Oil falls to four-month low as US, Iran conclude talks in Doha
Oil prices fell nearly 2% to a four-month low on Thursday as concerns over supply disruptions eased after Qatar said Iran and the U.S. had made progress in talks over the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent futures were 91 cents, or 1.3% lower, at $70.66 a barrel at 1316 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.04, or 1.5%, to $67.54 a barrel.
Both marked on Thursday their lowest levels since late February, just before the US-Israeli war on Iran began.
The talks made "positive progress" on matters related to the memorandum that halted the war in June, a Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a post on X, though there was no sign the two sides made headway towards a lasting peace.
The next meeting between Iran and US negotiators will take place after July 9 funeral processions for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Qatar ministry added.
Iran holds funeral for late wife of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
Mourners carried the coffin of Zahra Haddad-Adel, the late wife of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, at her funeral in Tehran on Thursday.
According to Iranian authorities Haddad-Adel was killed in the same US-Israeli strike that killed then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. His public funeral will be held in the Iranian capital on Saturday.
© Fars News Agency via AP
Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they killed Kurdish militants in northwest Iran
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had killed five members of the banned Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) in the country’s northwest, state media has reported, amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Kurdish militant groups.
The Guards said the group was ambushed after entering Iranian territory in mountainous border areas near Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan province, without specifying when the operation took place.
According to the Norway-based Kurdish rights group Hengaw, the clashes took place on Wednesday evening.
The PDKI has been involved in decades of intermittent conflict with the Islamic Republic, and Kurdish armed groups in Iran have long been viewed by Tehran as separatist threats.
Lebanese president will not yield 'a single inch' of territory to Israel
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended on Thursday negotiations with Israel, saying they were not a betrayal and he would not surrender "a single inch of Lebanon's territory", according to the presidency.
sraeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the Israeli army would remain "until further notice" in what it describes as "security zones" in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
India to send deputy foreign minister and a state governor to Khamenei's funeral
India will send its deputy foreign minister and a state governor to represent the country at the state funeral of Iran's former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Governor of Bihar, Syed Ata Hasnain, and deputy foreign minister Pabitra Margherita will visit Iran on July 3, the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement.
"The high-level representation in the ceremony underscores the importance of civilizational ties, including people-to-people connection, between the two countries, providing a robust foundation to political and economic engagements," it said.
Cathay Pacific to resume Middle East flights
Hong Kong's flagship airline Cathay Pacific announced Thursday that it will resume flights to the Middle East, as the United States and Iran signal that efforts to end the war remain viable.
Following the two sides' indirect discussions in Doha on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump, as well as mediators Qatar and Pakistan, offered signs that diplomacy was holding, despite exchanges of fire this week.
Cathay suspended flights to Dubai and Riyadh at the end of February after the war broke out.
The airline has raised fuel surcharges several times as the conflict has driven up oil prices.
It said Thursday it would resume daily passenger flights to Dubai and four-times weekly passenger flights to Riyadh from September 1.
Freighter services to Riyadh will resume from August 1.
"Cathay will continue to closely monitor the evolving situation in the Middle East prior to the resumption dates," the company said.
Syria foreign minister meets Hezbollah ally in Beirut
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, during a visit to Beirut.
Shaibani's visit to Lebanon comes as Damascus has insisted it does not want to intervene militarily in Lebanon, despite pressure from the US.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that Syria could "take care of Hezbollah", criticising Israel's strategy in its war with the Iran-backed militant group.
But Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who came to power in December 2024 after leading a coalition that toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, has stated that he has no intention of intervening or reopening old wounds.
The Syrian minister, on his second visit to Lebanon, was received on arrival by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, before going on to meet Berri, according to local media.
Iran chief negotiator calls to avenge Khamenei death with massive funeral turnout
Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has called for a massive turnout at Ali Khamenei's funeral to avenge the supreme leader's death in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war.
"I invite all the Iranian people ... to write a glorious page in the history of Islamic Iran through your presence" at the funeral ceremonies starting Saturday, said Ghalibaf, who is also Iran's parliament speaker.
"The nation's call for vengeance must ring in the ears of the whole world," he added in a statement.
Pakistan PM Sharif, senior Chinese lawmaker to attend Khamenei's funeral
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the state funeral of Iran's former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Pakistan's foreign ministry.
China's foreign ministry has said senior lawmaker He Wei will attend Khamenei's funeral in Tehran. He is the vice chairman of China's top lawmaking body, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
Iran warns US, Israel against attacks ahead of funeral processions for Khamenei
An Iranian military commander has warned the US and Israel against any attack on Iran as it prepares for the state funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in air strikes on the first day of the war.
"We warn the enemies of Iran, especially the US and the Zionist regime (Israel), to avoid any miscalculation and to think about the harsh retaliation our armed forces would make to any threat and aggression against our country,” Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement carried by state media.
Funeral processions for Khamenei will begin on July 4 in Tehran and conclude on July 9 with his burial in his hometown of Mashhad, with additional ceremonies planned in Qom and Iraq in-between these dates.
Iran warns oil tankers to use approved Hormuz routes or face 'forceful response'
Iran’s joint military command has said all oil tankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz must use its approved routes or face a “forceful response.”
The statement from the Khatam al-Anbiya military command was aired on Iranian state television.
It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the threat from Iran.
“Any failure to comply, deviation from the designated route, or disregard for the navigation protocols of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz will be met with an immediate and forceful response from the armed forces, endangering the security of the violating vessels,” the statement said.
It also said the continued presence of U.S. fighter jets over the strait “causes insecurity in this waterway and threatens regional security.”
Palestinians face uncertain future as Gaza marks 1,000 days of war
On the 1,000th day of war since a Hamas attack sparked Israel's war on Gaza, Palestinians are still being killed. Other conflicts have emerged in the region, and fragile ceasefires show scars of persistent attacks.
The fate of over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, largely displaced and living amid ruins, remains uncertain. Israeli forces controlled over half of the territory under the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025, but Israel's government has expanded that and says it aims to hold 70%.
Few people can get in or out. Further ceasefire steps, including Hamas' disarmament and the immense task of reconstruction, have stalled.
Gaza’s Health Ministry counted 1,053 Palestinians dead since the ceasefire as of Tuesday, including over 350 women and children. In recent days, they included a teenage girl on her way to school and a mother with her 1-year-old daughter.
'Positive progress' in US-Iran indirect talks in Doha, discussions to continue, Qatar says
US and Iran negotiators made "positive progress" during indirect talks in Doha, with the next round expected after the late Iranian supreme leader's funeral, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said.
"Qatar & Pakistan mediators concluded separate meetings with the US & Iranian negotiators in Doha today, with positive progress made on issues related to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, building on the outcomes of the Lake Lucerne Summit," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said Wednesday on X.
"The parties agreed to continue discussions over the coming period, with the next meeting to be scheduled at the earliest possible time following the funeral processions of the former Iranian Supreme Leader."
Iran says to use frozen funds in Qatar to buy 'required goods'
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Wednesday that Tehran would use some of its frozen assets in Qatar to purchase goods needed by the country following talks in Doha.
Under the memorandum of understanding that halted the war between Iran and the United States, Washington agreed to make available Iran's frozen or restricted assets as part of the agreement's implementation.
It remains unclear how the mechanism for releasing and using the funds would work, or when it would take effect.
"During the meetings with Qatari officials, including the Central Bank, a number of issues related to the expenditure of part of the initial six billion dollars were reviewed," Gharibabadi said, according to the IRNA state news agency.
"It was agreed that, based on the needs communicated by our country, the required goods would be purchased and made available to Iran."
- Trump says Iran denuclearisation 'moving along well'
- US signs agreement to build permanent embassy in Jerusalem
- Iran’s deputy FM says indirect talks with US in Doha have concluded
- 'Positive progress' in US-Iran indirect talks in Doha, discussions to continue, Qatar says
- Iran warns US, Israel against attacks ahead of funeral processions for Khamenei
Yesterday's key developments:
- The United States signed an agreement to build a new embassy compound in Jerusalem , a move that Israel said reflected the "unbreakable alliance" between the countries.
- The US Department of Defence's CENTCOM sais it stands "shoulder to shoulder" with regional partners in the Middle East following a security conference with leaders from Bahrain , Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait , Lebanon , Oman , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , Syria, the United Arab Emirates , and Yemen .
- Israel 's military has accused a West Bank charity of cooperating with the Palestinian movement Hamas and financing armed groups after shutting down its headquarters the previous day, an allegation the organisation denies.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)
