The UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has reaffirmed the country’s commitment to its Iranian community, describing it as a valued and integral part of the nation’s social fabric.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry said the UAE remains home to more than 200 nationalities, underscoring its long-standing position as a diverse and open society built on coexistence and tolerance.

The comments come in response to what the Ministry described as inaccurate media reports regarding the residency status of Iranian nationals in the country.

MoFA said such claims do not reflect the UAE’s institutional approach, which is governed by established procedures and legal frameworks designed to safeguard the safety and well-being of all residents.

“The UAE reassures residents that its institutional approach is guided by well-established procedures and frameworks that safeguard the safety and well-being of all members of society, without exception,” the statement said.

The Ministry emphasised that all residents are protected under the rule of law, with policies applied consistently regardless of nationality.

It added that the UAE remains committed to maintaining a safe and stable environment, while upholding the rights of all individuals living in the country.

The statement reinforces the UAE’s broader positioning as a global hub for expatriates, where diversity and inclusion remain central to its economic and social model.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has confidentially filed for a US initial public offering, setting the stage for what could become the largest stock market listing on record, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

A public listing at a potential valuation of more than $1.75 trillion would signal that space exploration has moved from speculative venture to a mainstream investment theme. SpaceX‘s growth has been driven by its reusable rockets and the Starlink satellite internet network.

The filing comes after SpaceX merged with Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI in a deal that valued the rocket company at $1 trillion and the developer of the Grok chatbot at $250 billion.

Musk, the world’s richest person, runs a sprawling business empire that spans electric vehicles at Tesla, space launch, satellite broadband, AI and social media.

“Investors could use a sum-of-the-parts analysis, but, like with Tesla, SpaceX’s valuation could very much fluctuate wildly based off how much the public believes in Musk’s vision,” said Angelo Bochanis, data and index associate at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs.

“So far, investors seem to be clamoring for any sort of exposure to SpaceX.”

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Largest IPO ever

The Starbase, Texas-headquartered firm could seek to raise more than $50 billion in the IPO, handily surpassing the 2019 flotation of Saudi Aramco, which remains the largest IPO on record.

A blockbuster SpaceX debut could jolt the IPO market back to life after years of subdued activity, with market participants expecting strong demand from both retail and institutional investors, some drawn by Musk’s brand and others seeking exposure to SpaceX‘s fast-growing space and satellite businesses.

SpaceX is the world’s most valuable privately held company, based on the valuation implied by its merger deal with xAI. The rocket startup was last valued at about $800 billion in a secondary share sale independently.

Several other high-profile startups, including ChatGPT maker OpenAI and rival Anthropic, are also said to be weighing large IPOs, setting up a broader test of investor appetite for new listings.

Many large startups have remained private for longer, tapping deep pools of capital in private markets, but a listing by a company such as SpaceX could encourage more of them to pursue public offerings.

Bloomberg News first reported on the confidential filing earlier on Wednesday.

‘Muskonomy’

A listing would deepen analyst and investor scrutiny of “Muskonomy” — the billionaire’s sprawling business empire and intertwined fortunes — bringing renewed focus to how his companies are financed, governed and valued across markets.

“A likely dual-class share structure would let Musk tap public capital while retaining firm control, even after the substantial dilution that comes with a public offering,” said Minmo Gahng, assistant professor of finance at Cornell University.

He runs electric vehicle maker Tesla, brain-chip maker Neuralink and tunnel-digging firm The Boring Company.

Musk also folded social media platform X into xAI through a share swap last year, giving the AI startup access to the platform’s data and distribution network.

Questions about Musk’s ability to oversee multiple companies with market values exceeding $1 trillion could temper investor enthusiasm, analysts say.

“It is understandable that investors would be concerned with Musk overseeing multiple significant enterprises, especially given his polarizing public profile at times. However, SpaceX appears somewhat differentiated,” said Kat Liu, vice president at ‍IPOX.

“The business is operationally mature, technologically ahead in several key areas, and profitable, which provides a solid fundamental underpinning.”

Space race

The move comes as NASA is set to launch four astronauts as soon as Wednesday evening on a 10-day flight around the moon, marking the most ambitious US space mission in decades.

SpaceX generated about $8 billion in profit on $15 billion to $16 billion of revenue last year, Reuters reported in January, citing people familiar with the matter.

A growing number of billionaires and private firms have bankrolled a fresh space race in the US, investing heavily in rockets, satellite networks and lunar ambitions, including SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.

As NASA leans more on commercial partners and defense budgets climb, space is emerging as a strategic battleground shaped by technological edge, national security priorities and the promise of new economic gains.

SpaceX has also sought permission to launch up to 1 million solar‑powered satellites engineered as orbital data centers, far beyond anything currently deployed or proposed.

NASA engineers and technologists have speculated for nearly two decades about moving energy‑hungry computing off the planet.

SpaceX‘s merger with xAI has drawn investor attention to how Musk could use a tightly integrated network of rockets, satellites and AI systems to overcome technical and capital hurdles, extending artificial intelligence infrastructure beyond Earth.

Artificial intelligence has become Wall Street’s favorite theme, with anything tied to AI helping fuel a powerful rally in technology stocks and lifting valuations across the sector.

Indian fuel retailers raised jet fuel and commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices on Wednesday, following a sharp spike in global prices due to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

India, the world’s second-largest LPG importer, is battling its worst gas crisis in decades, with the government cutting supplies for industries to shield households from cooking gas shortages.

Domestic fuel retailers have raised prices of aviation turbine fuel by 8.6 to 104,927 rupees per kiloliter and commercial LPG by 10.4 per cent to 2,078.50 rupees per 19-kilogramme cylinder in New Delhi, the Indian Oil Corporation’s website showed.

Read more-Ryanair warns fuel disruption could hit summer flights

In order to insulate domestic travel costs from the substantial increase in international prices, state-owned oil marketing companies, in consultation with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, have passed only a “partial and staggered increase” to airlines, the ministry said in a post on social media.

The price increase in commercial cylinders is due to a 44 per cent surge in the Middle Eastern benchmark Saudi Contract Price, as 20 per cent to 30 per cent of global LPG supplies are stuck in Strait of Hormuz, the ministry said.

The country consumed 33.15 million metric tonnes of LPG, or cooking gas, last year, with imports accounting for about 60 per cent of the total. About 90 per cent of those imports came from the Middle East.

The consumption of commercial cylinders, used by industries and hotels, is less than 10 per cent of the total LPG consumed in the country and the prices are revised on a monthly basis, the ministry said.

The 14.2-kg domestic gas cylinder prices have been kept unchanged to protect domestic customers from the price surge, the ministry added.

To tackle the LPG crisis, India has increased domestic daily LPG production by 40 per cent to 50,000 metric tons against a requirement of 80,000 tonnes and Indian companies have secured 800,000 tonnes of LPG cargoes from the US, Russia, Australia and other countries.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran has requested a ceasefire, tying any potential agreement to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, in remarks posted on Truth Social.

But Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said claims by Trump that Tehran had requested a ceasefire are “false and baseless,” according to Iranian state TV.

In a post published on Wednesday, Trump said Iran’s leadership had approached Washington seeking a ceasefire, adding that the US would only consider such a move once the key shipping route is “open, free, and clear”.

Trump claimed that Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, had made the overture.

Trump wrote: “Iran’s New Regime President, much less radicalised and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!”

TEarlier in the conflict, on March 7, Pezeshkian said Iran’s temporary leadership council had approved a suspension of attacks against neighbouring countries unless Iran itself was targeted. The comments were widely interpreted as a potential de-escalation signal.

Read more: Iran’s president says his country will suspend strikes on GCC neighbours

However, strikes continued in the hours and days that followed. And Iranian officials walked back his comments.

Against this backdrop, Trump’s latest claim is likely to be treated with caution.

Strait of Hormuz

The status of Hormuz remains central to any potential breakthrough. The waterway is one of the world’s most important energy corridors, and disruptions in recent weeks have significantly impacted shipping flows and market sentiment.

Earlier this week, Gulf Business reported that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed to a near standstill, with 181 vessels recorded passing through the waterway between March 1 and March 30, 2026.

Read more: Hormuz traffic collapse: 181 ships recorded in March, majority Iranian-linked

This is according to data provided to Gulf Business by Lloyd’s List.

The data indicates that, on average, fewer than 10 ships per day were recorded passing through the strait — a dramatic drop from around 138 daily transits recorded on February 28, according to the Joint Maritime Information Centre.

Prior to the escalation, roughly 3,000 vessels would typically pass through the strait each month, according to the BBC.

Lloyd’s List data further shows that of the 181 vessels that transited the strait in March, 125 — nearly 70 per cent — had Iranian links, while just 56 did not. Of these, 130 vessels were eastbound and 51 westbound, reflecting a heavily restricted and uneven flow.

India will allow factories in export‑focused zones to sell goods domestically at lower import duties, according to a government order, as conflict in the Middle East disrupts trade.

The measure was announced in the February budget to shield exporters from higher US tariffs, but analysts say it has gained urgency as the Iran conflict threatens energy supplies and pushes up freight and oil costs.

The relief applies to factories in Special Economic Zones (SEZs), which are primarily set up for exports and allow companies to import raw materials duty free.

Read more-India cuts excise duties on petrol, diesel as global oil prices surge

Under the order, SEZ businesses can sell a capped share of products including chemicals, engineering goods, heavy machinery, textiles, footwear, pharmaceuticals, electronics and consumer items in the domestic market while paying reduced customs duties, instead of the full import tax applied to foreign goods.

The reduced duties vary by product, with customs rates of about 5 per cent to 12.5 per cent, rather than the higher levies applied to comparable imports, the order showed.

The relief will apply from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 and will be available to businesses that began production on or before March 31, 2025.

The policy will help Indian exporters navigate rising tariff barriers, geopolitical uncertainty and supply chain disruptions as the Middle East conflict disrupts key trade routes, said Krishan Arora, a partner at consultancy Grant Thornton LLP.

“It will also allow domestic industry to tap unused SEZ capacity and reduce reliance on imports that are becoming costlier and more delayed,” said Arora.

The move aims to make surplus capacity utilisation more cost-effective, said Rajiv Chugh, a partner at EY India, noting that SEZ units typically face higher import duties when selling in the domestic market.

Lowering these duties also reduces incentives to route imports through countries with which India has free trade agreements, said Chugh.