Chief-Exec.com

Donald Trump says US could withdraw from Iran ‘whether we have a deal or not’
Donald Trump said the US could end its war in Iran within “two or three weeks” even if no peace deal was reached, in the strongest sign yet of the president’s growing impatience with a conflict that has roiled markets. “We’ll leave whether we have a deal or not. It’s irrelevant,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office late on Tuesday. The US would do so within “two or three weeks” though a deal between Washington and Tehran was possible before then, he said. The president’s remarks at a White House event came just hours after Brent, the international oil benchmark, settled at $118.35 a barrel, near its highest level since the start of the war a month ago. Now in its fifth week, the conflict has sparked a global energy crisis that has threatened to unleash a fresh bout of inflation and eroded Trump’s hopes of convincing Americans that he will be able to extinguish a painful cost-of-living crisis before November’s midterm elections. Financial Times, April 1

Israel says it will keep control over part of southern Lebanon after war with Hezbollah ends
Israel's defence minister has said a buffer zone will be set up inside southern Lebanon and that Israel will keep security control over a swathe of the territory even after the end of the current war against the armed group Hezbollah. Israel Katz said the area to be occupied would go up to the Litani River in southern Lebanon - about 30km (18.6 miles) from the border with Israel. He also said all houses in Lebanese villages near the Israeli border would be demolished. Lebanon's Defence Minister Maj Gen Michel Menassa said Katz's remarks reflected "a clear intention to impose a new occupation of Lebanese territory". European nations, Canada and the UN also criticised Israel's announcement. Israel sent ground troops into southern Lebanon on 2 March and has also been launching broad strikes across the country. The action was taken after Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in retaliation for Israel's assassination of Iran's supreme leader in late February, at the start of the war with Iran. Israel was also carrying out near-daily strikes on Hezbollah before that despite a ceasefire that was agreed in 2024. BBC news, March 31

Asia ramps up use of dirty fuels to cover energy shortfall triggered by Iran war
Governments across Asia are ramping up their use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, as they try to cover huge energy shortfalls triggered by the US-Israel war on Iran. The move has triggered warnings from climate experts who point to coal’s devastating environmental impact, and say the energy crisis should be a wake-up call for governments to invest in renewables, which can offer a more stable supply that is not exposed to price shocks. Across the region, from Bangladesh to South Korea, governments are trying to compensate for a drop off in imported energy, much of which comes from the Middle East. South Korea said it will delay the shutdown of coal-fired power plants and has lifted caps on electricity from coal, while in Thailand, the government has increased output at the country’s largest coal-fired plant. The Philippines, which has declared a “national energy emergency” as a result of the war, also plans to boost operations of its coal-fired power plants. The Guardian, April 1

US judge orders suspension of Trump's White House ballroom construction
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to halt construction of a $400 million White House ballroom after demolition of the East Wing, ruling the project cannot proceed without congressional approval. US District Judge Richard Leon granted a preliminary injunction sought by a preservationist group. France 24, April 1

A million heart patients to get weight loss jabs on the NHS
More than one million adults with heart disease will be prescribed Wegovy on the NHS, under a new drive to stop them dying of heart attacks and strokes. The health watchdog Nice has recommended the roll out of semaglutide - known by brand names Ozempic or Wegovy - to patients with heart problems, even if they are not obese. It follows a major trial, involving 17,604 people, which showed semaglutide cuts the risk of death from heart problems by 20 per cent regardless of how much weight people lost. About 1.2 million people who have previously had a heart attack or stroke will be eligible for Wegovy on the NHS from this summer, alongside existing heart medications such as statins. The Times, April 1

Billionaire Chris Rokos donates record £190mn to Cambridge university
Hedge fund billionaire Chris Rokos has promised to give £190mn to Cambridge university in the biggest-ever gift to a UK university, narrowly overtaking the £185mn given to Oxford by Blackstone boss Stephen Schwarzman. The donation from the UK-based billionaire will include an initial £130mn for a new school of government in the Cambridge West innovation district science park, which Cambridge hopes will be a major centre of political thought in Europe. Rokos has also committed to an additional donation of up to £60mn, with this latter portion matched by the university. Previously Cambridge’s largest single donation of modern times was £100mn given in 2019 by the investor David Harding. Schwarzman gave an initial £150mn to Oxford in 2019 to create a centre for the humanities, which opened last year after he made two further donations. Financial Times, March 31

Pete Hegseth’s broker looked to buy defence fund before Iran attack
A broker for Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, attempted to make a big investment in major defence companies in the weeks leading up to the US-Israeli attack on Iran, according to three people familiar with the matter. Hegseth’s broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in the asset manager’s Defense Industrials Active ETF, the people said, shortly before the US launched military action against Tehran. The inquiry on behalf of the high-profile potential client was flagged internally at BlackRock, according to the people familiar with the matter. According to BlackRock, the $3.2bn equity fund, which carries the ticker IDEF, pursues “growth opportunities by investing in companies that may benefit from increased government spending on defense and security amid geopolitical fragmentation and economic competition”. Its largest holdings include defence conglomerates RTX, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, which count the US Department of Defense as their biggest customers, as well as data integration specialist Palantir. Financial Times, March 31

Kuwaiti tanker hit by Iranian drone attack in Dubai port
Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker anchored at Dubai port, with the strike damaging the vessel’s hull, in the latest strike on merchant vessels in the Gulf and strait of Hormuz amid the US and Israel war on Iran. Dubai authorities said the drone attack on the Al Salmi tanker caused a fire on board that was extinguished early on Tuesday, hours after the attack was first reported. They later confirmed there was no oil leak. The attack came hours after Donald Trump warned that the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it does not open the strait of Hormuz. The month-long conflict has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said the Al Salmi was struck in an Iranian attack while anchored at Dubai port in the United Arab Emirates, causing a fire onboard and other damage to the vessel. Dubai authorities said maritime firefighting teams successfully put out the blaze which was sparked by a drone attack and continued to assess the situation, adding that no injuries were reported and all 24 crew members were safe. The Guardian, March 31

Foreign central banks sell US Treasuries in wake of Iran war
Foreign central banks have slashed their holdings of Treasuries at the New York Federal Reserve to the lowest level since 2012, as countries sell the US government bonds to prop up their economies and currencies in the wake of the Iran war. The value of Treasuries held in custody at the New York Fed by official institutions - a group that is largely made up of central banks but also includes governments and international institutions - has dropped by $82bn since February 25 to $2.7tn, according to Fed data. The decline in these holdings since the war began a month ago highlights how the surge in energy prices triggered by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway, has upended the finances of countries that rely on oil imports, as well as boosting the dollar across the board. It also comes at a time when some central banks have intervened in foreign exchange markets to prop up their currencies, a move that typically involves selling US dollars. Financial Times, March 31

Spain closes airspace to US aircraft involved in Iran war
Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in attacks on Iran, Madrid's Defence Minister Margarita Robles has said. "We will not authorise the use of Morón and Rota [military bases] for any acts related to the war in Iran," she said, adding that Spain had "made this clear to the American government from the beginning". Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares stated that the aim of the decision was to "not do anything that could encourage an escalation in this war". A White House official told the BBC that the US military was "meeting or surpassing all of its goals under Operation Epic Fury and does not need help from Spain or anyone else". US President Donald Trump has previously threatened to impose a full trade embargo on Spain over its opposition to the Iran war. Since the start of the war in late February, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been one of the most vocal opponents of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, describing them as "reckless" and "illegal". BBC news, March 30

UK ministers seek advice on scrapping Palantir NHS data contract
The government has sought advice on scrapping a significant NHS contract delivered by Palantir over the tech giant’s work for the American government. Louis Mosley, executive vice-chairman of Palantir in the UK, urged ministers not to give in to “ideologically motivated campaigners” who are demanding that the NHS cut its links with the company because of its work for the US defence sector and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ministers have sought advice on triggering a break clause in Palantir’s contract to provide data systems to NHS hospitals that help them to manage waiting lists, speed up discharging patients and use operating theatres more effectively. The company is two years into a seven-year £330 million contract but is facing calls from doctors to be stripped of its role in the health service. Speaking to The Times, Mosley warned that scrapping the contract could damage patient care and cost the taxpayer money in lost productivity savings. The Times, March 30

NASA starts countdown for first crewed Moon mission in over 50 years
NASA began its two-day countdown on Monday ahead of what is slated to be its first crewed moonshot in more than half a century, a long-anticipated loop around Earth's satellite that is to pave the way for future exploration. The first window to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida opens on Wednesday, April 1 at 6:24pm (22:24 GMT), and NASA officials said the countdown began at 4:44pm. "The vehicle is ready, the system is ready. The crew is ready," Amit Kshatriya, the US space agency's associate administrator, said in a briefing. "Behind this flight stands a campaign," he continued, noting recently announced plans including constructing a lunar base. If Wednesday's launch is cancelled or delayed for any reason, there are more liftoff opportunities up to April 6. France 24, March 31