Iran navy says submarines operating ‘trigger-ready’ in Hormuz

Saudi Aramco reported a rise in first-quarter profit on Sunday that exceeded analysts’ expectations after the Iran war drove up prices for oil and refined fuels, Bloomberg reported.

Adjusted net income rose 26% from a year earlier to nearly 126 billion riyals ($33.6 billion) in the first quarter, the report said, citing a company statement.

Analysts had expected profit of 109 billion riyals, according to the report.

A tanker carrying liquefied natural gas from Qatar transited the Strait of Hormuz in the country’s first apparent export out of the region since the Iran war began, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.

The Al Kharaitiyat loaded at the Ras Laffan export plant earlier this month before exiting the strait, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed.

It added that the vessel was in the Gulf of Oman and listed Pakistan as its next destination.

Panama Canal revenues rose as much as 15% after global trade disruption caused by the Iran war diverted more ships to the Central American waterway, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Panama Canal CFO Victor Vial told FT that daily transits had risen by as much as 20% since the conflict began in late February.

“Our sales are up, definitely,” Vial said. “We were moving 34 daily transits before the conflict. Now we’re moving an average of 38 and we have days of 40 and 41 transits.”

A bulk carrier sailing 23 nautical miles northeast of Doha was struck by an unidentified projectile on Sunday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

The impact caused a small fire that was later extinguished, with the vessel’s master reporting no casualties or environmental damage, according to UKMTO.

Authorities are investigating the source of the projectile. UKMTO advised vessels in the area to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.

Iranian Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia warned that countries supporting US sanctions against the Islamic Republic could face difficulties passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran is now enforcing what he described as its right under international law and maritime regulations to exercise authority over the strategic waterway, Akraminia told the state news agency IRNA.

He said Tehran would respond with “surprising options” to any new strikes, adding that it will include “more advanced and newer equipment, modern methods of warfare and, most importantly, new arenas of war.”