EU to propose grants, tax breaks to ease Iran war fallout – Reuters

The global economy is about to feel the full economic impact of the Iran war, Qatar’s finance minister said on Wednesday.

“A full-fledged impact is coming and it is not far away,” Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari said at an IMF discussion in Washington, describing the recent spike in global prices as just the “tip of the iceberg.”

“I think in one month, two months’ time you are going to see really a huge economic impact globally,” he said.

“Very soon you are going to have a problem of energy availability, not just prices.”

A Malta-flagged crude tanker has passed west through the Strait of Hormuz, becoming the first such transit since the United States blocked Iranian ports, the Associated Press reported, citing a global shipping tracking monitor.

The Malta-flagged VLCC Agios Fanourios I is expected to arrive in Basra, Iraq, on Thursday, where ports are not under a US blockade, according to MarineTraffic.

MarineTraffic said the vessel attempted the transit again after anchoring in the Gulf of Oman for nearly two days.

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the military is at a very high level of readiness and has approved plans for continued operations in Lebanon and Iran.

“Yesterday, I approved plans for the future, together with the General Staff Forum. We continue to conduct ongoing situation assessments and approve plans both in Lebanon and in Iran,” the Israeli military quoted Zamir as saying during a visit to IDF troops in southern Lebanon.

“In the joint operation with the US military, we struck the Iranian terror regime severely, stripped them of their defensive capabilities, and weakened them. Now we must not allow them achievements in the nuclear issue, in Hormuz, and in the other issues on the agenda,” Zamir added.

“Air Force aircraft are armed and ready, and the targets are loaded on the systems. We know how to launch them for a powerful strike immediately,” Zamir said.

Iran’s science minister says the country’s communications ministry is facing “considerations beyond its authority” over ongoing internet restrictions, despite repeated contacts between the two ministries.

Speaking on Wednesday, he said his office had held numerous discussions with the communications ministry about restoring connectivity.

He warned that education and technological research cannot function without internet access.

The United States says its blockade of Iranian ports has so far stopped all maritime traffic attempting to pass through.

In a post on X, US Central Command said that during the first 48 hours of the operation no vessels had made it past U.S. forces enforcing the blockade.

CENTCOM added that nine vessels complied with instructions to turn around and return toward Iranian ports or nearby coastal areas.