Trump rejects idea that Iran betrays his 'no new wars' campaign message
JUNE 7, 2026 | 7:07 PM ET
By The Associated Press
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — President Donald Trump is dismissing the idea that launching the war with Iran this year betrayed his refrain of "No new wars" that he made repeatedly as he campaigned again for the White House.
Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he "didn't guarantee" there would be no wars if he were back in office.
"First of all, I didn't guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?" Trump said.
Trump also defended plans for a now-scrapped $1.8 billion fund that would have compensated allies of the Republican president and he repeated his baseless claims of mass fraud in California's drawn-out vote count from Tuesday's primary. He ended the interview abruptly when he became frustrated with pushback from NBC's Kristen Welker.
Iran 'is not an endless war'
In his 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly cast his Democratic opponents as warmongers and said he was a president who started "no new wars" and would bring an era of peace.
But Trump said in the NBC interview, taped Friday in Wisconsin, that as a candidate, "I didn't promise anything."
"I don't like these endless wars. This is not an endless war. We've been doing this for three months," he said of the war with Iran, which began Feb. 28.
Trump said he was "doing the world a service" and "doing our country a service" because he had to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. But elsewhere in the interview, Trump repeated a contradictory message where he said U.S. strikes last year "obliterated" Iranian nuclear sites.
He also defended his decision in his first term to withdraw from Democratic President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, an agreement he has heavily criticized, without negotiating the "better deal" he has promised to reach.
"It takes years to do these things," Trump said.
Trump without evidence claims fraud in California vote
California's notoriously prolonged vote count has been a magnet for election conspiracy theories, and Trump since Tuesday's election has claimed without evidence that Democrats are rigging the election. The Trump-appointed top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles said Friday that his office had opened"multiple election fraud investigations."
Late-tallied Democratic-leaning mail ballots have eaten into the vote totals for Trump's preferred candidates for governor and Los Angeles mayor. While Trump has often said that changes to vote totals as late ballots are counted are a sign of fraud, they are merely a reflection of a slow vote-counting process.
Trump in the interview kept claiming that it was a sign of "cheating" and "a rigged election," and grew increasingly frustrated as Welker pressed him for evidence to support that.
"All I have to do is look. All I have to do is look," Trump said.
"But that's not evidence," Welker responded.
"And I listen. And I listen to people. And let's see what happens," Trump replied.
'Anti-weaponization' fund
Trump defended plans that his Department of Justice said it has now abandoned to create a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" as part of a settlement to resolve Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Wednesday that the department was scrapping the plan. That announcement came after the plan was paused by a judge and after both Democrats and some Republicans said they were concerned about the fund's lack of oversight and the possibility of payouts being made to participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
Trump told NBC he thought the fund was "a great idea" and that he would be "disappointed" if it were not approved.
When asked if he thought people who attacked police officers on Jan. 6 should get a payout, Trump said, "I wouldn't be inclined to say so, but I have to see it." He then began making unfounded and false claims about the riot and those who stormed the Capitol. Trump granted a sweeping pardon on his first day back in office in January 2025 to the more than 1,500 people prosecuted over Jan. 6.
Rain interruptions and an abrupt end
The NBC interview was conducted in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, before Trump was set to speak at a roundtable event with farmers. The interview was repeatedly interrupted as waves of heavy rain fell on the metal roof of the barn where the taping took place, making it difficult at times to hear.
At the end, Welker pressed Trump on the settlement fund and his claims about the California election. Trump raised his voice and began calling Welker and the media "crooked," attacking her credibility and complaining about what he called "the fake, dirty press."
As Welker tried to switch subjects, Trump continued on and there was cross talk between the two. Trump ended the interview, saying said, "Let's call it quits." He took off his microphone, telling Welker, "Thank you, darling. Have a good time." He said he had given the interview enough time, stood up and walked away.
Welker said during the broadcast that she spoke to Trump on Saturday and he agreed the rain had caused complications and said he would do another interview in the future.
https://www.npr.org/2026/06/07/g-s1-126826/trump-iran-wars-campaign-message
The effort comes in response to delimitation talks between Japan and the Philippines, which Beijing considers illegal
China has launched a 'special maritime law enforcement operation' east of Taiwan in response to the announcement of maritime border talks in the area by Japan and the Philippines. China - which views the self-ruled island as its own sovereign territory - protested the negotiations, saying they infringe on its sovereignty.
The effort was launched on Saturday by China's Ministry of Transport in coordination with the local authorities, according to Xinhua. The operation is aimed at fully exercising China's maritime administrative law enforcement jurisdiction and safeguarding national rights and interests, the report said.
The operation follows a May 28 summit in Tokyo in which Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued a joint statement announcing the start of maritime delimitation talks on their respective exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning denounced the announcement, saying the waters Japan and the Philippines intend to delimit lie east of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as an exclusive economic zone.
"Any negotiations involving maritime delimitation in waters east of Taiwan must involve China," Mao said, adding that Japan and the Philippines violated international law by bypassing Beijing.
Taiwan has also sounded the alarm over the imminent talks, urging Tokyo and Manila to consult with it, as the area likely to be subject to negotiations overlaps with waters in which the island claims "rights and interests."
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said, however, that any agreement reached between Japan and the Philippines "would not be legally binding on any third party."
Taiwan's coast guard said it deployed at least five vessels "to respond appropriately" to the Chinese operation, which it said violates international law, and monitored four Chinese government vessels departing from the Port of Xiamen on the mainland.
China regards Taiwan as its own territory, and President Xi Jinping has refused to rule out the use of force to achieve reunification.
Tensions between China and Japan over Taiwan have simmered since November 2025, when Prime Minister Takaichi warned that a Chinese attempt to take over the island could be grounds for a military intervention. China subsequently accused Takaichi of being the first Japanese prime minister to explicitly frame a Taiwan scenario as a "survival-threatening situation," adding that the narrative has historically served as "a go-to tactic for Japanese militarism to launch aggression."
http://www.shanghaisun.com/news/279106886/china-launches-pecial-maritime-operation-off-taiwan
Warren Buffett transformed Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) from a failing textile company into a massive trillion-dollar conglomerate over his 60 years as CEO. At the core of the transformation is an investment philosophy rooted in buying excellent companies at a fair value and holding them for the long run, preferably forever.
In the last few years of his tenure as CEO, Buffett found few great investment opportunities, allowing Berkshire's cash pile to grow to nearly $400 billion. Greg Abel has shown a willingness to start deploying relatively small chunks of that capital in his first few months as CEO, and he recently agreed to a deal that would put about $8.5 billion of Berkshire's cash to work in an acquisition that follows in Buffett's footsteps.
Meet the next Berkshire Hathaway company
On May 31, Berkshire Hathaway announced plans to acquire Taylor Morrison Home (NYSE: TMHC) for approximately $6.8 billion in cash. When you add the company's existing debt, the deal's enterprise value is $8.5 billion. (Berkshire will likely retire that debt with its cash pile.)
Abel's decision to buy the homebuilder comes at a time when the industry is facing challenges due to high mortgage rates and expensive housing prices. That's led to bargain-priced valuations for some industry stocks, and Abel wasn't afraid to pounce on the opportunity.
The deal he struck has Berkshire paying just over 1.1 times book value and 9 times trailing earnings for the stock. Despite the premium paid over the prevailing stock price at the time, that's still a lower valuation than practically every other company in the beaten-down industry.
But the long-term outlook for homebuilders in America remains solid. There's a housing shortage in the United States. A recent White House report says the U.S. needs 10 million new homes. That's a massive opportunity.
Scale can be a key advantage in the current market, though, as larger homebuilders can manage overhead and exercise greater purchasing power to acquire land and materials at lower costs. To that end, Berkshire plans to combine Taylor Morrison's operations with its own Clayton Homes to create a top-five homebuilder.
That makes Abel's first major acquisition very much a Buffett-type move. He took the opportunity to buy a beaten-down company facing cyclical headwinds and requiring patience to realize its full value. What's more, it's a business that may be more valuable under the Berkshire umbrella than as a stand-alone company, thanks to complementary businesses within Berkshire.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/greg-abels-first-big-acquisition-160500998.html
A drone view of vessles anchored in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 3, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer (Reuters)
By Lili Bayer
BRUSSELS, June 3 (Reuters) - The European Union has proposed that the bloc’s Aspides naval mission take “the primary role” in clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz “when conditions allow” as part of a Franco-British-led initiative, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The European External Action Service wrote in a note dated May 26 and sent to member states that “the situation requires the Union to provide a meaningful contribution” to a coalition led by France and Britain “to be materialised once conditions allow and separated from the belligerents”.
Changing the Aspides mission’s mandate would require unanimity, and it remains unclear if the EU’s 27 member countries would back such a change. The mission was established in 2024 to protect ships from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group in the Red Sea.
‘IMMENSE’ CONSEQUENCES OF DE FACTO CLOSURE OF STRAIT
Around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that effectively closed after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
Hostilities flared again on Wednesday as Iranian attacks on Kuwait damaged its airport and injured dozens while the U.S. military carried out strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, with diplomacy to halt the war showing little sign of progress.
The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz has “immense shared consequences for the region and Europe, with Iran selectively allowing passage,” the EU’s diplomatic arm wrote in its note.
France and Britain have taken the lead in putting together a coalition of countries that could help ensure safe transit through the Strait once the situation there stabilises or the conflict is resolved.
It is unclear if Iran has placed mines in the waterway.
REINFORCING CAPABILITIES
The EU’s diplomatic service said that a European contribution would serve “to showcase EU-wide ownership and responsibility in addressing a situation affecting all Member States” and “vis-a-vis NATO Allies”.
An Aspides role would also “allow all Member States to financially support, via the Operation’s common costs, those willing and able to contribute,” it wrote.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer; Editing by Andrew Gray, John Irish, Alexandra Hudson)
New Delhi [India], June 7 (ANI): India's growth momentum remains strong and fears that crude price shocks will derail it are a 'narrative problem, not reality,' said Neelkanth Mishra, India's newly appointed Executive Director at the World Bank.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Mishra spoke on Indian economy's outlook amid West Asia tensions, he argued that India is better placed than most energy importers to absorb higher oil prices without major damage to growth.
Mishra is also a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council and is widely known for his work as an economist and market expert.
On growth, Mishra pointed out India expanded 7.1% in FY25 despite monetary and fiscal headwinds, meaning credit growth was slowing and the government was tightening the fiscal deficit. 'If our growth was 7.1% despite fiscal and monetary tightening, it means without that, growth would have been higher,' he said. Now, with monetary tailwinds as credit growth accelerates and the budgeted deficit not lower than last year, he estimates the economy was growing at 8%+ till February-March 2026. He cited ground indicators: 29% YoY car sales growth in May, strong mall footfalls and sales, and cement demand in high single digits. 'You can't build inventory of cement...whatever is being bought is being consumed,' he noted, making it hard to justify negative sentiment.
On crude, Mishra explained why India's vulnerability is lower than headlines suggest. Because Indian oil marketing companies are also refiners, they benefit from refining margins when diesel cracks rise. If pre-war crude was USD 70/barrel with a USD 20 diesel crack, landed cost was USD 90. Today at USD 100 crude and USD 50 crack, other countries face USD 150, while India faces USD 120. With diesel cracks now cooling and oil around USD 94-95/barrel, 'India does not need to raise any further fuel prices.' The feared implicit subsidy of 20-30/litre is not needed; the 8/litre cushion is sufficient as oil prices have eased due to inventory releases by China and the US.
He quantified the headwind: at USD 100/barrel, oil creates a 2% drag on growth -- like an aircraft slowing from 900 to 700 km/h due to headwinds. But fiscal support such as fertilizer price caps won't be needed by March 2027 as oil futures are at USD 80/barrel. At USD 80, the economy can re-accelerate. The only serious vulnerability he flagged is the currency, not growth.
Mishra stressed India is fiscally more disciplined than in past oil shocks. While energy price shocks remain a risk, the current combination of strong domestic demand, fading fiscal/monetary headwinds, and India's refining surplus means growth can stay near 7.5-8% even with elevated crude. The bigger challenge, he said, is managing the narrative until data proves the resilience. (ANI)
Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images
OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to a fourth increase in its oil output targets in as many months, even though the U.S. war with Iran is still preventing several of the group's members from pumping more. The war has cut oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, creating the world's biggest-ever supply crisis, as key OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia, have been unable to supply customers in full since the end of February. The crisis for OPEC+ deepened when the United Arab Emirates left the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries after almost 60 years. Seven core members of OPEC+, which groups OPEC and allied producers including Russia, have increased their output quotas from April to June by almost 600,000 barrels per day.
Impact of production target increase
In reality, the group's production has collapsed due to export cuts by Gulf members, with production averaging 33.19 million bpd in April, down from 42.77 million in February, according to OPEC figures. On Sunday, the seven members decided to increase targets by 188,000 bpd from July, OPEC said in a statement. This is the same as the June hike, which was adjusted downward from monthly increases of 206,000 bpd in May and April to account for the UAE's exit. "An OPEC+ production increase means very little while the Strait of Hormuz remains closed," said Jorge Leon, an analyst at Rystad and a former OPEC official. "When the Strait of Hormuz reopens, the market could move very quickly from fear of shortage to fear of surplus." On Friday, Oil prices fell to around $93 a barrel as traders grew confident that renewed conflict between the U.S. and Iran was less likely. Prices were close to $72 before the war began. Brent crude futures settled at $93.09 a barrel, down $1.94 or 2.04%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished at $90.54 a barrel, down $2.50, or 2.69%.
June 7, 2026
Oil and gas producers in the Permian Basin, including those from Oklahoma, might not have to be concerned about protecting the habitat of a lizzard who lives in the largest oil-producing region of the country.
The Trump administration agreed to remove the endangered species protection of the dunes sagebrush lizard. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put the lizard on the protected list in May 2024 after determining the oil and gas development in the Basin made the loss of its habitat”effectively permanent.”
Two years later, the agency contends it made a “serious and fundamental” mistake by improperly assume the habitat restoration could not happen and by also discounting experimental efforts that “show promise,” according to a recent U.S. Justice Department court filing as part of a lawsuit originally filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The error, stated the filing, “led to an incomplete and potentially inaccurate assessment of the portential and ongoing conservation efforts in New Mexico and Texas.”
The filing is a move to settle the lawsuit but it still must be approved by a federal judge in Midland, Texas. If such a legal settlement is approved,it would require the Fish and Wildlife Service to take another look at the listing it made in May of 2024.
The DOJ filing is seen as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back environmental regulations and efforts of the Biden administration. Critics have responded by arging the efforts only weaken protections for air, water and public health, according to Reuters.
When the listing was made two years ago, Texas Attorney General Paxton filed suit against the federal government and claimed the move to list the dunes sagebrush lizard was “endangered” was part of the Biden administration’s efforts to under the oil and gas industry.
The lizard lives in the shrublands and dunes of the two states where the Permian Basin is located. The Fishand Wild lawsuit filed that year by the state of Texas against the federal government. At the time, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said the move to list the dunes sagebrush lizard as endangered was part of the Biden administration’s efforts to undermine oil and gas production.
The lizard lives in shrublands and the conclusion of the Fish and Wildlife Service came after more than 20 years of debate over whether the lizard should receive government protection from more oil and gas production.
https://okenergytoday.com/2026/06/u-s-revokes-endangered-species-listing-for-permian-basin-lizard/
By Irina Slav - Jun 07, 2026, 4:00 PM CDT
Persian Gulf oil exporters are scrambling to reroute their crude from ports to pipelines to keep the world running and keep their oil money flowing and fueling their economies. Sanction waivers abound. Venezuela’s oil output has shot up to 1.25 million barrels daily. The world of energy after the end of the war in the Middle East will be a very different one from what we’ve become accustomed to over the last five years.
When the United States and Israel first fired on Iran, the overwhelming assumption was that first, Iran would never close the Strait of Hormuz, and two, after the closure became a fact, that it would only last for a few days, maybe a couple of weeks tops. Then, when it became abundantly clear that there is no expiry date on the Strait closure, oil exporters finally started making contingency plans.
News about pipeline plans in the Persian Gulf includes the UAE, which eyes an operational pipeline to the port of Fujairah by next year, demonstrating just how urgent the alternative route is to one of the largest oil exporters in the Middle East. The UAE’s exit from OPEC highlighted the urgency as well, even though it was seen as a pivot to more energy policy independence. It was, but it can also be interpreted as a move to make sure the oil flows.
For years, the UAE has been working to boost its crude oil production capacity to 5 million barrels per day by 2027. To that end, the UAE had consistently demanded that it should be allowed in the OPEC and OPEC+ production deals to use more of its growing spare capacity—and it has indeed been allowed to do so. The country, alongside Saudi Arabia, is one of the few in the region—and the world—that held spare production capacity before the Middle East war began.
Saudi Arabia itself is a case in point: the kingdom has been using its East-West pipeline to bypass the Hormuz blockade, becoming an example of actual contingency planning and oil flow diversification in case of trouble in the neighborhood. Now, even Iraq is talking about boosting its pipeline capacity up to threefold—and doing it within three months.
Crude oil production from Iraq’s southern fields has plunged by 70% since the start of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, with the average production at 1.3 million barrels per day, compared with 4.3 million bpd before the war began. This makes OPEC’s number-two perhaps the most severely affected oil producer in the Gulf, because it is almost entirely reliant on the Strait of Hormuz for its exports.
“The legacy of the crisis will result in the construction of infrastructure to bypass the Strait of Hormuz,” Hamad Hussain, commodities economist at Capital Economics, told the Wall Street Journal. “The genie is out of the bottle given that the longstanding threat of Iran effectively closing the strait has now materialized.”
Many observers seem to believe that even when the war ends, one way or another, the oil landscape will change for good, with exporters investing in what the Wall Street Journal described as “an export network with multiple exits”—a real-life demonstration of the principle of distributing eggs to multiple baskets. As summed up by ADNOC’s head and the UAE’s energy minister, Sultan al-Jaber, “Energy security is no longer just about your ability to continue to produce. “It is about routes, access, storage and redundancy.”
Meanwhile, as warnings about a severe oil supply crunch multiply and get louder, some see relief on the horizon. Kpler, specifically, recently described a scenario in which Venezuelan, Iranian, and Russian oil all return to the market in greater volumes—which is already happening.
Venezuela, Kpler reported, is already producing and exporting 1.25 million barrels daily after the United States toppled the Maduro government and lifted sanctions so American companies could return to the country. This could rise to 1.5 million barrels daily by the end of the year, with Kpler analyst Naveen Das noting that since Venezuela is producing extra-heavy, high-sulfur crude, its recovering production would be in direct competition with Iranian and Russian heavy sour barrels, pressuring prices.
A forecast about weaker prices in less than a year has become an exception rather than the rule it was at the start of this year, before the war began, but it is a possibility. While there is no sign of any reconsideration of EU sanctions on Russian energy, the U.S. has issued waivers on crude and has extended these more than once, and this, per Kpler’s Das, “eliminated the psychological and compliance barriers for Asian buyers.”
As for Iran, the Kpler analysts see the chances of a peace deal rise in sync with the pressure on the U.S. economy resulting from the crisis-fueled energy price inflation. Essentially, the argument appears to be that the U.S. administration would have to do something to reverse the price trends, and that something will very likely involve sanction relief on Iranian crude. Again, it is worth noting this is still a distant prospect as President Trump appears intent on staying the current course.
by Energy News updated June 8, 2026 12:02 AM
Saudi Arabia cut its official'selling prices' (OSPs), for crude oil sold to 'Asia, in July, for a second consecutive month. This was expected, since spot premiums fell on a sluggish demand despite the supply disruptions caused by U.S. - Israeli war against Iran.
A document reviewed on Monday by?showed that the July OSP was set at $9.50 per barrel over the average Dubai and Oman quote, which is $6 lower than the OSP in June.
The July OSPs of other Saudi grades for Asia fell by $6 per barrel compared to the previous month.
The price reduction was in line with what the market expected following a decline in price and tepid trade on the spot market during May.
Data showed that the cash Dubai price premium to swaps was $9.59 per barrel in April, down from an average of $13.92 a month earlier. Spot Oman premiums also showed a similar trend.
Refiners are cutting runs and drawing on inventories in China, which is the No. Due to the?mounting refining loss, China, the world's No. In? May, and June, they lifted less Saudi crude.
Even so, OSPs for Asia in July are still much higher than they were before the Iran War. The 'conflict' has effectively halted the energy flow out of the Strait of Hormuz.
Controversy erupts over Ireland’s Aughinish Alumina facility
According to Главком: A major scandal is unfolding in Ireland around the Aughinish Alumina plant, Europe’s largest supplier of alumina. The facility is owned by the Russian company Rusal, which was founded by sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska-currently under sanctions from the U.S., the EU, and the UK. Despite these restrictions, the Aughinish plant itself has not been targeted by European sanctions, raising serious concerns among the international community.
How Irish alumina reaches Russia’s war machine
The core issue is that raw materials from Ireland may be indirectly supporting Putin’s war against Ukraine. Russian customs records from 2025 reveal that the largest recipient of Irish alumina was Rusal’s smelter in Krasnoyarsk. Exports of alumina from Ireland to Russia jumped from €196 million in 2021 to €315 million in 2025. This surge has sparked alarm because Rusal’s trading arm sells aluminum to the ASK trading house, which supplies Russia’s military-industrial complex.
Ukraine’s embassy in Dublin has voiced deep concern over this “troubling trade flow.” Politicians from Ireland’s ruling coalition, along with European Green Party representatives, are urging the European Commission to take immediate action. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin acknowledged that the plant is a key employer in the region, but stressed that, given the war in Ukraine, tighter controls on alumina exports are becoming increasingly urgent.
An analysis by the Kyiv School of Economics confirms that Russian military companies have been aggressively purchasing aluminum, highlighting the direct link between Aughinish Alumina’s operations and ongoing armed conflict. As a result, the plant’s future and its geopolitical impact remain under intense scrutiny.
This situation underscores the critical need to monitor international trade flows, especially during global conflicts. The rise in Irish alumina exports to Russia suggests that existing sanctions may not be effectively curbing economic ties with Moscow. How the European Commission responds could shape the EU’s broader sanctions strategy and its approach to controlling supplies heading into Russia.
The international response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine is multifaceted, as countries navigate their own economic interests while addressing geopolitical concerns. In a related development, Washington is urging Ukraine to reconsider its sanctions on Belarusian fertilizers, highlighting the complexities of balancing support for Ukraine with the need for agricultural stability in the region. This situation underscores the interconnectedness of various industries and the potential implications of trade policies amid the conflict.
https://inkorr.com/en/irlandskij-zavod-rusalu-postacae-sirovinu-dla-vijni-rf-proti-ukraini-330337
BY MUFLIH HIDAYATON MAY 15, 2026
When Trade Routes Become Chokepoints: What Indonesia's Nickel Crisis Reveals About Battery Metal Fragility
The global energy transition has created a widely overlooked paradox: the more aggressively the world pursues battery-powered transportation, the more concentrated and fragile the supply chains underpinning that transition become. Nowhere is this paradox more visible right now than in Indonesia's nickel sector, where a convergence of geopolitical disruption, regulatory tightening, and chemical input scarcity is simultaneously threatening the world's most dominant nickel-producing nation at its operational core.
The sulfur squeeze in Indonesian nickel sector is not a single crisis. It is the collision of three independent forces arriving at the same time, amplifying each other in ways that few market participants were positioned to anticipate.
Why HPAL Processing Is the Epicenter of Indonesia's Supply Problem
To understand why sulfur has become such a critical flashpoint, it helps to first understand what high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) actually does and why Indonesia has invested so heavily in it.
HPAL is a hydrometallurgical processing method specifically designed to extract nickel and cobalt from laterite ores, which are the low-grade, near-surface deposits that dominate Indonesia's geology. Unlike sulphide ores found in places like Canada or Australia, laterite deposits cannot be economically processed using conventional smelting methods at scale. HPAL fills this gap by using sulfuric acid under extreme heat and pressure to chemically dissolve the target metals from the host rock.
The output is mixed hydroxide precipitate, or MHP, which serves as a battery-grade intermediate product that flows directly into cathode precursor manufacturing for the electric vehicle industry. This pathway is central to Indonesia's ambition to move up the battery raw materials supply chain value curve.
The HPAL process operates through four sequential stages:
Each stage is chemically dependent on the one before it. Without adequate elemental sulfur supply, the entire chain collapses from the first step. This is not a production optimisation challenge. It is a physical constraint with a hard operational boundary.
Indonesia's HPAL sector produced approximately 450,000 metric tons of nickel in 2025, representing more than 10% of global output. Sulfur currently accounts for between 30 and 35% of total HPAL operating costs, a share that has risen from around 25% before the current disruption as spot prices surged. The country sources between 75 and 80% of its sulfur imports from the Middle East, a geographic concentration that has transformed a manageable supply chain dependency into a systemic vulnerability.
https://discoveryalert.com.au/indonesia-nickel-crisis-battery-metal-supply-fragility-2026/
The state budget provides for funding of $228.5 million for the 2026/2027 financial year
The South Australian state government will provide an additional A$319 million ($228.5 million) in funding over the next two years to support the sale and operation of the Whyalla steelworks, according to Argus Media.
This support is included in the state budget for 2026/2027.
The steelworks has been under external administration since February 2025. Since then, the plant has received over A$2.88 billion in state and federal funding to secure sovereign steel production capabilities and support low-emission production.
The South Australian government has also allocated 6.5 million Australian dollars over two years to support Whyalla’s transition to low-carbon steel production. The transformation will be supported by a gas agreement with the Australian oil and gas exploration and production company Santos.
Gas from this company will enable Whyalla to implement direct reduced iron (DRI) technology for processing magnetite ore, Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher stated in February this year.
On 27 May, the state government announced a shortlist of two bidders for the steelworks: the Australian independent company M Resources and the Indian firm Jindal Steel.
It should be recalled that the Australian government officially launched the process of selling Whyalla Steelworks in June last year. The plant was once a key asset of Sanjiv Gupta’s GFG Alliance.
Billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani has regained the title of Asia's richest person after a sharp increase in his net worth, driven by gains across listed Adani Group companies, ANI reported citing to Forbes report.
Forbes reported that "Gautam Adani's fortune increased by roughly $2.5 billion on Friday as shares rallied across his Adani Group subsidiaries," helping him overtake Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani to reclaim the top position in Asia.
According to Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires List, Adani's net worth rose to $89.2 billion, ahead of Ambani's $88 billion and SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son's $87 billion.
"Adani's net worth swelled to $89.2 billion, ranking him ahead of Ambani ($88 billion) and SoftBank's Masayoshi Son ($87 billion)," Forbes said in its report.
The increase in Adani's wealth came amid gains in several Adani Group stocks. According to Forbes, the rally included shares of Adani Power, Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Adani Green Energy and Adani Energy Solutions.
"A boost to Adani's net worth followed a broader stock surge across companies under the umbrella of his Adani Group," the report said, adding that Adani Green Energy gained 6.9% while Adani Energy Solutions rose 3.8%.
Forbes further said Adani's wealth has risen sharply over the past month.
"His fortune has increased by nearly $10 billion since the Justice Department dismissed fraud charges against the Adani Group last month," the publication reported. Adani and his co-executives had denied the allegations, Forbes noted, as quoted ANI.
The report also highlighted the scale of the group's listed businesses, stating that the combined market value of six major Adani Group companies stood at about $191 billion as of Friday.
"About $191 billion. That's the combined market value across six Adani Group companies as of Friday," Forbes said.
Adani's return to the top spot marks a significant comeback after a prolonged period of volatility for the group.
According to Forbes, the recovery in Adani Group stocks has helped restore Adani's position among the world's wealthiest individuals, placing him once again at the top of Asia's rich list.
