Russian rouble gains as oil prices jump on Middle East tensions
The rouble gained against the dollar on Friday, supported by a sharp jump in prices for oil, Russia's main export, after Israel launched major strikes against Iran.
Israel said it had attacked nuclear facilities and missile factories and killed a swathe of military commanders in what could be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran building an atomic weapon.
The attacks sparked Iranian retaliation and raised concerns about possible disruption to oil supplies.
Brent crude was up 7.9% at $74.83 a barrel by 1124 GMT. The rouble was 0.6% higher at 79.50 per U.S. dollar, according to LSEG data based on over-the-counter quotes.
Trading was light, as Russia was marking a two-day national holiday.
The rouble appreciated more sharply earlier in the session, but as oil prices pared some of their early gains, so too did the Russian currency.
The rouble has strengthened by over 40% against the dollar this year, a rise analysts have attributed to the easing of geopolitical tensions - mainly with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration - and the central bank's tight monetary policy, which has reduced demand for foreign currency.
Against the Chinese yuan, the most traded foreign currency in Russia, the rouble strengthened by 0.3% to 10.92 on the Moscow Stock Exchange. The central bank uses yuan for foreign exchange interventions.
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Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Khaleej Times
Damage to Iranian nuclear sites so far appears limited, experts say
US President Donald Trump told Reuters on Friday it was unclear whether Iran still has a nuclear program following Israeli strikes, but experts say the damage to the country's nuclear facilities so far has appeared limited. Israel's attacks succeeded in killing Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists and striking military command and control facilities and air defenses, but satellite imagery did not yet show significant damage to nuclear infrastructure, several experts said. "The first day was aimed at things that you would get through surprise - killing leadership, going after nuclear scientists, air defense systems, the ability to retaliate," said nuclear expert David Albright at the Institute for Science and International Security. "We can't see any visible damage at Fordow or Isfahan. There was damage at Natanz," said Albright, referring to Iranian nuclear sites. But "there's no evidence that the underground site was destroyed." UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council on Friday that the above-ground pilot enrichment plant at Iran's Natanz nuclear site had been destroyed and Iran had reported attacks on Fordow and Isfahan. Grossi said electricity infrastructure at Natanz was also destroyed and the loss of power to a cascade hall may have damaged centrifuges there. But he said the level of radioactivity outside Natanz remained unchanged and normal. The sprawling Natanz nuclear complex is Iran's main uranium enrichment facility. The site includes a vast underground uranium enrichment plant and a smaller, above-ground pilot enrichment plant. In a telephone interview with Reuters, Trump said it was unclear whether Iran still has a nuclear program following the Israeli strikes. "Nobody knows," Trump said. "It was a very devastating hit." Two regional sources said at least 20 Iranian military commanders were killed in the attack, a stunning decapitation reminiscent of Israeli attacks that swiftly wiped out the leadership of Lebanon's once-feared Hezbollah militia last year. Iran also said six of its top nuclear scientists were killed. Albright said his analysis was based on the latest available images from about 11.20am Tehran time (0750 GMT). He added there may also have been drone strikes on tunnels to underground centrifuge plants and cyber attacks that did not leave visible traces. "In terms of visible damage, we don't see much and we'll see what happens tonight," he said, adding that he believes Israel's strikes were still in an early stage. Albright said the status of Iran's stocks of enriched uranium was not known and that it was possible Israel had avoided major attacks on nuclear sites due to concerns about harming international inspectors who were there. Albright said there were thousands of centrifuges at the underground plant at Natanz and knocking out the electrical supply would bring into play a backup battery system. He said it was likely that Iran was shutting down the centrifuges at the underground site in a controlled manner, which was a big operation. "Batteries ... last a while, but eventually they will run out and if the centrifuges spin down in an uncontrollable manner, a lot will break," he said. Israel warns of prolonged operation Israel said it targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of what would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Military and nuclear experts said that even with massive firepower, military action would probably only temporarily set back a program the West fears is already aimed at producing atom bombs one day, although Iran denies it. Jeffrey Lewis, a non-proliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said damage at the Natanz facility appeared "moderate." "Israel destroyed the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant, as well as some support buildings associated with power supply," he said. Lewis added Israel also hit a support building - possibly for power supply - near two underground nuclear enrichment facilities. "The underground enrichment halls, as well as the large underground facility nearby in the mountains, do not appear damaged." It was unclear what damage was sustained at the key Fordow nuclear facility, which could be used to develop nuclear weapons and is buried deep underground. "It has always been the conventional wisdom that Israel may not have the ordnance to destroy Fordow without American military support," Mark Dubowitz, head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told a podcast. The United States is better equipped than Israel to destroy such targets with its most powerful bunker buster bombs, the 30,000-pound (14,000 kg) Massive Ordnance Penetrator. If Iran decides not to negotiate a nuclear deal, the U.S. could use its B2 bombers and those bombs to destroy Fordow, Dubowitz said. Decker Eveleth, a strategic analyst with the CAN Corp research group, said the overall aim of Israel's campaign was still unclear. "They may be successful at dismantling Iranian command and control, destroying air forces (and) hitting a variety of targets related to the Iranian missile program," he said. "(But) if their core objective is prevention of a nuclear breakout, can they destroy enough of Iran's nuclear infrastructure to actually prevent that from happening?"
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
How Iran's 'hybrid attack' network could retaliate against Israel in Europe
Iran can call on networks of criminals and even its own agents smuggled into Europe as migrants to carry out retaliatory attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets, following Friday's strikes by Israel. Tehran has previously relied on regional allies Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hamas to attack Israel. However, with what Tehran called its 'ring of fire' degraded, it has other avenues further afield, particularly in Europe, to hit back against Israel. These include criminals networks, most notably two based in Sweden run by Kurdish gangsters Rawa Majid and Ismail Abdo, that have been accused of carrying out attacks on Israeli targets. Majid, who is nicknamed the Kurdish Fox, and his Foxtrot network were placed under sanctions by the US and the UK this year for orchestrating an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm. Three Iranian nationals were recently charged in the UK with a plot to attack an individual on behalf of Iran. An official report released in Germany on Tuesday warned that the potential threat from Iran is growing. The findings, which summarised trends in 2024, said Iranian intelligence services can be assumed to be ready to 'pursue the interests of the country's leadership by all means – including acts of violence and even assassinations'. 'The tense security situation in the Middle East and internal tensions within the Islamic Republic of Iran shape its intelligence activities,' the Ministry of Interior document said. 'Activities directed against Germany continue to emanate primarily from the Ministry of Intelligence or MOIS. In addition to the MOIS, the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which also operates as an intelligence agency, is also active in Germany. 'Intelligence services of the Islamic Republic of Iran also use state terrorist means to achieve their goals,' it added. 'This primarily involves the intimidation and neutralisation of opposition members, but also the punishment of 'traitors' or 'defectors'. 'Iran's activities go well beyond spying on the opposition Iranian diaspora and that pro-Jewish and pro-Israeli interests and institutions in Germany are the focus of Iranian activities.' Jason Brodsky, policy director of advocacy group United Against a Nuclear Iran, told The National that European nations need to be 'extra vigilant and step up alerts' given that Iran 'has long planned contingency plans for terror operations in the West'. 'That's a risk that everyone should be alert for, especially Israel and the Jewish community, and Iran still retains that capability through the IRGC or its intelligence ministry,' Mr Brodsky said. 'They will also hire criminal networks to foment terror and undertake operations. And there are also Iranian dissidents that the regime targets. These are potential risks to look at and policymakers need to make it clear to Iran that any operations will be viewed as akin to an act of war.' Speaking before Israel's attack, the UK's Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, announced the creation of a 'counter-hybrid taskforce' aimed at combating the activities of states such as Iran. Tehran has been developing hybrid warfare tactics including using cyberattacks, proxies and propaganda. Mr Lammy said Britain's diplomats 'will be ready for this murky new age of sabotage and subterfuge'. Iranian actors and criminals working for them have been known to carry court surveillance and reconnaissance, with the intention of carrying out serious violence. Announcing sanctions against Majid and his Foxtrot network, the US Treasury said Iran was 'increasingly' using criminal networks as proxies so it could maintain plausible deniability for operations against its enemies. 'Iran's brazen use of transnational criminal organisations and narcotics traffickers underscores the regime's attempts to achieve its aims through any means, with no regard for the cost to communities across Europe,' said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Iran has sought to assassinate dissidents through other criminal networks, including that of Iranian drug trafficker Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti, who had sanctions imposed on him by the US last January. Known as 'the Big Guy', he allegedly organised the attempted murder for hire of two residents of the state of Maryland. Tehran has also used foreign individuals, known in the spying trade as 'disposable assets', to harass opponents of the regime, including employees of Iran International, a London -based dissident television channel. In December 2023, Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, a Chechnya-born Austrian citizen was found guilty of spying on the broadcaster. Iran International was forced to move to new high-security studios after being shut down following alleged threats from the Iranian state. Two Romanian citizens were charged in December 2024 over the stabbing of Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati. Iran International spokesman Adam Baillie said: 'We are watching developments closely and we remain as ever on high alert for the security implications.'
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Live coverage: Iran launches fresh wave of attacks on Israel, says revenge has started
June 13, 2025, 1:43 PM Iran's nuclear programme Before the Israeli strikes, Washington and Tehran engaged in multiple rounds of negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme, driven by growing international alarm over its accelerated development. This concern has deepened in recent years, particularly after the 2018 collapse of a landmark nuclear agreement. That deal — designed to limit Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief — began to unravel when the US unilaterally withdrew. Since then, Iran has significantly expanded its nuclear efforts. As of mid-May, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile had reached approximately 9,247.6kg — over 45 times the limit established by the 2015 accord. Of particular concern is the estimated 408.6kg of uranium enriched up to 60 per cent purity — dangerously close to the 90 perc ent threshold required for a nuclear weapon. Based on IAEA definitions, Iran now possesses enough near-weapons-grade material to potentially produce around 10 nuclear bombs if further refined. Click this link for a full list of Iran's nuclear key sites.
