• Iran’s top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, says Tehran will announce a new shipping route, agreed with Oman, in the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days.
• He also says Tehran will declare a restricted zone near the strait and has threatened sanctions against any ships that try to cross it.\Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warns of a “heavier and more painful response” to any new attacks after the US military struck and destroyed three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday.

Shipping traffic in Hormuz drops to its lowest level since May

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed to its lowest level since May, with an average of 10 commodity ships transiting the waterway per day over the past 10 days, Reuters reports, citing shipping data by Kpler.

The 10-day moving average was 10 on Sunday, down from more than 15 on Friday and nearly 13 on Saturday. Only two vessels passed through the strait on Saturday, while six went through on Sunday, mostly using the Iranian route.

Kpler data showed that one very large crude carrier and three bulk carriers entered the strait on Sunday, while no very large crude carriers (VLCCs) have exited since Wednesday.

Separately, LSEG data showed that a tanker carrying refined products from a Saudi port attempted to leave the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday but turned back, Reuters reported.

The slowdown comes amid heightened maritime tensions following a new round of US and Iranian attacks on tankers. The UK’s Maritime Trade Operations Agency says 27 projectile attack incidents have damaged vessels operating in and around the strait since July 6.

Top Saudi, UK diplomats discuss efforts to de-escalate tensions in Middle East

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his UK counterpart, Ed Miliband, have discussed developments in the Middle East in a phone call, according to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a statement, the ministry said Prince Faisal and Miliband reviewed bilateral relations and discussed the latest regional and international developments and their “repercussions on security and stability”.

“The two sides also discussed the importance of intensifying diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions, enhance the security and safety of international waterways, and ensure freedom of navigation,” the statement said.

Iranian forces trying to enforce restricted zone in Hormuz will be ‘very vulnerable’ to US attack

Stephen Zunes, founding chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, says Iran will struggle to enforce a restricted zone near the Strait of Hormuz.

“It’s hard to see how they will really be able to enforce it. Iranian ships and planes trying to enforce that would be very vulnerable to US attacks,” he said. “But perhaps they are giving a warning, given there still would be some risk for shipping companies to not count on being able to get through the strait without suffering consequences.”

Zunes said Iran may be hoping to provoke a broader US military response, which could benefit Tehran politically by “justifying attacks” on neighboring states and US military facilities in the region.

That, in turn, could help Iran by “undermining popular opinion” in the US for the continuing conflict, while pushing the Iranian public to “rally around the flag” amid growing economic hardship at home.

Iran-Oman agreement on Hormuz route

Yesterday, Iran’s top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said that Tehran will announce a new shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz that it agreed on with Oman in the coming days.

• Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said in late August that Iran and Oman had agreed that the new route’s entry “would be through our territorial waters, and part of the exit route would also be through our territorial waters”.
• The transit corridor is temporary and would be 11.3km (7 miles) wide, he said.
• But key details remain unclear, including the precise coordinates of the route, when ships can start traversing the strait safely, and how revenues would be generated.
• Specific operational protocols are also not known yet, such as whether any vessels or flags will be barred from using the route.
• Gharibabadi has also said that the strait will not open despite the agreement and has called on the US to fulfil its commitments under an interim peace deal signed in June, including sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian assets.

Oil prices rise after US and Iran trade fire in Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices have extended their gains as renewed strikes between the US and Iran on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz raise concerns of prolonged supply disruptions, according to Reuters.

Brent crude futures climbed 0.54 percent to $96.80 a barrel early this morning, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.72 percent to $92.14 a barrel, it said.

The gains come after Iran claimed attacks on three US-affiliated vessels and three oil tankers using an “unauthorised” route in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran said the strikes were in response to US attacks that destroyed three Iranian crude oil tankers. Washington said those strikes were in retaliation for Iranian attacks on its warships.

Since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28, the price of Brent crude has risen more than 30 percent.

US lawmaker hits back at Trump’s ‘small potatoes’ remark

Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator, has described Trump as “dangerously delusional” after the US president dismissed the war on Iran as “small potatoes and “not a big thing”.

“18 Americans are dead. Billions in damage to our bases. Missile supplies catastrophically low. Farm bankruptcies at record highs. Families struggling to pay $5 gas prices. Iran stronger than ever,” Murphy wrote in a post on X.

“But ‘small potatoes’.

“Our president is dangerously delusional.”

Trump made the comments at the White House on Friday after a reporter posed a question about Vice President JD Vance saying he would not use the word “war” to describe the US war on Iran.

Canada says working with partners to ‘maintain significant pressure’ on Iran

Canada has condemned Iran’s “destabilizing actions in the Middle East”, including threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and “pursuit of illicit nuclear activities”.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a joint statement that Ottawa is “working closely with partners, including within G7, to maintain significant pressure on Iran”.

The ministers said this includes “support for efforts led by the United States, as well as France and the United Kingdom, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and continued sanctions on Iran, such as those announced under U.S.-led Operation Economic Outcast”.

They added that Ottawa has sanctioned 492 Iranian individuals and entities under the country’s Special Economic Measures Act and the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act since 2010. They said they “will continue to pursue additional measures” alongside partners.

Iran, for its part, has denied pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

Canada seems to ignore these facts, and the historical fact that it had participated in the invention of nuclear militarization by the United States in 1942.

Iran's new Hormuz plan, a stick ready to hit

Stephen Zunes, , founding chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, said Iran’s plan for a restricted zone in the Strait of Hormuz could be linked to its pending deal with Oman on shipping routes through the waterway.

If the deal with Oman is workable and something the US can accept, Iran could “pull back” from enforcing the restricted zone, Zunes said. If not, then Tehran has “something ready to try to make it more problematic for Washington” to refuse the deal with Oman.

Zunes said a restricted zone could make “things more complicated, because the American forces – which are already overstretched – would have to end up policing and enforcing a larger area”. It could also “make shipping companies and their insurers even more reluctant to make such a dangerous crossing”.

As for the Gulf, Zunes said that Iran’s neighbors have a “lot at stake in defusing the conflict”.

“If this Omani-Iranian agreement really does lead to a substantial increase in shipping, that will obviously be a positive thing,” he said. “I think they might even be willing to pay a toll or transit fees, or whatever they want to call them, even though, of course, the US would strongly object to that in principle. But I don’t doubt that the Omanis and the other Gulf states have been in consultation throughout this process, and they certainly had input in shaping the Omani position,” he added.

Oil prices rise to $97 a barrel

Oil prices have climbed further in early trading.

Brent crude futures climbed 79 cents, or 0.82 percent, to $97.07 a barrel by 05:12 GMT, according to Reuters.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $92.28 a barrel, up 80 cents, or 0.87 percent.

Iran’s Bagheri says Sirik attack shows US’s ‘view of the Iranian people’

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei says the attack on Iran’s Sirik that killed a group of children “shows the true manifestation of America’s view of the Iranian people”.

“I offer my condolences to the families of the dear martyrs and the grieving compatriots,” he said.

Iran warns South Korea against ‘complicity’ in US attacks

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson has warned South Korea against becoming “complicit” in US attacks on Iran saying there would be “consequences”.

The comments come after South Korea’s presidential office said it’s mulling “contributions” to the freedom of navigation ⁠in the Strait of Hormuz.

Noting Tehran and Seoul’s shared ties and mutual respect, Esmaeil Baghaei said as Iran defends itself against the US, “any other country maintaining a military presence or participating in operations in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz can only be regarded as directly supporting the perpetrators of the aggression, and it will lead to serious consequences”.

“No sovereign and responsible country should yield to America’s pressure and threats and become complicit in the aggressive acts and horrific crimes against the great Iranian people,” Baghaei added.

The warning may a hint to attacks on South Korean oil tankers or preventing them from transiting the Hormuz.

US blockade of Hormuz targets global free trade: Iran

The US economic war on Iran is not just targeting the country, as it also harms global free trade, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Baghaei says.

He told reporters the US must be held accountable for its “aggression” against Iran and “crimes” against the Iranian people.

“Over the past few days, the country has been facing continuous military aggression and illegal actions by the United States, which began on February 28 in cooperation with the Zionist regime,” he said.

“The US economic war constitutes a new wave of coercive and illegal measures that are not directed solely against Iran, but against the international community as a whole, the principles of the UN Charter, countries’ sovereignty and free trade.”

Iran-China ties ‘stable and based on continuous contacts’, says Tehran

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit last week brought important diplomatic achievements to Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman says.

Baghaei said President Masoud Pezeshkian met the leaders of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Pakistan, Russia and Azerbaijan on the sidelines of the summit.

“Iran-China relations are very good, stable, and based on continuous contacts at various levels,” he said.

War on Iran shows strategic alliance with US ‘not enough’: Qatar

The war on ⁠Iran ⁠underscores that Gulf states cannot ⁠depend solely on strategic partnerships ⁠with the US for security, a Qatari Foreign Ministry official says.

“We need to realize ⁠in the Gulf ⁠that having international forces in the region, having a ⁠strategic alliance with the ⁠US is very ⁠important but is not enough. Self-sufficiency when it comes to ‌security is the only way forward,” ‌ministry spokesperson Majed ‌al-Ansari told the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi.

Qatar and other Gulf countries have condemned Iran’s attacks on energy and other infrastructure across the region, stressing the strikes violate international law and the UN Charter.

Alongside mediator Pakistan, Qatar played a key role in securing an April ceasefire and the June memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US, but those deals have since collapsed.

Trump risks ‘forever war’ in Iran, US ex-defence chief warns

The US-Israel war on Iran may be drawn out for another six months, former US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has cautioned.

In an interview with The Guardian, Panetta said the conflict is on track to become “another failed war” in the Middle East “like Iraq and Afghanistan”.

“I think the likelihood is this war is going to continue for another six months without being resolved,” Panetta said, calling it a potential “forever war”.

Washington’s other adversaries, he added, now “see weakness in terms of our ability to be able to really implement our military capability of defending our country”.

The deadlock in the Strait of Hormuz – and Trump’s repeatedly disproved claims of victory – mean the US president does “not have credibility, [and] any threats he makes are totally ignored”, Panetta said.

Tehran calls US–European draft IAEA resolution on Iran’s nuclear program ‘biased’

The US and its allies Britain, France and Germany are reportedly pushing the UN nuclear watchdog’s board to pass a resolution reporting Iran to the UN Security Council for breaching its non-proliferation obligations.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman says the three European states are “irrational” for seeking a UN resolution against Iran when the “imposed war” by the US and Israel made nuclear facilities inaccessible.

Tehran will reciprocate should the UN nuclear watchdog adopt a resolution against it, he added.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has “once again become a tool for the US and European countries to abuse and exert political pressure against Iran”, Esmaeil Baghaei said.

Iran has ‘legal right’ for defence against US’s naval blockade and economic war: Baghaei

Iran considers its “defensive” actions “completely legal” including strikes against US military bases in the Middle East, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei says.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is in a position of legitimate self-defence and defence of national interests because of the continuation of the naval blockade and full-scale economic war,” he said.

Baghaei told reporters Tehran considers its actions legal “within the framework of the inherent right of self-defence based on Article 51 of the United Nations Charter”.

“The United States’ resort to attacks against civilians and the killing of children in an attempt to pressure the Islamic Republic of Iran completely invalidates their claims,” he added.

Iran praises Qatar’s efforts to reduce Gulf tensions

Iran says the visit by officials from Qatar was positive after they held discussions with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday.

“The Qatari delegation was also in Iran yesterday as part of Qatar’s ongoing efforts to help reduce tensions. They had good meetings with Dr Araghchi,” said spokesman Baghaei.

“As we have stated before, diplomacy is a dynamic and continuous process, and we will certainly make the best possible use of diplomatic tools to safeguard our national interests.”

UAE energy exports will not be ‘held hostage’, adviser says

The UAE expects rebuilding ties with Iran will take decades, presidential adviser Anwar Mohammed Gargash says.

Speaking at the Hili Forum ⁠in ⁠Abu Dhabi, Gargash said the UAE will not allow its energy exports to be “held hostage” due to the US-Israel war on Iran.

“It’s unacceptable for oil tankers and vessels to be continually threatened in the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.

His comments came after Washington and Tehran traded strikes in the strait over the weekend.

‘Strike our assets and you get struck’: Iran threatens US oil companies

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned of strikes against US oil and gas companies following a threat from US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “destroy” Iranian tankers.

“It’s simple: the oil and gas production chain here is sprawling, accessible, and exposed. American oil and gas companies across these waters and facilities share that exposure,” he posted.

“Strike our assets and you get struck.”

Ghalibaf paired the message with a seemingly AI-generated image of oil infrastructure with text reading: “The lost decade of the US economy is coming”.

Iran says time for ‘proportionate retaliation’ is over

The US continues to rely on a mix of military force and economic sanctions against Iran, which has so far only prompted authorities in Tehran to consider more forceful responses.

Speaking during a private meeting of parliament members, Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran has inflicted “significant blows” to US bases across the region to the “frustration” of leaders in Washington.

“The Americans have surely understood that the era of proportionate responses has come to an end and our recent strikes against aggressor bases was only a start,” he said.

Any further attacks against Iranian interests will be met with “faster, heavier and more painful” strikes from Iran, Ghalibaf warned.

UN rights chief ‘alarmed’ by US, Iranian attacks affecting Gulf region

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has appealed to Iran and the US to return to negotiations immediately, saying he is “alarmed by the resumption of attacks”.

“Recent reports of civilian deaths and injuries, including at a wedding in Hormozgan province, are particularly concerning,” he told the Human Rights Council, referring to a US attack in Sirik in which at least four people were killed at a wedding party.

“The geopolitical and economic impacts of this entirely avoidable crisis are again reverberating around the world.”

Oman evacuates 16 seamen from stricken Saudi vessel

Oman says ⁠it rescued 16 crew members from the ⁠Saudi-owned tanker Sidr after it ⁠was attacked by Iran.

The Sidr was one of two supertankers carrying Saudi Arabian oil that were ⁠reported hit while ⁠transiting the Strait of Hormuz a week ago.

Saudi Arabia ⁠said last Wednesday ⁠the attack ⁠on the tanker, owned by national shipping company Bahri, killed two Filipino seafarers.

Ship fuel is running short during Iran and Ukraine wars

The shipping industry, already heavily constrained by restrictions on transit through key waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz, faces another challenge stemming from the US-Israel war on Iran and Russia’s war on Ukraine: a shortage of fuel oil used by ships and power plants.

Any shortage could drive up global freight costs, which could in turn affect consumers and manufacturers of goods and commodities.

Most ships and oil tankers mainly use heavy fuel oil, commonly known as bunker fuel, to power their engines. Other commonly used marine fuels include marine gas oil (used by smaller vessels), marine diesel oil (used in marine engines), and less polluting fuels like very low sulphur fuel oil.

UAE building alternative routes for energy exports after war on Iran

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been expanding port capacity along its eastern coast as well as pipelines, railways, and trade routes for alternative corridors for energy ⁠exports, an official says.

UAE presidential ⁠adviser Anwar Gargash said while relations with Iran can be restored, rebuilding trust with its neighbours after months of attacks on Gulf states could take decades.

“A functional relationship ⁠with Iran can and must be restored, but rebuilding trust is another matter,” Gargash told a forum in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE suspended all economic transactions with the Islamic Republic in August. Gargash also criticised Gulf states for their response to Iranian attacks, saying their collective action fell short.

“For many years we broadly agreed on the nature of the challenge posed ‌by Iran. The problem was, therefore, not a lack of understanding. Where we fell short in confronting this ‌historic ‌challenge was translating this shared understanding into sufficiently united and strategic response.”

Iran increasing military equipment, tactics: Air defense commander

Brigadier-General Alireza Elhami says Iran is upping its military equipment production.

In comments reported by Mehr news agency, Elhami said Tehran would also expand the “type, application, and tactics” of such equipment.

“We are ready,” he added, echoing comments from earlier this week that Iran is prepared for “any confrontation” with the United States or Israel.

IAEA boss urges Iran to reengage as Western powers seek UN referral

Rafael Grossi, chief of the UN nuclear agency, says giving access to key nuclear facilities in Iran would have “positive repercussions” for the Islamic Republic as a draft resolution reportedly proposes referring Tehran to the UN Security Council.

Iran’s mission to the UN on X called the draft resolution a “new desperate action” that would bring “no benefit”.

Grossi described the lack of contact with Iran as “regrettable”.

“The best, shortest way for a positive outcome is for Iran to engage with us,” Grossi told a press conference. “If Iran engages with us in a serious dialogue, if we can start getting access … I can guarantee to you that this will have very, very positive repercussions.”

Iran commander says war strategy ‘reshaped global economic equations’

A senior military commander says Iran’s enemies “miscalculated” Tehran’s ability to steer the course of the war.

In comments reported by Iranian media, Brigadier-General Kioumars Hedari, deputy chief of the armed forces said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran, by using its strategic capacities, succeeded in having a significant impact on the world’s economic equations.”

Hedari highlighted the strategic importance of the vital Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has been attacking since the US and Israel launched their war in February.

Control of the crucial waterway for global trade remains a major stumbling block in negotiations to end the conflict, now in its seventh month.

US official claims Hormuz fully open, under US control

In response to inquiries over Iranian threats to establish a restricted zone in the Strait of Hormuz, a senior US official has said that the waterway is fully open and under US Navy control.

They said the assessment follows a covert US Navy mine-clearing operation in the strait since April, reported earlier by the Financial Times, in which US Navy special operations forces used advanced techniques to remove an estimated 80 naval mines. The official said shipping traffic is expected to rise further as a result.

The official said the US remains satisfied with current oil and gas flows through the strait, which carries millions of barrels of crude daily. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has put the figure at about 9 million barrels per day.

Washington also appears confident in the economic pressure campaign it launched on Iran last month, which the official said has “completely” damaged Iran’s economy both through sanctions and a tightened naval blockade which they described as “the most successful in history”.

About 20 vessels remain involved in that blockade, according to the official, escorting commercial ships through the strait.

See "Shipping traffic in Hormuz drops to its lowest level since May" at the top of this page.

Top diplomats of Kuwait, Pakistan hold talks on boosting peace in Middle East

Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar have discussed “the latest regional developments, and the efforts aimed at enhancing security and stability in the region”, according to the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry.

Pakistan has been leading mediation efforts between the US and Iran to end the war that has directly and heavily affected the Gulf countries, including Kuwait.

Kuwait was attacked several times by Iran, with targets including military infrastructure and energy facilities.

Will Iran be able to enforce restricted zone near Strait of Hormuz?

A Middle East expert doubts whether Iran will be able to enforce its new restricted zone near the Strait of Hormuz.

Stephen Zunes, founding chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, said “it’s hard to see how they will really be able to enforce it. Iranian ships and planes trying to enforce that would be very vulnerable to US attacks”.

Iran’s new zone is likely aimed at discouraging freight companies from using the strait without Iranian permission.

“They are giving a warning, given there still would be some risk for shipping companies to not count on being able to get through the strait without suffering consequences,” Zunes added.

Hormuz shipping traffic falls sharply, Kpler data shows

The Strait of Hormuz saw a 28 percent decrease in shipping last week to 77 vessels, according to shipping data from Kpler, the commodities and shipping data and analytics firm.

The number of ships carrying cargo rather than sailing empty was reduced from 45 to 33, it added.

Routing patterns became more concentrated around Iran’s navigation system in the strait. From September 4 to September 6, 21 of 28 transiting vessels used Iran’s unilateral routing scheme rather than standard shipping lanes – including seven of the eight transits on the final day, said the firm.

The combination of decreased cargo activity and growing reliance on Iranian-managed routing suggests the security shock from tensions is moving beyond vessel-level caution and beginning to weigh on underlying Gulf trade, Kpler said.

The next test is whether the pattern seen late last week becomes structural, it added.

See also "Shipping traffic in Hormuz drops to its lowest level since May"at the top of this page, and "US official claims Hormuz fully open, under US control." also on this page.

Tanker fire extinguished near Iran’s Kharg Island

Emergency crews have extinguished a fire on an Iranian oil tanker targeted in a US strike near Kharg Island on Saturday, with all crew members safe and no oil spill detected, according to the Fars news agency.

Technical teams were sent to assess the ship’s structural integrity and oversee its relocation.

US forces attacked three crude carriers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Saturday. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the operation was in response to Iranian attacks on US warships patrolling the region.

Kharg Island is Iran’s primary oil export hub, handling about 90 percent of crude shipments before the war.

World faces ‘industrial catastrophe’ if Hormuz crisis persists, Qatar warns

Majed Al-Ansari, foreign ministry spokesman for Qatar, which is mediating between the US and Iran, has told CNN that the priority is to open the Strait of Hormuz:

• “We have two main priorities: One is to make sure that the strait is open and that the economic pressure on all of us collectively … is lifted. Second is to make sure that there are no military escalations in the region.
• “We don’t want to freeze this conflict and be back here a couple of months later.”
• “The world cannot afford normalising the idea of a strait being used, a waterway being used, and weaponised in this way, in this kind of conflict. This could be replicated in other places, having even more damaging consequences. We need to kill this in its infancy. It cannot become the new normal in war for countries to basically just close waterways in this way.”
• “Empires rose and fell on control over this kind of waterway. We’ve seen death and destruction at unbelievable levels as a result of maritime security being affected."
• “The world today, with just one strait being affected like this, is facing inflation problems, is facing energy security problems, food security problems; we are facing an industrial catastrophe if this continues.”
• “There are too many obstacles to reaching a resolution: One has to do with political will and the other is purely technical and finding technical solutions.”

Nuclear issue unlikely to return to forefront of US-Israel war on Iran

Pressure from Western powers and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is unlikely to succeed in shifting the focus back to the Iranian nuclear program amid the US-Israel war on Iran, according to Ross Harrison, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and author of “Decoding Iran’s Foreign Policy”.

“I think what the Iranians are perceiving this as is not so much pressure coming only on the nuclear issue and on the IAEA inspections, but an attempt to basically put pressure on Iran across multiple fronts, on the Strait of Hormuz,” Harrison said.

“What the Iranians are doing is they’re trying to improvise in order to change the debate away from the nuclear issue, which was the casus belli of this war early on, by the United States and Israel. But since this time, the war has morphed into a war over the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.

Harrison said Western powers are pushing back. “I think what the Americans and the Europeans, the IAEA, are doing is trying to shift the debate back to the nuclear issue, and I think Iran is going to resist that,” he said.

Iran battles ethnic armed groups as authorities warn of growing domestic risks

Iranian authorities have repeatedly publicized arrests and clashes with small armed cells inside the country, or skirmishes with armed groups along land borders, particularly during the war with Israel and the United States.

They have endeavored to frame the war as a national security struggle while sending a message of control and deterrence to audiences in Iran and abroad.

In one of the latest instances, state media said on Sunday that members of an eight-member network, allegedly affiliated with “anti-revolutionary” and “pro-monarchy” groups, were arrested.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the southern province of Fars accused them of throwing fire bombs and burning tyres during nationwide protests in January.

Iran’s leaders have recently expressed concern about more potential protests as economic conditions deteriorate and public discontent increases.

Iran to phase out petrol import subsidy, vice president says

Iran plans to gradually phase out imported petrol subsidies, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Aref said the new pricing structure will affect only about 15 percent of total domestic petrol consumption, with the government intending to continue providing favorable fuel rates for public transit providers. Authorities have also approved measures to replace aging vehicles with hybrid and electric cars.

Petrol in Iran remains heavily subsidized and is among the cheapest in the world. Under the primary quota system, drivers receive 60 liters (16 gallons) per month at 15,000 Iranian rials per liter (about 1 US cent) and an additional 50 litres (13 gallons) at 30,000 rials (about 2 cents) per liter.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said earlier on Monday that while the initial 110-litre (29-gallon) quota system will remain in place, the rate for fuel consumed above that threshold will double, from 50,000 rials (just above 3 cents) to 100,000 rials (less than 7 cents) per liter.

Iranian officials said the price increase was inevitable due to surging domestic consumption and the growing imbalance between supply and demand.

Despite holding vast crude oil reserves, Iran suffers from limited refining capacity and high domestic consumption. In recent years, the shortfall has forced Tehran to rely on fuel imports to meet consumer demand.

Iran’s top diplomat calls for Islamic nations’ unity against US-Israeli aggression

Iran’s foreign minister has emphasized the need “for a responsible response from Islamic nations”, while speaking to Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the new Secretary-General of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Abbas Araghchi said on social media that he also shared his concerns about ongoing Israeli aggression against Palestine and Lebanon.

No ‘authentic negotiating track’ exists, as Iran, US believe in negotiation ‘on the battlefield’

The standoff between Washington and Tehran is unlikely to produce genuine diplomacy as long as both sides believe they have more to gain from pressure than from talks, according to Ross Harrison, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

“I think what we’re seeing is a negotiation occurring but on the battlefield – a different form of negotiation. In order for true negotiations to take place, I think both parties need to believe they have more to gain at the negotiating table than on the battlefield,” he said.

“Iran has been trying to adhere to the conditions of the MoU. That MoU was Iranian leverage. And the Americans have been trying to shear away, or pull away,” Harrison said.

He said Washington is currently favoring economic over military pressure, while Tehran is pushing back against being sidelined. “What the Iranians are saying is, ‘No, we get a vote in terms of how this conflict is going to play out.’ And they may try to escalate in order to break out of the trap they believe Donald Trump is in.”

“Unless conditions on the ground change over the next day or so, I don’t see an authentic negotiating track,” he said.

US says ‘redirected’ 94 vessels in Strait of Hormuz

US Central Command says its forces have “redirected 94 commercial vessels, disabled 3 and boarded 2” since mid-July, when the US reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports.

A day earlier, it reported 92 redirections, with three ships disabled and two boarded, meaning it redirected two vessels in the past 24 hours.

The blockade is aimed at cutting off Iran’s exports, particularly its oil sales, to weaken its economy and force it to accept Washington’s demands.

The CENTCOM has made these kind of claims since the beginning of the counter-blockade last April but only published videos, which show what ship they were disabling.

Iran’s top security official threatens US with blockade across Gulf

Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s security chief, has warned the United States that Tehran is preparing to enforce a restricted zone across the Gulf, threatening a full blockade around the Strait of Hormuz in response to economic sanctions.

Rezaei, who serves as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on X that Iran’s recent missile launches served as “a clear warning” to Washington.

“Economic warfare will be met by a maritime exclusion zone across the Persian Gulf to the blockade perimeter,” Rezaei said. “The operational posture toward US warships and bases has been fundamentally recalibrated.”

Iran accuses Canada of ‘submission’ to US after Ottawa’s criticism of Tehran’s ‘destabilising activities’

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has criticised Canada after its foreign and finance ministers issued a joint statement, condemning Tehran and calling on it “to immediately end its destabilising activities in the Middle East”.

In a post on X, Baghaei accused Canadian officials of appeasing their “bullying neighbor”, the US, and displaying “strategic confusion and submission to intimidation”, despite what he described as Washington’s contempt for Canada’s sovereignty.

“Canada cannot credibly present itself as a champion of ‘peace and security’, ‘freedom of navigation’, and ‘international law’ while simultaneously backing US military aggression, and Washington’s illegal, interventionist actions in our region,” Baghaei said.

He added that the Strait of Hormuz was “open and secure” before the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28.

Baghaei questioned why Canada, “having itself experienced American bad faith and knowing that US signatures are ‘written in pencil'”, would support US “military aggression and economic terrorism instead of calling for an end to American aggression, blockade, and economic warfare”.