U.S. likely to tighten sanctions on Iran crude oil amid Israel-Hamas war, RBC’s Helima Croft says
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is likely to tighten crude oil sanctions against OPEC member Iran in response to the Islamic Republic’s backing of Palestinian militant group Hamas, according to Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
Her comments come ahead of a widely expected ground offensive by Israel into Gaza, a move that Croft believes could set the tone for the West’s response to Iran.
It has been more than two weeks since Israel announced a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip, cutting off food, water, fuel and electricity supplies after a devastating Hamas attack.
“It certainly looks like the United States is trying to delay an Israeli ground operation because they want to get out the hostages, they want to get out the hundreds of Americans that are trapped in Gaza, but the question is, is this going to be postponed indefinitely, but I think people are bracing for some type of escalation in Gaza,” Croft told CNBC’s Dan Murphy in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
She described the oil price reaction to the Israel-Hamas war as “sanguine” so far, but nevertheless said “a lot’s going to hinge on what does a potential ground operation look like” and that a widening of the conflict into the broader Middle Eastern region could affect the crude supplies of Iran.
The Iranian flag above the new Phase 3 facility at the Persian Gulf Star gas condensate refinery in Bandar Abbas, Iran, in 2019.
Ali Mohammadi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Oil prices whipsawed on Wednesday morning, as market participants closely monitored long-term economic concerns and the prospect of Middle East supply disruptions.
International benchmark Brent crude futures with December delivery were trading at $88.34 per barrel at 10:20 a.m. London time (5:20 a.m. ET), up 28 cents from the Tuesday settlement.
Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures with December expiry stood at $83.87, up around 10 cents from the previous session.
Rising congressional pressure
Tehran, which has historically financially supported Hamas, praised the Palestinian militant group’s multipronged terror attacks of Oct. 7 against Israel — but has denied involvement.
Croft said the West and the Biden administration would, “at a minimum,” consider a retaliatory gesture of curbing Iranian exports, which she estimates have climbed near levels seen before 2018, when former President Donald Trump’s administration reimposed sanctions against Tehran’s crude.
“The argument is, can you continue to allow Iran to keep the bank open for groups like Hamas? So, I think the Biden administration is going to have to tighten those sanctions.”
She expects such measures to come into effect soon, amid rising bipartisan U.S. congressional pressure to cut off the availability of Iranian financing for groups like Hamas.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC.
Biden previously warned Iran to “be careful” after the attacks by Hamas on Israel.
U.S. senators from both major parties are preparing sanctions to help the federal government enforce sanctions against Iran’s crude oil, Reuters reported on Oct. 19, citing the office of Republican Sen. Joni Ernst. The bill, which is to be spearheaded by Ernst, will reportedly be co-led by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Ernst, who has long called on the White House to enforce sanctions against Iranian oil, doubled down on this message amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“We need to be enforcing the sanctions that are already in place. The message to Iran should be: Stop funding these terrorist organizations. They need to do it now,” Ernst told Fox News on Sunday.
Solar panel giant Qcells announced today that it’s temporarily furloughing 1,000 US workers – 25% of its workforce – and reducing pay and shifts at its factories in northeast Georgia due to supply chain delays caused by US Customs.
Qcells furloughs 1,000 workers
The supply chain delays are hindering the company’s ability to import components to build its solar panels. This has resulted in Qcells’ two factories in Cartersville and Dalton being unable to operate at full capacity for several months.
Qcells spokeswoman Marta Stoepker shared the following statement in an exclusive with Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta:
The company says the furloughed workers, who were notified this afternoon, will retain full benefits and won’t be laid off. However, Qcells will no longer be using staffing agency employees in Georgia “at this time.”
As Qcells introduced new supply chains to support its growing solar panel manufacturing facilities in Georgia, the company was recently forced to scale back production while our shipments into the US were delayed in the customs clearance process.
Although our supply chain operations are beginning to normalize, today we shared with our employees that HR actions must be taken to improve operational efficiency until production capacity returns to normal levels.
Stoepker said it expects to bring the furloughed workers back “in the coming weeks and months.” She continued:
Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains. We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.
Electrek’s Take
In January 2023, the Seoul-headquartered Qcells announced it would invest more than $2.5 billion to build a solar supply chain in Georgia – the largest-ever investment in clean energy manufacturing in the US to date. That included expanding the Dalton solar factory and building a fully integrated solar supply chain factory in Cartersville, Georgia, that will manufacture solar ingots, wafers, cells, and finished panels.
It’s not quite there yet, because that takes time. In the meantime, it’s being penalized by Customs. The US government under Trump says it’s keen on boosting domestic manufacturing. Why would it work against a company that’s onshoring an entire solar supply chain, including recycling?
Dalton and Cartersville employ nearly 4,000 people. Its total output will reach 8.4 GW of solar production capacity per year, which is equivalent to nearly 46,000 panels per day – enough to power approximately 1.3 million homes annually.
It’s ludicrous that it has been forced to furlough a quarter of its workforce due to the ineptness of the Trump administration’s US Customs policies. This is right up there with the ICE arrests at Hyundai’s plant in Georgia. Bravo.
Read more: Georgia gives US solar panel manufacturing a big boost with a new factory
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The breakthrough EV batteries Toyota says will double driving range and cut charging times are facing another setback. The company is once again delaying plans for a new battery plant in Japan.
Why is Toyota delaying its EV battery plant this time?
Earlier this year, Toyota bought a 280,000-square-meter plot of land in Fukuoka, Japan, where it planned to build a plant to produce the more advanced EV batteries.
A location agreement was expected to be signed by April, but Toyota pushed back construction by several months, blaming slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles.
The agreement was expected to be finalized this Fall, but that will no longer be the case. According to Nikkei, Toyota is delaying the EV battery plant for the second time. Toyota will review and adjust plans over the next year.
Fukuoka governor, Seitaro Hattori, confirmed the news with reporters on Friday following a meeting with Toyota’s president, Koji Sato. Hattori also shut down claims that Toyota was planning to scrap the battery plant altogether.
Toyota again blamed slowing EV demand for the delay. The decision comes despite Keiji Kaita, president of Toyota’s Carbon Neutral Advanced Engineering Development Center, confirming at the Japan Mobility Show just last week that it’s “sticking on the schedule” to introduce its first solid-state battery-powered EV by 2028.
Last month, Toyota said it aimed to “achieve the world’s first practical use of all-solid-state batteries in BEVs” after securing a partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. to mass-produce them. It’s also working with Japanese oil giant Idemitsu.
The company recently revealed a solid-state battery pack prototype that it claims can deliver 747 miles (1,200 km) range and 10-minute fast charging, but will we ever see it actually in production?
Electrek’s Take
Toyota has been making empty promises about EV batteries for almost a decade now. It initially planned to introduce solid-state EV batteries in 2020, then pushed it to 2023, then 2026, and now it’s saying it will be around 2028.
Mass production is likely closer to the end of the decade, if Toyota doesn’t delay it again. While it’s blaming the slowing demand, global EV sales are still on the rise. According to Rho Motion, global EV sales topped 2 million for the first time in a single month in September 2025. Through the first nine months of the year, EV sales are up 26% compared to the same period in 2024.
Even with the US ending the $7,500 federal tax credit and other policies designed to promote electric vehicles, global adoption will continue building momentum over the next few years.
Is it a demand issue, or is Toyota just looking for another excuse? With rivals like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW, and Honda advancing next-gen EV batteries, Toyota will only fall further behind if it continues delaying key projects.
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