Breakfast News Recap: Middle East tensions ripple through markets and diplomacy as floods and strikes hit several regions

Iran says it will wait for an official US response after President Donald Trump rejected its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commerce, a sign the standoff over regional shipping and security remains unresolved.  🔗 Saudi Arabia warned that escalating threats across the Middle East are affecting international peace, energy security and global stability, underlining how quickly the crisis is spreading beyond the immediate conflict zone.  🔗

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In Iraq, officials are in direct talks with Washington after four airports suspended flights to and from Iran, deepening a regional aviation dispute triggered by new restrictions.  🔗 In Ireland, a report said consumers are already paying more for fuel, energy and mortgage repayments after the escalation of the war involving Iran, showing the economic fallout is reaching far beyond the Gulf.  🔗

Gaza aid politics also sharpened, with Hamas condemning the Board of Peace after it said it would not work with UNRWA in the territory, raising fresh questions over who will manage relief deliveries.  🔗 Separately, Germany and Russia held rare foreign ministers talks in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, their first such meeting since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, amid warnings of further escalation.  🔗

On the battlefield, Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes that killed at least 16 people over the past 24 hours across Ukraine, Russia and occupied territory, according to statements from both sides.  🔗 In Ethiopia, the federal military said it was responding with restraint as renewed fighting spread across the country's north, with fears growing of a wider conflict.  🔗

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Europe was hit by a separate tragedy in Athens, where emergency teams recovered the bodies of six people after an explosion caused a two storey apartment block to collapse in the historic Plaka district.  🔗 In the UK and Europe policy sphere, the UK and Ukraine aligned with the EU on restrictive measures concerning actions undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity, signalling continued sanctions pressure.  🔗

Across the Americas, Venezuela released 39 political dissidents after a second round of negotiations between the interim government and the opposition, one of the clearest signs of movement in the post Maduro talks.  🔗 Cuba's foreign minister also used a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York to condemn the United States' oil blockade against the island, even as Donald Trump predicted a deal.  🔗

In the United States, a powerful nor'easter brought coastal flooding, strong winds and heavy rain to the north east, prompting New York and New Jersey to declare emergencies.  🔗 In Asia, Bangkok was declared a disaster affected zone after torrential rain brought widespread flooding across Thailand's capital, with nearly 300 mm of rain inundating the city.  🔗

In Washington, Trump also approved new fuel economy rules ending the Biden era EV mandate, a major shift in US auto policy that he said would help American workers and car buyers.  🔗

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