow in yen at a low cost and invest in other currencies and assets yielding better interest.

The yen was stronger at 153.65 per dollar, close to the seven-month peak of 152.89 struck on Tuesday. The surge has been broad-based with the Japanese currency strengthening against the euro and sterling as well as favorite carry-trade targets such as the Mexican peso and Turkish lira.

The increase has been fueled by expectations of quicker tightening by the Bank of Japan and the return of offshore cash by Japanese investors and pressure from Washington for a higher yen.

Traders broadly expect the BOJ to hike rates by 25 basis points at its September 17-18 meeting but the rise will rest on if Governor Kazuo Ueda delivers hawkish comments and the wild card will be the Federal Reserve.Aninda Mitra, head of Asia macro and investment strategy at BNY Investments, stated “Much will depend on how the market prices in the Fed’s path of interest rates too.We estimate the Yen’s “fair value” to be in the 140’s and a further move to that area should not be a total surprise following what has clearly been an overshoot to the side of excessive Yen weakness.”

The Australian dollar gained 0.12% to $0.7225, just below a four-month high set in the previous session, in Pacific trade. The New Zealand dollar was up 0.16% at $0.5862.

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