AI chip exports outweigh Iran war impact on South Korea, central bank chief says

Some buyers of US liquefied petroleum gas canceled cargoes normally headed to Asia after freight rates surged because of the conflict in the Middle East, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

At least two cargoes scheduled to load next month from US Gulf Coast export terminals were canceled, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Some buyers were also in talks to cancel more shipments, it added.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday that it targeted a US air base in response to what it described as a “hostile attack” by the US military on a site near Bandar Abbas airport earlier, according to a statement by its public relations office published by IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency.

The IRGC said the strike at 4:50 a.m. served as a “serious warning,” adding that any further “aggression” would be met with a stronger response.

Former US envoy to Iran Rob Malley said on Wednesday on MS Now that President Donald Trump’s apparent push to tie Iran negotiations and reopening the Strait of Hormuz to an expansion of the Abraham Accords was “completely crazy talk” and “purely delusional,” arguing that Persian Gulf Arab states are unlikely to normalize relations with Israel under the current circumstances.

Rob Malley, who served in the Obama administration during negotiations leading to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and later served as the Biden administration’s special envoy for Iran tasked with reviving the agreement, said the ongoing talks with Tehran are focused primarily on undoing damage caused by the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, rather than securing a broad diplomatic breakthrough.

IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency quoted a military source as saying that a US oil tanker attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz with its radar system turned off, but was forced to stop and turn back after what it described as a swift and decisive response by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, which fired toward the vessel.

The source added that in response, US struck a “burnt area” near Bandar Abbas, saying the explosions heard were related to the incident, and that the strike caused no casualties or material damage.

Former US official Victoria Coates said on Fox News on Wednesday that expanding the Abraham Accords remains part of President Donald Trump’s vision for Middle East peace, arguing that regional countries are seeing benefits from the agreements and should be encouraged to join.

Coates, who served as Deputy National Security Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa in the first Trump administration, said pressure is increasing on Iran through economic strain and sanctions, adding that Tehran is “losing money every day” and facing growing pressure over its nuclear program, while describing recent changes to internet access in Iran as a “sign of desperation.”