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Indian Oil has signed a five-year supply agreement with Mauritius's State Trading Corporation to provide the island nation's entire import requirement of petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel. The deal, inked during Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's visit this week, marks the first long-term supply pact an Indian state-owned oil company has concluded outside South Asia in recent years. Mauritius, heavily dependent on imports and hit by West Asia supply disruptions, gains long-term price certainty and energy security; India deepens its strategic footprint in the Indian Ocean and locks in a new customer for refined products. The agreement builds on an energy partnership dating to 2001, when Indian Oil established a subsidiary in Mauritius. India's refineries produce 267 million tonnes of refined petroleum annually across 23 facilities, making it a net exporter already supplying Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Southeast Asia. The pact also covers training, capacity building for Mauritian officials, and biofuels cooperation through the Global Biofuels Alliance, which India launched during its G20 presidency. Commercial terms and volumes remain undisclosed.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Monday a new sanctions campaign against Iran that the administration describes as the most comprehensive economic isolation effort ever deployed. Bessent told CNBC the U.S. will "collapse" the Islamic Republic with "the toughest sanctions in history" and demands that American allies and other nations cease all business with Tehran, threatening "full might" against any country that does not comply. The administration framed the move as "economic D-Day" and "the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary," with Trump warning on Truth Social of "Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale" and threatening severe penalties against nations that help Iran evade sanctions. Iran's Supreme National Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei responded Sunday by warning that any country supporting the new measures would face retaliation "in a seismic manner," and said Tehran would target alternative oil-shipping routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dismissed the threat as an implicit admission of American military defeat. Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, noted that Iran is already one of the world's most sanctioned countries and questioned whether additional economic pressure will alter Tehran's behavior, pointing out that Iran retains "significant disruptive capabilities" in the strait and across the Middle East.

Venezuelan lawmakers backing a dollarization proposal have enlisted U.S. economist Steve Hanke, a Johns Hopkins professor known for advising governments through currency crises, as a personal economic adviser. Hanke and deputy Antonio Ecarri have drafted a full dollarization bill that would abolish the bolívar and close the Central Bank of Venezuela, eliminating the government's ability to print money or set interest rates. Venezuela's annual inflation currently runs around 400%, down from 700% before recent political shifts, translating to roughly 8% weekly price increases on basics like eggs, meat, and rent. Hanke estimates the bill has a 50% to 80% chance of passing the National Assembly—the strongest opening for monetary reform since his own currency-board proposal was rejected in 1995–96. The proposal has triggered a political dispute: Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez denied the parliament hired Hanke and called the reports "absolutely false," while Ecarri's office clarified Hanke is advising him personally, not the institution. Hanke has successfully overseen dollarizations in Montenegro, Ecuador, and temporarily Zimbabwe; in each case where political discipline held, inflation collapsed rapidly. Venezuela's oil output has fallen sharply, and external debt stands at a substantial level, making price stability essential to attract the foreign investment needed to rebuild energy infrastructure and renegotiate debt with creditors including China, Russia, and U.S. oil majors.