The Middle East has arrived at the worst available outcome, which is neither resolution nor collapse but permanent uncertainty. Five months after the American and Israeli campaign against Iran began, there is no war large enough to force a settlement and no peace stable enough to restore normal commerce.

Energy flows continue in fits, interrupted by drone strikes and resumed during pauses, governed by nobody’s rules. What is hardening in this interval is not a military position but a commercial belief: that Gulf supply can no longer be counted on. That belief will outlast the fighting, and it is worth more to Iran than any territory.

The European Parliament’s approval of the revised foreign-direct-investment screening rules marks another step in the EU’s shift from open-market reflexes toward economic-security governance. Once the Council gives its final formal approval, the legislation will enter into force 18 months later and require all EU member states to screen foreign investments in sensitive sectors.

Those sectors include defence, dual-use goods, AI, quantum, semiconductors, critical raw materials, aerospace, energy, transport, digital infrastructure, financial entities and even electoral infrastructure such as voter databases and voting systems.

President Donald Trump announced plans Tuesday to impose a hefty 50% tariff on copper imports, a dramatic move aimed at reshoring production of a metal vital to everything from electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure to semiconductors and defense systems. The unexpected size and timing of the proposed levy triggered immediate tremors in commodity markets and left U.S. allies scrambling for answers.

U.S. copper futures surged more than 12% to an all-time high after Trump revealed the tariff plan during a White House cabinet meeting, surprising markets that had been bracing for a decision later in the year and expecting a lower rate. The proposed duties are far steeper than industry watchers or global producers had anticipated.