Explainer

Explainer

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Why gold prices have remained steady despite the war on Iran

The conflict, involving strikes by the United States and Israel, has pushed oil prices above $100 per barrel following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz

A man walks through debris lying in a ward of a drug users rehabilitation hospital destroyed in what the Taliban said was a Pakistani air strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 17, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Yunus Yawar

From sponsor to enemy: What's behind Pakistan's attack on Afghan Taliban?

An aerial view shows Kuwait City on 16 March 2020. Photo: Reuters/Stephanie McGehee

How the US and Israels' with Iran is affecting daily life in Kuwait

A missile is launched during an air defence drill in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on January 12, 2025. Photo: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

What is China’s BeiDou system and why analysts say Iran may be using it

A satellite image shows an oil terminal on Kharg Island, Iran, on 25 February 2026. File Photo: Planet Labs PBC/Reuters

Why Kharg Island matters in the Middle East and global oil markets

An aerial view of the Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm in the strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Why is it so easy for Iran to shut the Strait of Hormuz?

Iranian missiles are displayed at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Museum in Tehran, Iran, on 12 November 2025. File Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters

Iran's 'Decentralised Mosaic Defence': A strategy for military resilience

Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visits Hezbollah's office in Tehran, Iran, October 1, 2024. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Who is Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new supreme leader?

Fighters from the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an Iranian Kurdish opposition group, are pictured near the border with Iran in Iraq's Kurdistan Region, in the outskirts of Sulaimaniya, Iraq, June 21, 2025. Photo: Ako Rasheed/Reuters

Inside the plan to support Iranian Kurds amid US-Israel operations

A missile is launched during an air defence drill in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on January 12, 2025. Photo: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

Iran's missile arsenal and its role in a widening conflict with the US and Israel

An F/A-18F Super Hornet prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of the US Navy's Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in the Arabian Sea February 15, 2026. Photo: US Navy/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman/Handout via REUTERS

How much could the war with Iran cost the United States?

A man wearing a badge printed with the party flag and symbol of Nepali Congress takes part during an election campaign in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal, March 1, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

Nepal's long history of political instability

An aerial view of the Iranian shores and the island of Qeshm in the strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

What is the Strait of Hormuz and why is it so important for oil?