UN says world food prices hit three-year high amid Iran war disruptions

The largest gains have come in energy markets, where disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a route for about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas, has sent prices swinging sharply.

European oil majors have benefited most because of their large trading arms, which profit from volatility.

BP’s first-quarter profits more than doubled to $3.2 billion after what it called an “exceptional” performance in trading, while Shell reported profits of $6.92 billion and TotalEnergies posted a nearly one-third rise to $5.4 billion.

US oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron reported lower earnings than a year earlier because of supply disruptions from the Middle East, but both still beat analysts’ forecasts and expect stronger profits as oil prices remain well above prewar levels.

Major banks have also gained from market turbulence caused by the Iran war.

JP Morgan’s trading arm reported a record $11.6 billion in revenue in the first quarter, helping deliver the bank’s second-biggest quarterly profit. Across the six largest US banks, profits reached $47.7 billion in the first three months of 2026.

Defense companies have also benefited as the war pushes governments to restock weapons and expand investment in air defense, missile defense, counter-drone systems and other military hardware.

BAE Systems – a major British supplier of fighter jet components, naval systems and military technology – said it expects strong sales and profit growth this year, citing rising global security threats and increased defense spending. Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman each reported record order backlogs at the end of the first quarter.

The war has also boosted parts of the renewable energy sector, as higher fuel prices and energy insecurity accelerate interest in alternatives.

NextEra Energy shares have risen 17% this year, while Vestas and Orsted reported stronger profits. In the UK, Octopus Energy said solar panel sales had risen 50% since the end of February.

Iranian eulogist and religious reciter Hossein Taheri said the United Arab Emirates should be “wiped off the face of the earth” if it was involved in an attack on Bandar Abbas.

Speaking on Thursday night, Taheri said that “if the UAE has done something wrong” and was behind the reported attack, it “must be erased from the map of the world.”

Taheri is a prominent maddah - a religious singer and reciter who performs at Shi’ite ceremonies and often has close ties to conservative and religious circles in Iran.

Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei referred to the United States as the “United States of Idiots” in a social media post on Friday as tensions continued in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

“With this president and that idiot defense secretary, I think instead of USA we should say USI - United States of Idiots,” Rezaei wrote on X.

He also said US naval forces would not be able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz even “with the entire navy,” and accused Washington of acting “like a spoiled child.”

The comments came after clashes between Iranian and US forces following accusations by both sides of violating a month-old ceasefire linked to the war that began in late February.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei posted an Arabic warning on social media on Friday after clashes between Iranian and US forces in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

“If you see the lion’s fangs bared, do not think the lion is smiling,” Baghaei wrote on X.

The post came after Iranian and US forces exchanged fire following accusations by both sides of violating a month-old ceasefire linked to the conflict that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

US President Donald Trump said three US Navy destroyers came under attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran’s military accused Washington of striking Iranian vessels.

Iranian lawmaker Fadahossein Maleki said Tehran did not trust negotiations with the United States and did not accept the current ceasefire, accusing Washington of pursuing broader pressure tactics against Iran.

“Blockading the Strait of Hormuz and economic pressure are not the Americans’ last tricks and they are certainly pursuing other scenarios,” Maleki said, according to state media.

“Based on this, we neither trust negotiations nor accept the ceasefire,” he added.

Maleki also described US actions as part of an “economic war” aimed at increasing pressure on Iranians through the Strait of Hormuz, inflation and rising prices, warning that Iran remained highly vulnerable to such pressure.