Transcript: The US is leaving an Iranian island untouched

This is an audio transcript of the FT News Briefing podcast episode: ‘The US is leaving an Iranian island untouched’

Marc Filippino

Good morning from the Financial Times. Today is Tuesday, March 10th, and this is your FT News Briefing. There was some relief in the oil market yesterday and a small island off the coast of Iran seems to be untouchable.

Malcolm Moore

Nobody has touched Kharg Island in retaliation. If you blow it up, then you have a real problem going forward.

Marc Filippino

Plus, Anthropic is going head-to-head with the Pentagon. I’m Marc Filippino, and here’s the news you need to start your day.

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The red hot energy market cooled yesterday on two major updates. US President Donald Trump said yesterday afternoon, the war in Iran was “very complete, pretty much”, and earlier in the day, G7 finance ministers said the group stands ready to release petroleum from emergency reserves. The idea is that more supply would lower energy prices.

Brent crude fell below $90 a barrel. That was down from a whopping $119 earlier in the day. Meanwhile, countries are trying to save energy as much as they can. Bangladesh closed universities, the UK Automobile Association is telling people to stay off the roads if they can help it, and Germany’s government said it’s not ruling out any measures to contain rising energy prices. The G7 is expected to make a final decision on releasing emergency reserves today.

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One of Iran’s most sensitive targets is a tiny coral island in the northern Gulf. Somewhat ironically, it’s also one of the easiest to hit. It’s called Kharg Island, and it’s crucial to Iran’s oil industry.