MANAMA, Bahrain - The looming possibility of U.S. strikes on Iran has been met with weary nervousness in the Persian Gulf, as Gulf officials double down on efforts to break through a U.S.-Iran impasse that they know will leave their region vulnerable.
Publicly and privately, leaders in Persian Gulf nations, which bore the brunt of Iranian retaliation because they are home to U.S. bases, are calling for de-escalation as concerns about President Donald Trump's war plans grow. Mediators from Qatar arrived in Tehran on Friday as part of the efforts to negotiate an end to the war, according to a person briefed on the talks, who described the trip as a "last-ditch effort to broker an interim deal between Iran and the U.S." that was happening "in coordination with the U.S."
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Trump has seemed open to a deal - but also to resuming strikes, according to a separate official briefed on the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and envoy, have been pushing for a deal, the official added, as others - including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth - appear opposed to it.
"The next two days will be crucial in determining how the situation unfolds," said an Iranian official, who like some others interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. The Americans, they added, are "seeking a positive breakthrough" ahead of the midterm elections.

#official #iranian #post

Updated on: October 3, 2026 / 6:00 PM EDT / CBS/AP
A dual U.K.-Iranian national who was arrested earlier this week on suspicion of plotting a terror attack following a security incident at the U.S.-run RAF Fairford air base in England that British authorities have linked to Tehran was released on bail Saturday.
The 25-year-old man was arrested in London on Thursday, and police have searched two properties in the U.K. capital, Counter Terrorism Policing said in a statement.
On Saturday, Counter Terrorism Policing announced that the man had been released on bail.
"The investigation into the circumstances surrounding events in Gloucestershire is continuing," the agency said in a new statement.

#arrested #released #bail #updated

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military is dispatching roughly 9,000 troops aboard a group of ships to the Middle East, a U.S. official said Thursday. The bolstering of the American military presence comes as President Donald Trump warned anew that new strikes against Iran could be on the horizon.
The troop movement, which includes a third aircraft carrier, underscores the rapidly evolving dynamic of Trump's war against Iran as he ponders his next move, with midterm elections in the United States looming large and new signs that the nature of the conflict may be becoming more complex.
Trump has threatened that a post-midterm election escalation — despite his initial promises to Americans of a campaign that would last a matter of weeks — remains a viable option. Further complicating matters, Trump told reporters Thursday that early indications suggest that Iran is linked to the FlyDubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain and tried to crash an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday.
In an exchange with reporters at the White House, Trump raised the connection when asked by a reporter if there were any links between the pilot behind the attack and Tehran.
"I would say the answer, based on what I'm hearing, is 'yes,' but we're working on it right now," Trump said, without offering details.

#military #reporters #washington #middle

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) has substantially outperformed the wider market this year, supported by an unusually sharp surge in global refining margins as the prolonged Iran crisis has significantly tightened global refining capacity and reduced supplies of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
With Marathon up by over 150% since the beginning of 2026, there are now concerns that the stock may have topped out. However, the ****** ysts over at Morgan Stanley are convinced that the rally still has further room to run. On September 14, Morgan Stanley ****** yst Joe Laetsch significantly raised the firm's price target on MPC from $265 to $453, while reaffirming an 'Overweight' rating on the shares.
The target boost reflects an upside of over 9% from the current price level and even exceeds the stock's record high of just under $411 per share achieved earlier this month. The Morgan Stanley update comes amid broader Wall Street optimism surrounding the American refining giant, with ****** ysts from Raymon James, UBS, and several others also improving their respective outlooks on MPC.
Morgan Stanley's vote of confidence suggests that Wall Street expects the ongoing refining upcycle to last longer than previously expected, especially given the fresh wave of attacks between Washington and Tehran. Even if the conflict in the Middle East subsides, the region's refined fuel output is expected to remain relatively tight, since the damaged or idled refineries in the Middle East are likely to take some time to return to full operations.
As the largest refiner by volume in the United States, Marathon has significant operating leverage to capitalize on the current high-margin environment. The company already demonstrated its ability to translate the high crack spreads into material earnings when it delivered an almost fourfold increase in profits in the second quarter.

#morgan #marathon #stanley #middle

Six months into a conflict that has proven complex, costly, and highly unpopular, there remains no end in sight to the war in Iran. That's left the energy market — and the ****** ysts and strategists who study it — with a deep lack of clarity.
"For the first time since the start of the Iran conflict, we don't have a baseline view," commodities strategists at JPMorgan, led by Natasha Kaneva, wrote to clients on Thursday. "We simply don't know how to model the endgame."
As the war enters its seventh month, the conflict has broadened to multiple fronts.
In the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz — the world's most critical chokepoint for global energy flows — remains essentially closed to through traffic as Tehran's Revolutionary Guard Corps continues to threaten vessels in the region. Daily crossings of the waterway have remained in the low double digits, far below the average of more than 120 daily transits before the outbreak of war.
Read more: How oil price shocks ripple through your wallet, from gas to groceries

#Iran

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

Iran is deliberately targeting U.S. naval drones in the Strait of Hormuz to gather intelligence on American surveillance capabilities and learn how to evade U.S. defenses, drone experts warned Tuesday.
Tehran's strategy is coordinated, they said, and involves exposing critical insights into U.S. Navy theater operations in the world's most vulnerable maritime choke point even when classified data is uncompromised.
The warning came as tensions escalated in the Gulf region Sept. 14 after the U.S. military destroyed two Iranian small boats amid an attempted seizure by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of an American unmanned surface vessel (USV) patrolling the area, according to reports.
Us Military Attacks Iran In 'Self-defense Strikes' Over Weekend
A cargo ship sails in the Persian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 22, 2026.

#Iran #sept

CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia accused Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels overnight of trying to attack Islam's holiest city, prompting condemnation from countries in the region but no sign of military support. The kingdom, a key U.S. ally, declared Mecca a "red line" as it slid deeper into the new front of the Iran war.
With the world's biggest oil exporter under fire from the rebels backed by the Saudis' regional adversary, Tehran, the kingdom needs a safe outlet for its crude as well as military ******* istance. A path to either one remains unclear.
A crucial Saudi pipeline has reportedly been shut down for weeks after an attack by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The Yemen-based Houthis have been targeting infrastructure in the kingdom as well as its shipping on the Red Sea, where they have seized several islands on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. And Iran is still targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices remain above $100 a barrel.
The Houthis denied firing drones toward Mecca, about 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) from Yemen's border. The Saudis said they intercepted and destroyed the drone before it entered the airspace over the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.
The attacks are the first test of a new defense pact among Saudi Arabia, NATO member Turkey and nuclear power Pakistan. But officials from Turkey and Pakistan told The ******* ociated Press they have not received a Saudi request for support in response to the Houthis' escalation.

#arabia #saudis #turkey

VIENNA (AP) — Iran on Monday condemned the exclusion of the head of its Atomic Energy Organization from the annual gathering of the United Nations nuclear agency in Vienna saying that it constitutes "a serious breach" of Tehran's rights as a member nation.
"By obstructing our full and effective participation, the denial of access contravenes both the letter and the spirit of the legal framework" governing attendance at meetings of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran's ambassador to the agency, Reza Najafi, told delegates at its general conference.
Najafi criticized Austria, the host country of the IAEA and other U.N. organizations, saying that Vienna's decision not to grant a visa to Mohammad Eslami "violates the host country's obligation."
The Russian ambassador to the U.N. in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, echoed Iran's remarks, saying that Austria had "grossly violated" its obligations as host nation of the IAEA.
Western nations had "unleashed a genuine campaign of visa-related abuses so as to settle scores with countries they deem to be undesirable," he said.

#atomic

The desperate pleas for air cover from Yemeni generals started coming mid-morning on Thursday. An advance by the Iran-backed Houthis toward Yemen's strategic port city of Mocha was in full swing, and backup support from chief ally Saudi Arabia was nowhere in sight.
"The Houthis committed everything they had – waves upon waves of fighters … along with their available ballistic missiles and weapons," a senior Yemeni source attached to their military forces told CNN. The source said he contacted the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) and was ******* ured the US was "watching the situation closely and that Saudi air support was coming."
"But the air support never came," the source said. "And Mocha has now fallen."
Hours later, on Friday, the Houthis captured another key coastal ******* et, Perim Island, at the mouth of the Red Sea. The island splits the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in two, giving Tehran de facto control over another key shipping route.
The Houthis' rapid advance amounts to an extraordinary 36 hours in a conflict that had been largely on ice for years. But the kindling for renewed fighting had been laid for months amid the conflict between the United States and Iran, as Tehran seeks to use oil prices – and their impact on the global economy – as leverage.

#saudi

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

Listen
(3 min)
1525 ET – Oil futures settle at their highest level since May 22 as strikes between the U.S. and Iran escalate and Houthis step up attacks on Saudi oil facilities. The escalation is cause for concern as inventories are low and drawing down and it doesn’t look like the U.S. is making any progress with the conflict, says John Deal, managing director of capital markets at Post Oak Group. “I frankly think we’re in really risky territory right now,” he says, with significant risk of damage to infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. “I wouldn’t be surprised, if this conflict doesn’t wrap up soon, I think we could be looking at prices over $100 maybe as high as $120.” Brent settles up 3.4% at $101.21 a barrel, and WTI rises 3.2% to $96.05. (anthony.harrupwsj.com)
1233 ET – Renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran is dimming prospects for an agreement to settle the conflict, creating scope for sustained upside in crude, says Nikos Tzabouras of Tradu. But crude oil continues to find a way out of the Persian Gulf and the U.S. still prefers to pressure Tehran and its enablers through economic measures, he adds. “President Trump may also be incentivized to seek an off-ramp as the conflict increasingly clashes with his domestic agenda, with the midterms getting closer.” WTI is up 3.5% at $96.25 a barrel and Brent gains 3.2% to $101.08.(anthony.harrupwsj.com)

#saudi #anthony

By Enas Alashray, Nayera Abdallah and Jana Choukeir
CAIRO/DUBAI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthis attacked four cities in the south of U.S. ally Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding more than 70 people and setting oil installations ablaze in what appeared to be a major expansion of the six-month-old Middle East war.
The Houthis, who ‌control most of Yemen's populated areas including the capital, said they had launched a broad operation deep into Saudi territory. They used drones and missiles to strike a ‌Saudi airbase in the southern city of Khamis Mushair, and targets belonging to Saudi Arabia's state oil company in nearby Abha, Najran on the Yemeni border and Jazan, a major Red Sea port.
Saudi authorities described blazes at the sites and said women and children were among the 73 people hurt. The reports of such large numbers of wounded suggested the attacks were among the biggest carried out against Saudi Arabia since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in February.
Confirmed images of the aftermath of the attacks in the Saudi cities were not immediately available. The Houthis released pictures of an explosion of what they said were trucks from Saudi Arabia they had struck at the border in another area.

#saudi #major #enas

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two members of the Iranian women's soccer team who claimed asylum in Australia have confirmed their pivotal refusal to sing the national anthem during the Women's Asian Cup in March was a protest against Tehran.
The first media interview with Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, 34, and Fatemeh Pasandideh, 22, since they abandoned their team to become refugees was broadcast Sunday on Australia's "60 Minutes" current affairs program.
"We just wanted to stand with our people. I was scared at times, but I just tried to do what was right and say that no one should be killed just for protesting," Ramezanisadeh told Nine Network through an interpreter.
The team was criticized in Iran and branded as traitors in the media there for remaining silent when the Iranian national anthem was played ahead of their opening loss against South Korea on March 2.
Some saw it as an act of resistance, while others interpreted it as a show of mourning following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on their homeland which began on Feb. 28. The team offered no public explanation.

#team #ramezanisadeh

WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran state media on Monday said a ballistic missile with improved capabilities was demonstrating a new doctrine: Tehran "will take action against any threat, even before it is carried out."
The report by Iran's state news agency repeatedly cited comments aired on state TV the day before by the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, who boasted of new missile capability and claimed it had been "tested" against a U.S. warship. But it was not clear whether what was tested was the missile the new report described, the solid-fueled Qassem Basir.
The U.S. on Saturday said ballistic missiles were launched at U.S. warships and it struck three Iranian oil tankers in response. Experts called the launch a dangerous escalation, noting that until then Iran's attacks at sea had targeted commercial shipping during six months of war. The U.S. said the warships evaded the attacks.
Iran's messaging in recent days has become more ***** ertive, and Monday's report said the Qassem Basir marks "a turning point in Iran's defense strategy." It described the missile as having greater range and accuracy and a half-ton warhead. The missile was unveiled last year, when it was described as having at least a 1,200-kilometer (745-mile) range.
Concerns about Iran's ballistic missile program were one of the stated reasons the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran early this year, sparking the war.

#missile #described #Iran #tested

DUBAI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates is building alternative routes for its energy exports and trade to ensure they are not "held hostage" by the ongoing war between the U.S. ‌and Iran, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said on Monday.
The conflict has had a significant impact ‌on Gulf Arab states, including the UAE, after Tehran fired missiles at the country and attacked its oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
"Our energy exports will not be held hostage, nor will our trade and economic activity," Gargash told the Hili Forum in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE has been expanding port capacity along its eastern coast, as well as developing pipelines, railways and trade routes for alternative corridors, he said.
While acknowledging that relations with Iran could eventually recover, Gargash warned that ‌rebuilding trust after the attacks could ⁠take decades.

#gargash #arab #energy #hostage

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

Sept 4 (Reuters) - Global money market funds attracted significant inflows in the week through September 2, as escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and a selloff ‌in global bonds prompted investors to increase cash holdings and favour shorter-duration ‌debt.
Investors added a net $46.1 billion to global money market funds, the biggest weekly inflow since August 5, according to LSEG Lipper data.
The United States struck Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran said it had targeted U.S. **** ets across the region. Brent crude climbed to a nearly 1-1/2-month high of $97.62 a barrel, adding to inflation concerns.
Rate ‌worries also resurfaced after Federal ⁠Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said last week that the central bank would "have work to do" if policymakers were not confident underlying ⁠inflation was returning to its 2% target.
Meanwhile, global equity funds attracted net inflows of $6.65 billion, more than reversing the previous week's $6.13 billion in outflows.

#billion #investors #attracted #inflation

September S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESU26) are up +0.08%, and September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQU26) are down -0.09% this morning, pointing to a muted open on Wall Street as bond yields stabilized near multi-year highs, while investors digested the latest batch of tech earnings.
The price of WTI crude reversed earlier losses and rose more than +1% on Thursday after Tehran's claims of fresh retaliation overshadowed U.S. President Donald Trump's prediction of a short-lived operation against Iran. The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported on Thursday that Iran's military launched missile and drone attacks on U.S. bases in Kuwait and the UAE. Oil prices initially moved lower after President Trump told reporters that he does not expect the renewed U.S. bombing campaign against Iran to last "too long."
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#Iran

(Widens distribution)
By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall
DUBAI, Sept 3 (Reuters) - A U.S. campaign to throttle Iran's economy by blockading its oil exports and stopping sanctions evasion is growing increasingly difficult to withstand, three senior Iranian sources said.
Washington has in recent weeks sought to ratchet up the economic pressure on Tehran, in an effort to extract concessions in any future negotiation that six months ‌of conflict have so far failed to secure.
Although Iran's clerical rulers managed to bypass sanctions for decades, the latest U.S. moves have left them in a far more sensitive position, with few remaining ‌channels to secure foreign currency or buy goods, the sources said.

#widens

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

President Donald Trump declared Iran a "Failed Nation" Monday, claiming the country is economically and militarily broken as renewed fighting with the U.S. raises questions about how much leverage Tehran still has left.
"Iran is officially a Failed Nation. IT IS DEAD!" Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday morning. "They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, they have no currency, they are not paying their soldiers or police."
Trump also claimed Iranian inflation had reached 300% and said the country's leadership was "in total disarray and incapable of properly representing the country."
Iran is facing pressure from nearly every direction — renewed U.S. military strikes, tighter sanctions and a steep drop in oil exports — raising fresh questions about how long Tehran can keep absorbing the economic pain and still maintain leverage against Washington.
Could Iran's Regime Collapse? Experts ******* s Bessent's Bid To Sever Financial Lifelines

#failed #leverage

There is always a winner in any major global oil crisis. In 1973/74, it was Saudi Arabia and its OPEC brothers who shifted the balance of power in the market away from the previous arrangement dominated by the West's 'Seven Sisters' to the oil producers of the Middle East. After the 2014-2016 Oil Price War, it was the U.S. whose earlier nascent shale oil sector resisted the threat to its very existence from Saudi Arabia and OPEC, reorganising into a meaner, leaner, lower-cost oil production machine. The U.S. was the winner again in the short-lived 2020 Oil Price War, and this, along with all the other major crises mentioned, is ****** ysed in full in my latest book on the global oil markets. The latest rupture in the global oil market order that followed the U.S.'s 'Operation Epic Fury' against Iran that began on 28 February has also produced a clear winner. It is neither the U.S., Saudi Arabia, nor the other OPEC states -- it is China. So, how inclined will Beijing be to heed Washington's newly announced sanctions on Iran ahead of the meeting of its President Xi Jinping with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on 24 September at the White House?
The sanctions in question were announced on 20 August by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who stated they would be "the ‌toughest sanctions in history" on Iran, under the umbrella of 'Economic D-Day' for the country. The direct sanctions on Iran aim for the complete financial isolation and economic shutdown of the regime by cutting off all domestic and international revenue streams. To this end, the U.S. Treasury blacklisted five core sectors of Iran's economy -- Digital ****** ets/Crypto, Technology, Gold, Aviation, and Shipping -- making any business operating within them subject to immediate ****** et freezes. At the same time, all longstanding humanitarian, academic, athletic, and personal remittance exemptions were indefinitely suspended, including a complete ban on non-commercial family money transfers and joint research collaborations. In parallel with this, the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and commercial aviation fleets were put under a strict operational embargo, cutting off access to foreign ports, refuelling, and aircraft spare parts. Immediate ****** et freezes were also levied against procurement networks, cyber warfare units, and business syndicates tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
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In tandem with this, the U.S. Treasury, along with sister organisations, will fully utilise secondary sanctions to force foreign governments and companies to choose between trading with Iran or trading with the U.S., under the umbrella of 'Operation Economic Outcast'. This aims to target the complete financial isolation of Tehran by cutting off its remaining economic lifelines. To that end, the U.S. Treasury has already blacklisted nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels, focusing heavily on thir

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The Iran war and the resulting oil supply shock have the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia asking banks for more loans. Saudi Arabia's National Debt Management Center initiated talks with international banks for a syndicated loan of at least $6-8 billion, and asked to keep the tab open.
Separately, the state-owned oil company Aramco is looking to raise its own funds, suggesting that Riyadh is running short on the cheap options.
Saudi Arabia's National Debt Management Center asked international banks to submit proposals for a five-year, U.S.-dollar syndicated loan in the $6-8 billion range, structured so the facility can grow beyond that ceiling if needed.
Tehran's strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure and continued Houthi threats to Red Sea shipping have also complicated Riyadh's plans to route oil exports bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. War-related economic damage, which is lost revenue plus added costs, already costed Riyadh $10 billion in April.

#debt #management #center #international

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged his country's economic woes amid pressure from the U.S., which is strangling its trade while protecting other countries' ships carrying oil through the Strait of Hormuz.
Recent weeks have seen Tehran lose leverage over the critical energy chokepoint as traffic picks up, especially via a southern route along Oman's coast. At the same time, warnings about Iran's economy from Pezeshkian and the regime's other relative moderates have been mounting.
In an interview with state media on Friday, he signaled defiance in the face of all the economic pressure and credited Iran's resilience to its unity.
"We have many problems," Pezeshkian said, according to a Google translation. "There's inflation, economic issues, employment and many other problems, but the people are with us."
Indeed, inflation has soared above 80%, with prices for certain food staples up 100%. The International Monetary Fund said in April Iran's economy will shrink 6.1% this year, the worst contraction in decades. And a labor ministry official estimated that more than 1 million jobs had been lost by late May.

#pressure #problems #inflation

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

By Sinéad Carew and Johann M Cherian
Aug 26 (Reuters) - MSCI's global equities gauge barely rose on Wednesday after U.S. inflation data came in hotter than expected while investors waited for results from AI heavyweight Nvidia, and oil prices settled lower after a choppy session.
A senior ‌Iranian source said on Wednesday that Iran and Oman are still working on the details of an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz, a ‌vital energy conduit. Earlier, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the two countries had agreed on how to share the waterway and its revenues. However, the Guards' spokesperson said the strait would not open unless the U.S. met Tehran's conditions.
Meanwhile, data showed annual U.S. inflation unexpectedly held steady in July and was well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target for the 65th straight month. Separate government data showed consumer spending decelerating modestly in July while personal incomes rose faster than inflation.
On Wall Street, the three main indexes closed slightly lower after the data.

#guards #july #rose #lower

By Samia Nakhoul
BEIRUT, Aug 27 (Reuters) - The Iran war has reached its endgame: a costly stalemate.
Six months after U.S. and Israeli forces attacked Iran, killing its supreme leader and maiming his son and successor, the Iranian government is under economic siege, but it still holds power and believes it has time on its side.
A threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to impose crippling new sanctions on Iran faces a fundamental problem: Tehran ‌is betting he will not take the final step to break the stalemate - aggressively enforcing secondary sanctions on the countries keeping its economy afloat, foremost among them China and India.
Washington's latest measures, announced on Monday, mark a new phase ‌in the conflict that began on February 28, shifting the battlefield from missiles and airstrikes to Iran's oil revenues, banks and trading partners.

#israeli

By Mike Dolan
Aug 26, LONDON (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today
By Mike Dolan, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets
While the continuing retreat of world oil prices on Wednesday is something of a puzzle given the bellicose rhetoric from Washington and Tehran, it's had a powerful cushioning effect for antsy world ‌bond markets. Meanwhile, investors are set to learn more about the health of the AI ecosystem when Nvidia reports after the bell.
Brent crude futures fell for a ‌third straight day on Wednesday, sliding more than 2% to roughly $86 per barrel on the prospect of more supply coming through the Strait of Hormuz. If this move is sustained, it would amount to the biggest weekly drop in oil prices since June.

#mike #wednesday #World #london