<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As the war in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/iran"><span>Iran</span></a><span> enters its third week, one major beneficiary has emerged.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's not </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump"><span>US President Donald Trump</span></a><span>, who is facing meagre-at-best support for the conflict at home, and who repeatedly claims the war is "won" </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attack-iran-strait-of-hormuz-donald-trump/14ac7b1f-e957-4cec-b4c2-4855aadf111a"><span>while at the same time asking allies and even China to help get crucial commodities moving</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's not Iran, which has launched hundreds of missiles and thousands of drones to cause global economic chaos but has </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-strike-on-iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei/14563354-250d-40b4-8330-645799b4e899"><span>had its supreme leader assassinated</span></a><span>, other senior officials killed, and critical military assets damaged and destroyed.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>TIMELINE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attacks-iran-timline-events/ff4273f6-5e5f-40cf-949d-28907f8dfc21" rel="" target="" title="How 73 years of history led to an attack and leader's assassination"><strong><span>How 73 years of history led to an attack and leader's assassination</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And it's certainly not everyday punters, who have been </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/does-australia-have-another-petrol-would-we-run-out-of-fuel-oil-supply-iran-war-news/1f4af25b-2f5a-43d3-8a83-dcc919e12e28"><span>hit with sky-high petrol prices</span></a><span> – assuming their local servo hasn't run out of fuel.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/vladimir-putin"><span>Vladimir Putin</span></a><span>, though, is enjoying the spoils from a war launched by </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/russia"><span>Russia's</span></a><span> long-time adversary against one of its closest allies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The conflict in the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/middle-east"><span>Middle East</span></a><span> has taken attention away from </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/russia-ukraine"><span>Moscow's four-year invasion</span></a><span> of </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/ukraine"><span>Ukraine</span></a><span> – coincidentally following the first month since 2024 when the defending forces retook more territory than they lost, taking several hundred square kilometres on the southern front.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attack-iran-vladimir-putin-russia-benefits-donald-trump-sanctions-relief/ce1eafa6-3835-4a9c-9301-d085a9e1a564" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We would very much not like the United States to step away from the issue of Ukraine because of the Middle East," </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/volodymyr-zelenskyy"><span>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky</span></a><span> told CNN.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There's also concern in Kyiv that the Iran war will divert much-needed Western weapons away from it, as the US burns through large volumes of missiles and air defence systems.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/us-israel-iran-war-crisis-talks-over-petrol-as-middle-east-war-expands-after-oil-island-hit/7094b0cf-4f3a-4f69-a306-51d29beb6634" target="_blank"><strong><span>Crackdown to hit fuel check website after petrol stations caught lying</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Zelensky is worried there could be "delays in delivering certain weapons or reductions in the volume of critical defensive supplies for us".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The risk is very high, in my view," he said, adding that Ukraine is now looking to other allies to help with its air defences against Putin's invasion.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ironically, this comes at the same time as the US is asking for Kyiv's expertise to help defend against drone attacks.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While Iranian Shahed drones homing in on targets is a new sight for the Gulf states, it's all too familiar in Ukraine, which has since developed a small interceptor that only costs about one-sixth of the already-cheap Shaheds.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The Americans reached out to us several times (about drone defence)," Zelensky said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There were several requests, either for assistance to a particular country or for support for Americans.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>EXCLUSIVE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/meta-suspending-australian-small-business-accounts-child-exploitation-exclusive/04e6e646-7316-452e-ae66-54a1dcbfb4fc" target="_blank"><strong><span>Jared lost priceless messages from late sister after Meta 'cancelled' him</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"For now, we are providing guidance and consultations to help protect civilians and bases."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the early days of Russia's invasion, Iran supplied Moscow with the Shahed drones it had developed and manufactured – a valuable income source for Tehran's heavily sanctioned economy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now the roles are reversed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Thanks to a deal worth roughly $2.5 billion signed in 2022 – which Putin paid for in part by sending two tonnes of gold bullion to Iran – Russia now produces the vast majority of its drones.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Having slapped its own name on the distinctive weapons – the Geran – Moscow has modified and improved on the original Iranian design, and according to Zelensky is now exporting those drones to Tehran, along with military intelligence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Arguably the main lifeline to come Putin's way, though, is </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/us-israel-iran-war-crisis-talks-over-petrol-as-middle-east-war-expands-after-oil-island-hit/7094b0cf-4f3a-4f69-a306-51d29beb6634"><span>surging oil prices</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One of the world's largest energy producers, Moscow's oil and gas revenues have sustained its war chest for its assault on Ukraine, but sanctions from the US and European Union have strangled the cash lifeline to its lowest level in years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>CRIME:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/lidcombe-shooting-man-gunned-down-in-early-morning-attack/12e37e53-717d-4703-bb88-cc33ac01d257" target="_blank"><strong><span>Man shot dead, another assaulted in 'targeted' Sydney attack</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, daily revenue from oil sales during the Iran war has been on average 14 per cent higher than in February, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It says Russia has been earning €510 million ($832 million) every day this month from oil and liquefied natural gas exports.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now, with the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attacks-iran-strait-of-hormuz-explained-oil-gas-prices/f8e7c1ed-f6d9-4fe5-8277-6a11c09d8de6"><span>Strait of Hormuz effectively closed and the cost of a barrel of Brent crude skyrocketing</span></a><span>, the Trump administration has lifted some of its restrictions to allow countries to temporarily purchase certain Russian oil products.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>How much of an extra impact that will have is disputed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trade Secretary Scott Bessent insisted the relief won't provide much of a boon for the Kremlin, and some analysts agree.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Former Russian Central Bank official Sergei Aleksashenko said the move "will not be a very significant boost" to the Russian budget because the oil was going to find buyers anyway.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/middle-east-travel-warning-for-australians-do-not-transit-via-doha-qatar/c70983d6-e79c-475a-a457-2deae152dea6"><strong><span>Fresh warning for Aussie travellers amid widening conflict</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Simone Tagliapietra, an energy expert at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, said it "does not fundamentally change the structure of longer-term Russian oil flows or sanctions pressure" because the relief is temporary.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, though, said the rest of the G7 had told Trump "this is not the right signal to send", and Zelensky is adamant it will only play into Putin's hands.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Lifting sanctions on Russia will not help the world; it will only help Russia," he told CNN. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In just these 14-15 days, they earned roughly $US10 billion (about $14 billion)."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Separately, he said there was no doubt where that extra revenue would be directed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This easing alone by the United States could provide Russia with about $US10 billion for the war," he claimed. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It spends the money from energy sales on weapons, and all of this is then used against us."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>– with CNN, Associated Press</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and 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