Overview
- Speaking in Moscow on Thursday, Vladimir Putin said the fallout from the US‑Israel‑Iran fighting could rival the COVID‑19 pandemic and warned the effects are hard to predict.
- The Kremlin called the situation a worst‑case scenario and urged that the war be stopped, adding that any credible steps toward negotiations deserve support.
- Reporting points to a blockade at the Strait of Hormuz that is straining oil and gas flows and disrupting shipping, while the WTO has described global trade turmoil as the worst in 80 years.
- Russia faces claims it has provided Iran with drones, satellite imagery and intelligence, which Moscow denies as false while keeping channels open with Tehran.
- India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier cautioned that fuel supply, shipping and daily routines could face prolonged strain and asked the country to prepare.