Banananomics: India Concerned As Iran Attacks Israel

India is seriously concerned about the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran that threatens peace and security in the West Asia region.

Inputs that matter: While the attack on Israel occurred, independent journalist Benny Johnson tweeted, "The Israeli Government's "Doomsday plane" has taken off and is the only plane leaving Israel... This is very bad."

• U.S. President Joe Biden released an official statement disclosing that the U.S. played a role in destroying most of the incoming drones and missiles fired at Israel.

• While Israel is contemplating retaliation, Alzajeera reports, "Iran says it assaulted in response to an Israeli raid on the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1 and says the matter can now be deemed concluded."

The opportunity: India is a member of the BRICS+ group with Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the U.A.E. but has close ties with the U.S. and other G7 countries.

• According to the New York Times, Iran launched some 185 drones, 110 surface-to-surface missiles, and 36 cruise missiles at Israel.

• U.S. President Biden says missiles came from Syria, as well as Yemen and Iraq.

• He concluded, "Tomorrow, I will convene my fellow G7 leaders to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran's brazen attack."

Zoom in: NPR reports, "G7 leaders are meeting on Sunday afternoon to coordinate on a diplomatic response to Iran's attack and engage with officials across the Middle East."

• "The U.N. Security Council is also set to meet after Israel requested the council condemn Iran's attack and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a terrorist organization."

Between the lines: The acronym BRIC was coined in 2001 by then Goldman Sachs chief economist Jim O'Neill in a research paper that underlined the growth potential of Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

• BRICS recently added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the U.A.E., with plans to include more countries in the coming year.

Follow the money: The Atlantic Council reports, "The United States and India collaborate across a half-dozen bilateral and regional groupings, including the Trade Policy Forum (T.P.F.), the Commercial Dialogue and C.E.O. Forum, the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology, the 2+2 Strategic Dialogue, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, known as the Quad."

• According to The U.S. Department of State, "The United States and India have established a strong defense industrial cooperation," despite India's economic alliance with Russia and China.

Heads of state use various social media platforms, official communication, pleas for help, and direct messages to other leaders, all of which come through X (formerly Twitter).

Inputs that matter: The geopolitical reach of X was illustrated when Iran fired a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel, and all of the leaders involved took to the platform.

• Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz took to X to ask the European Union "to immediately declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization and to sanction Iran."

• The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran tweeted, "...I emphasize that any new adventure against the interests of the Iranian nation will be met with a heavier and regrettable response."

• During the attack, U.S. President Biden tweeted, "Our commitment to Israel's security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad."

• Commenting directly under the official message, a critic of Biden tweeted, "Oh, I'm sure Iran is scared of you."

The opportunity: X has an official Global Government Affairs account, through which the company reports court orders, threats, and requests from government leaders.

• Governments and intergovernmental organizations such as the U.N. listen and respond to world leaders on X.

• After the tweet by Katz, NPR reported, "The United Nations Security Council is also set to meet after Israel requested the council condemn Iran's attack and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization."

Zoom in: In January, the X Blog posted, "In 2023, we laid the groundwork for the global town square, and in 2024, that vision will come alive."

• Megatron, a user with over 260,000 followers, tweeted on Sunday, "Israel said to strike back on Iran in next 24/48 hours."

• Maria Kahn, a user with over 5,000 followers, tweets, "As soon as Iran attacked Israel, the whole world started screaming that the third world war would start."

Between the lines: Besides revealing thoughts from both sides of an issue, X is a place for each position to attack the other.

• Israel Defense Forces tweeted, "Iran has revealed its true face as the biggest sponsor of global terrorism."

• War Intel confirms, "Iran's Supreme National Security Council: If Israel wants to continue doing evil against Iran, it will receive a response at least ten times greater than yesterday's attack."

Follow the money: X responds to global leaders in real-time in a more in-depth manner than CNN coverage of previous wars.

• President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, tweets, "Ukraine condemns Iran's attack on Israel using "Shahed" drones and missiles. We in Ukraine know very well the horror of similar attacks by Russia, which uses the same "Shahed" drones and Russian missiles, the same tactics of mass air strikes."

"Cryptocurrencies plunged on Saturday after reports that Iran had begun an attack on Israel, demonstrating how crypto assets can react while more traditional investment instruments are not available for trading," declares MarketWatch.

Inputs that matter: Yahoo! Finance reports "Bitcoin was down 5% from its price on Friday, while ether sank more than 7%, and XRP tumbled 13.5%, according to CoinMarketCap."

• Bitcoin_Archives tweets, "Bitcoin plunges $6,000 in minutes after reports of Iran launching up to 100 drones towards Israel in retaliation for their embassy being bombed by Israel earlier this month."

• "A fuller picture of Wall Street's reaction to Iran's first-ever, full-scale military assault on Israel will come on Sunday evening when futures trading opens in the U.S. for stocks, bonds, commodities, and currencies."

The opportunity: Before other markets react, NPR details that G7 leaders are meeting on Sunday afternoon to coordinate a diplomatic response to Iran's attack.

• "The U.N. Security Council is also set to meet, after Israel requested the council condemn Iran'sIran's attack, and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization."

Zoom in: CNBC reports "Iranian currency plunges to record low against dollar after strikes on Israel."

• Reuters reports ""Gulf markets dropped slightly on Sunday, an early indication of investor reaction to Iran'sIran's unprecedented attack on Israeli territory, as investors prepared for trading in most markets to resume Monday, with eyes particularly on oil.""

• "We think oil into the summer months will kind of top out at around $95+ a barrel," Bank of America head of global commodities Francisco Blanch told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday.

• Former White House advisor Bob McNally believes $100 oil is "entirely real."

Between the lines: According to the on-chain data provider, 370,000 new wallets holding at least one BTC have been created in the last six days, and the number of BTC holders now totals 52.94 million, growing by 0.1% since the beginning of the year.

• Federal Reserve Bank Chair Jerome Powell expressed concern about inflation with the rising oil price and is expected to forgo the June rate cuts.

Follow the money: 82% of the crude oil that moves through the Strait of Hormuz goes to Asian markets: China, India, Japan, and South Korea.

• Bloomberg reports, ""The situation is fluid, and for the oil market, everything depends now on how Israel'sIsrael's response and the chance of a cycle of escalation.""

• "The risk of a future disruption has increased."