From petrol prices to mining, here's how the Iran war is affecting WA Western Australia is a long way from Iran, but the fallout from the war in the Middle East is beginning to have a tangible impact. Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has choked about a fifth of the world's oil supply, and fears of fuel shortages have led to panic buying across the globe. Iran war live updates: For the latest news on the Middle East crisis, read our blog. Iran war live updates: For the latest news on the Middle East crisis, read our blog. A state as vast as WA, with huge distances between towns and an economy driven by a diesel-hungry mining sector, cannot function without fuel. Supply shortages and price rises are already hitting home. Here's what you need to know. Pain at the pump Motorists in Perth told the ABC they were starting to feel the pinch of higher petrol prices. According to FuelWatch, average unleaded prices in the state capital have risen about 70 cents a litre in less than a month, from $1.56 on February 17 to just under $2.26 on Friday. Social worker Heather Graham said she and her husband were sharing one car to cut costs. "I drop him off at work and work my shift, so I can then go and pick him up," she said. "We try to work it so we are not having to rely on two cars." Glenys Sorensen has postponed an upcoming holiday to the South West because she is worried prices will keep rising. "We were planning to go down south, but we probably won't now because of the hike," she said. "We'll just put it on the back burner for a while and see what happens." Mining uncertainty WA's resources sector, which is heavily dependent on diesel fuel, is bracing for higher oil prices. Mines generally carry stockpiles of diesel for emergencies such as flooding, but every site is different, and amounts vary. Most of WA's major gold miners have told the ABC operations are yet to be affected, with AngloGold Ashanti saying it is "business as usual" so far, though that could change if the war drags on. On Friday, Australia's biggest gold miner, Northern Star Resources, downgraded its production forecasts for the second time since January, blaming ongoing operational challenges at Kalgoorlie's Super Pit. In response to questions about the factors affecting the company's production costs, managing director Stuart Tonkin admitted there was uncertainty about diesel costs. "What we don't know, going forward, is the impacts around oil. We do know that it has impacts, and so we look at the sensitivities to it," he said. Gold miner Ramelius Resources has tried to shield itself from potential volatility by locking in diesel prices via forward sales contracts, a practice known as hedging. As of December 31, Ramelius had hedged a total of 3.9 million litres of diesel at an average price of 78 cents a litre until March 2027.Loading Farmers nervous Latham canola farmer Dylan Hirsch said he had stopped his seeding program until more fuel supplies could be secured and had asked staff to take leave. He has got about a third of the 60,000 litres of diesel he needs for seeding at his Mid West property and does not know when he will get more. "Normally we'd be deep ripping now, but we are pulling up, and we'll be reserving that 20,000 litres for [beginning] seeding as a risk management strategy," Mr Hirsch said. He is not alone â farmers across the state are scaling back or stopping their pre-seeding work programs due to concerns about fuel availability. Grain exporter John Orr said costs had increased by $16 a tonne in a fortnight, which meant his business would make a loss honouring existing sales contracts. "With already thin margins in export businesses, it doesn't take much of a cost increase to erode those margins, unfortunately," he said. Tourists anxious Australia's North West Tourism chief executive, Bill Tatchell, said operators received calls from travellers anxious about making plans. "What we're hearing and what people are inquiring is not so much about the cost of fuel, but whether they are going to be able to get fuel," he said. "But at this point we're not seeing cancellations." Exmouth tour operator James Small said he had received numerous calls from clients worried about the impact of fuel security on their holiday bookings. The remote town is entering its peak tourist period as whale sharks start arriving at Ningaloo Reef. Mr Small said his business used about 20,000 litres of diesel on its snorkelling tours each year and recently added an electric boat to its fleet, which has made it more self-sufficient. "There's going to be an impact, definitely, but I don't think it's going to be a massive one. We've dealt with high fuel prices before," he said. Iranian community hopeful Iranian Australian lawyer Yashar Bahmani said it was a difficult time for the Iranian community in WA. "Over here, it goes without saying that you worry," he said. "The fact that there's very little communication doesn't help things. "My wife hasn't spoken to her family for a while, and she's worried, naturally." But Mr Bahmani said the community supported the US-Israeli attempt to end the "murderous regime". "It's a regime that's holding a population hostage," he said. "No power, no voice, no form of resistance. "We want the whole regime gone ⊠and I don't think Iranians will be settling for anything less." Iranian Australian architect Shiva Ghaderi agreed. "We don't look on this situation as a war â we call this a rescue," she said.Loading...
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The Houthis in Yemen have announced a blockade of Saudi Arabian shipping through Red Sea ports, including at the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The group, described as Iran-backed, stated the measure would target the top oil exporter following recent exchanges of fire.
Reports indicate this could add to existing maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz linked to US-Iran confrontations.
A Reuters poll of economists conducted July 7-16 shows that most Gulf Cooperation Council economies are now projected to contract more sharply in the current year than estimated three months earlier, with median forecasts indicating declines of 8.1% for Kuwait and Qatar, 5.
1% for Bahrain, and 0.5% for the UAE. Saudi Arabia and Oman remain the only GCC economies expected to expand. The poll links the revisions to reduced export volumes through the Strait of Hormuz, higher freight costs, and weaker investor sentiment, even as oil prices have risen.
Initial reports indicate that a limited number of vessels transited the waterway during the first full day after the United States implemented a naval blockade of Iran. These observations have not been independently verified.
The head of the UNâs nuclear agency yesterday signaled that Iranian nuclear enrichment sites would be visited by his inspectors, a key component in the interim deal between the US and Iran to reach an end to their war. The comment by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi was the firmest yet from the agency, which is viewed as key in determining the status of Iranâs nuclear stockpile.
Since Israel launched a 12-day war on Iran last year, the IAEA has been blocked by Tehran from visiting enrichment sites where the Islamic republic is believed to store enough highly enriched uranium to potentially build as many as 10 nuclear weapons.
Photo: AP Iran has said that its program is peaceful, although it would be the only country in the world to have uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity without a weapons program. The US and Iran offered contradictory remarks on Tuesday about whether those sites would be inspected.
âI can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a memorandum of understanding, signed by both presidents,â Grossi told journalists at a news conference at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
The accord âexplicitly states that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with the regards of the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA â in all letters,â he said. âObviously, to do that, we have to inspect,â Grossi added.
BOOST: By operating the same advanced systems as the US military, Taiwan would be better positioned to share and integrate intelligence with partners, an expert said The first batch of MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones has arrived in Taiwan, and is being assembled and tested by drone manufacturer General Atomics and the military ahead of flight trials as part of the air forceâs acquisition to bolster its aerial surveillance capabilities, a source said yesterday.
The air force allocated a budget of NT$21.7 billion (US$687 million) from 2022 to 2029 to procure four MQ-9B uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) manufactured by General Atomics along with associated equipment such as ground control stations. The US has agreed to deliver the four MQ-9Bs to Taiwan in two batches this year and next âBRAZENâ: The holiday did not stop China from activities that infringe on Taiwanâs maritime jurisdiction, but the CGA is ready to defend the nation, Kuan Bi-ling said Beijing is intensifying maritime pressure on Taiwan, but the nation will never yield, Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Sung Chen-en (ćźæżæ©) said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has adopted a âshadowing and monitoringâ approach to avoid falling into a Chinese trap to escalate tensions and deepen the conflict, Sung said in an interview published yesterday in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Timesâ sister newspaper).
China Coast Guard formations patrolling waters east of Taiwan, as well as official Chinese vessels entering areas around Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, ć€Șćčłćł¶) and Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, æ±æČçŸ€ćł¶) show Beijingâs attempts to significantly step up Taiwanese firmsâ China investments have dwindled to less than 1 percent of their total foreign investments, putting China-based investments on track for a record low this year, Ministry of Economic Affairs data showed.
Taiwanâs investments abroad in the first five months of this year reached US$35.92 billion, Department of Investment Review data showed. Investments outside China totaled US$35.61 billion, up 133.94 percent year-on-year, while investments in China totaled US$310.
3 million, down 32.3 percent and about 0.86 percent of the total, data showed. Major overseas projects included Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Coâs (TSMC, ć°ç©é») US$30 billion capital injection into an overseas subsidiary, VARYING OPINIONS: People with different political affiliations have different views on how bilateral ties with the US, Japan and China would affect Taiwanâs security Two-thirds of Taiwanese view closer US and Japan ties as beneficial to security, a survey by Taiwanâs top military think tank showed.
To gauge the Taiwanese publicâs perceptions of how different external relationships affect security, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research commissioned a survey by National Chengchi Universityâs Election Study Center asking respondents whether closer relations with the US, Japan and China would strengthen or weaken Taiwanâs national security.