FT editorial warns global energy crunch likely to worsen

Asian share markets fell on Monday after fresh drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates added to concerns over regional instability and energy supplies, pushing oil prices and bond yields higher.

Brent crude rose 1.2% to $110.63 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 1.0% to $106.42.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% and Nasdaq futures lost 0.5% in early Monday trading.

Russia’s envoy to international organizations in Vienna appeared to suggest Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf should be give a similar role overseeing relations with Moscow after he was appointed special envoy for China affairs.

“Isn’t it equally relevant to think about something similar in relations with Russia?” Mikhail Ulyanov wrote on X while reacting to reports about Ghalibaf’s new role.

Iranian media reported Sunday that Ghalibaf had been appointed to oversee relations with China by President Masoud Pezeshkian and approved by supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Shipping monitor TankerTrackers said the US-sanctioned, Russian-flagged handymax tanker PEGASUS has repeatedly moved in and out of the US blockade perimeter around Iran “just out of spite.”

The group said multiple satellite images confirmed the vessel’s movements were genuine and “not an AIS spoof,” referring to falsified ship-tracking signals.

The reported crossings come as tanker traffic near the Strait of Hormuz remains under close scrutiny amid enforcement of the US-led blockade and continued tensions over Iranian oil exports.

Nearly 80 countries have introduced emergency measures to protect their economies as summer demand threatens to deepen the global energy crisis triggered by the Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported.

According to the report, rising demand for air conditioning and holiday travel across the northern hemisphere is expected to place additional strain on already tightening supplies of crude oil, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Governments are stepping up responses ahead of what traders see as a potential tipping point, with fears "Brent crude could reach $180 a barrel" if the situation in the Strait of Hormuz doesn't change.

The International Energy Agency estimates 76 countries have now adopted emergency measures, up from 55 at the end of March, according to the FT.

Mohsen Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guards chief and military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said on state television that the United States today resembles Britain after World War II and the start of its decline.

He added that Iran remains serious about diplomacy but “even more serious on the battlefield and in defending Iran.”

Rezaei urged Washington to take practical steps to build trust.

“We have negotiated with America many times and even reached agreements, and they broke their promises in every case,” he said.