Regional
Iran war doubles Russia’s main oil revenue to $9 bln in April, Reuters calculations show
For the whole of 2026, Russia has budgeted for 7.9 trillion roubles from the mineral extraction tax.
Russia will see revenue from its biggest single oil tax double to $9 billion in April due to the oil and gas crisis triggered by the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, Reuters calculations showed on Thursday.
The Reuters calculation is some of the first concrete evidence of a windfall for Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter, from the Iran war, which oil traders say has triggered the most serious energy crisis in recent history.
Iran effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz – a route for about a fifth of global oil and LNG flows – after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran at the end of February, sending Brent futures shooting well past $100 per barrel.
Russia’s main revenue from its vast oil and gas industry is based on production. Export duty on crude oil has been nullified from the start of 2024 as part of the so-called wider tax manoeuvre, a years-long tax reform of the industry.
According to Reuters calculations based on preliminary production data and oil prices, Russia’s mineral extraction tax on oil output will increase in April to around 700 billion roubles ($9 billion) from 327 billion roubles in March. The revenue is up by some 10% from April last year.
For the whole of 2026, Russia has budgeted for 7.9 trillion roubles from the mineral extraction tax.
The average price of Russia’s Urals crude, used for taxation, jumped to $77 per barrel in March, its highest since October 2023, according to economy ministry data.
That was up 73% from February’s $44.59 per barrel and above the level of $59 assumed in this year’s state budget.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday there were a huge number of requests for Russian energy from a range of different places amid a grave global energy crisis that was shaking the foundations of the oil and gas markets.
Still, there are limits on the windfall for Russia, and economists inside Russia have repeatedly cautioned that 2026 could be a tough year.
Russia ran a budget deficit of 4.58 trillion roubles, or 1.9% of gross domestic product, in January-March 2026, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.
And Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, with an aim to cripple Moscow’s finances, have also contributed to lower earnings and threaten oil production cuts.
The size of the windfall for Russia will ultimately depend on how long the Iran crisis lasts.
Regional
US, Iran separately talk with mediators in latest bid to end war
US officials separately spoke with mediators on Monday, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, without giving further details.
US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of a renewed effort to end seven months of war, according to officials of both countries, Reuters reported.
Any further talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal that Iran presented last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.
The war began in late February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran, killing thousands of people over seven months and shocking global markets as vital waterways for oil remained choked. The US and Iran have twice previously agreed to ceasefires in mediated peace talks, in April and June. Those agreements quickly unraveled.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who remained in New York after attending the General Assembly, said Iran expected to receive the US response to its latest ceasefire proposals and its conditions for restoring passage of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to state news agency IRNA.
“If the Americans claim they are seeking an agreement or a peaceful solution, we have presented that solution,” Araqchi said.
US officials separately spoke with mediators on Monday, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, without giving further details.
Iran’s seven-day plan envisages an end to all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, the unfreezing of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.
Iran would then allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil tankers, and the two sides would also resume talks on Iran’s nuclear program and Trump’s wish to seize or eliminate its highly enriched uranium, read the report.
Trump said on Saturday he had rejected Iran’s proposal, saying Iran wanted a swift agreement because of the crippling economic pressure it is under. However, he also told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to engage in further talks this week.
Araqchi said on Sunday that mediators had not formally conveyed a US rejection, and that Iran was awaiting Washington’s definitive position before deciding its next steps.
“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met,” he said on Sunday, adding that only a negotiated solution could resolve the impasse.
Regional
Floods, landslides kill 56 in India and 14 in Nepal
In India, the Central Water Commission said 30 river-monitoring stations across seven states indicated a “severe situation”.
Heavy rain and storms have triggered floods and landslides that killed 56 people in India, while in Nepal, 14 have died and another 11 are missing, with authorities there warning on Sunday that more flash floods are possible, Reuters reported.
India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh recorded 66.5 mm of rain between September 25 and the morning of September 27, compared with a normal 7.6 mm for the period, Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, the state’s relief commissioner, said on Sunday.
Authorities are carrying out rescue operations in waterlogged areas and distributing relief, while officials have been told to assess crop damage and provide compensation.
In addition to the 56 deaths, 46 people have been injured and more than 1,000 houses have been damaged.
Nepali authorities warned of possible flash floods in 49 of the country’s 77 districts, with more than half facing high flood or flash-flood risks as water levels in major rivers and tributaries continued to rise.
Shanti Mahat, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, said Rasuwa and Nuwakot, areas hit by last month’s deadly floods that killed more than 1,450 people and left thousands still missing, should remain “alert” but were not currently considered high-risk areas.
Power supply has been completely disrupted in the Manang, Mustang, Myagdi and Baglung districts, with authorities working to restore electricity, energy ministry officials said.
Flooding of the Rahuganga River damaged the structure and transmission-line towers of a 40-megawatt hydropower project, Water Resources and Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said.
In India, the Central Water Commission said 30 river-monitoring stations across seven states indicated a “severe situation”.
Several major rivers, including the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati and Narmada, were above danger levels, read the report.
Floods and landslides also disrupted telecommunications in parts of Nepal after damage to optical fibres and power supplies, Communications Minister Bikram Timilsinha said.
In a separate incident in Nepal, 10 local workers were also missing after an avalanche buried the base camp of the 7,126-metre (23,379-ft) Himlung Himal in the northern Manang district, hiking officials said.
The workers had been setting up tents for foreign climbers, who were not present when the avalanche struck.
Regional
Aimal Wali Khan calls Dera Ismail Khan attack a ‘state failure’
Khan called on the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to take greater responsibility for protecting citizens and addressing the deteriorating security situation in the province.
Awami National Party (ANP) President and Senator Aimal Wali Khan has condemned the suicide attack on the Aman Mela checkpoint in the Darazinda area of Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan district, describing it as a failure by the state to ensure the security of citizens.
According to Dawn, Khan called on the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to take greater responsibility for protecting citizens and addressing the deteriorating security situation in the province.
In a statement, Khan said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is experiencing one of the darkest periods in its history. He alleged that the Pashtun population is facing systematic violence and said prolonged insecurity has left the province deeply affected by terrorism.
Khan also condemned an attack on an ambulance reportedly carrying the body of a person killed in the blast, describing it as an “inhumane act.”
The ANP leader questioned the government’s response to the worsening security situation, saying that blaming groups referred to by authorities as “Fitna al-Khawarij” and “Fitna al-Hindustan” does not absolve the state of its responsibility to protect citizens.
He urged the federal and provincial governments to stop blaming each other and instead focus on restoring peace and strengthening security across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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