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WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump (picture) said Sunday that the United States was in discussions with Iran as the war enters its third week but that Tehran was not ready for a deal to end it.

“Yes, we’re talking to them,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, without detailing the nature of such talks, when asked if there was any diplomacy under way to end a conflict that has spread across the Middle East and roiled global markets.

“But I don’t think they’re ready. But they are getting pretty close,” Trump said.

Iran’s foreign minister had denied earlier that any talks with the United States were taking place.

Trump said he was not sure he wanted to make a deal to end the war “because first of all nobody even knows who you’re dealing with, because most of their leadership has been killed.”

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khameini and dozens of other Iranian officials died on the first day of the US-Israeli attacks on February 28.

Trump insisted however that “they want to make a deal badly”.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was not interested in talks with the United States, pushing back on Trump’s stance.

“We are stable and strong enough. We are only defending our people,” Araghchi told CBS’s “Face The Nation,” in an interview aired Sunday.

“We don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans, because we were talking with them when they decided to attack us,” he said. “There is no good experience talking with Americans.” — AFP

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LYNAS Rare Earths Ltd has signed a binding letter of intent to supply the Pentagon with rare-earth oxides over a four year-period. 

The arrangement is worth US$96 million and will cover heavy and light rare-earth products, the company said in a statement Monday. The letter “establishes a framework to finalise an agreement for the supply” of the critical minerals, used in everything from wind turbines and electric vehicle motors to advanced military applications, for national security and supply-chain resilience objectives.

The floor price for neodymium-praseodymium oxide will be US$110 per kilogramme, it said.

“Through this agreement, the US Defense Industrial Base will continue to have access to Light and Heavy Rare Earth oxides that are essential for modern manufacturing,” Lynas chief executive officer Amanda Lacaze said in the statement. 

Lynas is one of only two major rare-earths miners outside China — which holds a near monopoly over the supply chain. It currently has a mine and processing plant in Western Australia and another facility in Malaysia. 

The company has plans to develop a heavy rare earth processing facility at Seadrift in Texas, however, there is “significant uncertainty” as to whether construction will go ahead, Lynas said in the statement. 

The agreement comes just a week after Lynas signed an offtake agreement with Japan Australia Rare Earths BV, which negotiates on behalf of Japanese companies. That agreement was for at least 5,000 tonnes of neodymium-praseodymium oxide a year until 2038, at a price floor of US$110 a kilogramme. — BLOOMBERG

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ISTANBUL — The Arab League on Sunday condemned Israel’s closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque to worshippers, notably during the month of Ramadan, saying it has no right to take any measures preventing Muslims from worshipping there, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

In a statement, the regional bloc said the move constitutes a blatant violation of international law and could lead to serious repercussions for regional and international peace and security.

It also called on the international community to pressure Israel to halt illegal actions at Jerusalem’s holy sites and respect freedom of worship.

The statement came as Israel has kept Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem closed since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on Feb 28, while allowing only about 50 worshippers to pray at the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank. — BERNAMA-ANADOLU

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OIL rose while US stock futures edged lower in early Monday trading after a US attack on Iran’s main export hub heightened risks to supply across the Middle East.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped about 0.2% at the open. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2% after the US bombed military targets on Kharg Island, the terminal handling almost all of Iran’s oil exports. Futures signaled stocks in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong may open lower, while the dollar edged down against major peers.

The strike threatens to inject fresh volatility into energy markets already grappling with some of the biggest swings in oil in decades. Oil’s surge since the war began has rippled across asset classes, pushing Treasury yields higher on inflation concerns, lifting the dollar and weighing on global equities.

“I would think this significantly heightens the risk of higher-for-longer energy prices and meaningfully raises inflation and growth risks,” said Justin Lin, an investment strategist at Global X ETFs Australia. “The resumption of energy flows is only possible if infrastructure remains largely intact.”

President Donald Trump said late Friday that US forces struck military targets on Kharg Island and warned attacks could expand to energy infrastructure if Tehran interferes with transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic through the narrow waterway has nearly halted since the war began, and Iran’s supreme leader said the strait should remain shut if the conflict continues.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency indicated oil from an unprecedented stockpile release will be made available immediately in Asia as buyers scramble to replace disrupted Middle East supply.

On Sunday, Kevin Hassett, head of the White House’s National Economic Council, said the Pentagon estimates the Iran mission could take four to six weeks to complete and that the US is ahead of schedule.

Inflation risks are likely to be a key focus for markets this week as eight of the world’s 10 major central banks deliver policy decisions. The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to raise rates for a second straight month, while other policymakers may hold steady as they wait for clarity on how long the conflict will last.

Market stress is building at the fastest pace since April’s tariff shock. A Bank of America Corp. index of options-implied volatility across equities, rates, currencies and commodities jumped last week to a level just below its peak reached during the turmoil triggered by Trump’s rollout of aggressive levies 11 months ago.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, has surged 40% since the end of February, prompting investors globally to reassess risk with the fighting now in its third week. Global stocks have slid more than 5% since the war broke out, led by Asian markets. The S&P 500 Index has declined three straight weeks and sits 5% below a record reached in January. 

In fixed income, US Treasuries have given up their returns for the year. benchmark 10-year bonds have jumped more than 30 basis points in March, closing at 4.28% on Friday. Yields on two-year notes are trading near their highest since September as oil-linked inflation risks saw a rapid paring of Federal Reserve rate cut expectations. The dollar is trading at its strongest in three months.

“FX markets are digesting the latest Middle East developments through two main channels, namely a spike in global risk aversion and higher oil and gas prices,” Barclays strategists led by Themistoklis Fiotakis wrote in a note to clients. “Given the shift in sentiment and magnitude of the moves already registered, it may require another leg up in risk aversion and oil to justify a stronger US dollar from here.” — BLOOMBERG

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OIL surged as much as 3.3% after US attacks on Iran’s main export hub marked another escalation in the war, threatening crucial energy supplies from the region to global consumers.

Brent traded around US$105 a barrel after adding more than 40% in the past two weeks, while West Texas Intermediate was near US$101. The Islamic Republic has carried out retaliatory attacks on Israel and Arab states in the Persian Gulf, after the US struck military sites on Kharg Island, which handles the bulk of Iran’s oil shipments. 

The bombing of Kharg Island further increased the scope of the conflict, which the International Energy Agency last week said has already caused the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — the vital maritime thoroughfare linking the Persian Gulf to international markets — has remained at a near-standstill since fighting began.

Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that exports from Kharg Island were continuing as normal. Meanwhile, the army said some specified areas in Doha and Dubai hosting US forces may be attacked in the coming hours, Fars said early on Monday.

A top aide to President Donald Trump said the Pentagon estimates the Iran war, now in its third week, would take between four and six weeks. Kevin Hassett, head of the White House’s National Economic Council, offered the timeline along with a caveat that the ultimate decision on when the war will conclude lay with the president. 

Over the weekend, Trump dangled the possibility of negotiations to end the conflict, although Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Islamic Republic hasn’t asked for talks or a ceasefire.

Trump also intensified calls for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen, calling on allies to send warships to help. The administration plans to announce that multiple nations have agreed to form a coalition to escort vessels through the waterway, although they are still discussing if the operations would start before or after hostilities end, the Wall Street Journal reported.

In the United Arab Emirates, loading operations at the key hub of Fujairah were interrupted after a drone strike in the early hours of Saturday, choking off shipments from the country’s only export route while the strait is blocked. Activities there resumed on Sunday.

In a sign of how the war is squeezing global crude supply, the IEA said Sunday that oil from an unprecedented stockpile release will be made available immediately in Asia. The agency’s statement came after it received implementation plans for the record 400-million-barrel reserve release announced last week. — BLOOMBERG

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