Iran's top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States' war against the Islamic republic, with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasse.
A campaign of heavy bombardment failed to bring a decisive close to the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, and Washington in recent weeks has dialled back military operations in favour of economic pressure.
The main point of contention remains Iran's attempt to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for Gulf oil and gas where a UK maritime agency reported on Sunday another tanker struck by an unknown projectile.
"If our enemies again choose the path of military confrontation, our response will be stronger than before, and we will defend ourselves with even more force," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at a gathering of foreign ambassadors.
"There is no military solution, nor any solution based on new sanctions," he continued, adding "only negotiations based on justice and fairness" could end the conflict.

#sunday #Israel

Millions in Cuba were left without power on Friday as the country was plunged into yet another major blackout.
The country's entire electricity grid suffered "total disconnection" that triggered a nationwide outage, Cuba's energy ministry said.
Power was restored to some priority areas by late evening, including those near hospitals and water pumping stations in the capital Havana, grid operator UNE said.
It is at least the sixth partial or total blackout to hit Cuba this year, where ageing electricity infrastructure and chronic fuel shortages have been placed under further strain by a US blockade on oil shipments to the communist-run nation.
UNE said the outage started just before 14:00 local time on Friday (18:00 GMT) due to a transmission fault coupled with poor weather conditions in central Cuba.

#grid

CAIRO (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied Friday in a government-organized show of defiance after months of war, pledging their readiness to take up arms in the biggest such demonstration since the United States and Israel attacked in February.
Iran's government has sought to rally the people and stress national unity, even as the economy worsens under a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and new U.S. sanctions. On Friday, it claimed another attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway it has sought to control since the start of the war.
Estimates varied of the number of people volunteering to receive limited military training and defend the country in an effort described as "Janfaday-e Iran," or the "ones who sacrifice their lives for Iran." They marched through downtown Tehran in combat uniform, carrying flags, as onlookers cheered.
For days, state media have encouraged Iranians to join the campaign, saying training with **** ault rifles would begin soon. The volunteers would be an additional layer of security to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and the Basij militia, which has played a key role in quashing anti-government protests.
Tehran's Guard chief, Gen. Hassan Hassanzadeh, told the state broadcaster that over 600,000 people had registered to participate, with over 1 million expected to take part in the training. On Friday morning, the broadcaster estimated over 300,000 people were on the streets.

#government #training #since

September S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESU26) are down -0.15%, and September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQU26) are down -0.66% this morning as rising oil prices and bond yields weigh on investor sentiment ahead of crucial U.S. producer inflation data and earnings from debt-loaded AI hyperscaler Oracle.
Oil prices extended their advance on Thursday as escalating attacks between the U.S. and Iran risked prolonging disruptions to energy flows in the Middle East. Brent crude rose above $103 a barrel, while WTI crude climbed above $99 a barrel. A senior Iranian official said on Wednesday that Tehran has no plans to back down in the face of an American naval blockade and will intensify its strikes if the U.S. continues attacking its territory. Also, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard warned on Wednesday of additional restrictions on shipping around the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump said the war with Iran would not end until after the November midterm elections.
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#Iran

Iran is increasingly using cryptocurrencies to settle cross-border trade as the country faces intensifying U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade, the Financial Times reported on Sep. 8.
A cryptocurrency is a digital currency that runs on a blockchain, a shared public ledger, allowing money to move across borders without passing through the traditional banking system.
The country's central bank has in recent months quietly eased its strict foreign currency controls, encouraging businesses to bring funds back into the country through whatever channels are available, including crypto exchanges that handle Tether's USDT and Bitcoin (BTC), citing regime insiders, business executives and **** ysts, the report said.
Tether's USDT is a stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value against the U.S. dollar, making it useful for trade settlements.
Bitcoin is the world's first and largest decentralized cryptocurrency which has seen a wild appreciation in its value since its launch in 2009.

#trade #Iran

CAIRO (AP) — The new head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Sunday said Tehran plans to announce an "exclusion zone" outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway.
Mohsen Rezaei's comments to Iran's state broadcaster came with few details, a day after the U.S. struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to Tehran launching ballistic missiles at U.S. warships. Experts called the launches a dangerous escalation after Iran's previous attacks at sea targeted commercial shipping.
The new zone should be announced in the coming days and weeks and "will begin from the line of the U.S. naval blockade, extend toward the Strait of Hormuz, and from this side continue into the Persian Gulf," Rezaei said. "Any ship that enters this area with the intention of passing through the Strait of Hormuz and is identified will be placed on our sanctions list."
It is not clear where Iran defines the location of the weekslong U.S. blockade, which is aimed at Iranian ports and keeping Tehran from shipping out its oil. The U.S. military has said over 20 warships are supporting the blockade, which as of Sunday had redirected 92 commercial ships and disabled three.
The U.S. has been introducing new measures to increase the economic pain on Iran after negotiations collapsed and no end to the intermittent fighting appears in sight. Meanwhile, Iran continues to attack some ships trying to transit the strait, which has become an important source of leverage for Tehran in the war that began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes.

#strait

By Ayose Naranjo
HAVANA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Cuba's top diplomat said on Monday there are no talks underway with the United States, nor were there ‌any plans for future negotiations, amid a "genocidal" blockade that Cuba says has ‌cost the island nation over $8 billion in economic damages in the last year.
"There are no negotiations or agendas, although a willingness to stay in contact remains despite the lack of progress," Cuba's foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, told reporters at a press conference in Havana.
Rodriguez said that damages caused by the decades-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba had jumped 7 percent in ‌2025 versus the previous year, ⁠to $8.1 billion.
Cuba's foreign minister said the financial hit to Cuba`s economy would balloon in the first months of 2026, after the Trump ⁠administration imposed an oil blockade on the island that has all but decimated output and led to nationwide blackouts that now span days.

#havana #billion

(Fixes typo in byline)
By Yasmine Ghania and Hatem Maher
DUBAI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Iran said it will announce a new restricted zone in the Gulf in the coming days, along with maps of a new shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, as a weekend exchange of strikes on shipping sent oil prices higher on Monday.
The new restricted zone will ‌begin from where the U.S. blockade of Iran begins and extend into areas of the Gulf, Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Sunday in an ‌interview with state TV.
Few details were provided on the plan, but Rezaei said any ship entering the new zone would be added to a sanctions list.

#gulf #hatem

Iran's regime maintains an iron grip on power but still can't ignore the impact of U.S. economic warfare, which is getting even tougher.
That extends even to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who hasn't been seen in public since the U.S.-Israeli strike on Feb. 28 that killed his father.
In a written statement issued late last month, he banned Iranian officials from "committing anything that harms social cohesion" and urged them to avoid any "discouraging statements that weaken national and public motivation," according to Reuters.
That's as economic hardship and long lines at gas stations have already stirred some fresh protests, though not at the massive scale that was seen in January.
Still, a currency collapse last year and high inflation triggered widespread unrest, and the regime slaughtered thousands in a brutal crackdown. Since then, the rial has plunged to new lows and economic conditions have worsened due to the U.S. war and naval blockade.

#economic #supreme

Citi and ANZ have raised their Brent crude oil price forecasts as disruptions to Middle East supplies continue to affect the global oil market.
Citi increased its third-quarter 2026 Brent forecast to $86 per barrel. The bank described the current situation, including a U.S. blockade of Iran and reduced oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, as unsustainable.
Citi expects renewed dealmaking or other developments to allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen during the fourth quarter. The bank estimates that reopening the waterway would result in an oil-market surplus of between 3 million and 4 million barrels per day, compared with its previous estimate of approximately 2 million barrels per day.
ANZ separately raised its short-term Brent crude forecast to $95 per barrel.
The bank said the oil market is entering what it described as a delicate adaptation phase as inventories decline. ANZ expects additional demand destruction will be required to rebuild inventories.

#bank #raised #crude

Chinese refiners are paying a hefty premium for Russia's ESPO crude to replace Iranian crude that independent refiners were importing before the U.S. installed its naval blockade on the country.
East Siberia-Pacific Ocean crude, or ESPO, for delivery in November is trading at a premium of over $7 per barrel, with offers reaching as high as $10 per barrel over Brent crude, Bloomberg reported today, citing traders. The blend is loaded from Russia's Far East coast and can reach the buyers in China in less than a week, the publication noted.
China is the biggest buyer of ESPO crude, with a market share of 83% for the first seven months of the year. However, this share is down from 88% a year earlier. The change came amid stronger ESPO buying from Indian refiners, whose market share for the Far Eastern Russian crude blend went up from 12% to 16% for the first seven months of the year, according to data from Kpler and Vortexa. Total oil exports from Russia's Far Eastern port of Kozmino ticked up by 6% over the first seven months of the year.
India raised its ESPO imports due to the slump in overall Chinese oil imports between May and June, and the supply disruptions in the Middle East, which delayed many term cargoes Indian refiners were expecting in the early summer.
Normally, Indian refiners prefer the Urals blend but have now warmed up to ESPO even though it takes longer to reach its destinations in India and is costlier than Urals. However, the Far Eastern blend is a good backup option for Indian buyers in times of disruption, according to energy ***** ysts.

#year

By Terje Solsvik, Pavel Polityuk and Mark Trevelyan
OSLO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Norwegian authorities have seized a Russian cruise ship in the Arctic on behalf of Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz, which is seeking to enforce a $4.22 billion compensation award for ******* ets that Moscow took when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
Officials said the ‌vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was seized late on Wednesday in Barentsburg, a coal mining settlement that Russia operates on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under ‌the terms of a 1920 treaty.
Russia called the arrest of the ship an act of piracy and said it had summoned the Norwegian ambassador to deliver a strong protest. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it would work to secure the vessel's release.
"Amid the restrictive measures imposed by Norway against Russia on Svalbard - measures that violate international law - Russian organizations and citizens operating on the archipelago are effectively under blockade," it said, accusing Norway of violating the treaty.

#Russia #arctic

Oil prices surged Tuesday following U.S. military action against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, a retaliatory move after Tehran launched overnight attacks on vessels passing through the waterway.
The November Brent crude contract jumped 3.8% to $94.36 a barrel, a level not seen in nearly two weeks. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, gained 4.3% to $89.46 a barrel for the October delivery contract, a move that would mark its best close in more than a month.
The afternoon rally built on momentum that had already been building since the morning session, with settlement data for both benchmarks sourced from Dow Jones Market Data.
The strikes mark a renewed escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been the site of ongoing conflict. The U.S. and Iran had signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17, but that agreement collapsed almost immediately. Since then, Iran has demanded sanctions relief and an end to the U.S. naval blockade before the waterway can reopen, while Washington has maintained the blockade rather than conducting additional airstrikes — until Tuesday.
The Hormuz disruptions have taken a significant toll on global oil supply. The International Energy Agency cut its 2026 global oil supply forecast to 102 million barrels per day in August, a decline of 4.3 million barrels per day on the year, citing the breakdown of the ceasefire and a renewed closure of the strait. Middle East oil loadings had briefly touched 20 million barrels per day in early July before retreating to roughly 12 million barrels per day as attacks on tankers and energy infrastructure resumed. The IEA projected the global oil market would show a deficit of 1.8 million barrels per day in the third quarter of 2026.

#million #strait #global #market

By Ahmad Ghaddar, Enes Tunagur and Robert Harvey
LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - For the first time on record, Iran has gone about seven weeks without shipping meaningful crude exports through the Strait of Hormuz, as a U.S. naval blockade succeeds where years of sanctions ‌failed by cutting off one of Tehran's main sources of foreign-currency earnings.
Unlike previous sanctions campaigns, when Iranian crude continued reaching buyers despite restrictions, ‌the current blockade has stopped fresh crude cargoes reaching China, Tehran's only major remaining oil customer, increasing pressure on government finances and foreign-currency reserves.
Since the U.S. reinstated its blockade on Iran on July 14 as part of their six-month conflict, no Iranian crude cargoes have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz to China, according to Kpler, Vortexa and TankerTrackers.com.
As a result, Iran can only sell crude to China from floating storage in Asia, which it cannot replenish as crude accumulates aboard tankers inside the strait.

#crude #Iran #strait #sanctions

The House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning socialism on Tuesday evening, with all but eight House Democrats voting against it.
In a stunning twist of fate, however, the vote would not have occurred if two House Democrats hadn't stepped in hours earlier to help the GOP through a procedural hurdle — blindsiding House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in the process.
Jeffries later threatened consequences for the pair in a dramatic statement late on Tuesday night, calling their move a "breach of trust."
The resolution passed 220 to 192 with all "no" votes coming from the left, including Democrats' senior leaders: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.
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#House #minority #resolution

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump arrives at an awkward moment for his presidency on Friday as the U.S.-Israel war against Iran reaches the six-month mark, a notable milestone for a conflict that the Republican leader repeatedly ****** ured Americans would be a "little excursion" lasting a matter of weeks.
The war isn't over, though Trump claims that through bombs and blockade, he has already devastated Iran's leadership, military and economy.
And this week his administration said it would turn its focus to increasing economic pressure — rather than military action — to try to finish off Iran. The shifting strategy centers on threats to punish any country or entity that continues to conduct business with Tehran.
The turn to using sanctions as the cudgel of choice comes as the administration weighs diminished munitions stockpiles after months of war, sparking concerns that the prolonged conflict could undermine U.S. military readiness in other parts of the globe.
As the conflict grinds on, Trump's talk of finding a quick end to the war also appears to be fading. He stressed this week that he's "not in a hurry" to get Iran back to the negotiating table, and he continues making the case that the Islamic Republic's leadership is on the ropes.

#Trump

Updated Aug. 24, 2026 4:58 pm ET
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(4 min)
The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
1531 ET – Oil futures lose ground after six straight sessions of gains as the U.S. launched a plan to sanction countries or companies that do business with Iran. “The immediate measures look less dramatic than the rhetoric,” Jorge Leon, Rystad Energy’s head of geopolitical **** ysis, says in a note. Iranian oil exports are already down with the U.S. blockade and unless China reduces purchases further, the additional impact on Iranian oil revenues could be limited. “The biggest oil-market risk may not be the sanctions themselves, but Iran’s response to them,” he says. “Iran still has considerable capacity to disrupt everybody else’s exports.” WTI settles down 2.4% at $85.01 a barrel and Brent falls 2.4% to $92.17. (anthony.harrupwsj.com)

#market #down #updated

The outlook for the Middle East war remains grim, the U.S. just threatened Iran with the "toughest sanctions in history," and the world is running out of stored fuels. To make matters worse, refining capacity is down considerably, and even if the outlook for the war suddenly changed and the U.S. and Iran made peace, the fuel squeeze will last for months—and so will its adverse effects on the global economy.
Watching crude oil prices, one would think everything is under control. Both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate are below $100 per barrel, even if they are both up by around $20 per barrel from pre-war levels. Still, the price rise in crude oil is much more moderate than the inflation in fuel prices. Diesel in Europe, for instance, is up by 70% from pre-war levels, as reported by Reuters' Ron Bousso this week.
A separate Reuters report showed that diesel now costs more in Europe than jet fuel. This is the first time in over a year that the price difference between the two fuels is in favor of diesel, the publication noted, citing data from LSEG. The diesel crack spread in the United States hit triple digits earlier this week, for the first time ever. The premium over crude prices jumped to as high as $102 per barrel on Monday, before easing slightly to about $100 a barrel on Tuesday.
Related: China's Teapots Look Beyond Iranian Oil amid U.S. Blockade
Refinery margins are running at record highs across the world as the energy crisis unfolds. The first aspect of this crisis is the tighter supply of crude from the Middle East, which should be obvious enough since the media has been covering the topic on a daily basis for over six months. Yet there has also been refinery damage in the Middle East. In fact, per the International Energy Agency, as much as a fifth of that refining capacity, totaling some 9.6 million barrels daily, has been knocked out by hostilities.

#east

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mostly lower and oil prices slipped on Monday at the outset of a week capped by an annual meeting of top U.S. economic officials at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Iran's currency hit a record low as the U.S. prepared to announce new sanctions to try to break the impasse with Iran, adding pressure when its economy is already battered by earlier sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade.
The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar on informal currency markets. Iran's official Central Bank rate stood at around 1.5 million rial to the dollar, but the informal rate is what most Iranians pay.
In early European trading, Germany's DAX edged 0.1% lower to 26,110.79, while the CAC 40 in Paris also gave up 0.1%, to 8,474.35. Britain's FTSE 100 inched up 0.1% to 10,831.33.
The future for the S&P 500 was down 0.2%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%.

#lower #sanctions #rial #million

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's currency hit a record low Monday as Washington prepared to announce new sanctions it said would be an "economic D-Day" and would add further pressure on an economy already battered by previous sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade.
The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar as trading opened on informal currency markets. Iran's official Central Bank rate stood at around 1.5 million rial to the dollar, but the informal rate is what most Iranians pay.
The currency had already been under pressure before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, with double-digit inflation and negative growth, but has been hitting new record lows as nearly six months of war have taken an even greater toll.
Still, U.S. President Donald Trump has been unable to win concessions from Iran, which continues to keep a firm grip on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the key waterway through which a fifth of the world's traded oil transited freely before the war began. Iranian attacks and threats have severely hampered that traffic during the war.
Iran and Oman, which is on the opposite side of the strait, are reportedly in the final stages of agreeing upon a plan for joint management of the waterway, which regional officials have said would include having ships to enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman.

#Oman #strait #sanctions

By Siyi Liu and Chen Aizhu
SINGAPORE, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Offers of Iranian crude to Chinese buyers have declined and prices have jumped this week as the U.S. blockade has cut Tehran's shipments, according to trade sources, with the threat of more sanctions from Washington looming.
The U.S. re-imposed its blockade of Iran's shipping ‌and ports on July 13 as a deal to halt the war between them broke down in an attempt to cut off oil sales — Tehran's primary source ‌of hard currency — compounding earlier losses from wartime strikes on its energy infrastructure.
The number of offers for Iranian oil cargoes to China for September and October delivery has declined from July and August cargoes, four trade sources familiar with the matter said. The offers have declined as barrels already in ships on the water have been sold, they said.
Iran's oil exports have fallen since mid-July, with no visible crossings of the Strait of Hormuz by supertankers carrying Iranian crude since then, according to data from ship-tracking company Kpler, although many vessels turn off their location transponders, making them difficult to track.

#iranian #blockade #according #trade

CAIRO (AP) — Palestinians face inflated prices for groceries and batteries, hospitals have turned to smugglers for medicine and equipment, Israeli soldiers and other middlemen are accused of pocketing millions of dollars, and the Hamas-led government takes a cut as the smuggling of goods restricted by Israel into the Gaza Strip has boomed, according to an ******* ociated Press investigation based on court documents and interviews with traders, truckers and officials.
Cigarettes and tobacco — banned from entry to Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 — rake in the biggest profits for smugglers and merchants, officials and residents say. But everything from iPhones and solar panels to fuel and anesthetics are also brought into the tiny coastal territory illegally. Israel restricts quantities of some goods and bans others outright. It defines many as "dual use" — including concrete, vehicle parts and X-ray machines — ******* erting they could be repurposed by Hamas militants for military functions.
To build a picture of the illicit trade, The ******* ociated Press ******* yzed Israeli court documents and spoke to five major traders who import smuggled goods, three merchants who sell them, and two truckers — all on condition of anonymity because of their roles in the illegal smuggling business and concerns about their safety in Gaza. AP also interviewed four Palestinian officials, two on condition of anonymity because of worries about retribution from Israel, Hamas or merchants; two U.N. officials, on condition of anonymity over concern for their jobs; and a dozen Palestinian residents, who spoke about how they get everyday items and their skyrocketing costs.
AP found a rush from all sides to profit off the tight restrictions imposed by Israel on Gaza and its 2 million residents, most of whom have been displaced by the war. Smuggling rings — which have long flourished, circumventing two decades of Israeli blockades and building a network of businessmen and collaborators — pull in millions of dollars. Payoffs go to Israeli troops, drivers, warehouse workers and others on both sides of the border, according to traders and court documents.
"The occupation has left no other option before us. Smuggling has become routine," one trader said, noting that some in Israel's military are willing to help — for a price. "We benefit, they benefit and the people in Gaza benefit because we provide goods, including food, to the market."

#israeli #smuggling

Former Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold appears to be headed for the Seattle Seahawks, but there are a few roadblocks in the way before the former first-round pick can see the field.
Arnold and the Seahawks have agreed upon a contract, but Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said recently that they're working through some things before they officially sign him.
"We're working through that and when's the best time for him to come in, but we have an agreement with him and we'll see," Macdonald said."But I just really don't know what, you know, how we're gonna do it."
Arnold is currently facing eight felony charges from an incident in Florida involving an alleged armed robbery and kidnapping. According to the latest reports, his next court date in the trial is Oct. 5.
According to the latest report from Ian Rapoport, this process is expected to move slowly for the Seahawks, and "it will take a while" before they sign Arnold. One huge blockade in this process is the fact that Arnold, according to Rapoport, will go on the Commissioner Exempt List once he signs with a team.

#seahawks #macdonald #working

By Parisa Hafezi
DUBAI, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Iran will escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and beyond, and launch an attack ‌if the U.S. fails to implement an interim peace deal ‌fully in a matter of weeks, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday.
If the U.S. does not meet that deadline and diplomacy fails, Tehran would conduct a "timely and precise" military attack to break the U.S. naval blockade on the Islamic Republic, the official added.
Diplomatic efforts to bring Tehran and Washington back ‌to talks under a ⁠June agreement have stalled in recent weeks.
Iran's foreign minister has said the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until ⁠the U.S. first returns to the deal, while the U.S. Treasury Secretary has warned of unprecedented economic isolation for Iran.

#Iran #tehran #fails

By Parisa Hafezi and Katharine Jackson
DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Iran has decided to shift its policy from defensive to "fully offensive" due to the deadlock in efforts to agree a permanent end to its war with the United States, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday.
Progress towards peace talks and a resumption of oil tanker ‌traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt, with no sign that the warring parties are moving towards ending the conflict that the U.S. ‌and Israel launched on February 28.
"Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and take action on difficult decisions," the Iranian official said, adding that Tehran would conduct a "timely and precise" military attack to break the U.S. naval blockade if diplomacy failed.
There was no immediate response to those comments from Washington, but U.S. President Donald Trump said in a phone interview with Fox News on Monday that Iran "should put up the white flag of surrender".

#Iran #washington #Monday #hormuz

By Eman Abouhassira, Enas Alashray and Humeyra Pamuk
DUBAI/CAIRO/GARDEN CITY, New York, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Iran called on the U.S. to accept defeat on Saturday, while President Donald Trump blasted Tehran as "very evil" and told Americans to prepare for continued high fuel prices as a result of the war.
Progress towards peace talks and oil tanker traffic through ‌the strategic Strait of Hormuz remained halted, with no sign the warring parties were moving toward ending the conflict that the U.S. and Israel launched on February 28.
"This strait will ‌be opened and closed only under Iran's command, and so long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi posted on X.
U.S. GASOLINE UP 29% ON YEAR, IRAN ALSO FEELS IMPACT

#strait #eman

The dollar index (DXY00) on Thursday ended the day little changed despite downward pressure from the dovish US PPI report, which lowered the odds of a Fed rate hike in September to 35% from 40% on Wednesday. In addition, the 10-year T-note yield fell -5 bp, undercutting the dollar's interest rate differentials.
The dollar was also undercut by reduced safe-haven demand as there were no overnight reports of new military attacks by the US or Iran in the Persian Gulf. Market concerns about the Middle East were also reduced slightly by news reports saying that the Trump administration is pivoting to using the naval blockade to apply economic pressure on Iran rather than new military attacks. There is no sign of any progress between the US and Iran on an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although some ships are still getting through by turning off their transponders and hoping for the best.
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#Iran #dollar #report #undercut

September WTI crude oil (CLU26) on Thursday closed down -2.02 (-2.43%), and September RBOB gasoline (RBU26) closed down -0.0257 (-0.81%).
Crude oil and gasoline prices fell on Thursday, with no overnight reports of new military attacks by the US or Iran in the Persian Gulf. Market concerns about the Middle East were also reduced slightly by news reports saying that the Trump administration is pivoting to using the naval blockade to apply economic pressure on Iran rather than new military attacks.
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#september #crude #prices #closed

By Chris Prentice and Amanda Cooper
NEW YORK/LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - U.S. and European shares fell on Friday and oil prices gained as markets monitored tense U.S.-Iran talks and digested new data that dented expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike ‌next month.
Faltering talks to end the Iran war left oil and gas prices poised for sizeable weekly gains. The U.S. threatened ‌to ramp up economic pressure on Iran, including extending a naval blockade.
U.S. consumer sentiment deteriorated in early August amid the rising cost of living because of the Middle East conflict, a survey showed on Friday.
The U.S. dollar and yields on U.S. Treasuries fell on a surprise drop in U.S. retail sales. The data further reduced expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike at next month's meeting.

#federal #reserve #rate

US stocks were muted on Wednesday as investors ***** sed easing inflation data, which is likely to keep Federal Reserve officials divided on whether to raise interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) wavered near the flat line while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) edged up 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.3% in what is a relatively quiet week in markets beyond the tail end of earnings season.
The Consumer Price Index print showed inflation continued to cool in July to a 3.4% annual rate, matching economists' expectations and easing from June's 3.5% increase. On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.1% from June.
Despite a slight pullback, inflation remains stubbornly above the Fed's 2% target, complicating central bankers' next decision to hold or hike rates in September. Following Wednesday's inflation data, traders tilted their bets toward the Fed holding rates steady after a roughly 50-50 split the day before.
Ongoing tensions in the Middle East serve as the backdrop propping up inflation and Treasury yields as the US and Iran remain deadlocked in negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The US enforced its blockade of the strait by firing on a Panama-flagged ship attempting to cross the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, lifting Brent crude futures (BZ=F) close to $90 per barrel.

#inflation #rates #reserve