Kazakhstan Sends 30 Wagons of Aid to Iran

Kazakhstan has delivered 30 wagons of humanitarian aid to Iran, according to Tasnim news agency. The aid arrives as Iran faces a severe economic crisis after months of war.

Lebanon entered the current conflict on a vulnerable economic footing, according to Sami Zoughaib of the Policy Initiative. The 2019 financial crisis was terribly mismanaged, Zoughaib said, and many people from the political class benefited from it.

Recovery has become ten times more difficult due to multiple shocks, including rising fuel costs and war damage. Consumer goods prices have risen by an estimated 20 to 25 percent, Zoughaib said, while a majority of the population was already in some form of income poverty.

Iran says it will soon reveal a plan to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, including the charging of tolls. The number of ships transiting the strait has increased slightly but remains below pre-war levels. The U.S. Treasury Department ended a temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions after its expiration on Saturday.

The waiver had allowed global buyers to purchase Russian crude stranded at sea following supply shocks. Major importers such as India must now find alternative suppliers after increasing Russian crude purchases to 2.3 million barrels per day during the exemption period.

Both domestic and international oil prices have hovered around or above $100 per barrel since the war began.