Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told parliament on Monday that the country has no intention to produce nuclear weapons but it would continue to pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
Brent crude futures were up US$0.70, or 1 per cent, to US$74.94 a barrel in Asian trade on Monday having jumped as much as US$4 earlier in the session. While the spike in oil prices has investors on edge, stock and currency markets were little moved in Asia.
“It’s more of an oil story than an equity story at this point,” said Jim Carroll, senior wealth adviser and portfolio manager at Ballast Rock Private Wealth. “Stocks right now seem to be hanging on.”
TRUMP VETOES PLAN TO TARGET KHAMENEI, OFFICIALS SAY
In Washington, two US officials told Reuters that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan in recent days to kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
When asked about the Reuters report, Netanyahu told Fox News on Sunday: “There’s so many false reports of conversations that never happened, and I’m not going to get into that.”
“We do what we need to do,” he told Fox’s “Special Report With Bret Baier.”
Israel began the assault with a surprise attack on Friday that wiped out the top echelon of Iran’s military command and damaged its nuclear sites, and says the campaign will escalate in the coming days.
Iran has vowed to “open the gates of hell” in retaliation.
