Iran has responded negatively to an American proposal aimed at ending the ongoing imposed war, insisting that it will only occur on Tehran's own terms and timeline, a senior political-security official told Press TV on Wednesday.

The official with knowledge of the details of the proposal, speaking exclusively to Press TV, said Iran will not allow US President Donald Trump to dictate the timing of the war's end.

"Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met," the official said, emphasizing Tehran's resolve to continue its defence and inflict "heavy blows" on the enemy until its demands are fulfilled. (Press TV – Continue Reading)

The average price of gasoline in the U.S. is now a dollar higher than it was in the days before the war with Iran.

The average U.S. gas price on Wednesday was a little over $3.98 per gallon, up from approximately $2.98 cents a month ago, according to AAA.

While gasoline prices tend to increase a bit as the summer gets closer, the rapid increase was largely caused by the conflict. Amid the turmoil, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil flows, has effectively halted. (The Hill – Continue Reading)

The past 3½ weeks of war have confirmed what we have known for nearly 50 years—Iran’s revolution is a threat to global security and economic stability. We can’t let Iran hold the U.S., the United Arab Emirates and the global economy hostage. A simple cease-fire isn’t enough. We need a conclusive outcome that addresses Iran’s full range of threats: nuclear capabilities, missiles, drones, terror proxies and blockades of international sea lanes.

Forty miles away, the U.A.E. stands on the front line of this conflict. Iran has launched more than 2,180 missiles and drones at the Emirates, far more than at any other country. We have one of the world’s most effective defence shields and intercept more than 95% of these attacks. (WSJ – Continue Reading)

The latest inflation data from the Office for National Statistics would ordinarily be welcomed, but the relief for UK households is likely to prove short-lived.

The headline consumer price index rose 3.0% y/y in February, in line with forecasts and unchanged from the January rate. On the month, CPI rebounded 0.4% after a 0.5% decline at the first of the year.

Core CPI, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, last month increased 3.2% y/y, a tenth above both forecasts and the previous reading.

ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said clothing prices provided the largest upward contribution, rising this month but falling a year earlier. However, this was partly offset by declines in the cost of petrol, reflecting data collected before the escalation of the Middle East conflict and the subsequent rise in crude prices. He added that promotional activity drove a fall in alcohol prices, while broadly unchanged food prices — compared with modest increases a year ago — also exerted downward pressure. (LiveSquawk – Continue Reading)

On Monday, our energy strategists revised their baseline forecasts for energy prices to reflect the extended duration of the armed conflict with Iran and the damage done to critical energy infrastructure in the Gulf region. Rabobank’s baseline scenario is now that the fighting will continue into mid-April, followed by a slow reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Consequently, we are raising our WTI crude oil targets again after a material deterioration to the prospect of any swift resumption of energy flows. We estimate that WTI will average $98/bbl in Q2, $88/bbl in Q3, and $83/bbl in Q4. We have raised our 2027 estimates up to $77/bbl on average for the year before moderating to $66/bbl on average in 2028. In this report we discuss the implications for our forecasts for the US economy. (Rabobank – Continue Reading)

The ‌U.S. has made its offer of security guarantees needed for a peace deal in Ukraine conditional on Kyiv ceding all of the country's eastern region of Donbas to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters in an interview.

With the United States now focused on its own conflict with Iran, President Donald Trump ​is applying pressure on Ukraine in an effort to bring a quick end to the four-year war triggered by ​Russia's 2022 invasion, Zelenskiy said. (Reuters – Continue Reading)