Putin making £569m a day from Iran war in bumper oil windfall

Russia is raking in nearly £600million per day in oil revenues thanks to the war in Iran, analysis suggests. A report by the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) Institute earlier this month suggests that Russia's oil and gas sales will double from around $12bn (£8.9billion) to nearly $24bn (around £18billion) in March.

It amounts to around $760million (about £569m) per day at that monthly rate, as the Kremlin benefits from Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Restrictions on the vital international trade route have sent the oil price skyrocketing with heavy impacts across the global economy. The move came in response to US-Israeli strikes against the Islamic Republic in late February which killed the Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior figures in the regime.

Fighting continues in the Middle East as US President Donald Trump comes under pressure to wrap up the conflict and end the cost-of-living pressures it is unleashing.

Putin is one global leader who will likely be in no rush to push for peace, with soaring oil prices significantly boosting Moscow's oil and gas revenues, the country's primary source of income.

They're also benefitting in the short term from Trump's decision to temporarily ease sanctions on some sanctioned Russian crude to alleviate the impacts of the international oil crisis, The Telegraph reports.

According to the KSE report, even in a scenario in which active war wraps up after six weeks and flows swiftly recover quickly, Russia would generate an extra $84billion (£62.9bn) in export earnings this year compared to if war hadn't broken out in Iran.

However, in a pessimistic scenario in which there is an "extended war and much slower post-war restoration of supplies, Russia would gain $252bn [£188.7bn] in export earnings and $151billion [£113bn) in budget revenues", it adds.

According to the authors, such an outcome would "almost inevitably" lead to a budget surplus for the Russian Government and "the ability to maintain high war spending for years to come" as Putin's war in Ukraine grinds on.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on oil and gas firms in Russia make the "mature" decusion use the huge windfalls they're receving from the Iran war to reduce their debt burden.

Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, as Moscow sought to conquer the former Soviet Republic.

The war is now in its fifth year Russia and has sustained heavy losses and pressure on its economy as Kyiv continues to stand firm.