• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that Washington is enacting fresh sanctions against Tehran to sever all financial support for the regime, adding that President Donald Trump is urging allies to support the measures.
• Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani has responded to new US sanctions, saying the president and leadership will guide the country through the “economic hardships.”
• US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has stated that Washington has not ruled out using military force against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz or elsewhere, telling reporters the US is not foreclosing kinetic strikes anywhere in the region.
• Iran security chief Mohsen Rezaei warned that Tehran will stop all Gulf oil exports if President Donald Trump’s economic war continues, adding that support for US sanctions by any nation will be treated as an act of war.
• UK Maritime Trade Operations says it has received a report of an incident 9 nautical miles north-east of Ash Shishah, Oman, where an oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile, disabling the vessel while the crew remains safe.
• Oman Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi to travel to Tehran on Tuesday for discussions with Iranian officials over the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s foreign ministry.
• US Central Command says it has permitted over 40 ships carrying humanitarian aid to pass through the US naval blockade on Iranian ports
• Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has told visiting Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir that the US must correct its tone and approach toward Iran, warning that reliance on coercion and bullying will only complicate processes.
• Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesman Hossein Mohebbi has warned of heavy attacks on US energy chokepoints and vital interests if Iranian infrastructure comes under fire, according to state media.

Lead US negotiator for 2015 Iran deal says ‘D-Day’ sanctions ‘almost certainly unlawful’

Robert Malley, who led US negotiations with Iran for the landmark 2015 nuclear deal – which Trump pulled out of in 2018 – has reacted to Washington’s announcement of new sanctions on Tehran.

Writing on X, Malley called the policy “unconscionable, indiscriminate, and almost certainly unlawful”, arguing that devastating Iran’s economy is a far cry from achieving a clear policy goal.

• The announcement was “as belligerent as it was vague”, failing to explain what comes next or how the plan will unfold in practice.
• Treasury Secretary “Bessent’s most revealing admission was that immediately imposing the sanctions in full would blow up the global financial system. If the Trump administration is unwilling to do that now, why would it be willing to do it at any point?”
• While the plan can inflict severe pain and economic devastation on the Iranian people, increased pressure will not force Tehran to surrender its core positions.
• “Expect the administration to regularly trot out statistics documenting economic contraction and currency collapse” as proof of success.
• Cratering Iran’s economy is more likely to drive Tehran “to retaliate than capitulate”, increasing the risk of the very military escalation the sanctions are supposed to avert.
• The principal victims of these “draconian” measures will be everyday Iranians.

Other members of that 2015 Iran nuclear deal team have reacted, too.

Alan Eyre called it “all booster, no payload”.

Richard Nephew said it reminds him of Trump’s other threats against Iran:

An attacking belligerent state, which the US is, that uses secondary sanctions to force third countries and private companies to stop trading with the attacked country is exercising contentious extraterritorial jurisdiction and economic coercion.

• Sovereign Limits: International law limits how far a country can enforce its domestic laws abroad.
• Overreach: Forcing foreign companies in other nations to obey local rules via threats breaks the principle of sovereign equality.
• Disputed Legality: Many legal experts view unilateral secondary sanctions as an unlawful interference in the internal affairs of neutral state.
• Neutral Rights: Third-party countries not involved in the war remain neutral and generally have the right to trade freely.
• Traditional Limits: Belligerents traditionally can stop contraband goods from reaching an enemy, but only through recognized acts like naval blockades.
• Economic Coercion: Using market bans to penalize third-party companies goes beyond classic wartime rules of blockade and contraband.

But participating countries also have a responsibility.

Countries who choose to decide to participate in the US' economic coercion on Iran can no longer hide behind their economic sovereignty because they assist in the violation of Iran's sovereignty therefore in our view (also) violating the UN Charter.

US senator slams new sanctions as ‘desperate window dressing’

US Senator Chris Murphy has slammed the White House’s new sanctions on Tehran, calling them “desperate window dressing” to cover up Washington’s failure in its military war on Iran.

“‘D-Day’ is desperate window dressing. Iran is winning the war. Trump is losing. And Americans are paying a huge, huge cost,” Murphy said on X.

He documented a series of US failures in the conflict.

“Iran didn’t control the Strait before the war. Now they do,” Murphy wrote.

He said Iran has effectively won the military portion of the war, pointing out that Tehran retains 30 of its 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, while the US “fired everything we have and now we’ve run out”.

Iran has “all the leverage now”, Murphy added, arguing that the new sanctions will not change Tehran’s negotiating position.

“We’ve already sanctioned basically everything in Iran we can. There’s little left. ‘D-Day’ is bluster,” he wrote.

“The war is basically over. Tragically, Iran won. This is all window dressing,” Murphy added.

 

US details sweeping new sanctions on Iran’s vital sectors

The US State Department has issued a statement clarifying the targets of the sweeping sanctions previously announced against Iran.

Key details of the sanctions include:

• Measures against Iranian military officials responsible for procuring weapons and directing attacks against US forces, alongside Iran-based entities that gathered intelligence to target American troops and regional allies.
• Sanctions on a procurement ring supplying Iran’s military and missile programs, as well as a “sprawling group of shippers and brokers” moving Iranian petroleum products through the UAE, China, Singapore, and Europe.
• The cyber component addresses alleged Iranian cyberattacks on US critical infrastructure linked to recent FBI indictments of eight Iranian nationals, while reiterating a potential $10m reward for information on five key cyber-actors.
• The State Department said the US remains committed to “disrupt, expose, and dismantle” Iran’s military schemes, cyber-operations, and illicit oil trade, while calling on the international community “to join us in holding these actors to account”.

11 US aircraft carriers not enough

Retired US Navy Vice Admiral John Miller says the US lacks “quite enough Navy for all the requirements”, despite possessing 11 aircraft carriers – eight more than its nearest rival, China, which has three.

“Eleven sounds like a lot,” Miller said, but noted that only a handful are operational at any given time. Maintenance remains a key bottleneck, with at least one carrier typically undergoing a multi-year overhaul and refueling, while general repairs and training keep others sidelined, he explained.

Determining deployment readiness requires dividing the total fleet by three, Miller argued: “If we have nine carriers available on any given day, three can be deployed, three just got back, and three are getting ready to go again.”

That formula explains why Washington was forced to redeploy its sole Asia Pacific carrier, the USS George Washington, to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln and join the USS George HW Bush in the Middle East.

“Two carrier strike groups in the Middle East is a significant amount of firepower, so that comes at a cost someplace else,” Miller said.

US senators demand hearing over troop strain in Iran war

A group of US senators has demanded a congressional hearing into the toll the war on Iran is taking on American troops, citing severe logistical failures and indefinite deployment extensions across naval ships and regional bases.

The 12 senators, all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote to committee chairman Roger Wicker requesting a public hearing with Defense Department leadership regarding the “poor planning and mismanagement of extended deployments” and the resulting impact on service personnel.

In the letter, led by Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, lawmakers highlighted the “dwindling supplies and deteriorating conditions onboard numerous ships and across bases in the region”, such as on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed in the Middle East for nearly nine months, with reports of a dire mental health crisis among the crew.

The senators accused military leadership of a “systemic failure of planning and adaptation”, stating that “troops are suffering because of this Administration’s inability to end this war or make the environment safe enough for our service members to be delivered the food, medication or supplies they need”.

The senators also warned that these ongoing issues create a serious recruitment and retention imperative, asking: “Why would anyone sign up to fight when they fear they will be exploited and left without supplies, recourse or support?

“The stakes couldn’t be higher. The longer this Administration fails to articulate a plan to end this disastrous war, the longer our brave service members will pay the price,” the letter said.

The decision on whether to convene the requested public hearing rests with Wicker.

Iran rejects US pressure, warns it is ready for ’round of confrontation’

There is little doubt that this recent course of action by the US will be unwelcome in Tehran, placing the country before a major dilemma.

On the one hand, there remain fluctuating hopes for diplomatic engagement and rapprochement with Washington. On the other, Tehran faces increasing military posturing alongside warnings of another potential round of confrontation, a war of attrition, or a conflict extending beyond regional borders.

Speaking specifically of reactions from the Iranian side, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, recently posted on social media: “The Americans know that nobody takes their bluster seriously. The United States is not in an economic situation to restrict its relations with other countries any further.”

He added that “Iran’s trade partners have made it clear to us, both through the media and by sending messages, that they do not take [US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s] statements seriously at all”.

Sanctions on China are unlikely to materialize, says analyst

US threats to sanction Chinese entities over trade with Iran are unlikely to materialize due to a combination of diplomatic and legal obstacles, according to Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Washington-based Quincy Institute.

“If the US now goes after the Chinese only weeks before [Chinese President] Xi is supposed to arrive in Washington; I find it unlikely,” Parsi said, pointing out that Washington faces significant friction on both fronts.

Diplomatically, Parsi pointed out that Beijing helped avert a severe economic crisis during the height of the war by halting its oil purchases just as prices spiked, cratering demand and keeping crude under $100 per barrel for extended periods.

“They did this because the Chinese objective was to make sure this crisis would not bring about a global recession, which would be bad for China,” Parsi said, suggesting the move indirectly spared Washington from an energy shock that would have hurt the US economy.

Beyond that, Beijing is unlikely to accept American attacks on its companies or economic interests without pushback. “I suspect that we will see a lot of resistance from the Chinese if the US actually ends up going after Chinese companies,” Parsi said.

Domestically, Parsi said that Beijing has also passed laws that punish Chinese companies if they abide by foreign sanctions, adding a layer of legal complexity that further hampers Washington’s enforcement approach.

US sanctions Singapore company, alleging links with Iran

The US has imposed sanctions on Wellbred Capital, a Singapore-based commodities trader accused of having links to Tehran and answering to the son of a late senior Iranian security official, Reuters reports.

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said on its website on Monday that the company answers to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, who oversees a large fleet of tankers and cargo ships that transport Iranian and Russian oil to global buyers. Mohammad is the son of Ali Shamkhani, a senior Iranian naval officer and politician who was killed on February 28, 2026, during the initial US-Israeli air strikes that started the war.

The sanctions also cover the firm’s branches in Dubai and Geneva, as well as its biofuels refinery in France, the Treasury added.

The Treasury said that while Shamkhani built Wellbred outside of core network operations in Iran, he remains responsible for how it is run.

The sanctions on the firm are part of the US campaign targeting companies and governments accused of helping Iran move oil and money abroad.

US launches ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ to cut Iran’s economic lifeline

The Trump administration is escalating economic pressure on Iran, targeting foreign banks, companies and intermediaries accused of helping Tehran generate revenue.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign will target the networks supporting Iranian oil exports and could eventually cut non-compliant businesses off from the US financial system.

The Treasury has sanctioned nearly 60 entities and expanded the threat of secondary sanctions to shipping, aviation, gold, technology and digital assets.

US offers $10m reward and relocation for information on five IRGC commander

The US Department of State has renewed its call for information on five key Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) figures, offering rewards of up to $10 million.

The Rewards for Justice program posted the notice on X, seeking details on:

• Ahmed Vahidi, IRGC Commander
• Ali Abdollahi, Chief of the Khatemolanbia Central Headquarters.
• Sa’id Aghajani, IRGC Aerospace Force UAV Commander.
• Hamidreza Lashgarian, IRGC Cyber Electronic Command Chief.
• Majid Khademi, Intelligence Office Commander.

According to the State Department, individuals who provide actionable information may be “eligible for relocation and a reward”.

Iran police chief warns US seeking to create ‘chaos’ to advance interests

Ahmadreza Radan, Iran’s hard line chief of police, says the United States is seeking to create “chaos” in the country to advance its interests, local media report.

“The enemy has not relented and is seeking to instigate turmoil either in a specific location or across the entire nation,” Radan said, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.

He warned that “the enemy remains intent on striking a blow against the country, and we must not be oblivious to its plans and maneuvers.”

Oil prices slip further as investors brush off US sanctions on Iran

Oil prices have fallen further on Tuesday after settling down more than 2% in the previous session, with investors brushing off the impact of the latest US sanctions against Iran.

Brent crude futures fell 90 cents, or 1.0%, to $91.27 a barrel as of 06:30 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 76 cents, or 0.9%, at $84.25.

China says its cooperation with Iran adheres to international law

Commenting on the US’s latest sanctions on Iran, China’s Foreign Ministry says its cooperation with Tehran has always adhered to the framework of international law.

China is Iran’s largest trading partner, buying the lion’s share of the country’s oil.

China has consistently called for dialogue to end the war, arguing that sanctions and threats will not resolve the conflict.

On Monday, Beijing said it would ensure it continued to protect its “legitimate rights and interests”.

What is Iran saying about US sanctions?

Tehran has pledged to retaliate against expanded US economic sanctions that Washington said would cut off Iran’s economic lifeline.

Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madani Zadeh said his country was “fully prepared for the American sanctions”, adding that “the enemies want to launch an economic terrorist attack against us, but we also have our own means and we know how to play this game.”

Sardar Mohebi, an IRGC spokesperson, says the US resorting to economic warfare against Iran is itself proof of defeat on the battlefield, according to Iranian state media.

Mohebi said the US announcement of an intensified economic campaign against Iran amounts to a “tacit admission” of failure in the military arena. “If you were victorious in the military arena, you wouldn’t have to start an economic war,” he added.

Sanctions a warning that supporting Tehran risks losing access to US financial systems

The Trump administration is opening another front against Iran: attacking its economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calls it “Operation Economic Outcast”.

The goal: cut off money flowing to Iran through foreign banks, companies and intermediaries. The US Treasury sanctioned nearly 60 entities, including companies and vessels, and expanded the threat of secondary sanctions to shipping, aviation, gold, technology and digital assets.

The message to Iran’s business partners: keep helping Tehran and risk losing access to the US financial system.

But those penalties are not being imposed across the board right away. Bessent says countries and companies have a chance to change course.

Key questions remain: is this an acknowledgment that military force alone cannot win this war, and what evidence does the administration have that sanctions will move Iran? Sanctions helped bring Iran to the table in 2015, but it was diplomacy that produced the deal, so will this pressure do the same again?

US economic interests ‘considered military targets’, says Iranian businessman

The president of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Majidreza Hariri, has criticised US policies, warning that Washington has entered into an economic war with Tehran.

Posting on X, Hariri wrote: “What Trump has said makes it clear that he has entered into an economic war with us and considers it a new phase of military and security wars!

“With this same reasoning, all of America’s economic targets and its partners around the world, and especially in the region, are considered military targets of the enemy and are targetable!” he added.

Based on the language, and the way how the US wants to extra that comes from the US Treasury and US State Department, the Iranian businessman's view is correct.

Iran’s expertise in evading sanctions ensures resilience, says analyst

Iran is so accustomed to sanctions that it will not be hindered too greatly by them, says Ali Akbar Dareini, a researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies in Tehran.

“[Iran] has a PhD in circumventing sanctions, so Iran is absolutely sure that it will emerge victorious, and the US once again will fail in its efforts to suffocate Iran,” Dareini said.

“The goal of the sanctions is to bring about an economic collapse and cause riots in Iran, but this is based on a big, massive miscalculation, like America’s military war of aggression against Iran on February 28 that failed.”

Dareini said it was “nearly impossible” to block Iran’s access to the outside world, adding that the country had sufficient leverage and if it could not import materials it needs or export oil, it could prevent others in the region from doing so.

US economic campaign likely to damage its standing, warns expert

Former UN special rapporteur and US lawyer Alfred de Zayas says Washington’s latest sanctions on Iran are likely to backfire.

“Trump is imposing additional measures on Iran and threatening countries that do not bend to US orders. This will boomerang, because more and more countries feel offended by US arrogance and resent the threats. They draw rational conclusions: decouple from the dollar,” De Zayas said in a post on X.

He denounced Trump’s actions as “criminal” and “coercive”, warning that “more and more countries” understood that Iran was fighting for its “sovereignty and self-determination”.

“Countries that bend to US pressure and implement Trump’s ‘sanctions’ become complicit in the crime of aggression, a violation of Article 5 of the Statute of Rome. They too become civilly and penalty liable for the crimes that ensue from US aggression,” De Zayas said.

It's not article 5

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

PART 2.
JURISDICTION, ADMISSIBILITY AND APPLICABLE LAW

Article 51
Crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.

The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The Court has jurisdiction in accordance with this Statute with respect to the following crimes:
(a) The crime of genocide;
(b) Crimes against humanity;
(c) War crimes;
(d) The crime of aggression

Qatar reiterates support for diplomatic efforts despite US sanctions

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson says US sanctions on Iran are unilateral and Doha remains supportive of the mediation efforts to resolve the crisis.

Iran’s attacks on Gulf states ‘gravely misguided’, says UAE presidential adviser

Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the UAE’s president, says Iran’s attacks on the Gulf states have weakened its position, suggesting that Tehran should work with its neighbours to end the conflict.

“With the US-Iran confrontation moving into a new phase characterized by escalating economic pressure, the end of attempts to dominate the Strait of Hormuz, and the surpassing of the memorandum of understanding stage, we reaffirm that Iran’s aggression against the Arab Gulf states missed its target; it has only deepened Tehran’s predicament and proven to be a gravely misguided strategic choice that has increased its isolation and weakened its position,” Gargash said on X.

“The path out of this war does not lie through targeting the Arab Gulf states, but rather through working with them to pave the way for de-escalation and the pursuit of a political exit from the conflict.”

US sanctions on Iran an attempt to achieve ‘what military force couldn’t’

Where a military or diplomatic victory has not worked in six months of war, the US’s new sanctions on Iran appear to be an attempt to accomplish what “military force has so far failed to achieve”, says Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy.

“But Tehran is answering that zero-sum approach with one of its own,” he said, adding that Iran will first try to dissuade neighboring states from joining the US campaign, but that participation could be treated as an “act of war”.

“Iran increasingly believes its past restraint encouraged escalation, and that deterrence now requires demonstrating an ability and willingness to impose much greater reciprocal costs,” said Toossi.

While the US can “undoubtedly” inflict enormous additional economic pain on Iran, isolating Iran requires cooperation from China and other major trading partners that already reject the legitimacy of US secondary sanctions, Toossi added.

“Iran is simultaneously trying to make itself harder to isolate by expanding overland trade routes, using national currencies, strengthening economic links with China and Russia, and reducing vulnerabilities such as its reliance on UAE financial channels,” said Toossi.

Flexibility to return to talks appears missing in US and Iran

The Qatari position is that they want the Iranians to realize that this is a free passage through the Strait of Hormuz that needs to happen for the region rather than bilateral agreements.

Multiple economies, including in Qatar, are feeling the effects.

There is at least a 30 percent operational cut, according to a Financial Times report, and 85 percent cut in foreign expenditures that has been denied by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, but he did say there are adjustments that are being made.

On the issue of the negotiations, there are multiple tracks that are taking place. The Omanis and the Iranians are talking. The Iranians and the Americans apparently are still in negotiation indirectly. Qataris are talking to them on a daily basis.

So it appears that Qatar and Pakistan remain on one page to try and bring them back to the table, but in order for them to be able to do it, there needs to be flexibility which appears to be missing both from Tehran and Washington.

Trump trying to ‘maintain pressure’ on Tehran in social media post

Trump is attempting to maintain pressure on Iran following the announcement of those economic sanctions, which the Treasury secretary defined as an attempt at “economic asphyxiation”.

The US is attempting to keep this economic pressure ramping up, but as has been noted in Iran, this would appear to indicate that the US is running out of options. It has been trying economic measures for a long time, which, as we’ve seen, have had little or limited success, but the situation now is that it is in this type of limbo.

The US is waiting it out to see if the economic pressure, including the latest round of sanctions, does force Iran to do what it has been reluctant to or has refused to do for a long time.

‘No talks or discussions under way or scheduled with Iran’: White House official

A White House official tells our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic that the Trump administration is not now engaged in talks with Iran.

“As President Trump said, there are no talks or discussions currently under way or scheduled with Iran,” the source who requested anonymity said.

“The naval blockade remains firmly and effectively in place, the Strait of Hormuz is open, and the sea mines have been removed or destroyed,” the source added.

Attempts to isolate Iran likely to backfire

Iranian authorities will choose escalation over surrendering, in response to the US’s latest bout of sanctions on Tehran, says Lorenzo Kamel, a history professor at the University of Turin in Italy.

“History tells us that the attempt to isolate Iran will bring precisely the opposite,” Kamel said.

The same powers that were “torpedoing Iraq”, which led Iran to spread its influence in the region, are the same actors stating that we need to sanction and isolate Iran, he said, referring to the 2003 so-called “war on terror” and Iran’s alliances in the Middle East.

He added that what this war has shown is that the US is very strongly influenced by Israel, that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will never allow the US to secure a deal, with the Lebanon front a window that could be exploited to prolong the war.

China rejects US sanctions ‘bullying’ Iran and vows to exercise sovereignty

China does not recognize the legitimacy of unilateral US sanctions against Iran or any other United Nations member state, Victor Gao, professor of economic science at Soochow University, said.

“Relations between Iran and China are relations between two countries with sovereignty within the framework of international law,” he said, adding that China has “never yielded to US pressure to accept these sanctions on Iran”.

Gao described the US measures as “bullying” that China rejects, saying: “China will do whatever is necessary to resist this pressure, and will exercise its sovereignty and sovereign authority in accordance with international law.”

US sanctions on Iran ‘theatrical move’, ‘cognitive warfare’

Hassan Ahmadian, an associate professor at the University of Tehran, says new US sanctions on Iran are part of a political theatre aimed at frightening Iranians.

“If you look at the way it was announced and the paper that was published, even the title ‘Operation Economic Outcast: an unprecedented, whole-of-government, economic campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its enablers’, has terms that signify something, but you don’t need to signify if it was significant,” Ahmadian said.

Ahmadian said, “It’s more a theatrical move and cognitive warfare aimed at Iran’s internal politics to stir up differences and frighten Iranians, both ordinary and policymakers, to show them that things can go to the extreme worst if they don’t act as the United States wants them to.”

He noted that Iran has survived decades of sanctions and will not buckle under new restrictions.

“From 2018, Iran was under severe economic sanctions, primarily by the United States, so practically, I’m not sure what this adds to the previous sanctions,” Ahmadian said.

Tehran weighs response as Gulf nations navigate risks of severing ties with Iran

Hassan Ahmadian, an associate professor at the University of Tehran, says Iran’s relationship with Gulf countries will not change significantly, even after Tehran said it would retaliate against countries supporting the US’s campaign to isolate Iran economically.

“The announcement and the way the US is going about it will have an impact, but it won’t be that big of a difference. The UAE announced that it had severed ties with Iran back in the days of the latest war, in February and March, but then reports lately suggest that the UAE is selling oil for Iran,” Ahmadian said.

“Severing ties with Iran comes with political, economic and financial risk for the UAE itself and others. I don’t see them really going to the extreme as the US wants them to, but it will have an impact. I think the Iranians are still seeing how this is going to play out to see how to react to it.”

US sanctions strain Iranian economy but unlikely to shift government stance

The new wave of US sanctions “will definitely have more pressure on the Iranian people and in the domestic market”, according to Iranian political analyst Hossein Ebrahimi.

“The financial status will be quite stressed,” he said, adding: “It will also make the [Iranian] government re-escalate things.”

“But Iran has been under sanctions for more than four decades, and this will not change the behaviour of the policymakers in the Iranian government,” Ebrahimi said.

He stressed that “the Gulf role will be quite significant in finalizing any deal or agreement between Iran and the US”.

Iran’s top negotiator ridicules US Treasury Secretary Bessent over sanctions

Iran’s parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghabilaf has ridiculed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s “Economic D-Day” sanctions against Iran in a post on X.

Ghabilaf, singling out Bessent, writes:

“Him: ‘Economic D-Day.’ Also him, five seconds later: ‘[lol] why would I want to blow up the global financial system?’ Sir this ain’t Normandy, this is improv night and you forgot your own script”.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman mocks ‘bully’ US’s ‘Economic D-Day’

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has mocked the Trump administration’s “Economic D-Day” sanctions against Iran in a post on X.

Baghaei wrote: “Those who prefer to appear ‘as obedient as shadows’ say: ‘This is fine.’ But hold on. It is absolutely not fine.

“When a bully declares that every bank, company, port, and government must choose between obeying Washington’s whims or facing American vengeance, this is no longer just about Iran.”

US ‘taking concrete action very shortly to follow up’ on Iran sanctions warning: State Department

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott says that the recent sanctions imposed as part of Operation Economic Outcast are aimed at eliminating any possibility of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“The objective from [President Donald Trump] has been clear from the beginning on this: that the Iranian regime cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Pigott said during an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera.

“What is happening now is the Treasury Department has mapped out every single financial facilitator the regime has left, and we are sending a very clear warning that we are going to take action to cut off every single financial lifeline the regime has.”

Pigott added that the US is “not going to allow entities to operate in the gray space of this conflict any longer … We are going to be taking concrete action very shortly to follow up on the warning that was delivered very powerfully yesterday by the Treasury Secretary”.

Lastly, Pigott said that Trump is taking “concrete action to end” this long-standing threat from Iran, adding that while the US president “has always preferred the diplomatic outcome … he is going to see this objective that the Iranian regime cannot have a nuclear weapon fulfilled one way or another”.

Decades of US ‘calculus’ disproven by results of its war, economic pressure on Iran

Ross Harrison, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, says, “The US calculus for decades has been an assumption that if they put Iran under pressure, the Iranian people will rise up and put corresponding pressure on the Iranian government. That has not happened”.

“Yes, there have been protests at various times against economic mismanagement and so forth,” he continued. “But I think what Iran is most concerned about and more fearful about than an economic collapse is leaving this conflict not having created a deterrent.”

Harrison added Iran’s “primary worry is that if this conflict ends and they have spent all their leverage and have no real deterrents in the eyes of the Americans, then it may be just a matter of time before the Americans come back”.

Pakistan’s army chief back in Iran

Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was due in Tehran on Monday for talks with senior Iranian officials, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced.

It will be Munir’s third visit to Iran this year as Islamabad continues its push to mediate an end to the United States and Israel’s war on Iran.

Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the trip would take place but declined to elaborate on its agenda.

Pakistan army chief holds talks with Iran to prevent escalation

Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has used a daylong visit to Tehran to push for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a faster end to the war between Iran and the United States.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of Pakistan’s armed forces, Munir met Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other senior officials. He was accompanied by Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

The two sides also discussed preventing further escalation and securing a negotiated settlement to the conflict, the ISPR said.

Iranian officials welcomed Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate dialogue, according to the statement.

Pakistan and Iran discuss restoring US-Iran MoU, Interior Minister says

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said that Pakistan and Iran are discussing the restoration of a previously signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Iran and the US to help settle the ongoing conflict.

Writing on X, Naqvi stated that he and the country’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had a “very positive and productive meeting with the President of Iran”.

He added that their discussion “focused on the Iran US conflict, tensions in the Middle East and the way forward, as well as the steps needed by both sides for restoration of the Islamabad MoU thereby leading to comprehensive settlement of the conflict”.

Naqvi said that “the Iranian president candidly shared his Government’s perspective and concerns, and we had a very constructive exchange on the issues involved”.

He added that “significant progress was made”, that “the meeting concluded on a highly positive note” and expressed hope that “this momentum will help pave the way for further progress and lasting peace in the region”.

Kuwait, Pakistan FMs discuss regional developments in call

Kuwait’s state-run KUNA news agency reports that the country’s foreign minister, Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, have discussed the latest regional developments during a telephone call.

The two officials also talked about ongoing efforts to promote security and stability in the region, Kuna said.

Pakistan’s interior minister meets US envoy after talks in Tehran

Mohsin Naqvi has met the acting US ambassador to Pakistan in Islamabad after returning from Tehran, where he and Pakistan’s military chief held talks aimed at ending the conflict with Washington.

A statement from Pakistan’s Interior Ministry said the two officials discussed the “overall situation in the region and matters related to peace and stability”.

Naqvi accompanied Munir, who is directly engaged in mediation between Washington and Tehran, to Iran on Monday.

“Significant progress was made, and the meeting concluded on a highly positive note. We remain hopeful that this momentum will help pave the way for further progress and lasting peace in the region,” Naqvi said.

Iran also called Munir’s visit to Tehran “highly productive” and said it yielded “significant diplomatic achievements”.

Pakistan’s army chief try to convince Iran to return to negotiating table

Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir spent Monday moving through the power corridors of Tehran: the presidency, parliament, the Supreme National Security Council, and the foreign and interior ministries.

He met Iran’s president, as well as parliament speaker, who is Tehran’s chief negotiator in talks with the US.

But amid a deadlock in those peace negotiations, many analysts say that Munir’s true test as mediator will lie in his ability to use his position as one of the region’s most powerful military leaders to convince his Iranian counterparts in olive uniforms to agree to a return to talks with Washington.

Iran says it has full sovereign control over Strait of Hormuz

Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref says Tehran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz “is an exercise of our legal and sovereign right over our national wealth”.

“The Strait of Hormuz is the property of Iran,” Reza Aref said, as reported by Iran’s ISNA news agency.

“We are fully prepared to confront the enemy,” the vice president said, adding: “We will make any enemy who so much as looks askance at Iran regret it.”

Pakistan negotiators ‘did not carry threatening message’ from US: Iranian source

Pakistan negotiators led by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir “did not carry threatening messages” from the United States to Iran, according to the country’s Tasnim news agency.

A source close to the Iranian negotiating team told Tasnim that, “contrary to what some media outlets reported, Asim Munir did not carry a threatening message or anything similar from the United States during his visit to Tehran”.

The source added that, during the meetings with Munir, Iran’s positions were clearly communicated to the Pakistani side, which included a return to the terms of the Islamabad MoU, such as Article 5 – addressing freedom of navigation, de-mining, and the management of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The Pakistani side is seeking to convey the conditions we presented during yesterday’s meetings to the American side,” the source said.

Iran FM holds phone conversation with Pakistan army chief

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has pressed for further consultations and joint efforts to establish peace and security in the region in a call with Pakistan army chief Asim Munir.

In a statement released on his Telegram channel, Araghchi said the conversation focused on reviewing the latest developments in the region and issues of mutual concern.

Munir visited Tehran on Monday with a message from US President Donald Trump on restarting peace talks with Iran’s leadership, a US official said.

Pakistan won’t convince Iran to ‘break current standoff’ with US

Tehran-based analyst Fereshteh Sadeghi says Iran’s decision-making process has seen a drastic shift towards hardliners following the collapse of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US and the trust deficit between the two countries.

“Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian makes comments – but let’s not forget that he is not the decision-maker, and he doesn’t have the final say”, Fereshteh said.

“Iranian military authorities who are effectively in charge – as opposed to President Pezeshkian and the civilian leadership – feel they have paid a hefty price, so they must go all the way to the end of the road,” she said.

Sadeghi said Pezeshkian “is playing the good cop and the IRGC and the army together are playing the bad cop”, in this situation.

“Whatever the case – good or bad cop – Iran is not willing or interested to make a deal so long as its conditions are not met. That’s for sure,” she said.

“That’s why I think even [Pakistan army chief] Asim Munir’s recent trip to Tehran, with a new proposal by the Trump administration, would not break the current standoff,” she said.

Oil prices hold steady at about $92 a barrel

Oil prices have stabilized after dropping more than 2 percent in the previous trading session as markets weigh the potential fallout of tightened US sanctions on Iran.

Brent crude futures drifted lower by 9 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $92.16 a barrel as of 01:04 GMT, whereas US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 1 cent to reach $85.02 per barrel.

The flat trading followed Monday’s sharp decline, when US crude hit a one-week low as traders locked in profits following a two-week rally.

Iran routing scheme used by nearly half of Hormuz traffic last week

Crossings through the Strait of Hormuz have edged up by 2.5 percent over the past week to 121, but top-line traffic numbers mask weakening commercial substance and rising risk, according to shipping data provider Kpler.

Nearly half of the vessels, or 46.3 percent, relied on Iran’s unilateral routing scheme to secure their passage. At the same time, laden transits carrying actual cargo dropped by 27 percent, while sanctioned ship crossings jumped from 9 to 16.

Further south, traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb strait rose 3.1 percent to 269 crossings. Kpler noted that the Red Sea corridor remains resilient despite an active threat environment, with combined sanctioned and shadow fleet transits holding steady at 74.

Strait of Hormuz ship traffic drops to single vessel on Monday

Shipping data shows traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to just a single commodity vessel on Monday, marking the lowest daily volume recorded since May 7, Reuters reports.

Citing preliminary data from ship-tracking firm Kpler, Reuters said only one very large gas carrier transited the narrow passage on Monday, entering from the Gulf of Oman. That compares with six vessels of all types recorded passing through the waterway on Sunday.

The figures remain initial estimates and could be updated, as some ships turn off their transponders while navigating through the area, according to the report.

Commodity vessel transits through Hormuz hit a three-month low

Just two tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, marking the lowest daily tally of commodity vessels since early May, with both entering the Gulf, shipping data shows.

The figure was also well below the 10-day average of 14, with one very large gas carrier and one very large crude carrier entering the strait from the Gulf of Oman, according to ship tracker Kpler, by 06:57 GMT on Tuesday.

Separate provisional data from ship tracker Vortexa showed that, on Monday, oil transits stood at five million barrels per day (bpd). On a seven-day moving average, Hormuz transits stood at about six to seven million bpd by August 23.

Strait of Hormuz incidents have killed 20 seafarers and port workers since war began, IMO says

At least 20 seafarers or port workers have been killed across 68 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February this year, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

One additional person is missing, and 35 people have been wounded, it added.

An incident has occurred roughly every 2.6 days, with the majority of them categorised as “attacks”, the IMO said.

Trump says US removed, detonated all mines from international waters of Hormuz Strait

The US president says the US Navy has informed him that “all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz”.

“Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“There is a Zero Tolerance policy on mine placement in full force and effect.”

Iran, Oman say discussed temporary navigational corridor, mine-clearing project in Hormuz Strait

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi have discussed implementing a temporary navigational corridor and mine-clearing project in the Strait of Hormuz.

During their meeting in Tehran, the two leaders stressed the importance of reaching arrangements that respected the sovereignty of their respective countries, according to a statement.

Araghchi and Albusaidi discussed a proposed framework that “includes the establishment of a temporary joint navigation corridor through the Strait of Hormuz and an agreement to implement a joint project to clear the strait of mines”.

Discussions will continue between the two countries to reach an agreement “on a permanent navigation corridor and future arrangements for managing the strait, alongside establishing a mechanism for exchanging information, managing navigation traffic, and providing related navigational and security services”.

Lastly, both leaders “affirmed the importance of holding joint discussions with the Gulf littoral states” to ensure that any agreement reached adheres to international law and respects the sovereignty of neighboring countries.

Iran will interpret Trump’s claims that US cleared mines in Hormuz as attempt to pressure Tehran

Tehran is likely to interpret Trump’s comments that the US cleared mines in the Strait of Hormuz as part of Washington “trying to limit Iran’s leverage, in combination with the ‘economic D-Day’ leverage against Iran. The idea is to try to weaken Iran and bring about its capitulation”, Ross Harrison, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, says.

Harrison said Iran wouldn’t be threatened by Trump’s threat to destroy any vessel trying to place new mines in the Strait.

“I don’t think that the Iranians are interpreting it as the likelihood of the United States trying to actually control the strait, something that Donald Trump threatened this past week,” Harrison said, adding that the comments in Trump’s social media post were likely aimed at influencing “some type of future negotiations”.

Hormuz situation should return to what it was before the crisis: Qatar

The situation in the Strait of Hormuz should return to what it was before the crisis, spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry says, adding that Qatar emphasized the necessity of freedom of navigation in it.

The war is started by Netanyahu and joined by Trump on the same day of February 28, 2026. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz began to change when the Israelis bombed the oil depots outside Tehran on that day..

Hormuz sticking point not only between US, Iran but also Iran, Oman

Iran says that the doors for diplomacy remain ajar, adding that it would prefer to settle issues using diplomatic means if it can trust the US. That is a big “if” because Iranians say that they have already been subjected to a campaign of unprecedented air strikes during a negotiation period.

Not once, not twice but three times, when there was still some hope that diplomacy could be used to resolve the remaining issues.

On the other hand, Iran is adopting an intense military posturing, saying that they are prepared for another round of confrontation.

Speaking of diplomacy, we know that the Pakistani delegation headed by the country’s army chief and Pakistan’s interior minister were in Tehran yesterday, with the latter also visiting Tehran about two weeks ago. We also know that Iran is hosting a delegation from Oman today, with a meeting between Oman’s foreign minister and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

We know that one major sticking point is the arrangement over the Strait of Hormuz, which not only affects ties between Muscat and Tehran, but also hangs heavy when it comes to prospective talks between Washington and Tehran.

Strait of Hormuz remains closed and under full Iranian control: Iran’s deputy FM

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has said in a televised interview that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, dismissing claims that ships are passing through it as “baseless”.

“America and other countries should know that the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened except through Iranian arrangements,” Gharibabadi said, adding that Iran remains “in a state of war” and has told Pakistan, Oman and Qatar that “certain normal standards regarding the Strait of Hormuz cannot be adhered to under such circumstances”.

He said recent clashes had made Iran’s position “unequivocal” to the US, asserting Iran’s “right to take the necessary measures to ensure our security in the Strait of Hormuz, as the Strait of Hormuz is linked to our national security”.

He added the Iran and Oman have reached an “understanding to begin technical negotiations to agree on an alternative route to the previous historical route in the Strait of Hormuz”.

Temporary route agreed with Oman does not mean reopening Hormuz: Iran’s deputy FM

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says Iran and Oman have held talks over the past 40 days on a transit arrangement through the Strait of Hormuz, agreeing on a temporary route seven miles (11 kilometers) wide, with the entry point and part of the exit route running through Iranian territorial waters.

“We agreed with Oman that the entry route to the Strait of Hormuz will be through our territorial waters, and part of the exit route will also be through our territorial waters,” Gharibabadi said.

He added that the arrangement with Oman “does not mean opening the Strait of Hormuz,” saying that activating the jointly agreed route “means closing the southern route in the strait” that the US had opened “under pressure from Oman” — a move he said violated Article 5 of the two countries’ memorandum of understanding.

Gharibabadi said the proposed map for the route came from Iran’s armed forces, with negotiations on a permanent arrangement to follow.

IRGC says Iran’s missile capability and production continue

IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebbi says Iranian forces have proved those wrong who thought Iran had a limited number of missiles and that these reserves would be depleted as the war continued, the Tasnim news agency reports.

“This idea did not come true, because Iran’s missile capability and its production continue,” he said.

“What was created for the enemy is the erosion and reduction of strategic weapons reserves, and this erosion in the enemy’s strategic weapons is considered one of the achievements and honors of this war.”

He claimed that the war made the US doubt its own military doctrine, which he said “is based on the fact that the country can enter the war on several fronts simultaneously”.

“But in this war, we created conditions that made them worry about their ability to manage several fronts,” Mohebbi said.

Qatar rejects Iran’s attempt to drag regional countries into the war

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson adds that Qatar rejects Iran’s attempt to drag regional countries into the war whenever it is attacked by a third party.

There is full coordination among the Gulf states to deal with various escalation scenarios, he added.

• The priority is to reach an agreement between the various parties, and Qatar does not support any party against another
• Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz in a manner that violates the freedom of navigation stipulated by international law
• Our armed forces and all our institutions in Qatar are ready to respond to any threat from any party whatsoever.

Iran is not dragging regional countries into the war.

Regional countries are co-belligerent countries as they host foreign military powers from other continents, including the US who has bases in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan. The US has attacked Iran also from countries in the region. This gives Iran the right to consider these countries as military objectives.

Israel must fulfill obligations if it wants to become part of the region: Qatar

Majed al-Ansari, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, says if Israel wants to become part of the region, it must fulfill its obligations.

Foreign Ministers from Iran and Oman meet in Tehran

Badr Albusaidi and Abbas Araghchi have met in Tehran to continue talks on the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the talks would address bilateral relations and regional issues. He added the talks intended to strengthen Iran-Oman cooperation and to contribute to stability in the region.

The visit comes amid ongoing talks between Tehran and Muscat concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

Ending the war and preserving unity is our priority, says Iranian president

President Masoud Pezeshkian says that ending the war is Iran’s priority and the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran was not signed out of submission, but “out of logic and awareness”.

According to Iranian media, Pezeshkian claimed that Iran’s enemies realised they could not defeat the country militarily, so they focused on creating social problems and economic discontent.

Ending the war and preserving unity are priorities of my government, the Iranian president said.

Iranian FM discusses de-escalation of regional tensions with Qatari counterpart

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has held a phone conversation with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani on the importance of “utilising diplomatic capacities” to prevent escalation of regional tensions.

A statement issued by the top Iranian diplomat said the two reviewed “the latest regional developments, emphasized the importance of utilizing diplomatic capacities and continuing coordination to prevent the escalation of tensions in the region”.

Iran ‘looking for a way out’ of conflict but ‘not desperate for it at any cost’

“Both parties [the US and Iran] are wanting a way out,” Ross Harrington, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, says.

“But I think the question is at what cost? And I think if Iranians think that the United States believes Iran is being squeezed in terms of its leverage in the Strait of Hormuz, and economically, they will probably get their back up [against the wall] and they will be less likely to take a way out.”

Harrison says Iran is most concerned about giving ground at a moment when they lack leverage.

So Iran is “going to be trying to assert the fact that they also have a vote in this conflict with either kinetic escalation, military escalation or through some kind of countermeasure to block traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. So they’re looking for a way out, but they are not desperate for it at any cost”.

UK backs US efforts for diplomatic solution on Iran

British ⁠Finance ⁠Minister John Healey says the United Kingdom supports US efforts to secure a diplomatic ‌solution on Iran and welcomed steps to increase pressure, including ⁠the expanded sanctions ⁠on Iran announced Monday.

Healey also called ⁠on Iran ⁠to ⁠cease its “de-stabilising activity” across the region, including ‌in the Strait of ‌Hormuz.

UN chief says Iran and Ukraine wars prove global power relations have changed

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the world’s most powerful states need to recognize that their influence has narrowed, citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and the US war with Iran, according to the Financial Times.

Speaking in an interview with the Financial Times, Guterres was asked whether the Board of Peace, the body set up by US President Donald Trump to oversee Gaza, posed a “threat” to the UN Security Council.

“I think it’s time for superpowers to understand the limits of their power,” he said. “The weight of different countries has changed, and that inevitably will be having an impact in the way power relations are established.”

Referring to Gaza, where the board has made limited progress on establishing peace, Guterres said it was not the UN that should be concerned.

“It’s not for the UN to be worried. It’s for others to be worried,” he said, according to the Financial Times report.

Finnair suspends flights to Dubai

Finnish carrier Finnair says it cancelled all flights to Dubai for the winter season due to the heightened security situation in the Middle East.

Finnair flights will be suspended between Helsinki and Dubai from October 25, 2026 to March 27, 2027, the airline said in a statement.

“The security situation in the Middle East has remained unstable, with no clear signs of improvement,” it added.

Erdogan says Turkey will not allow ‘bloody scenarios’ for Middle East

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has commented on developments in the Middle East, saying Turkey will continue with its efforts to promote peace.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting at the Ahlat Presidential Complex in Bitlis, he said Turkey will not allow what he called “bloody scenarios” being devised for the Middle East to be carried out.

“We will not refrain from working to establish peace in our region because some do not want it, are concerned about it or see their plans disrupted,” Erdogan added.

He said Turkey would continue supporting its neighbors’ recovery despite opposition from what he described as “criminal networks with the blood of innocent people on their hands”.

Turkey recently signed a joint defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in Mecca as the US-Israeli war on Iran is close to entering its seventh month.

Trump sends Saudi civil nuclear deal to Congress: Media report

Trump has sent ⁠Congress ⁠an agreement on civil nuclear energy with Saudi ‌Arabia, maintaining his position that the pact ⁠will only move ⁠forward if the kingdom ⁠joins the ⁠Abraham Accords, ⁠Reuters reports, citing a US administration official.

The deal, agreed to in late July, would last 30 years and would see Washington transfer nuclear technology to Riyadh.