Kia ora and welcome to your Monday recap of international business and political news.
First up, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has set a 30-day deadline for the US military to end its blockade of the country’s ports. US President Donald Trump also said he would review a plan Iran sent via Pakistan but does not think he could make a deal, Al Jazeera reported.
Iran’s 14-point plan called on guarantees of non-aggression, lifting the naval blockade, and an end to the war “on all fronts”, including in Lebanon. Iran also wanted the release of frozen Iranian assets worth billions of dollars and war reparations.
The proposal described a “new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz”.
Negotiations between the US and Iran have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with one round of peace talks during the two-month war having failed in Pakistan, the AFP and Reuters reported.
"I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us but can't imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years," Trump said on Truth Social.
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US President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, the US warned shipping companies they could face sanctions if they paid Iran for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. An alert by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control said non-US people may risk exposure to sanctions if they made a payment, the BBC said.
Iran said it had collected tolls from ships to help navigate freely through the Strait of Hormuz.
Opec+ agreed to an increase in oil output of 188,000 barrels per day. The group of seven major oil producers announced it would increase June production by slightly less than May’s output hike of 206,000 barrels per day, CNBC said.
Oil prices fell on Friday local time after Iran sent its updated peace proposal to mediators in Pakistan. US crude oil futures fell 3% to US$101.94 per barrel, while Brent crude declined about 2% to US$108.17.
Elsewhere, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro may reopen a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, depending on what an inspector general’s probe uncovers about building renovations at the Federal Reserve.
Last month, Pirro wrote on social media that she had directed her office to suspend its investigation into Powell and after his likely replacement, Kevin Warsh, was approved by the Senate Banking Committee.
But she was still open to an investigation into the costs of the renovation project on the building.
“I want to see what’s there. If there’s something there, great. And if there isn’t, I’ll go home,” Pirro told CNN.
The Justice Department first launched an investigation into Powell in January.
Outgoing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
Spirit Airlines is shutting down after failing to secure a US$500m bailout from the Trump administration. The budget airline was in talks with the US government about a rescue deal, the BBC said.
“[Spirit has] started an orderly wind-down of our operations, effective immediately," the company said. "All Spirit flights have been cancelled, and Spirit guests should not go to the airport.”
New data showed UK goods exported to the US plunged about 25% following Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs last year and had remained fragile since then, CNBC reported.
The Office for National Statistics also said vehicle exports were below pre-tariff levels in the 12 months since April 2025. Last year, the UK became the first country to secure a trade deal with the Trump administration. The deal included a 10% blanket tariff on goods imported to the US.
Meanwhile, UK homebuyers defied a bleak economic outlook as house prices rose 0.4% in April, ahead of expectations for a slump, with the average price at £278,880, the Guardian said.
