CNBC Daily Open: Middle East conflict stokes energy supply worries

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U.S. crude futures rose more than 1% Wednesday as Trump ordered “a total and complete” block of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

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**Crude oil crossed $80 per barrel **Thursday, as the Iran war entered its seventh day and continues disrupting global fuel supplies. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that his country was “not asking for a ceasefire” from the U.S. and Israel, while President Donald Trump said that his administration will turn its focus to Cuba after the U.S. military operations in Iran are finished.

**As oil supply worries take hold, **the U.S. issued a 30-day waiver to the world’s third-largest oil importer, India, to resume purchasing Russian oil. That comes after Washington slapped 25% “penalty” tariffs on India for buying Russian crude, which were revoked only last month.

**Besides energy disruption, the turmoil in the Middle East **has shattered Dubai’s status as a global wealth hub, as the rich scramble to escape the largely tax-free haven. Over the past week, UAE has seen projectiles hit tourist and civilian spaces, including the 5-star Fairmont The Palm Hotel and the Dubai airport.

**Over in the U.S., the Anthropic-OpenAI rivalry continues. **OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took swipes at rival Anthropic on Thursday and said he thinks it’s “bad for society” if companies start abandoning their commitment to the democratic process because “some people don’t like the person or people currently in charge.” That comes after the Department of Defense clashed with Anthropic in recent weeks over how the agency can use its AI models.

**Adding another layer of uncertainty to markets, **Trump’s tariffs face a new legal battle after New York Attorney General Letitia James and the top prosecutors of 23 other states once again sued to block his global tariff regime, just days after a landmark Supreme Court decision struck down his previous effort.

And finally…

UAE mulls freezing Iranian assets as Middle East conflict escalates: WSJ

The United Arab Emirates is considering cutting off Iranian access to billions of dollars held in the Gulf state, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The move could cripple Tehran’s access to foreign currency and global trade networks at a moment when its economy has been deteriorating, and the military conflict with U.S. and Israel has piled on more pressure.

Emirati authorities have warned Iranian officials that such a move was under consideration, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the discussions, although no decision on whether, or when, to act has been reached.

— Anniek Bao

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