Iran-US attacks pause as Trump opens door to diplomacy; oil prices ease

Singapore tightened monetary policy on Monday for the second time in three months, as the fallout from the US war against Iran keeps global energy markets volatile and inflation risks elevated.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it would increase the rate of appreciation of the local dollar's trade-weighted value.

The move comes as oil prices remain elevated owing to tensions in the Middle East, sparked by the US-Israel attacks on Iran that began on February 28, and continue to cast a shadow.

Because the city-state imports most of its needs, higher global prices for food and energy directly drive up local living costs.

Unlike many central banks, the MAS manages inflation by adjusting the Singapore dollar against a basket of currencies of its main trading partners within an undisclosed band, rather than setting interest rates.

A strong Singapore dollar eases the effects of rising import costs.

"Singapore's imported costs are likely to rise in the quarters ahead," the MAS said, adding that core inflation "is forecast to step up in July and remain elevated into early next year."

It warned that "inflation could pick up more strongly than anticipated if energy prices spike anew" as "fuel reserves have been drawn down significantly and renewed supply disruptions in the Middle East could cause sharp surges in oil prices".

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appealed to world leaders and international bodies for urgent action to halt what he described as escalating Israeli military operations and settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In letters sent Sunday and uploaded early on Monday (July 27), Abbas urged Arab and friendly nations, the European Union, the Arab League and the UN Security Council president to intervene amid what the Palestinian Authority calls a “dangerous escalation”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to attend the UN General Assembly in New York this autumn, dismissing previous threats by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to have him arrested over an International Criminal Court warrant.

In an interview with US media, Netanyahu said he was "not concerned" about Mamdani's earlier comments, noting that the mayor has since acknowledged he lacks the legal authority to arrest a foreign head of government.

The Israeli leader accused Mamdani of fueling divisions in the city.

"He's supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers — Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone — but he's trying to turn one group against the other," Netanyahu said.

The Pentagon has removed four US service members killed during the recent escalation with Iran from the official war casualty count, according to an Associated Press report.

The Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS), previously cited by military officials as the main record for casualties linked to the conflict, no longer includes the four deaths and dozens of injuries in its primary tally.

The AP reported that the casualties have instead been moved under a separate category titled “Overseas Operations”, which lists the names of the four fallen troops along with 207 injured personnel.

It remains unclear whether all the reported injuries were directly linked to the fighting between the US and Iran.

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on said Ukraine's attack on an Iranian commercial ship in the Caspian Sea "cannot go unanswered."

In a post on the social media platform X, Araghchi accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of ordering "a blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel's behest to drag Europe into its war."

He said he had "made clear that what the freeloader in Kyiv did CANNOT GO UNANSWERED" in phone calls with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday and Sunday respectively, Xinhua news agency reported.

He made the remarks on Saturday in a phone call with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, in which the two sides discussed the latest regional developments, according to a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Araghchi condemned the Ukrainian attack, urging the EU, UN Security Council, and international community to hold its "perpetrators" and supporters to account, according to the statement.

The two sides also addressed developments in the Strait of Hormuz, stressing the need for diplomatic initiatives to manage regional tensions, it added.

In a separate statement, the ministry said it summoned Ukraine's charge d'affaires in Tehran on Saturday over the attack, formally delivering a note of protest condemning the "hostile and criminal" act

Global oil prices fell sharply in early Asian trading on Monday, with benchmark crude surrendering much of last week's war-driven gains as investors shifted focus from geopolitical fears to signs that military escalation between the United States and Iran may be easing.

A market snapshot at 7:32 am Monday (July 27) on OilPrice.com in Tokyo showed:

• WTI crude: $84.02 a barrel, down $5.29 or 5.92%

• Brent crude: $90.88 a barrel, down $5.90 or 6.10%

• Murban crude: $97.05 a barrel, down $10.12 or 9.44%

• Natural gas: $2.805, down 2.3%

The declines follow a week of extreme volatility in energy markets, during which oil prices briefly surged toward multi-month highs amid fears that fighting involving Iran, the US and Houthi militants could disrupt crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

US President Donald Trump dismissed growing concerns that military stockpiles are reaching dangerously low levels, directly refuting reports that interceptor shortages are constraining American military strategy in the ongoing conflict with Iran.

In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, Trump rejected claims that dwindling munitions pose a problem for US defence capabilities, asserting, "we have far more munitions than anyone in the world, and far more than we need."

The President's remarks come in response to a report by The New York Times regarding internal administration deliberations where Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine expressed concerns that interceptor reserves could be exhausted if military operations escalate further.

According to officials cited by The Wall Street Journal, US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper believes American forces can manage the constrained inventory of Patriot and other air defence interceptors.

The strategy relies on expanding US strikes, pending approval from Trump, to neutralise Iran's launching capacity before large-scale missile volleys can be initiated.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the United States is exchanging messages with Iran through mediators, including Pakistan and Qatar, according to Iranian media reports, citing his remarks in an interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF.

Baghaei stressed in the interview that for any dialogue to be formed, the "proper ground" must be prepared, noting that the United States has destroyed such a ground, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Iranian media.

He accused Washington of violating "all its provisions" in practice under the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States.

The spokesman said Iran's current priority "is to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and protect its people against the war crimes that are being perpetrated by the United States."

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi on Sunday (local time) sharply criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United States, responding to remarks by the Israeli leader welcoming the removal of International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.

In a post on X, the Deputy Foreign Minister also condemned the US' for attempting to act against the court after the Israeli PM noted commitments by Washington to oppose the International Criminal Court.

"The Prime Minister of the Zionist regime, the accused with an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, brazenly declares that the US Secretary of State has pledged to act against the Court pursuing him," the official stated. "They call the Court 'corrupt' because it dared to pursue Washington's wanted criminal."

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has reaffirmed Tehran’s support for the Lebanese group Hezbollah in a letter addressed to its leader Naim Qassem, commanders and fighters, according to a CNN report.

In the letter, Khamenei praised Hezbollah’s “perseverance and steadfastness”, describing the group as being at the forefront of resistance against Israel and its allies. He also credited communities in southern Lebanon for supporting Hezbollah.

Khamenei said backing Hezbollah remains a key strategic policy of the Islamic Republic. He added that protecting Lebanon’s territorial integrity and securing a “complete and unconditional” end to Israeli attacks were Iran’s main conditions for any agreement to end the conflict.

The letter accused the United States and Israel of oppression and said “jihad and resistance” remained the only path forward.

US President Donald Trump shared a series of AI-generated images to project American military supremacy, particularly against Iran, and advance political themes surrounding the 2028 election campaign.

The digital artwork, shared by the President on his Truth Social account, spans direct depictions of armed conflict and maritime seizures, futuristic defence visuals, historical comparisons, and domestic political symbolism.

The first group of images focuses on military strikes, sea patrols, and direct action in the Middle East.

In one image labelled "Guardians of the World," a massive President Trump stands over the horizon behind American stealth fighter jets marked "U.S.A.," which fly above giant explosions tearing through ground targets labelled "IRAN" while US warships patrol the water below.

Another picture, called "Strike on Kharg," shows an air attack on Iran's main oil terminal on Kharg Island, with jets flying over huge fireballs, heavy smoke, and burning fuel tanks.

Action on the water is further highlighted in "It's Our Oil Tanker Now!," where President Trump and armed US troops stand on an Iranian ship while men in white thobes and traditional Middle Eastern kaffiyehs jump into the ocean with a US aircraft carrier in the background.

Another image, "No More Engines," shows an Iranian oil ship floating at sea with its back section totally blown up and covered in thick black smoke and flames.

Other graphics depict President Trump steering a naval warship and directing military forces like a battlefield commander, including one where he wears a hat with the phrase "FAFO."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that Iran's nuclear programme "has to come to an end" regardless of whether a diplomatic agreement is reached, as he prepared to meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday (local time), while US officials signalled a pause in military action to allow diplomacy where as Iran vowed to strengthen its military preparedness.

Speaking to Fox News, Netanyahu outlined what he believes would be required to end the conflict with Iran. "I think when this regime is either toppled or it's sufficiently weakened that it knows it has to end its nuclear program and has to change its course," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli Prime Minister indicated that, in his view, the war would effectively end only if Iran either undergoes a fundamental political change or abandons its nuclear programme and alters its regional policies.

"That's really what President Trump is trying to achieve. And I backed him fully... But one way or the other, they have to end their nuclear program. And with a deal or without a deal, that has to come to an end," he added.

Ahead of his departure for Washington, Netanyahu said Iran would be among the key issues during his talks with Trump.

"Tomorrow I will fly to Washington to meet, at his invitation, with President Trump, and afterwards to participate in the memorial service for a great friend of Israel, the late Senator Lindsey Graham. I will also discuss all pending issues with President Trump, including the situation in Iran," he said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Day 147: Iran says military ready as Netanyahu heads to US

Day 146: Iran says it earned $11.5b in oil sales during the war

Day 145: US-Iran war escalates as Tehran targets US bases in Gulf

Day 144: House approves bid to limit war with Tehran as oil hits $100

Day 143: US tightens Iran blockade, redirects 9 commercial ships

Day 142: Air defences roar over Tehran on 11th night of strikes

Day 141: Iran president says country in 'full-scale war' with US

Day 140: US strikes Iran, Gulf states face missile threats as war risks spread