EU Unveils Energy Plan Amid Iran War Shock
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed a strategy to address the consequences of the US-Israeli military war with Iran on European energy markets.
"The choices we make today will shape our ability to face the challenges of today and the crises of tomorrow," she said on April 22, announcing a package that included optimizing the distribution of jet fuel among EU member states.
"Our AccelerateEU strategy will bring both immediate and more structural relief measures to European citizens and businesses," von der Leyen added. "We must accelerate the shift to homegrown, clean energies. This will give us energy independence and security, and mean we are better able to weather geopolitical storms."
The effective closure of the key Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for about one-fifth of the global oil trade, has become a central issue of the conflict, putting many exporting countries in the region at risk of a crisis and sharply driving up energy prices.
A separate statement about the initiative, announced by von der Leyen and published on the same day, said the EU has spent an additional 24 billion euros ($28.2 billion) on energy imports since the first days of the war.
"Even if hostilities ceased immediately, disruptions to energy supplies from the Gulf will persist for the foreseeable future," the statement said.
Beijing Pushes Back As US Sanctions Chinese Oil Refinery Over Iran Links
Beijing has pushed back on a US decision to sanction the Hengli oil refinery, rejecting Washington's accusations that the company "plays an outsized role" in buying Iranian oil.
The US Treasury Department last week sanctioned the Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, based in China's northeastern Liaoning Province, for having "purchased billions of dollars' worth" of Iranian petroleum.
Washington accuses Hengli of playing an instrumental role in sustaining Iran's oil economy since US and Israeli air strikes on Iran sparked a war that has spread through the Middle East. Hengli is China's second-largest "teapot" refinery -- the name for independent Chinese oil refineries -- and plays "an outsized role in purchasing crude oil from Iran's armed forces," according to the Treasury Department.
To read the full report, click here.
Oil Prices Rise For Seventh Consecutive Day
Oil prices continued their upward trend on April 28.
As uncertainties persist over whether Iran and the United States will reach an agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the price of Brent crude oil for June delivery rose in European markets on the morning of April 28, rising almost 3 percent to exceed $111 per barrel.
Oil prices rose for the seventh consecutive day on global markets, while stocks fell in many Asian financial markets on April 28.
The failure of Iran-US talks after the cease-fire and increasing concerns about the long-term economic impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on the global economy have led to increased speculation about changes in central bank policy in various countries.
This policy change takes the form of an interest rate increase to counter the inflationary effects of recent developments.
Iran, US Locked In Strategic 'Staring Contest' Over Hormuz, Says Former CENTCOM Official Joe Buccino
WASHINGTON -- The US Navy's blockade of Iranian ports, now in its third week, has stopped almost all of the country's maritime trade, including key oil exports. But it has also ratcheted up tensions between the two sides as they hold sporadic peace negotiations.
RFE/RL spoke with former US Central Command (CENTCOM) Communications Director and retired US Army Colonel Joe Buccino on April 27 to discuss the escalating situation and the strategic "staring contest" now defining the region.
Of the stalemate between Washington and Tehran on the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, Buccino says: "Iran understands this creates economic pressure far beyond the region; oil markets, global trade, and energy security are all affected."
At the same time, the US has deployed significant naval power, including three carrier strike groups -- more than at any point in the region since 2003," he said. "What you have now is essentially a staring contest: each side waiting to see who yields first."
To read the full interview, click here.
Iran Calls Seizure Of Tankers In Indian Ocean A 'New Form Of Piracy'
A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry described the US Navy's seizure of an oil tanker carrying nearly 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil in the Indian Ocean as "legitimizing piracy and armed robbery at sea."
"Welcome to the return of the pirates," Esmail Baqaei wrote on X.
"The difference is that this time, they are sailing under an official flag and following government orders, and they call their actions 'implementing and enforcing the law.'"
Earlier, a US federal prosecutor announced the seizure of the tanker MT Majestic, formerly known as MT Phoenix, in the Indian Ocean, and described it as similar to the previous action by the US Navy in seizing another tanker, MT Tiffany, carrying 1.9 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.
Iran Enters 60th Day Of Internet Blackout, Says Watchdog
Web monitoring watchdog NetBlocks reports that Iran's nationwide Internet blackout, imposed at the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28, has now entered its 60th day.
"Exactly two months ago on 28 February, #Iran was thrown into digital darkness as authorities cut off access to the global internet," the group said in a post on X on April 28.
"Metrics show the blackout is now entering its 60th day after 1,416 hours despite regime efforts to introduce tiered access for privileged groups."
What distinguishes this shutdown from the January blackout is not only its duration but the architecture of control Iran has built around it.
Rather than a total blackout, authorities have maintained an elaborate whitelisting system of selectively granting connectivity to favored institutions, companies, and individuals while leaving the rest of the population cut off.
In recent weeks, that system has been formalized further through a paid scheme called Internet Pro that allows business owners and academics to purchase access at pre-shutdown levels, a development critics have quickly labeled a form of tiered or class-based Internet.
Iran's FM Araqchi Thanks Russia For 'Solidarity'
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, expressed his gratitude toward Russia for its "support" and "solidarity" during the war with Israel and the United States and heightened tensions throughout the Middle East.
On April 27, Araqchi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials in St. Petersburg for talks.
"Pleased to engage with Russia at the highest level as the region is in major flux," he wrote. "Recent events have evidenced the depth and strength of our strategic partnership. As our relationship continues to grow, we are grateful for solidarity and welcome Russia's support for diplomacy."
For more about Araqchi's meeting with Putin yesterday, click here.
Bessent Warns Of Gasoline Shortage In Iran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says Iran is facing an imminent gasoline shortage.
In a short post on X on April 28, Bessent wrote: "While the surviving IRGC Leaders are trapped like drowning rats in a sewage pipe, Iran's creaking oil industry is starting to shut in production thanks to the U.S. BLOCKADE."
"Pumping will soon collapse," he added.
Iran's oil sector is already under heavy strain after weeks of export disruptions caused by the US blockade of Iranian ports in response to Tehran's ongoing effective closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
The country's energy system has also been weakened over the course of the two-month US-Israeli war with Iran by attacks on major oil-processing facilities and export disruptions that are forcing crude into storage, raising risks of domestic fuel shortages.
US Official: Trump Not Happy With Iran's Latest Proposal
US President Donald Trump has expressed significant dissatisfaction with the latest proposal from Tehran, primarily because the offer fails to tackle the complexities of Iran's nuclear program, a senior US official confirmed to RFE/RL on April 27.
The administration's stance remains firm that any diplomatic breakthrough must include rigorous oversight and limitations on nuclear enrichment, according to the official.
Earlier that day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump had discussed a new Iranian proposal to resolve the two-month-old war, now under a cease-fire, with his top security aides.
While there was no immediate confirmation of the new plan by Tehran, Axios cited three sources, including a US official, reporting that Iran had proposed a new way to end the conflict. The proposal reportedly suggested the United States reopen the Strait of Hormuz and that both sides postpone negotiations over Iran's nuclear capabilities to a later stage.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News on April 27 that the nuclear question is central to the current tensions, responding to reports that Tehran is attempting to delay discussions about its nuclear program.
"The nuclear question is the reason why we're in this in the first place," he said.
Rubio added that while Iran being governed by radical leadership is already a concern, the broader issue lies in its revolutionary nature and its aim to expand and export its revolution.
"If Iran was just a radical country run by radical people...it would still be a problem, but they are revolutionary. In essence, they seek to expand and export their revolution," Rubio explained.
He emphasized that Iran seeks influence beyond its own borders, warning of the potential consequences if those aims were paired with nuclear capabilities.
"They don't just seek to dominate Iran, they seek to dominate the region. And imagine that with a nuclear weapon," he said.
Tehran has persistently denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon while also resisting demands that it agree not to enrich uranium beyond levels needed for civilian nuclear purposes.
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.
White House Confirms Mulling New Iranian Peace Proposal
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that US President Donald Trump discussed a new Iranian proposal to resolve the two-month-old war, now under a cease-fire, with his top security aides on April 27.
While there was no immediate confirmation of the new plan by Tehran, Axios earlier cited three sources, including a US official, reporting that Iran had proposed a new way to end the conflict. The proposal reportedly suggested that the United States reopen the Strait of Hormuz and that both sides postpone negotiations over Iran's nuclear capabilities to a later stage.
"Well, only because it's been reported, I will confirm the president has met with his national security team this morning," Leavitt told journalists in Washington, adding that the meeting "may be ongoing."
"The president's red lines with respect to Iran have been made very, very clear, not just to the American public," she said, refusing to get into the details before Trump.
Hours earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also confirmed to Fox News that Washington has received the new proposal. He said he believed Iranian leadership was "serious" about making a peace deal amid the great economic pressure and shortage of industrial and military capabilities.
However, Rubio also suggested one of the obstacles to diplomatic resolution of the conflict was "fractured" leadership in Iran: "One of the impediments here is that our negotiators aren't just negotiating with Iranians."
"Those Iranians then have to negotiate with other Iranians in order to figure out what they can agree to," he said, adding that Iranian hard-line policymakers "have the ultimate power in that country."
As for the Strait of Hormuz, Rubio added US wouldn't allow Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz. He said the United States wouldn't "tolerate them trying to normalize, a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway, and how much you have to pay them to use it."
The key waterway used to account for around one fifth of the global oil trade before US-Israeli military campaign which started on February 28.