Iran says US sanctions will achieve nothing
Iran’s president has insisted that the United States would achieve nothing with its new sanctions campaign after Washington laid out plans to collapse the country’s economy, AFP reports.
“America will not achieve anything with economic pressure at this stage, just as it was unable to achieve anything in the war,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, according to the country’s ISNA news agency.
“We will stand firm against economic pressures, as we have done so far and will continue to do.”
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Rubio says US will not launch new Iran strikes ‘for time being’: Axios
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told several foreign ministers from allied countries in recent days that the United States is not expected to launch new strikes against Iran “for the time being” and will instead focus on other forms of pressure, Axios reported on Tuesday.
The report, citing a US official and a second source familiar with the matter, comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran
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Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said he and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir had a very “positive” and “productive” meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezekshian.
Discussions focused on measures, including preventing further escalation of the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Munir discussed regional peace and ways to reach a negotiated settlement to disputes, the statement added.
Iran’s Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh has responded to new US sanctions against the country, saying they will fail as they have in the past, Al Jazeera reported, citing a report from Iran’s Fars news agency.
“US sanctions against us are not new. We have programmes to counter American sanctions, and Washington cannot achieve its goals by severing the arteries of our economy,” Madanizadeh said.
Fars also quoted the minister as saying that the government prevented 600,000 people from becoming unemployed since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.
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Iran said it had blacklisted 45 tankers that had broken its rules for crossing the Strait of Hormuz, and would take action against any vessels transferring loads with them, escalating its threats over the key waterway six months into the war.
The named vessels could be fined, detained, and have their cargoes confiscated, according to an X post late on Sunday from the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a new body set up by Iran to manage the strait.
The warning was issued within days of the US threatening Iran with “the toughest sanctions in history”, and Iran saying its response to any new US threats would be “devastating”.
The restricted list includes very large crude carriers, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas tankers, and clean product vessels, among others.
Some of the named ships are owned by the United Arab Emirates’ ADNOC Logistics and Shipping, ADNOC’s subsidiary Navigate Tankers, and Saudi Arabia’s national shipping carrier Bahri.
Any vessels involved in ship-to-ship transfers with the named vessels could be added to the blacklist, the Iranian X post added.
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Iran denounced US plans to announce new sanctions that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic’s economy and have an impact on its most important trading partners, including China.
After nearly six months of war since the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on February 28, the sides are not firing at each other but also showing no sign of pursuing peace talks.
Oil shipments are at a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening to strike any unauthorised oil tankers that try to transit the vital waterway, and Iran’s economy is already under immense pressure from sanctions.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to hold a press conference at 2pm EDT (1800 GMT) on Monday after threatening “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.
Bessent has also urged China to cooperate with Washington, as it buys more than 80% of Iran’s oil shipped, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler. Beijing has urged diplomacy.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said on Saturday the imminent US announcement of new economic sanctions was an “assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations.”
“Such secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law,” he said in a post on X.
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, told state television that Tehran would target the interests of countries helping the United States.
“We are telling all nearby countries not to join the US economic war; otherwise we will consider them as enemies,” Rezaei said.
US President Donald Trump, who has warned of economic consequences against any country that provides “any type of lifeline to Iran,” said on Friday that Washington was observing “what happens” in the conflict.
“They would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” Trump said of Iran.
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Trump wants more economic pressure on Iran. What are his options?
US President Donald Trump has vowed to hit Iran hard economically, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would impose measures on Tehran that have “never been seen” as soon as next week.
Bessent is due to hold a press conference at 2pm EDT (1800 GMT) on Monday.
The United States, the United Nations and the European Union have applied sanctions, implemented trade embargoes and frozen assets since the late 1970s over Iran’s nuclear programme, “human rights violations and support for militant groups”.
Since the Iran war began in February, Washington has levied additional maritime, energy and financial sanctions and started a naval blockade.
Data from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) shows the agency has imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 people, vessels and aircraft since Trump began his second term.
Recent measures have targeted Iran’s shadow oil fleet; shipping insurers; entities and people enabling Iran’s acquisition of weapons; and digital exchanges, freezing an estimated $500 billion in Iran-linked cryptocurrency.
Iran has denounced US plans to announce new sanctions that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic’s economy.
Oil shipments are at a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening to strike any unauthorised oil tankers that try to transit the vital waterway, and Iran’s economy is already under immense pressure from sanctions.
Experts say the Trump administration also can try these options:
Sanctions on Chinese ‘teapot’ refiners
Chinese independent refineries known as “teapots” account for a quarter of Chinese refinery capacity. They operate with narrow and sometimes negative profit margins.
China buys more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler. Independent refiners absorb much of this trade, exposing them to so-called secondary measures that penalise entities helping a primary sanctions target.
Past US sanctions have deterred larger independent refiners from buying Iranian oil. But the independent refineries are somewhat immune since they have little exposure to the US financial system, sanctions experts say.
Sanctions on Chinese banks
OFAC has imposed secondary sanctions on smaller China- and Hong Kong-based entities accused of processing billions of dollars in Iranian oil and helping to fund weapons procurement.
The Treasury Department has warned two larger Chinese banks they could face secondary sanctions if Iranian funds were found moving through their systems, but has stopped short of designating them.
Hitting those two banks, which US officials have not publicly identified, or imposing other sanctions could have a chilling effect on bigger financial institutions, sanctions experts said, although they warned it could also trigger retaliatory actions by Beijing.
Trump administration officials have sought to play down tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of an expected meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping later this year. They worry that China could curtail exports of critical minerals that are essential to advanced technology production at a time when the US and Western allies are still trying to develop their own supplies.
‘Whack-a-mole’
The United States could continue targeting Iranian individuals and entities, as well as others in China and the Gulf, that are helping Tehran evade sanctions to collect revenues for its war effort.
The Treasury Department recently issued sanctions against firms that are springing up to facilitate Iran’s trading of oil revenue for imports. But such measures amount to a “whack-a-mole” approach that has not altered Iran’s behaviour, said Brett Erickson, managing principal of Obsidian Risk Advisors, noting that Tehran simply creates new entities to replace them.
Miad Maleki, a sanctions expert with the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said Bessent was likely signalling a sharpened enforcement push against oil shippers, purchasers and currency exchangers who help Iran pay for its imports.
Further aviation sanctions were also possible, aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to move trade now that the US has blockaded shipping via the Strait of Hormuz, he added.
Land blockade
Some US and Israeli officials have floated the prospect of a land blockade.
The Trump administration has varying degrees of closeness with all those countries except Afghanistan, but that border is mountainous and extremely difficult to patrol anyway.
A land blockade could increase pressure on the Iranian people by halting their imports of food, energy and textiles, but experts say such a move would be difficult to execute and might not result in protests or internal pressure.
Secondary tariffs
Trump has repeatedly threatened tariffs on goods from countries that do business with Iran, although the Supreme Court struck down the legal basis for such taxes.
The Senate passed a sweeping Russia sanctions bill last week that included new Iran sanctions and would give Trump new tariff powers that he could potentially use against countries that aid Iran’s commerce and weapons procurement.
That legislation must still pass the US House of Representatives, which could prove challenging given widespread concerns among Democrats and some Republicans about the tariff measures.
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Iran warns neighbours against joining US economic war, vows to target their interests
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Major General Mohsen Rezaei whilr emphasizing that any country participating in the US-led economic blockade will face consequences, and warned that if the blockade persists, not a single drop of Persian Gulf oil will be allowed to leave via any route.
He reiterated that furthermore, while Iran has not yet targeted the US economic interests, that option remains available should such hostile actions continue.
Emphasizing that any country participating with the U.S. in this blockade will face a response, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council warned: “If the blockade continues, we will not allow a single drop of Persian Gulf oil to leave via any route; furthermore, while we have not yet attacked U.S. economic interests, that option remains available to us should the hostile actions persist.”
Regarding the situation at the Strait of Hormuz, General Rezaei stated: “The Strait of Hormuz is closed and will not reopen until the US changes its behavior and honors its commitments; they must first take concrete action.”
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Trump says Iran not ready for ‘right deal’ as US asserts ‘total control’ over Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran was not ready to make the “right deal”, adding that Washington was watching how the conflict develops.
“It just means that we’re seeing what happens,” Trump told reporters when asked whether US military options against Iran were limited.
“We have total control of that entire region having to do with the Strait of Hormuz, and that means well into it, the land areas. So, they would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” Trump added.
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Pezekshian says war must end at some points
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that “the war must end at some point.”
“It is better to end the war today while we are in a position of strength and dignity,” he said, adding that the world acknowledged Tehran’s victory.
“Some people sitting on the sidelines do so because they do not know the conditions the government is in; they make uninhibited statements and analyse without any hardship, and then they complain about inflation.”
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Trump holds back on further military action as economic pressure bears down on Iran
US president claims Iran is broke and unable to pay soldiers as US sanctions intensify pressure
US President Donald Trump has shifted towards economic pressure as his preferred weapon against Iran, while refusing to rule out fresh strikes on Tehran.
“We are low-keying it,” Trump told news site Axios by phone Sunday.
“We’re only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money.”
The billionaire has since repeated that he is keeping the option of striking Tehran on the table, but prefers to stress the economic damage inflicted on the country through economic sanctions.
“Iran is broke, totally broke and they’re not paying their soldiers,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office.
He has repeatedly claimed, most recently in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, that the country is experiencing inflation of over 300 percent.
He also claimed there is no urgency to act because the United States has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the oil trade that has become the geopolitical flashpoint of the conflict.
‘Terrible shape’
In reality, Tehran is locking down the strategic passage while Washington is imposing its own blockade on Iranian ports.
“Iran is in terrible shape economically. It can’t ship oil at any meaningful level. And it still labors under sanctions and still can’t access its overseas assets,” said Michael O’Hanlon, an expert from the Brookings Institution think tank.
“The question is, do its leaders really care? I think they care some, but not a lot.”
The mercurial American president has, for the moment, muted both his threats of apocalyptic strikes and promises of imminent diplomatic breakthroughs — messages that have been in constant rotation since he launched the war with Israel more than five months ago.
At the end of July, Washington announced new measures targeting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of the Iranian military.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump’s advisors have shown him data on the impact of American sanctions, which he is now reportedly considering tightening while he also mulls imposing new strictures.
That could be a tactical shift for an American president who, until recently, was threatening to unleash the most devastating strikes since World War II against Iran.
Chess match
The shift may also indicate the limited military options left available to the United States, where the press has reported that American munitions stockpiles have been heavily depleted.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei called the fresh push for sanctions a “retreat,” noting the country has withstood US sanctions for decades.
“Whenever Washington proves itself incapable of pursuing diplomacy it retreats into sanctions; and whenever those sanctions fail to produce results, it simply increases the dose,” Baqaei said in an X post this week.
“The real risk is that American politicians, clinging to this habit, will instead strangle their own remaining chances of a less humiliating exit from a crisis of their own making.”
What remains to be seen is whether notoriously impatient Trump, who prefers the spectacle of combat sports like MMA and flashy “deals,” will be able to stay true to the long-term strategy of economic pressure.
In his interview with Axios, Trump compared the conflict with Iran to a game of chess.
“Iranians have shown they are professional chess players,” Baqaei told reporters in response to the comment.
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Iran, US not discussing ceasefire extension, says senior Iranian official
There were no discussions between Iran and the United States to extend their ceasefire because, from Tehran’s perspective, the deal had no start date and therefore had nothing to extend, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Wednesday.
The source’s comments came after Turkiye’s Anadolu news agency, citing Pakistani government sources, reported on Wednesday that Tehran and Washington had agreed to extend a 60-day ceasefire under their interim deal signed in June.
The deal declared an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts”, but quickly unravelled, with US President Donald Trump saying it was “over” on July 7 and Iran’s foreign ministry declaring it “suspended” a week later
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Iran says no talks are under way with United States after Trump calls off attacks
Iran said on Monday there were no talks underway with the United States and no plans for any meetings, contradicting US President Donald Trump, who had cited talks he said would take place that afternoon as justification for calling off attacks.
Over the weekend Trump repeated a pattern that has emerged throughout the past five months: announcing plans for “massive attacks” on Iran, only to cancel them at the last minute.
“Would I rather make a deal? I’m not looking to kill people,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Sunday.
“Now what we’re doing is talking to them, in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon,” he said, without identifying a venue or participants for such talks.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei rejected the claim, saying no negotiations with the United States were taking place and no meetings were scheduled. Iran had no plans to host foreign delegations or send negotiators abroad in the coming days, he said.
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Trump halts Iran strikes, announces fresh negotiations starting today
US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran will begin on Monday after he decided to hold off on new “disastrous” strikes against the Islamic republic to pursue a deal.
“Obviously, they don’t want to be attacked. They knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming,” Trump told reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One.
“Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon,” he said, without providing further details of the venue of the talks or the participants.
On Saturday, the US president pulled back from threats of a massive attack against Iran, which he said would have been the biggest since World War II, saying the “perimeter” of a deal was there.
In his comments on Sunday, explaining his decision-making, Trump said he had been asked by Iran as well as US partners Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to hold off on the strikes.
“When the allies asked to call it off, you’ve got to sort of say ‘Well, let’s see.’ And the reason they ask is they think there’s a deal,” Trump said.
“There’s a deal on (the Strait of) Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearisation of Iran.”
He reiterated that the scale of the planned strikes would have been “the biggest attack since World War II”.
“It would take many, many years to ever build it back if it could — I don’t think it would even be buildable,” Trump asserted.
He said Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had also urged against the strikes, warning of possible unintended consequences.
“I mean, will they be flooded with people pouring into their country and disaster? A lot of bad things can happen,” Trump said.
The war began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched surprise strikes against Iran, though months of on-off diplomacy have led to periods of relative calm.
A previous ceasefire deal, including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz — a vital conduit for global energy supplies — fell through, and Iran has since tightened its control over the vital waterway as the two countries resumed attacks against each other in recent weeks.
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Iran’s Mehr news agency on Sunday denied President Donald Trump’s claim that the Islamic republic asked the United States to refrain from conducting new strikes.
Citing military officials, the agency said the allegation “was nothing but a new lie” and that the Iranian armed forces were “on high alert and ready for any eventuality”.
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Trump puts off fresh Iran attack in hope of reaching quick deal
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States and Israel had agreed to hold off on any new strikes on Iran — provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is quickly reached.
“The USA is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,” Trump said late Saturday in a post on his Truth Social platform.
But the Republican billionaire said he would hold fire for now.
“Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack,” he said.
“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” he said.
The US president said the deal would have to include the “Immediate, Complete and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”
“The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE.”
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US military launches ‘heavy wave’ of retaliatory strikes on Iran
The US military completed a “heavy wave of strikes” against Iran on Thursday in retaliation against Tehran targeting American bases in Jordan, as fighting intensified in the Middle East war after a nearly week-long pause.
The reignited hostilities have drawn in the Islamic republic’s proxies, and appear to have dashed hopes of a quick return to negotiations between the foes.
US President Donald Trump had vowed to hit Iran “hard” after Tehran launched missiles at Jordan, its first regional strike in days.
American forces “successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran”, and struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard targets including military command centres, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported hits on several cities in the southwestern Khuzestan province, as well as on Qeshm island in the Gulf.
Areas around the cities of Abadan, Shadegan, Arvandkenar and Ahvaz — all in Khuzestan — were struck, the agency said, citing provincial authorities.
In a sign of the war’s spread, Saudi Arabia and the United States announced strikes Wednesday on militant bases in Iraq, while US ally Israel accused Iran-backed Hezbollah of a truce violation.
The world’s biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia has reported two days of drone attacks targeting crude facilities that it blames on Iraqi armed groups allied with Tehran.
Jordan’s army said it had intercepted five Iranian missiles, after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted US bases there.
“As long as the threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran continue… the resistance will continue,” the IRGC said.
On another front, Israel accused Hezbollah of deploying a drone overnight against an Israeli vehicle inside Lebanon, in what the military called “a blatant violation of the ceasefire”.
Israel fought alongside the United States in the first weeks of the war against Iran, while battling Hezbollah in Lebanon, but it has yet to join the latest round of strikes against the Islamic republic.
– ‘Dangerous’ –
In Iraq, the joint US-Saudi air operation followed attacks by what Riyadh called “terrorist militias loyal to Iran” on its oil facilities.
The US military said logistics and weapons sites belonging to an Iran-aligned group were targeted in the strikes.
Iraq’s Hashed al-Shaabi alliance said the attacks killed at least 20 of its members.
It denounced a “dangerous escalation” against an “official security institution”.
Two Hashed officials said five Iranian advisors were among those killed, and AFP correspondents saw coffins draped with Iranian flags.
The Hashed al-Shaabi alliance, also known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, was created in 2014 to fight jihadists before its integration into the military.
It includes brigades belonging to Iran-backed groups reputed for acting unilaterally.
Iraq denounced the US-Saudi strikes and said it rejects “all acts of aggression, regardless of the party responsible or the justifications presented”.
The Ministerial Council for National Security said it would “confront any violation of Iraq’s sovereignty, and prevent any source from using Iraqi territory to threaten neighbouring states”.
According to Fox News, however, Trump said the strikes were “coordinated with the Iraqi government”.
The strikes follow growing US pressure on Iraq to disarm pro-Iran groups. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi visited both the US and Iran.
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US launches fresh strikes on Iran as Middle East tensions escalate
The US Central Command has said that it has completed a “heavy wave of strikes against Iran” following yesterday’s attempted missile attacks on American forces.
It said in a statement that its assets struck dozens of IRGC targets in Iran, including “military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defence sites, and maritime capabilities.”
US forces targeted locations in Iran’s Abadan city, Al Jazeera reported, citing Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster.
According to IRIB, a deputy security official in Khuzestan province said “some locations in Abadan” had been targeted by US forces.
IRIB reported that two explosions were heard in the port city of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province, while similar sounds were reported on the islands of Abu Musa, Kish and Qeshm.
Citing a senior Hormozgan provincial official, the state broadcaster said there had been no attacks on the city of Sirik.
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that US-Saudi bombing of Iraqi militias overnight inside Iraq had been coordinated with the authorities in Baghdad, Fox News reported.
Trump “says those strikes were coordinated with the Iraqi government,” a Fox correspondent said after speaking with the US leader.
Trump’s reported assertion came as Iraq’s presidency denounced the US-Saudi attacks as a “blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.”
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the US military will be hitting Iran “hard” after a missile attack against US bases in Jordan, Fox News reported.
“We’ll be hitting them hard. They’re going to get a beating,” Fox’s correspondent quoted Trump as saying, adding that the US president used swear words to emphasise his point: “We are going to beat the ‘effing s’ out of t
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Saudi, Omani FMs exchange views on Hormuz security over phone
A bilateral discussion between the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Oman discussed the ongoing security tensions in the Gulf region due to the war on Iran, Al Jazeera reported.
The Saudi state agency SPA reported that both countries shared their concerns about recent developments and spoke about ways “to ensure the safety and freedom of maritime navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
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Iran says mediators actively exchanging messages with US amid tensions
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has said that mediators, including Pakistan and Qatar, are actively exchanging messages between Tehran and Washington, but that Tehran’s priority remains defending its sovereignty while under attack.
Baghaei told Austrian broadcaster ORF that Iran had fulfilled its Memorandum of Understanding commitment to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days, but that the US had launched new strikes before that deadline expired, using alleged shipping incidents as a pretext.
He said that this was the third time in the past year that Iran’s diplomacy had been “betrayed” by attacks during negotiations.
Baghaei also said that the US had failed to release Iran’s frozen assets as required under the MoU.
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No US attacks on Iran for first time in two weeks but war spreads to Red Sea
The Iran war broadened over the weekend despite a pause in US strikes, as Yemen’s Houthis attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast and Iran accused Ukraine of targeting one of its vessels in the Caspian Sea.
The US military said on Saturday its naval blockade against Iran “remains in full effect” but did not explain why it halted a streak of 13 nights of escalating strikes.
There were also no weekend reports of attacks by Iran on neighbours, similar to its daily rejoinders to the US attacks.
Asked about the pause, a senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration said Trump “has always been clear that his preference is diplomacy, but he has shown Iran what will happen if they fail to come to the table in a serious way.”
Trump has decided, for now, to back away from plans to ramp up attacks on Iran, the New York Times said on Saturday, citing two people briefed on the discussion.
The president and his advisers, the newspaper said, have concerns about expanding the conflict, depleting defence stockpiles, alienating Middle East Gulf allies and affecting energy supplies and the global economy.
Vice President JD Vance and Gen Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, both raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile with Trump during a White House meeting on Friday, a US official told CNN.
Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defence source told the broadcaster on Saturday.
Despite the Gulf lull, Saturday’s fighting between Houthis and Saudi Arabia showed that the war, which has already disrupted energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, could affect a second major shipping route and reignite Yemen’s civil war.
Separately, Iran’s Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, saying one sailor was killed and another injured.
The ministry summoned Ukraine’s charge d’affaires in Tehran to protest over an attack it described as “hostile and criminal”, state news agency IRNA said.
The Iranian denunciation coincided with comments by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that Kyiv had noted Russia was passing on to Iran its satellite observations in the Middle East, to enable it to direct strikes in the region.
War threatens to spread to Yemen
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group struck sites belonging to Saudi state oil company Aramco in the cities of Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday.
A large column of smoke rose from the direction of the Aramco refinery in Jizan, near the Yemeni border, video on social media verified by Reuters showed. The refinery can process up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
Two Asia-based trading sources said they had been informed of potential damage to fuel and oil storage sites at Jizan. Aramco did not respond to requests for comment.
In Yanbu, two missiles aimed at oil installations were intercepted. Yanbu, Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea oil port, has become a key route for Saudi oil skirting the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has blockaded.
Saudi-led coalition strikes Hodeidah
In Yemen, officials said the air force of the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government, which has opposed the Houthis for more than a decade, struck Houthi sites in the Marib and al-Jawf provinces.
The officials said both sides in Yemen’s civil war were mobilising forces along the front.
Saudi Arabia has led an Arab coalition battling the Houthis since the Iran-aligned fighters captured Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
The civil war, in which famine and fighting killed hundreds of thousands, has been paused by a ceasefire since 2022.
But that truce broke down this month, with the Houthis effectively joining the wider war their Iranian allies have waged since being attacked by the United States and Israel five months ago.
The Houthis have declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia over the past week, and Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said all Saudi oil facilities could be targets.
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Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar50 held a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Iran, Seyyed Abbas Araghchi @Araghchi, on the sidelines of the SCO CFM Meeting in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyz Republic.
The two Ministers reaffirmed the close and longstanding ties between Pakistan and Iran and reviewed the evolving regional situation. DPM/FM expressed deep concern over recent regional tensions and underscored the importance of dialogue, restraint, de-escalation by all sides, and sustained diplomatic engagement to achieve lasting peace and stability. He emphasized the need to build on the understandings reached under the Islamabad MoU of June 2026.
Foreign Minister Araghchi appreciated Pakistan’s continued diplomatic support and constructive efforts in promoting regional peace and security. He also thanked Pakistan for facilitating the safe return of Iranian fishermen and crew members, including those from vessels interdicted by the U.S.,and for its close coordination with the Iranian, U.S., and other relevant authorities to ensure their safe transit through Pakistan and return to Iran.
The two sides agreed to maintain close coordination and regular consultations on issues of mutual interest and reaffirmed their commitment to working together for regional peace, stability, and shared prosperity.
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President Donald Trump renewed his threats to attack Iranian infrastructure on Wednesday, saying the US would “bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant” any time Tehran targets a ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Jordanian army said it intercepted four Iranian missiles on Wednesday, while two others fell in an open area, as Tehran pressed its attacks across the region.
In a later statement, the army said it had also downed four drones coming from Iran.
“Air defence systems today detected six missiles coming from Iranian territory,” the army said in a statement, adding that it “intercepted and downed four missiles, while the other two fell in two remote, uninhabited areas, without causing any human casualties or material damage”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later said their aerospace force had launched a fresh attack on US bases in Jordan.
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The Jordanian army said it intercepted four Iranian missiles on Wednesday, while two others fell in an open area, as Tehran pressed its attacks across the region.
In a later statement, the army said it had also downed four drones coming from Iran.
“Air defence systems today detected six missiles coming from Iranian territory,” the army said in a statement, adding that it “intercepted and downed four missiles, while the other two fell in two remote, uninhabited areas, without causing any human casualties or material damage”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards later said their aerospace force had launched a fresh attack on US bases in Jordan.
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A senior Iranian military commander has warned that any future US military action against Iran would trigger what he described as a “decisive and devastating” response from the country’s armed forces, Al Jazeera reported.
Major-General Ali Abdullahi, head of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said in a statement carried by Iranian state media that Iran is prepared to respond forcefully to any act of aggression.
He also referred to the United States as “the Great Satan” and accused it of being a “criminal, treacherous and deceitful enemy.”
Abdullahi said Iran would work to strengthen unity between its armed forces, government officials and the public, adding that the country would seek to make the US pay a higher price than in previous conflicts.
The US Central Command (Centcom) said it completed another round of military strikes against Iran on July 18, acting under the direction of the Commander in Chief.
According to Centcom, the operation marked the eighth consecutive night of US strikes and targeted Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites.
The military said the strikes were intended to further degrade Iran’s military capabilities.
“American military assets also targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces that launched attacks against US service members in Jordan on July 17,” it added.
“More than 50,000 US men and women in uniform are operating across the Middle East. They remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready.”
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US-Iran hostilities continue with seventh straight night of strikes
Iran launched renewed attacks on US Gulf allies on Saturday after a seventh straight night of American strikes targeting Iranian military sites, including logistics infrastructure, escalating the war one week after a fragile ceasefire agreement fell apart.
Both sides also took aim at shipping traffic, with the US saying it was enforcing a naval blockade while Iran said it targeted vessels that violated its rules on navigating the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Oil prices climbed more than 4% on Friday to their highest level in more than a month, applying political pressure on US President Donald Trump as his Republican Party tries to hold on to power in November congressional elections.
Washington and Tehran have been testing the limits of escalation since their ceasefire agreement collapsed last week, raising the prospect of a return to all-out war.
The US military’s Central Command said it concluded its latest round of attacks by hitting surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities.
“US forces employed fighter aircraft, aerial drones, and warships in addition to other assets,” Central Command said in a statement. “More than 50,000 American service members are operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and ready.”
Iranian media reported on Saturday that several missiles struck power facilities and desalination pumps in the southern Iranian city of Jask, citing a local official. The official said drinking water had been cut off in villages in Jask due to the attack.
The US said its forces redirected four commercial vessels, disabled one, and boarded another to enforce its naval blockade of Iran.
In turn, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said four vessels violating its rules on shipping traffic were stopped from going through the strait with a combined missile and drone operation.
In addition, Iranian media, citing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, reported that two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after passing through a mined route south of the strait. The US military labelled that report as false.
Armed men seized another vessel off Yemen, raising concern over security in the Middle East’s other big choke point for oil shipments at the mouth of the Red Sea.
Iran’s state television quoted the Revolutionary Guards as saying that until US “aggression” comes to an end, it will not be possible to export chemical fertilisers or even a “single drop of oil and gas” from the region.
Mohsen Rezaei, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned on Friday against US escalation or any attempt to seize Iranian territory.
Concern over infrastructure
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was concerned about the escalation, particularly “attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and across the region,” his spokesperson said.
The US military’s Central Command said its targets included “military logistics infrastructure”, the first time it mentioned infrastructure in more than a week.
Iranian media reported enemy strikes early on Saturday in coastal Hormozgan Province on the Iranian side of the Strait of Hormuz. State TV said three people were killed and eight wounded while two bridges and a road tunnel were damaged.
Iranian media reported explosions heard or strikes carried out in Sirik, Ahvaz, Yazd, Jask and Khorramabad late Friday or early Saturday.
Trump has threatened to launch broad-based air strikes on Iran’s infrastructure and has also declined to rule out a ground assault on Iran’s coast or islands. US officials have said attacks on southern Iran are designed in part to give Trump options.
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that they have targeted US fighter jets stationed in Jordan, Al Jazeera reported, citing Iranian State TV reports.
Earlier, the Jordanian army had said that it shot down three Iranian missiles targeting the country.
Iran has warned that its armed forces will not overlook the “shedding of innocent blood,” vowing to take action against those responsible for alleged attacks on civilians.
Iran’s parliamentary National Security Commission chief Ibrahim Azizi said that United States attacked civilian in southern Iran, a school in Minab, a children’s cancer hospital in Ahvaz and a gym in Lamerd.
Azizi said the strikes and repeated attacks on residential areas reflected what he described as the “helplessness and desperation” of the US military.
“The enemies of the brave Iranian nation must know that the armed forces will not overlook the shedding of innocent blood, and will make their days black,” he posted on X.
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The United States launched fresh strikes Thursday on Iran with bridges and transport infrastructure among the apparent targets, as Tehran responded with attacks on US allies in the Gulf.
The rekindled fighting over the vital Strait of Hormuz came a month after the signing of a preliminary deal that aimed to end the conflict, which broke out in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it was conducting a new wave of strikes on Thursday evening to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities” — the sixth straight night of attacks by American forces.
Iranian state media reported strikes on two bridges, a railway station and an airport in the southern part of the Islamic republic, near the strategic strait, which is crucial to global oil and gas flows.
Three people were killed in the attack on the bridges in Hormozgan province, state TV said on Telegram.
State TV in Tehran earlier reported two explosions in the western city of Bushehr — home to Iran’s only civilian nuclear plant — in a “continuation of the American enemy aggression”.
Tehran had earlier warned it would target infrastructure across the region if US President Donald Trump followed through on a threat to attack power plants and bridges in Iran — though the White House said he remained “open to diplomacy”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Thursday that they struck a US airbase in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to what they described as an American attack near a children’s cancer hospital, near Ahvaz in the southwest.
‘Never back down’
Iranian state media said the hospital was evacuated following US airstrikes on the area that foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei slammed as “barbaric”.
Hani, a 34-year-old teacher from Ahvaz, said the strikes were “very intense”, adding: “My hands are shaking. There were at least 11, 12 explosions. My ears are exploding.”
US allies in the Gulf, meanwhile, responded to attacks, with Kuwait saying early Friday its air defences were again combatting missile and drone attacks, and Bahrain sounding air raid sirens.
A senior Iranian military spokesman called for the US to withdraw from the region, saying “we will never back down over the Strait of Hormuz”, state TV reported.
The Strait of Hormuz was briefly reopened after the US-Iran deal in June, but Tehran said last week it would be closed again “until the US ends its aggression”.
The United States has also reimposed its blockade of Iran’s ports.
On Thursday, the American military said forces had boarded a ship in the Gulf of Oman to “ensure full compliance”, adding that three vessels had been redirected since the blockade resumed.
Threats to infrastructure
Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman, Tahir Andrabi, said Islamabad would “continue to encourage all sides to end violence and resume technical-level talks” under the memorandum of understanding it helped mediate last month.
But Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned that a deal “only has meaning when its clauses are valid and being implemented”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that Trump would hold Iran “accountable” for going back on its word, but said “he is always open to diplomacy at the very same time”.
“They have expressed they still want to make a deal to the president. We’re talking to them, but again, the president is not going to allow them to fire on ships in the strait without paying a consequence for that,” she said.
Trump previously threatened to hit Iranian power plants and bridges unless Tehran returned to the negotiating table, telling Fox News: “Next week it gets really bad for them.”
On Thursday, the spokesman for Iran’s military headquarters said that if the US followed through on its threats, “all infrastructure in the region” would be “crushed”.
Since last week, renewed US attacks have killed at least 30 people in Iran, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said.
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Iran Guards say Hormuz to remain closed till US ends ‘acts of aggression’
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States ends its “acts of aggression,” while warning that other regional oil export routes could also become targets.
Fighting between the United States and Iran, which began late February, has hampered energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for oil and gas shipments from the Gulf.
The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they carried out attacks on US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait following American strikes on Iranian territory, according to statements by Iranian state television IRIB.
The number of vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz ticked up on Tuesday, with most of them linked to Iranian trade, before a US blockade took effect on Wednesday, shipping data showed.
US President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and threatened to hit power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations, in the latest escalation of the US conflict with Iran.
Nine of the 11 vessels that passed through the strait on Tuesday sailed via the Iranian route, ship-tracking data on Kpler showed.
Of these, three empty oil tankers — one Aframax-sized vessel and two Very Large Crude Carriers — entered the strait, the data showe
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Trump wants fees for Hormuz just like Iran — is that legal?
President Donald Trump said that the United States would charge 20% on cargoes for use of the Strait of Hormuz after a ceasefire with Iran broke down amid a dispute over Tehran’s efforts to maintain control over the strategic waterway.
Iran shut down the 34 km (21 mile) wide strait that was the main route for a fifth of world oil supplies and other vital goods, including fertilisers, when the US and Israel attacked it on February 28, causing a global energy shock.
This is why it matters, how Trump’s and Iran’s stances differ, and how it affects the rest of the world:
Has the US shifted position on charging Hormuz fees?
As recently as June 25, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said when meeting Gulf states and in response to Iran’s demand for fees that “no country on Earth has the right to charge for the use of international waterways” and that fees for shipping would never be part of any deal.
But Trump has previously mooted the possibility of the US charging tolls if the deal with Iran were to break down.
“There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired, unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America, should the deal not be completed, for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs,” he wrote in a social media post on June 20.
With the ceasefire in tatters, he now appears to have reverted to his earlier stance.
“The USA will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT’, but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped,” he said in a social media post on Monday.
Trump has not explained how such charges would be imposed nor what legal authority he could use to demand them for passage.
How is Trump’s demand for a toll different from Iran’s demand for fees?
Iran has made its lasting control over the Strait, whose waters it shares with Oman, its main priority in negotiations, seeing it as its strongest strategic lever with the outside world and the best guarantee of its security against future attacks.
It believes Washington had accepted this in the wording of last month’s interim deal, which said Iran “will make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days only”.
However, the US regarded that language as meaning only that Iran should facilitate safe passage for vessels and not impose restrictions backed up by force.
During the war, Tehran set up the Persian Gulf Strait Authority that it says any vessel passing through the waterway must coordinate with and it insists ships should only transit near the Iranian shoreline. It has targeted vessels trying to pass along the Omani shore that did not seek its permission.
It has said it may eventually charge fees for passage but has not detailed what these would be.
What was the situation before the war and is it legal for anyone to charge for using the strait?
The Strait is made up of the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, with the maritime boundary running along the middle.
The UNCLOS maritime convention governing international sea law says states bordering straits cannot demand payment simply for permission to pass through.
However, they can impose limited fees for specific services such as piloting, tugging or port services, though these may not be levied more heavily on vessels from any particular countries.
Neither Iran nor the United States are signatories to UNCLOS, but it is widely regarded as international maritime law and Hormuz as an international strait.
In 1968, Iran and Oman agreed on a traffic scheme with the International Maritime Organisation under which major vessels would use sea lanes along the middle of the Strait. Iranian mine-laying during the war has now made such passage unsafe according to the IMO.
Would other countries accept tolls or fees for transiting Hormuz?
No such unilateral move to demand fees to traverse a strait has been made in modern history, shipping industry officials said.
Oman has held dialogue with Iran on the issue. It issued guidance last month for vessels transiting the Strait through its water that did not require any fees.
Gulf states, whose main access to the high seas for their vital energy exports lies through the Strait, are particularly concerned about fees.
Major consumers of Gulf energy products and fertilisers may also be alarmed, especially by Trump’s proposal for a 20% surcharge on cargoes. That could push up global oil prices significantly.
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The US military will begin enforcing a maritime blockade on Iran on Tuesday, the US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said on Monday.
The blockade, covering all of Iran’s ports, oil terminals and coastal areas, will be enforced for all vessel traffic – regardless of flag – from 2000 GMT on July 14, the centre said in an advisory.
“Any vessel suspected of entering or departing the blockaded area without authorisation is subject to interception, diversion, and capture. Non-compliant vessels may be legally compelled with force,” the statement said.
The centre said neutral transit through the Strait of Hormuz heading to or from non-Iranian destinations will not be impeded.
