Foreign policy

NATO allies will pledge to hike defense spend – but will they deliver?
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (2nd L) at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, April 24, 2025. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images Fireworks could kick off during NATO’s annual summit this week, as the U.S. pushes its allies to sharply increase their defense […]
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Why global markets are brushing off U.S. strikes on Iran
A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during the first session of the new year on January 2, 2025, in New York City, U.S. Timothy A. Clary | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. joining the war between Israel and Iran might seem like a geopolitical flashpoint that would send markets […]
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Oil at $100 a barrel? U.S. role in Iran-Israel fight fuels market jitters
Oil prices jumped more than 7% on Friday, hitting their highest in months after Israel said it struck Iran, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East and raising worries about disrupted oil supplies. Eli Hartman | Reuters Oil markets are entering a new phase of uncertainty after the U.S. entered the war between Iran and […]
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CNBC Daily Open: Have Trump’s strikes on Iran bolstered or eroded his credibility?
U.S. and Israeli flags projected on the historic walls of the Old City near Hebron Gate in Jerusalem, Israel, on June 22, 2025. Gazi Samad | Anadolu | Getty Images United States on Saturday conducted air strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear sites, entering Israel’s war against Tehran. The timing was unexpected. On Thursday, U.S. […]
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Trump says U.S. attacked three Iran nuclear sites
Portraits of Iranian military generals and nuclear scientists, killed in Israel’s June 13 attack are displayed above a road, as a plume of heavy smoke and fire rise over an oil refinery in southern Tehran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025. Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty Images […]
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How regime change in Iran could affect global oil prices
Senior Israeli officials said this week that their military campaign against Iran could trigger the fall of the regime, an event that would have enormous implications for the global oil market. The oil market has reacted with remarkable restraint as Israel has bombed the third-largest crude producer in OPEC for eight straight days, with no […]
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Oil prices rise about 3% as Israel vows to intensify attacks on Iran
Smoke blankets the sky above Tehran, Iran, following explosions in the capital after the Israeli army hit Iranian targets, on June 18, 2025. Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images Oil prices rose by about 3% on Thursday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Israel’s military to intensify attacks against Iran and investors watched for signs […]
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Trump extends TikTok ban deadline by another 90 days
Muhammed Selim Korkutata | Anadolu | Getty Images President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to sell the short form video app to an American owner. On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order granting a third extension for the Chinese company to sell its video platform so it can continue […]
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A ‘terrible spiral of escalation’: World braces for intensifying Iran-Israel conflict
Urgent international calls for restraint appear to be falling on deaf ears as the world braces for intensifying conflict in the Middle East. All eyes are on the White House, as U.S. President Donald Trump weighs carrying out direct military strikes on Iran. Such an act would represent a dramatic deepening of U.S. involvement in […]
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Shipping insurance costs spike in the Middle East as Israel-Iran conflict rages
A large commercial ship floats off the coast in Bushehr, Iran, on January 15, 2025. Bushehr is Iran’s first nuclear seaport. Amir | Afp | Getty Images Israel and Iran’s escalating conflict has significantly driven up the cost of insurance for ships sailing through the Red Sea and Persian Gulf. Marine insurers are now charging […]
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