Russia emerges as biggest winner in Iran war

The Iran war’s biggest winner so far is Russia. Soaring oil prices pushed the White House to lift sanctions on the sale of Russian crude currently at sea, freeing hundreds of millions of barrels; oil prices “barely budged” on the news, The New York Times reported.

Moscow was already profiting from the war. The same high prices have boosted its revenues by $150 million a day, with Urals crude up 40% month-on-month. It is “a stark reversal in fortunes,” the Financial Times noted: Moscow had been struggling with falling oil prices and lower sales to India under Washington’s pressure. The Kremlin will also be pleased the US has used huge numbers of munitions, notably advanced missiles that Ukraine badly needed.