US President Donald Trump has said that the peace deal with Iran is “over”, renewing uncertainty in the region and creating concern around international shipping and energy.
He has also appeared to call for a halt to the US’ commercial relations with Spain.
Trump: Iran peace deal ‘over’
The fragile peace between the US and Iran appears to have ended, with fighting once again breaking out.
During a Nato press conference, featuring secretary general Mark Rutte, Trump declared the interim peace deal with Iran “over” and said it was a “waste of time” dealing with Iran. He also called Iran “sick”, “scum”, “dirty players” and “evil people”.
The price of brent crude has jumped 5% since his comments.
US Central Command claimed that it had hit over 80 Iranian targets late last night (7 July), releasing footage of night-time strikes on unidentified installations and vessels. The BBC shared footage of strikes on the city of Bandar Abbas, a strategic port on the Strait of Hormuz.
Both Trump and the US military claimed the attacks were launched in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels: the Marshall Islands-flagged M/T Al Rekayyat, Saudi Arabia-flagged M/T Wedyan, and Liberian-flagged M/T Cyprus Prosperity. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp also said it had attacked US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain.
International Maritime Organization secretary general , Arsenio Dominguez, condemned the new attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait.
“I regret that once again I am compelled to speak out following attacks on commercial ships and innocent seafarers, due to geopolitical circumstances beyond their control.”
Trump also said he was not happy with Nato over “what they did with Greenland” and for its refusal to support the US-Israeli military conflicts in the Middle East. He did, however, call Rutte a “great secretary general”.
Trump: ‘Cut off all trade with Spain’
In the same press conference, Trump also took aim at Spain.
“I don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said to Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, at Nato. “Cut off all trade with Spain including visits. We don’t want anything to do with them.”
"They make so much money with us, and we're going to see that they make a lot less. I want no business with them."
“We maintain a good relationship with the US and it isn’t our intention to change this”, the Spanish government told El País.
It isn’t immediately clear how Trump intends to “cut off” trade with Spain, or whether this would be legal. Trump has remained critical of the country and its prime minister Pedro Sánchez over a lack of support in the Middle East and for refusing to raise defence spending to 2% of GDP.
UK announces funding for missiles
Also, at the Nato conference in Ankara, the UK announced that it will lead a European initiative to develop Deep Precision Strike capabilities across the continent.
Outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Stamer is expected to convene around a dozen European partners at the summit, with £37bn worth of funding to be set up for developing the capabilities over the next ten years.
Starmer said that he was “determined to ensure the safety of the UK and our allies and to do that, we must step up to deliver a stronger, more European Nato”.
“The UK is already working with partners to develop exquisite capability that will give our Armed Forces the ability to defend and deter thousands of kilometres from the front line, but this UK-led initiative will allow us to step up our cooperation, bringing European allies together to ensure Nato remains safe and secure for years to come.”
Projects include the ‘Stratus’ project with Italy and France, which would replace the Storm Shadow missile, and a new precision strike missile programme being worked on with the US and Australia.
Starmer is also expected to repeat his warnings about Russian aggression against Europe and commit to continued support for Ukraine’s war efforts.
More charges on vessels
Vessels calling at EU ports may have to pay more in carbon fees, as European officials close a loophole that lets ships reduce their emissions bill by making stopovers just outside the bloc.
The FT reports that EU officials now want to tighten the rules by including traffic to North America, Middle Eastern and even UK ports in the emissions trading system.
Vessels travelling to the EU must buy carbon allowances covering half of their journey. However, according to the FT, shippers are currently only counting shorter journeys from nearer ports in their calculations.
The agreement is not yet finalised and is expected to be part of a broader review of the emissions trading system that is published on 17 July. Tanger Med and Port Said are already included, but more ports are expected to be added.
However, the UK and EU’s plans to link emissions trading systems could potentially protect British shipping from being affected, one anonymous official told the publication.
Also in the trade news today
- MPs have warned that the Port of Dover faces “utter chaos” as a result of the Entry-Exit System (EES), according to the Guardian
- French far-right leader, Marine le Pen, declared that she will run for president after an appeals court reduced her ban for running for office because of her embezzlement conviction
- Reuters reports that China has lifted its export curbs for fuel for July
Yesterday in trade
- The government has added nine new entities to the UK Sanctions List
- The UK government has issued an open call for evidence on toy safety rules
- The European travel information and authorisation system (ETIAS) is set to be delayed to next year
