Live Updates: Iran war sends oil prices soaring again as Tehran downplays Trump's optimism for a deal What to know about the Iran war: - President Trump continues suggesting a deal to end the Iran war could come soon, but as Tehran downplays the bid for a diplomatic resolution, the war is raging, and global oil prices are soaring again on uncertainty over how long it will last. - Iran — along with its proxy forces Hezbollah in Lebanon and now the Houthis in Yemen — continues to launch missiles and drones at Israel and Persian Gulf states, with explosions reported Monday around Israeli oil infrastructure in the northern city of Haifa. - President Trump's threat to "take the oil in Iran," with ground forces possibly used to seize vital Iranian infrastructure on Kharg Island, has drawn a warning from Tehran that it is waiting for their arrival "to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever." Iran foreign ministry says no direct talks with U.S. yet, calls Trump admin's terms "excessive and unreasonable" Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei was quoted by various Iranian state media outlets on Monday as saying the country had engaged in "no direct negotiations with the United States to date" and downplaying Pakistan's suggestion that such a dialogue was imminent. "What has been raised are messages we received through intermediaries, indicating the U.S.' desire for talks," Baqaei said, according to various state-run Iranian news agencies. "I don't know how many in the U.S. take claims of American diplomacy seriously! Unlike the other side, which constantly changes its position, our stance has always been clear. … We know exactly what framework we are considering. The messages conveyed to us have included excessive and unreasonable demands," said Baqaei, reiterating the Iranian regime's rejection of 15 points from the White House that were conveyed via intermediaries last week. "The meetings held by Pakistan follow a framework that they themselves established and we did not participate in. It is good that regional countries are concerned about ending the war, but they should remain aware of which side started the conflict," Baqaei said. "We must continue our work, engage in consultations, but our demands remain unchanged," he added. Images show vital U.S. E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft destroyed in Iranian strike on Saudi base that hurt 10 troops The CBS News Confirmed team has verified images from the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia that show a U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS surveillance aircraft destroyed on the tarmac after an Iranian missile and drone strike that left 10 service members wounded last week. The E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System is a key piece of equipment for monitoring enemy activity and for mobile command and control that will, according to The Wall Street Journal, cost in the region of $700 million to replace. Multiple U.S. officials told CBS News over the weekend that 10 U.S. service members were wounded in the Friday attack on the base, including two left with very serious injuries and eight in serious condition, which are different categories under the military's casualty classification system. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed since the U.S. and Israel launched the war with Iran, and more than 300 more have been wounded in action, most of whom have returned to duty, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson said Friday. Global oil prices soar again as concern over war's impact hits Asian markets particularly hard Asian share prices mostly dipped Monday, as worries continued about soaring oil prices and the potential for further escalation in the U.S. war with Iran, but stocks posted moderate gains in early trading in Europe and U.S. futures were also higher. Wall Street finished last Friday with deep declines, for a fifth straight losing week, its longest such streak in nearly four years. Worries have been great in Asia about the effective lack of access to the Strait of Hormuz because of the war in Iran, as the region relies significantly on oil from the region. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude jumped $1.95 to $101.59 a barrel and Brent crude, the international standard, soared $3.41 to $115.98 a barrel. Before the war, Brent had been priced at about $70 to a barrel. Investors are now bracing for the war to last for some time, which would likely set off inflation in global markets and could stunt Asia's economic growth. "Although we do not expect the conflict to be protracted, we anticipate heightened volatility in the near term," said Xavier Lee, senior equity analyst at Morningstar Research. CBS/AP Wave of Iranian missiles hits communities and an oil refinery in northern Israel Israeli television channels reported at least one impact at an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa on Monday, shortly after the military said it had detected new incoming missiles from Iran. CBS News staff in Israel reported multiple impacts, which are often from debris of intercepted missiles or drones, across the north of the country amid a salvo of incoming fire from Iran and also Lebanon, where Iranian-backed Hezbollah is based. Television network Channel 12 showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky from the site. Emergency response agencies Magen David Adom and United Hetzolah were responding to multiple sites of reported impacts, but there were no immediate reports of injuries. CBS/AFP Trump says U.S. has already gotten regime change in Iran and deal could be reached "soon" President Trump reiterated his stance on Sunday that the U.S. has already achieved regime change in Iran and a deal to end the war could be reached "soon." Citing the number of Iranian leaders who have been killed in the month-long U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, Mr. Trump said the people now running Iran were "much more reasonable," despite ongoing Iranian missile and drone attacks across the region and the fact that the Islamic Republic's theocracy has signaled no public inclination to back down from the fight. "We've had regime change," Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One. "We're dealing with different people than anybody's dealt with before. It's a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change." Asked whether there could be a deal with Iran this week, Mr. Trump said, "I do see a deal in Iran. Could be soon." Since the conflict began, Tehran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's crude oil typically flows, sending global oil prices soaring, but Mr. Trump said Sunday that relief was on the way in the form of concessions from Iran, starting with the imminent passage of more tankers through the waterway. "They gave us, I think, out of a sign of respect, 20 boats of oil, big, big boats of oil going through the Hormuz Strait," he said, adding that the shipments would be "taking place starting tomorrow morning, over the next couple of days." CBS/AFP
Live Updates: Iran war sends oil prices soaring again as Tehran downplays Trump's optimism for a deal What to know about the Iran war: - President Trump continues suggesting a deal to end the Iran war could come soon, but as Tehran downplays the bid for a diplomatic resolution, t…
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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 UN’s 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 Iran’s 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.
“I 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,” Grossi told journalists at a news conference at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
The accord “explicitly 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 — in all letters,” he said. “Obviously, to do that, we have to inspect,” 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 force’s 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 ‘BRAZEN’: The holiday did not stop China from activities that infringe on Taiwan’s 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 (宋承恩) said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has adopted a “shadowing and monitoring” 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 Times’ 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, 太平島) and Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) show Beijing’s attempts to significantly step up Taiwanese firms’ 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.
Taiwan’s 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 Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) 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 Taiwan’s security Two-thirds of Taiwanese view closer US and Japan ties as beneficial to security, a survey by Taiwan’s top military think tank showed.
To gauge the Taiwanese public’s perceptions of how different external relationships affect security, the Institute for National Defense and Security Research commissioned a survey by National Chengchi University’s Election Study Center asking respondents whether closer relations with the US, Japan and China would strengthen or weaken Taiwan’s national security.