• Regulated dollar transactions on the rise in Iraq, says central bank

    With dollars dominating the country's economy, Baghdad has imposed a series of restrictions on the use of American greenbacks domestically. At the end of 2022 the country's bankings sector also adopted the international financial messaging system known as SWIFT as part of the reforms, to help tackle money laundering and...
  • Iran signs deals worth US$13bn to boost oil production

    The oil ministry and Iranian businesses signed deals worth $13 billion to increase daily oil production in six major fields. The deals have been labelled as Iran's "biggest oil contracts in the past decade" that are aimed to add 350,000 barrels per day to the Islamic republic's daily production.
  • Iran signs big contracts to increase oil production

    Iran sealed contracts worth billions of dollars with domestic companies to boost its oil production in the face of Western sanctions. In a ceremony broadcast on state TV, the oil ministry and Iranian businesses signed deals worth $13 billion to increase daily oil production in six major fields.
  • US sanctions network smuggling American tech to Iran’s central bank

    US Treasury sanctioned a number of alleged ISC subsidiaries and front companies based in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, and three individuals allegedly linked to them including Pouria Mirdamadi, a French-Iranian dual national. "The United States will continue to use all available means to disrupt the Iranian regime's illicit...
  • US sanctions five Israeli entities including three settlers in West Bank

    Washington, US - The United States sanctioned three Israeli settlers and two farming outposts on Thursday, accusing them of being involved in "undermining stability in the West Bank." The move marks the second time this year that Washington has sanctioned Israeli settlers, as it looks to respond to the rise in...
  • Iran declares 41 percent voter turnout in key elections

    Tehran, Iran - Iran on Monday announced a turnout of 41 percent in last week's elections for parliament and a key clerical body -- a record low since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to voting records. Conservatives were reported to have secured the bulk of seats in Friday's elections for the...
  • G7 vows more Russia sanctions after virtual talks on Ukraine

    In a statement after the meeting, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended, the leaders vowed to "raise the cost" of Russia's war on Ukraine. The G7 leaders didn't make any public statement about further military aid to Ukraine, but urged "the approval of additional support to close Ukraine's remaining...
  • Sudan economy falls victim to war between rival generals

    With most banks out of service, the only exchange rate that matters to ordinary Sudanese is on the black market, where the dollar currently goes for around 1,200 Sudanese pounds. To make matters worse, a communications blackout since early February has hampered online transactions -- which Sudanese relied on to...
  • US sanctions China, Turkey firms to curb Russia war efforts

    Washington, United States -- The United States unveiled sanctions Tuesday on individuals and companies based in China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and others, aiming to disrupt Moscow's military procurement networks amid its war in Ukraine. The latest actions take aim at people and entities accused of supplying Russia’s industry and...
  • Israel must be held accountable for its actions, says Palestinian PM

    DOHA, QATAR - Prime Minister of Palestine Mohammad Shtayyeh called for holding Israel accountable, imposing sanctions and not allowing it to continue violating international laws. Addressing a session within the Doha Forum 2023 on Sunday, Shtayyeh called for an “urgent investigation into its crimes against the Palestinian people”. “What is...
  • US renews waiver allowing Iraq to buy Iranian gas

    Due to US sanctions against Iran, Baghdad cannot pay Tehran directly for its gas. Baghdad's unpaid bills to Tehran for past gas imports amount to some $10 billion, according to the senior official.
  • Qatar leads by example in money laundering control

    "Nations must take action to establish measures for detecting the physical cross-border movement of currency and negotiable instruments to combat smuggling," adds Al Jabrin, stressing the need for imposing proper, deterring penalties on individuals who falsify declarations and disclosures.
  • US curbs on Iran’s oil exports may hit global portfolios

    The US tightening sanctions on Iranian oil could have a negative impact on individual and institutional investment portfolios by disrupting the energy sector, contributing to inflationary pressures, and intensifying geopolitical risks. You need to be aware of the risks – but also the opportunities, he adds.
  • Iran exports goods worth US$9.1bn to BRICS nations from March to August

    Tehran, Iran--Iran has exported 27.7 million tons of goods worth $9.1 billion to BRICS member countries from March 21-August 21, 2023). In the first five months of this year of 1402 in the Iranian calendar nearly 37 million tons of goods worth $25.1 billion were exchanged between Iran and current...
  • Russian economy to grow 1.5 percent this year, says key European bank

    After having forecast a contraction earlier this year in Russia's economy, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is now expecting the country's economy to grow in 2023 thanks to rising oil prices. The bank said in May it expected Western sanctions against Russia"to be more effective in constraining the...
  • China slams US sanctions over Iran aircraft program

    Washington last week slapped sanctions on "seven individuals and four entities" based in Iran, China, Russia and Turkey it said had facilitated shipments and financial transactions involving Tehran's military hardware program. The United States accuses Iran of supplying Russia with drones, which have become a major feature of Moscow's war...
  • Sudan army chief warns UN that war could spill over in region

    General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto ruler of Sudan since a 2021 coup, alluded to the rival Rapid Support Forces' ties with Wagner, the Russian mercenary group hit by Western sanctions over alleged abuses in Africa. "The danger of this war is now a threat to regional and international...
  • Russian defense minister says Moscow-Tehran ties improving despite sanctions

    MOSCOW, RUSSIA – The cooperation between Moscow and Tehran is reaching new highs, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Wednesday. “We are determined to implement the entire set of our planned activities despite opposition from the US and its Western allies,” Shoigu said during talks with Iranian Defense Minister...
  • Iran denounces new Western sanctions on Amini death anniversary

    Slamming the new sanctions imposed by the Western countries on the Islamic republic, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani termed them as "illegal and undiplomatic actions." The US, Britain and the EU announced new sanctions against many entities on the eve of the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in...
  • President Putin and Kim Jong Un discuss sending North Korean into space

    Moscow, Russia--Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un discussed the possibility of sending a North Korean into space, Russian news agencies quoted Putin's spokesman as saying. President Putin and the North Korean leader held talks on Wednesday at a spaceport in Russia's far east. "We talked about the fact that if the...
  • US endorses transfer of funds to Iran in prisoner deal

    President Joe Biden's administration has insisted that Iran will only be allowed to use the money to buy food, medicine and other humanitarian goods. Iran had generated the $6 billion in question by selling its oil to South Korea, a close US ally, which froze the funds after the US...
  • Russia’s largest bank launches new services in Iran

    Tehran, Iran--Russia’s largest lender, SBERBANK, is presenting a new service that allows its clients to transfer money to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the bank announced on Thursday. The service is available to both individuals and businesses using their Sber accounts, according to the bank.   “The money transfer service...
  • EU diplomat’s threat to Russia medical supplies smacks of neo-Nazism: Official

    Moscow, Russia -- Moscow considers threats by European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell to take medical supplies away from the Russian people as inadmissible and neo-Nazist, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing. "EU restrictions are above all an instrument of...
  • Tehran exports goods worth $7.2bn to West Asia in 4 months from March 2023

    TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran exported $7.2 billion worth of products to West Asian countries in the first four months of the current Persian calendar year (March 21 to July 22), the director general of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) for West Asia said. The administration of President Ebrahim...
  • One fourth of all investors in state securities have left Russia: Minister

    Moscow, Russia -- One fourth of all investors in state securities have been forced to leave the Russian market due to sanctions, Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a meeting of the Council for strategic development and national projects headed by President Vladimir Putin. "We see that a considerable...
  • Hungarian companies want to expand work in Russia, says PM Orban

    BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that companies from his country plan to expand their activities in Russia despite sanctions and political difficulties. Orban made the statement at a meeting with the head of Russia’s Tatarstan region Rustam Minnikhanov in Budapest, TASS news agency reported. "It has...
  • Lebanon freezes former central bank governor’s bank accounts

    Seen as a key culprit in the country's dramatic economic crash, former governor Riad Salameh's bank accounts were ordered to be frozen by Lebanon days after the the US, the UK and Canada slapped him with sanctions. The central bank has ordered the lifting of banking secrecy and the freezing...
  • Russia launches first Moon mission in nearly 50 years

    The spacecraft, which will remain on the Moon for a year, will be tasked with "taking (samples) and analysing the soil" as well as "conducting long-term scientific research", the Russian space agency said. The launch is the first mission in Russia's new lunar programme, which gets underway at a time...
  • Iran says prisoners deal agreed with US: state media

    Based on the agreement, five Iranian prisoners in the US and five American prisoners in Iran will be exchanged," the official IRNA news agency reported, quoting an informed source. It reported that the deal with the US includes releasing an amount of $6 billion of Iranian money frozen in South...
  • Iran appoints West-sanctioned official as supreme court chief

    TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran on Sunday appointed Mohammed Jafar Montazeri, who is under US and British sanctions, to head the Islamic republic's top court. Montazeri was named the supreme court chief after the "opinions of all the court judges" were taken into consideration, the judiciary's Mizan Online website said. The 75-year-old,...
  • Iraq says in touch with US over settling $10bn debt it owes Iran for gas imports

    On July 11, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that Iraq would start paying for Iranian gas with oil, as a way of circumventing the complicated mechanism. "Work is continuing with the American side concerning unpaid bills, which have fallen to 9.2 billion" euros ($10 billion), Sudani told reporters at...
  • Iran looks to Arab states to propel its lackluster tourism sector

    Avoided by western tourists, Iran is turning to wealthy Arab states and other nearby countries to bolster its sanctions-hit economy. It is also drawing visitors from Russia and China. Owing to the thaw in relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran is now interested in closer ties with the Arab world.
  • Iraq to pay for Iranian gas imports with oil: Iraqi PM

    The Iraqi prime minister said the decision to pay for Iranian gas imports with oil corresponds with the mechanism agreed with the US in order not to violate the sanctions. Gas is crucial for Iraq's electricity generation, but US sanctions on Iranian oil and gas impose restrictions on how Baghdad...
  • Iran summons UK envoy to protest new sanctions: state media

    The new British sanctions regime will expand existing penalties imposed by creating new criteria under which individuals and entities can be hit. They include any Iranian activities "undermining peace, stability and security in the Middle East and internationally", and the "use and spread of weapons technologies from Iran".
  • Resumption of Saudi-Iran relations: A step towards regional, economic stability or a strategic play?

    The peace deal has ignited debates on its potential to transform Middle East from a region hit by conflicts to a peaceful place. Dive into an in-depth analysis from TRENDS.
  • Resumption of Saudi-Iran relations: A step towards regional, economic stability or a strategic play?

    The bilateral peace agreement has sparked intensified debates about its potential to transform the Middle East from a conflict-ridden region to peaceful and prosperous place.
  • In spite of US sanctions, Iran’s crude oil exports break five-year record

    Tehran, Iran-- In spite of the US sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Iran has seen a huge surge in the export of crude oil in 2023 to China, Syria, Venezuela, according to reports. According to media reports, Iranian crude shipments continued to rise in 2023 with higher shipments to China,...
  • Iranian president boosts Nicaragua ties on tour of US-sanctioned countries

    In Venezuela, Raisi and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro announced that they signed 25 accords, across sectors ranging from education and health to mining. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said he and Raisi signed a "basic memorandum of these steps that we are going to continue developing" to increase exchange between the...
  • Peak in oil demand ‘in sight’ before end of decade: IEA

    "The shift to a clean energy economy is picking up pace, with a peak in global oil demand in sight before the end of this decade as electric vehicles, energy efficiency and other technologies advance," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement. "Oil producers need to pay careful...
  • Iranian nuke expert, EU officials review Tehran’s atomic program

    A landmark deal in 2015, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a nuclear weapon -- something it has always denied wanting to do.
  • Pakistan gets first Russian crude under discount deal: PM

    Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last year, economic sanctions have seen a significant cut in its oil and gas exports to the EU and US. However Pakistan, in the midst of an economic downturn worsening a long-running energy shortage, in May confirmed it had struck a deal with Moscow...
  • US imposes economic, visa sanctions over violence in Sudan

    Washington, United States -- The White House on Thursday announced economic and visa sanctions against Sudanese leaders responsible for breaking a ceasefire and provoking "appalling" bloodshed. "We are following through by levying economic sanctions, imposing visa restrictions against actors who are perpetuating the violence," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said...
  • Nintendo ends online sales of games in Russia

    Following the shipment suspension and "as a result of the economic outlook, Nintendo of Europe has decided to wind down operations of its Russian subsidiary", the company said. Nintendo's eShop was already "under maintenance" in Russia because its payment provider had stopped ruble transactions.
  • Iran, Indonesia sign trade agreement during Raisi visit

    Indonesia and Iran signed a trade agreement in Jakarta where President Joko Widodo hosted his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi. Tehran is aiming to boost its international trade. Raisi's two-day visit to Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, comes in the shadow of fresh European Union sanctions this week on Iran's Revolutionary...
  • EU sanctions Iran Revolutionary Guards’ wing over brutal crackdown

    The European Union imposed an asset freeze on the investment arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, over Tehran's brutal crackdown on protests over the death of Mahsa Amini. The sanctions - the eighth imposed by the EU over the repression - came after Iran hanged three more men convicted in relation...
  • Moscow ‘captures’ Bakhmut ahead of Kyiv counteroffensive

    Bakhmut, which once had a population of 70,000 people, has been the scene of the bloodiest battle in Moscow's more than year-long Ukraine offensive. The fall of Bakhmut, where both Moscow and Kyiv are believed to have suffered huge losses, would allow Moscow to bring home a key victory after...
  • After hitting Russia with new sanctions, G7 leaders visit Hiroshima memorial

    G7 leaders, including the heads of nuclear-armed Britain, France and the United States, arrived at the city's Peace Park to a sodden red carpet welcome from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is from Hiroshima. The leaders were also scheduled to speak with survivors of the bomb, which killed some 140,000...
  • G7 to squeeze Russia, weigh risk of China’s ‘economic coercion’

    Japanese PM Fumio Kishida is hosting leaders from six other wealthy democracies in his hometown -- a city synonymous with nuclear destruction and now peppered with peace monuments. Leaders including US President Joe Biden will try over three days to forge a united front on Russia and China, where the...
  • Ukraine grain deal extended for two months: Erdogan

    Erdogan made the announcement one day before it had been due to expire, scoring a diplomatic coup ahead of a May 28 runoff election in which he will try to extend his two-decade rule until 2028. He thanked "my precious friend", Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and...
  • CBUAE imposes administrative sanctions on 8 banks

    ABU DHABI, UAE -  The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) imposed administrative sanctions on eight banks operating in the UAE. The administrative sanctions take into account the banks' failures to comply with the CBUAE's instructions not to grant any loans or credit facilities to the beneficiaries of loans granted...
  • Turkey’s quake-hit economy to grow less this year: EBRD bank

    The EBRD forecasts Turkish GDP will expand 2.5 percent this year, cutting prior guidance of 3.0 percent and citing the impact of "unorthodox" loose monetary policy alongside one of the world's highest inflation rates. The death toll of Turkey's worst disaster of modern times stands at more than 50,000 and...