China, Russia Abstain as UN Security Council Demands Iran Halts Attacks on Gulf States

• 32 nations agree historic 400m barrels reserves release 

•Citi, StanChart evacuate Dubai offices, HSBC closes Qatar branches

• Iran cannot participate in world cup, minister says

•ADC calls on FG to cap petrol prices

Emmanuel Addeh and Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The UN Security Council on yesterday called for Iran to halt its attacks on Gulf states, in a resolution that did not mention US or Israeli strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran’s ambassador to decry a “blatant misuse” of the international body.

In the same vein, 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wednesday agreed to release a historic 400 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves to stabilise supply and curb soaring prices.

The coordinated action came amid escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, financial institutions evacuating Gulf offices, and Iran’s new supreme leader reported lightly injured in recent attacks, underscoring the far-reaching consequences of the conflict.

Besides, Washington signaled it is not finished militarily, cautioning Tehran of further consequences even as major banks, including Citi and Standard Chartered, evacuated staff from Dubai, while HSBC closed branches in Qatar to safeguard operations amid rising regional instability.

Amid the turmoil, Tehran also announced that Iran would be unable to participate in the upcoming FIFA World Cup, highlighting the widening social and economic impact of the conflict.

UN Security Council Demands Iran Stops Attacks on Gulf States

The UN Security Council on yesterday called for Iran to halt its attacks on Gulf states, in a resolution that did not mention US or Israeli strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran’s ambassador to decry a “blatant misuse” of the international body.

Veto-holders China and Russia both abstained from the Security Council vote, angered that the resolution did not acknowledge US-Israeli hostility towards Iran.

The resolution, passed by 13 votes with two abstentions, “demands the immediate cessation of all attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.”

It also condemned any actions or threats by the Islamic Republic of Iran aimed at closing, obstructing, or otherwise interfering with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has repeatedly struck Gulf states in retaliation to US-Israeli attacks that killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and continues to pummel Iranian sites.

The Islamic republic has also fired on commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial sea passage for the global fuel trade, in a bid to inflict pain on the global economy, AFP reported.

The UN ambassador of Bahrain, Jamal Fares Alrowaiei, who introduced the resolution sponsored by 135 countries, said its passing reflected the Gulf’s key role in the global economy.

“This is why ensuring the security of this region is not merely a regional matter, it is a common international responsibility that is closely linked to the stability of the global economy and energy security,” Alrowaiei told the Security Council.

However, veto-holders China and Russia both abstained from the Security Council vote, angered that the resolution did not acknowledge US-Israeli hostility towards Iran.

Iranian ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said adoption of the text represented a “blatant misuse of the Security Council mandate in pursuit of the political agendas” of the United States and Israel.

“Let me make it clear, this resolution is a manifest injustice against my country, the main victim of a clear act of aggression,” he said.

The United States, which backed the text, said its adoption reflected a broad condemnation of Iranian strikes.

“Iran’s strategy of sowing chaos, of trying to hold their neighbours hostage, trying to shake the resolve of the region, has clearly backfired, as shown by this vote today,” said US ambassador Mike Waltz.

32 IEA Nations Agree to Release 400m Barrels of Oil from Reserves

The IEA 32 member countries yesterday agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the Iran war supply disruption, a development that is likely to have limited impact on rising global energy prices.

It is the largest release of emergency stockpiles in the history of the IEA, which draws members from advanced economies in Europe, North America and northeast Asia. Japan said earlier it will release oil stockpiles as early as next week.

The organisation is tasked with maintaining global energy security. It was founded in 1974 in response to the oil embargo imposed by Arab producers over US support for Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

“The conflict in the Middle East is having significant impacts on global oil and gas markets, with major implications for energy security, energy affordability and the global economy for oil,” IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol, said in remarks broadcast from the group’s headquarters in Paris.

“I can now announce that IEA countries have unanimously decided to launch the largest-ever release of emergency oil stocks in our agency’s history,” Birol said. IEA members currently hold more than 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government obligation.

The IEA chief said the release is designed to address the immediate impacts of the supply disruption. But tanker traffic must resume through the Strait of Hormuz to bring stable oil and gas flows back to the global market, Birol said.

The IEA chief painted a dire picture of the situation. Middle East producers are cutting production and refinery operations are disrupted with major implications for diesel and jet fuel supplies in particular, Birol said. Attacks continue to damage energy and energy-related infrastructure, he said.

Oil prices have been extremely volatile since the outbreak of the Iran war on February 28, with global benchmark Brent crude rallying to nearly $120 a barrel at the start of the week, before falling back to around $90.

Mojtaba, Iran’s New Leader Wounded, Says Official

Also, an Iranian official told Reuters that the country’s new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had been lightly wounded early in the war, when airstrikes killed his father, mother, wife and a son. He has not appeared in public or issued any direct message since the war began.

Khamenei has not been seen by Iranians, or issued any public statement or message, since his selection on Sunday by a clerical assembly and is widely rumoured to have been wounded in the Israeli and U.S. strikes.

Seen as a hardliner close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Khamenei was the leading contender to succeed his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first wave of strikes on February 28.

The official did not give details about when Khamenei was injured or why he had not made any statement to the public since his appointment.

The first air strikes in the war were aimed at decapitating Iran’s leadership, and besides his father, they killed Khamenei’s mother, sister and wife, state television said.

“His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei is today the heir to the blood of his martyred father, his martyred mother, his martyred sister and his martyred wife,” a news anchor read out on state television, using Khamenei’s full titles and honorifics.

“He, who is a janbaz of the Ramadan War, inherits the path of the proud and steadfast martyrs of this land,” the anchor added, using an Iranian term for a wounded veteran, and the name Iranian officials have given the current conflict because it is happening during Islam’s fasting month.

Israel’s intelligence assessment is that Khamenei was lightly wounded and that is why he has not been seen in public, a senior Israeli official told Reuters.

Citi, StanChart Evacuate Dubai Offices, HSBC Closes Qatar Branches

Citigroup and Standard Chartered have begun evacuating their Dubai offices, telling staff to work from home instead, sources said on Wednesday, as banks step up precautions after Iran threatened Gulf banking interests linked to the US and Israel.

US financial giant Citigroup told its staff to evacuate offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Dubai’s Oud Metha neighbourhood, a memo sent to employees which was seen by Reuters showed, telling them to work from home until further notice.

A spokesperson for the bank said it was continuing to take measures to keep staff safe and had contingency plans in place to ensure business continuity.

Britain’s StanChart has a large presence in the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai now a major financial hub for leading international lenders including JPMorgan  and HSBC as well as law firms and asset managers.

Separately, HSBC has closed all branches in Qatar until further notice, according to a customer notice, saying the measure was to ensure the safety of staff and customers.

The moves came after a spokesperson for Tehran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters said on Wednesday that Iran will target economic and banking interests linked to the US and Israel in the region, after an attack on an Iranian bank.

Iran Cannot Participate in World Cup, Minister Says

Iran cannot participate in the 2026 World Cup after co-host the US launched airstrikes alongside Israel, Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali said on Wednesday. The attacks killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggered a region-wide conflict.

“Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” the minister told state television. The 48-team World Cup will be held in the US, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.

“Our children are not safe and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist,” Donyamali said.

“Given the malicious actions they have carried out against Iran, they have forced two wars on us over eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people. Therefore, we certainly cannot have such a presence,” he added.

Earlier, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he had met the US President Donald Trump, who told him he welcomed Iran’s participation in the World Cup.

Iran Begins Selective Passage of Oil Ships

Bangladesh-flagged ships carrying oil will get a safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a Bangladeshi media report said Tuesday, as regional tensions in the Middle East threaten global energy supplies.

The development came after a meeting on Monday between Bangladeshi Energy Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, the Iranian ambassador in Dhaka, according to the daily The Business Standard.

During the meeting, the Iranian envoy asked Bangladeshi authorities to provide advance information about its fuel-carrying vessels bound for the strategic waterway, the report said, citing officials.

The arrangement comes as Bangladesh faces mounting pressure on its energy supply chain following disruptions in global fuel markets linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Bangladesh lacks significant strategic oil reserves, relying largely on limited operational storage and immediate imports to meet its energy needs.

Authorities have ordered the closure of educational institutions nationwide as part of emergency steps aimed at conserving fuel and electricity, making Bangladesh one of the first countries to take such measures following the energy shock.

Trump Says ‘We’re Not Finished Yet’ in Iran

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, US President Donald Trump is asked what it will take for the war in Iran to end. “More of the same,” he answers. “And we’ll see how that all comes out.”

“They’ve lost their navy. They’ve lost their air force. They have no anti-aircraft apparatus at all. They have no radar. Their leaders are gone. And we could do a lot worse.”

He said that the US has hit Iran “harder than virtually any country in history has been hit”, but, he added, “we’re not finished yet”.

ADC Calls for Immediate Cap on Petrol Prices 

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on the federal government to introduce a temporary cap on petrol prices to prevent further increases that it says are worsening the cost-of-living crisis for millions of Nigerians.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said while global oil market volatility linked to the crisis in the Middle East may be contributing to the latest price hikes, the government must act to protect citizens from the impact.

The ADC also urged the introduction of targeted palliatives for low-income Nigerians and criticised the Federal Government’s plan to distribute 100,000 CNG conversion kits, noting that the figure represents less than one percent of Nigeria’s over 11 million vehicles and questioning the limited availability of CNG refuelling stations across the country.

The ADC further called on the government to immediately introduce a temporary and time-bound cap on petrol prices to prevent further increases that continue to push the cost of living beyond the reach of millions of Nigerians.

Abdullahi said that recent hikes in petrol prices reflect rising volatility in global oil markets, driven in part by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

However, the party said it believed that external shocks cannot justify allowing fuel prices to spiral without restraint in an already fragile economy, one that continues to reel from the consequences of the Tinubu-led APC government’s abrupt removal of the fuel subsidy.

‘’For everyday Nigerians, petrol determines the price of food, transportation, and survival. When petrol rises, everything else rises with it. This is why the African Democratic Congress urges the Federal Government to take urgent action to stabilize petrol prices.

‘’For once, the APC-led federal government should try to be responsible by taking responsibility for protecting citizens from the harshest consequences of the ongoing fuel price hikes. We also call on the government to introduce targeted palliatives, particularly for low-income Nigerians who are most-affected by the impact of rising fuel prices.’’, Abdullahi stated

‘’The government must look beyond temporary solutions to real, scalable answers to Nigeria’s energy challenges. This is why the African Democratic Congress questions the practicality of the Federal Government’s recently announced plan to distribute 100,000 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion kits.

‘’Nigeria has over 11 million vehicles on its roads. When placed in context, 100,000 CNG kits would reach less than one percent of the nation’s vehicle fleet.

‘’A policy that touches only a fraction of vehicles cannot meaningfully address a national fuel crisis. Beyond that, the number of CNG refueling stations across the country remains extremely limited, raising serious questions about accessibility for ordinary Nigerians. If Nigerians cannot easily find where to refuel, then the policy risks becoming an announcement without real impact ‘’, he said.