• US Vice President JD Vance states that Washington aims to stabilize American energy prices, stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons and emerge from the Iranian conflict in a position of strength.
• US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says that the US can sustain its blockade against Iran “indefinitely”.
• Iran’s military disputes US assertions that maritime traffic flows normally through the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining that no vessel passes without its authorization.
• Two Abu Dhabi National Oil Company vessels come under attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with UAE state media reporting no injuries and saying the situation is under control.

What Iran and the US are saying as the Hormuz deadline approaches

• Iran and the US remain deadlocked over the Strait of Hormuz as Sunday’s deadline approaches for the 60-day memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed on June 17. The deal committed Tehran to keeping the waterway open, but disagreements subsequently emerged over who controls passage and which routes vessels should use.
• Shipping remains severely disrupted. Iran’s military says no vessel can pass without its permission, rejecting US assertions that maritime traffic is flowing normally. Commodity vessel transits picked up slightly on Thursday but remained below August’s daily average of 12, according to Kpler data, compared with about 130 ships a day before the war.
• US President Donald Trump and his administration have maintained pressure on Tehran. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth says Washington can sustain its naval blockade of Iran “indefinitely”, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has threatened economic measures against Tehran that have “never been seen” before.
• Iran says it is not negotiating directly with Washington over the strait. Instead, Tehran and Muscat are negotiating new maritime arrangements, with Iran pushing for a form of joint management with Oman.
• Mediators are therefore working against the clock, with Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visiting Tehran on Tuesday. An Iran-Oman agreement could provide a way out of the immediate Hormuz stalemate and potentially clear the way for Iran and the US to return to negotiations on a longer-term ceasefire and other unresolved issues.

The latest US and Iranian demands

• Beyond the immediate dispute over freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran and the US are laying out increasingly expansive demands as both sides vie for leverage as the MoU deadline fast approaches.
• Tehran has said the Strait of Hormuz will not fully reopen unless Washington meets a series of conditions, including paying war reparations and ending sanctions. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has said, “As long as America does not change its behaviour and does not accept Iran’s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened.”
• Trump responded to Iran’s demand for reparations by saying Washington would seek compensation of its own for “50 years” of damages he claims Tehran has caused. The US president has also claimed Washington has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz and suggested the US could retain that control. Iran has dismissed his assertion.
• The competing demands add another layer to the stalemate, although any negotiations over them are likely to follow an agreement between Iran and Oman over navigation through the strait.
• If the immediate Hormuz dispute can be resolved, mediators hope Iran and the US can move towards wider negotiations covering a longer-term ceasefire, sanctions and frozen Iranian assets, and Tehran’s nuclear program.

US Treasury secretary says US to apply measures ‘never seen’ against Iran

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that the US is going to apply measures that have “never been seen” on Iran.

“Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures that have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country,” Bessent said in an interview on Newsmax.

“It will be a combination of economic isolation the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports,” he added.

Economic isolation measures must respect the territorial integrity and normal trade of neutral third-party states not involved in the conflict. The US must make sure that trade between these party states and Iran continue.

US threatens ‘indefinite’ blockade against Iran

The United States has threatened to maintain an “indefinite” naval blockade on Iranian ports and impose new measures to isolate Iran economically as ceasefire talks between the two countries remain in deadlock.

However, lawmakers in the US raised the alarm this week following reports of dire conditions on board the flagship USS Abraham Lincoln, including accounts of sailors trying to jump overboard.

Furthermore, despite President Donald Trump’s claims that the US has “full control” of the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that Iran closed in early March shortly after the start of the war, only a handful of ships have been able to pass through this week.

Under international law, an indefinite or open-ended naval blockade becomes illegal when the measure exceeds the attacking belligerent's ongoing military "necessity," does not reflect impartial enforcement, and ignores absolute compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL)—most notably the prohibition against starving the civilian population and the requirement to allow essential humanitarian relief. The latter issues the effects an open-ended blockade will cause in the wider world, particularly poor countries.

"when the measure exceeds the attacking belligerent's ongoing military "necessity,"

There is no military necessity because the war was initiated by Netanyahu and maintained by Trump on two political grounds: regime change by force and destroying Iran's nuclear program.

Trump promises hard economic blow to pressure Iran to end war

President Donald Trump told Fox News that the United States is preparing to hit Iran hard economically.

Earlier, as Washington and Tehran struggle to negotiate an end to the six-month war, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US is going to apply harsh measures on Tehran that have “never been seen”, as soon as next week.

More US economic pressure unlikely to force Iran to yield, expert says

There is little evidence that further US economic pressure will force Iran’s government to change course, expert Kenneth Katzman says.

“It’s very difficult to know what he means by that,” said the former US Congressional Research Service senior Iran analyst, referring to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s claim that the US has economic tools that have never been used before.

“The only way to go beyond a naval blockade is to expand it to a land blockade, also, which again, it’s going to cause pain, but additional pain to the Iranians,” he said.

But Katzman argued that the underlying strategy remained unchanged. “The predicate is still the same. That bringing economic pressure is going to cause the regime to make a different decision, or to collapse, or to cave in.”

“And there’s been no evidence through four decades that that’s going to work,” he said. “So I don’t think any expert out there, myself included, thinks that that’s going to succeed.”

More US sanctions won’t push Iran to change course on Hormuz: Expert

Mostafa Khoshcheshm, a professor at the University of Applied Science and Technology, says more US sanctions on Iran will not push Tehran to change course in the Strait of Hormuz.

“If there was a way out, then they would have done that already, and they would never have embarked on military action. Iran has been under four decades of tough economic pressures and sanctions,” Khoshcheshm said.

He argued that the US has exhausted methods of placing sanctions on multiple layers of Iran’s economy and sanctions are becoming ineffective.

“They have imposed various types of laws, congressional laws and it’s seven or eight years since they have failed to find out a new law against Iran. All economic sectors are placed under sanctions, exports of crude, petrochemicals, gas, foreign currency, SWIFT, insurance, shipping, whatever, you name it,” Khoshcheshm said.

“Companies and people are placed under sanctions in each sector. And they have placed thousands of planes, ships, companies and people on the sanctions list repeatedly, for various excuses such as involvement in Iran’s nuclear programme, or ballistic missile programs, human rights and so on. That’s why since Obama left office, they have failed to impose real pressure,” he explained.

The problem is that the most important weapon of choice for Iran is keeping the strait shut because it levies a lot of pressure on the United States economy as US Vice President JD Vance said.

Now the primary goal of United States is lowering that pressure by keeping crude prices low.

Iran war’s economic fallout putting Trump under pressure

US President Donald Trump is facing growing domestic and international pressure as the economic consequences of the Iran war reverberate around the world, according to Simon Mabon, a professor at Lancaster University.

Mabon said that with US midterm elections approaching and inflation rising, the disruption is creating political challenges for Trump at home, while the global economy is “feeling the crunch”.

“Not just with regard to oil and diesel,” Mabon said, but also due to the impact on fertilizer and global shipping routes.

“Anything transiting through the Strait of Hormuz is then going to be affected,” he said, adding that rising shipping costs and insurance premiums are ultimately “getting passed onto the end user”.

Oil edges up following US naval blockade threats against Iran

Oil prices inch higher on Friday as the US threatens to maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, reviving crude supply concerns after prices fell in the previous session on a weaker global demand outlook.

The two benchmarks dropped more than 2 percent yesterday, snapping a multi-day rally for both Brent and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI), though both remain set for a weekly gain of roughly 4 percent.

Brent futures rose 9 cents, or 0.1 percent, to trade at $87.16 a barrel as of 01:30 GMT, while WTI crude futures went up 4 cents to reach $81.29 a barrel.

Hormuz shipping traffic remains constrained amid ongoing US-Iran tensions

Vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz remain below the monthly average late in the week amid fluctuating tensions between the United States and Iran over control of the waterway, Reuters reports.

According to data from maritime tracking firm Kpler, commodity ship passages through Hormuz saw a slight rise on Thursday, though levels stayed below the August daily average of 12.

Kpler figures showed nine vessels passed through the strait on Thursday, up from five the day before. These included five ships entering the Gulf and four heading out into the Gulf of Oman, primarily through the Iranian shipping channel.

At the same time, 19 commodity vessels sailed through the Bab al-Mandeb strait on Thursday with active transponders, holding relatively steady compared with 20 from the previous day, the data indicated.

The figures do not account for ships navigating these crucial channels with their transponders switched off.

Oil prices gain after US threatens indefinite naval blockade against Iran

Oil prices have gained further after the US threatened an indefinite naval blockade of Iran, reviving concerns about the supply of crude.

Brent futures rose 90 cents, or 1.03 percent, to $87.97 a barrel by 06:53 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 91 cents to $82.16 a barrel.

The benchmarks were on track for a weekly rise of about 4 percent after the prior session’s drop of more than 2 percent.

“Despite the bearish crude stock data, the broader geopolitical backdrop is preventing a sharper price decline,” Susan Bell, senior vice president for oil commodity markets at Rystad Energy, said in a note.

‘I’ll never apologise’: Trump dismisses higher petrol prices due to Iran war

The US president’s latest comments appeared to dismiss the concerns of American consumers who are paying more for gasoline [petrol] as a consequence of his decision to attack Iran.

“For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you’re doing it so that a very evil country cannot have – a country, really, it’s the number one state sponsor of terror in the world – we don’t want to have them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said during a speech at an event in New York.

“You’re at four dollars. It’s okay … I’ll never apologize. I did the right thing.”

US inflation declined slightly last month as the cost of gas and groceries slipped, though prices are still rising more quickly than before the war on Iran began, posing challenges for the White House as the midterm elections near.

Iranian exports skyrocket through its border with Turkey

Iran’s export trade through its Razi border with Turkiye, connecting Iran’s Khoy to Kapikoy on the other side, has grown by nearly 300 percent in the first four months of this year, compared with the same period last year.

Ali-Asghar Abdollahi, acting head of the Razi Customs Office, told Iran’s Fars news agency that goods worth $217m, weighing 440,000 tons, were exported from the Razi border, the only rail border connecting the country to Europe.

Abdollahi added that 8,975 train wagons passed through the Razi border during the period, a 205 percent increase compared with the same period last year.

He said customs revenues at the border had increased by about 800 percent, adding that more than 652 billion Iranian rials in customs revenue had been collected.

CENTCOM denies reports of deaths on board USS Abraham Lincoln

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) says that reports of deaths on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), an aircraft carrier conducting maritime security and blockade operations around the Strait of Hormuz, are false.

This came after several media outlets, particularly Iranian media, reported that seven US Navy personnel were killed and several others wounded in clashes on the carrier due to growing unrest among the crew amid mounting pressure in the US military from prolonged deployment, as Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported.

In a statement on X, CENTCOM said that “the Sailors and Marines of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group remain resilient and resolved after more than 260 days at sea”.

“No service members aboard the aircraft carrier have died, and the one sailor who fell overboard on August 3 was quickly and safely recovered,” it added.

There is no independent investigation carried out to find what the situation aboard the aircraft carrier really is. It's the wording of CENTCOM against the wording in reports and the calls made by US politicians.

CENTCOM has already been accused by those who were wounded during Iran's attacks on the US base in Jordan, that they have been silenced.

US Senator Schumer calls for ‘incompetent’ Hegseth’s firing over aircraft carrier handling

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to be removed from his position over his handling of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

In a post on X, Schumer wrote, “When Pete Hegseth was nominated, everyone knew he was completely incompetent. Now our brave sailors are paying the price in a horrific and unfathomable way.”

“Pete Hegseth must be fired immediately,” he added.

US lawmakers press Hegseth for answers on USS Abraham Lincoln situation

California lawmakers led by Representative Mike Levin demand answers from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao about the situation on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been on deployment for nine months.

The vessel left San Diego in the US state of California on November 21, 2025.

In a post on X, Democratic Congressman Levin shared a letter signed by four US lawmakers, stating that “the plans in the works to relieve the USS Lincoln are not enough”.

“We need clear and honest information from the Department of Defense about the operational failures that led to the problems aboard the USS Lincoln to ensure this never happens again,” the letter added.

“Why weren’t unsanitary conditions immediately addressed? Why didn’t service members receive adequate mental health support? Why did the Navy not communicate these problems early and often to families and the appropriate government officials?” it asked.

Hegseth rejected reports of worsening conditions on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, calling the reports “completely misrepresented”.

Long deployments ‘erode readiness’ of USS Abraham Lincoln

Harlan Ullman, a retired senior naval officer and chairman of the strategic advisory firm The Killowen Group, says aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln needs routine maintenance in port, considering how complicated a vessel it is.

Ullman said that ships require onshore care to keep advanced technology operational over long periods.

“Ships need maintenance, particularly ships that are extremely complicated with very advanced weapon systems such as nuclear-powered carriers with very advanced systems, and there are things that you cannot do in terms of maintenance under way,” Ullman said.

“There are lots of things that you can do at sea, but there are far more things that can only be done in port,” he pointed out.

He added that extended deployments, such as the nine months for USS Abraham Lincoln, “erode the readiness and capability of that ship the longer it’s at sea, and it lacks the ability to repair and extend maintenance.”

Extended wartime patrols ‘going to have a certain impact’ on carrier crews

Harlan Ullman, a retired senior naval officer and chairman of the strategic advisory firm The Killowen Group, pointed out that ships face strict operational limits, meaning “access to the internet, cell phones are going to be very, very much limited simply because they don’t want to give away their position”.

Beyond communication blackouts, basic needs are harder to meet, making a “resupply of what the crew really needs in terms of food, in terms of mail, in terms of new movies, whatever is necessary for the crew’s morale” far more difficult.

“The ship’s been out there for a long time on a wartime patrol, flying combat operations … and they’re under the stress of attack,” Ullman said. “This is going to have a certain impact on the morale and wellbeing of the forces.”

He added that the Trump administration must prioritize naval readiness over politics, saying “this is a national issue, not a local one; and the administration should not be so defensive. It should say, OK, we’ll see what’s going on, and then if there are some issues, we’ll take care of them.”

Reports of US sailors in Middle East trying to jump ship prompt outcry

Lawmakers in the United States have raised the alarm over reports of dire conditions on an aircraft carrier deployed to the Middle East amid the US-Israel war with Iran, including accounts of sailors trying to jump overboard.

The response has included a direct appeal to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, asking for further information about conditions on board the USS Abraham Lincoln and demanding that a bipartisan congressional delegation be allowed to visit the ship.

In a letter to Hegseth, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal noted that the aircraft carrier, with more than 5,000 US sailors and Marines, has been “continuously at sea for a record length of nearly seven months”. That surpasses any previous deployment of a US aircraft carrier without a port stop.

Blumenthal noted that the vessel’s mission was meant to end in May but has been repeatedly extended amid the war on Iran. The conflict remains in a state of grinding limbo, with a memorandum of understanding to end the fighting largely defunct and further diplomatic efforts stalled.

US aircraft carrier George Washington heads to Middle East

The Associated Press reports, citing a Navy statement and a US official, that the Pacific-based aircraft carrier USS George Washington has begun heading toward the Middle East as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln.

Extended deployments of carriers during the war on Iran had raised concerns about the impact on service members who were away from home for long periods as well as the increasing strain on the ship and its equipment, according to the AP report.

The USS George Washington left port in Da Nang, Vietnam, last week, a Navy statement said. The carrier, along with a cruiser and a destroyer, had since been spotted crossing the Singapore Strait.

A Navy official told the AP that the USS George Washington was in the Strait of Malacca, which links the Pacific and Indian oceans.

The move would leave the waters of the Pacific without a US carrier presence for an unknown period of time, the AP said.

Exhaustion in US navy another major challenge for US: Analyst

Hamidreza Gholamzadeh, director of the Iranian think tank Diplo House, has said the Iranian side has set out the conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“It is not only about the agreements with Oman, but also the removal of the US naval blockade, the waiver of the sanctions, and stopping the aggression against Tehran,” he said.

“Iran has said that if this strait is to be reopened, then the Americans need to get back to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding and fulfill all the commitments that they have made,” he added.

“There is no rushing on the Iranian side, and Iran is clearly aware that the Americans are facing midterm elections. Iran is trying to put pressure on the US before those elections,” said Gholamzadeh.

Gholamzadeh further added that there are other major challenges, including exhaustion in the US Navy, as reported by sections of the US media, referring to the long deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln.

“The reality on the ground is that the Americans are not able to win a military war in this region. With that, the military forces are actually anxious: Why are we here far from our home?” he added.

 

Reports of worsening conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln ‘twisted into a false narrative’, says US Navy official

Acting Secretary of the US Navy Hung Cao says that reports of dire conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln amid the US-Israel war with Iran, including accounts of sailors trying to jump overboard, have been blown out of proportion.

“Legitimate challenges of a long combat deployment are being twisted into a false narrative, while the genuine difficulties faced by military families are being used for headlines,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell chimed in on X. “That is shameful.”

US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about conditions on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump rejected the assertion that the families of those on board the aircraft carrier are worried about their loved ones.

“The Sailors aboard the Lincoln are doing what American warriors have always done: remaining resilient, focused on the mission, and proud of their service on this historic deployment,” Parnell added. “We stand with them”.

 

US military announces first multinational attack drone task force

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced the creation of its first-ever multi-domain, multinational attack drone task force, named Task Force Falcon Strike.

CENTCOM said in a statement that the unit will deploy one-way attack drones operating above, on, and below the sea, and crewed by military personnel from the US and regional partner nations.

The announcement comes nine months after CENTCOM established Task Force Scorpion Strike, the US military’s first dedicated one-way attack drone squadron in the Middle East.

“Task Force Falcon Strike will expand on Scorpion Strike’s success given the tremendous innovation happening among our regional allies and partners,” said CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper. “Integrating and deploying our new capabilities together will help us rapidly realize the new possibilities that are on the horizon.”

".. multinational attack drone task force .. "

What does international law say when a co-belligerent takes part in a multinational attack drone task force formed by an attacking belligerent?

Under international law, a co-belligerent actively participating in a multinational offensive drone task force becomes a direct party to the armed conflict. This integration triggers joint accountability under jus ad bellum (the legality of using force) and makes its military personnel and drone assets legitimate military targets under jus in bello (international humanitarian law).

The US is the attacking belligerent. Kuwait, Jordan, UAE, and Saudi Arabia are co-belligerents.

Oman says massive oil spill reaches coastline

A vast oil spill from a leaking tanker reached Oman’s coastline on Wednesday, its environment agency said.

This oil spill threatens to become one of the world’s worst in years after spreading largely unchecked for several weeks, experts say.

On Monday, Oman said it was working to contain the spill, which had by then affected roughly 390 square kilometers (150sq miles), according to analysis by the country’s environment agency.

Egypt condemns attack on ADNOC tankers in Strait of Hormuz

Egypt has condemned the targeting of two Emirati ships while passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.

The ships were affiliated with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, which has said that more than a dozen of its vessels have been attacked in the last few weeks.

In a statement, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said it “considers the attack an act of aggression that poses a threat to the security and safety of maritime navigation and the freedom of movement of ships in one of the most important international waterways”.

Reaffirming its solidarity with the UAE, Egypt stressed “the need to respect the rules of international law, in a manner that contributes to de-escalation and the preservation of security and stability in the region”.

Norway’s FM says Iran war has failed to achieve its aims

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide says the war with Iran has failed to achieve its initial objectives and has instead strengthened hardliners in the country.

“I think it’s rather obvious that history will say that this war did not achieve any of its initial aims,” Eide said, adding that “the hardliners in Iran have been strengthened rather than weakened by this.”

Eide said Norway had opposed the war from the outset, saying it was “neither very smart nor in line with international law”, a position he said had since become much more common.

He also pointed to the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the waterway had been open before the US and Israel launched their initial attack on February 28 and Iran responded. “At least, we need to go back to something as close as possible to that freedom of navigation that we had before this war started,” he said.

Eide said ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz were now imperative, adding: “I think it can be done.”

Vessel struck by drone in Strait of Hormuz, says UKMTO

A tanker was struck by an uncrewed aerial vehicle while making an outbound transit of the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency has said.

The agency noted that the tanker was struck on Thursday and sustained minor damage, while all the crew were reported safe and accounted for, with no environmental impact reported.

Iran grants ‘general approval’ to strategic action plan for the Strait of Hormuz

A senior Iranian official has said the general principles of a strategic action plan to manage the Strait of Hormuz have been agreed upon in a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Councils.

Valiullah Bayati, a spokesperson of the committee, told Iran’s Tasnim news agency that “the strategic action plan to ensure the security and progress of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf was reviewed by the Councils’ Commission and, after hearing the opinions, its general outline was approved.”

One of the resolutions in the plan prohibits the passage of vessels and equipment owned by the US, Israel, and other “hostile countries” through the Strait of Hormuz, the report added.

“This is because these countries have used the Strait of Hormuz to carry out hostile actions against our country, and have committed unjust and aggressive acts against the Iranian people,” Bayati said.

GCC condemns attack on ADNOC vessels in Strait of Hormuz

Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, has condemned the Iranian attack on two ADNOC company tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

Albudaiwi said in a statement that the GCC “strongly condemns the brutal Iranian attack,” and emphasised that “the repeated targeting of navigation, facilities, and properties constitutes an unacceptable escalation and a grave violation of international law”.

Kuwait condemns attack on ADNOC vessels in Hormuz Strait

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the “reprehensible Iranian attack” on two Emirati vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, noting that such an attack “endangers the security of maritime navigation, the stability of energy supplies, and international trade”.

The Foreign Ministry further stressed “the necessity of ceasing all actions that could escalate tensions in the region, respecting the freedom of navigation and safe passage in international waterways, and fully and unconditionally reopening the Strait of Hormuz.”

Saudi Arabia condemns attacks on Abu Dhabi oil tankers

Saudi Arabia has condemned what it described as Iranian attacks on two tankers belonging to the United Arab Emirates’ state oil company ADNOC while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry called it a “dangerous escalation” and a “direct threat” to maritime navigation and global energy supplies, saying it held Iran “fully responsible” for the consequences.

The UAE also condemned Iran over the incident. ADNOC confirmed that “two of its vessels were attacked while transiting” the waterway on Thursday evening, according to Emirati media, adding that the situation was “brought under control”.

‘Islamabad MoU is only way forward,’ says Pakistan’s deputy PM

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has told US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker in Islamabad that “the implementation of the Islamabad MoU … in letter and spirit is the only way forward”.

The MoU signed in June is set to expire on Sunday.

In a statement posted on X, Dar, who is also the foreign minister, said that the discussions centered on Pakistan-US bilateral cooperation and recent regional developments.

Dar’s office said he appreciated “the positive trajectory in Pakistan-US relations and underscored the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for lasting peace”.

The statement noted that Baker “appreciated Pakistan’s constructive role in promoting regional peace and stability”.

Iran backs off on decision to raise gasoline prices

Tehran is holding off on a decision to raise national gasoline prices, Iran’s Fars news agency reports, citing government sources.

Iran’s economy has been severely squeezed by the US naval blockade against its ports and decades of sanctions.

Mohammad-Saeid Ahadian, an adviser to the speaker of parliament, noted on X that “the heads of the three branches of government have decided that gasoline prices will not increase, and proposals that do not involve an increase in gasoline prices are being considered.”

He added, “Therefore, government officials should not allow any action that could cause people to worry about an increase in gasoline prices.”

Iran says it destroyed MQ-9 drone over Hormozgan province

Iranian forces have intercepted and destroyed an MQ-9 drone over Hormozgan province, reported the country’s state TV.

The drone was intercepted by the IRGC’s “new advanced defence system”, the report noted.

The MQ-9 Reaper has been used in bombing and surveillance missions across the region for years. The US has lost dozens of MQ-9 drones since the war erupted in February.

Hormuz navigational freedom ruined by US aggression, says Russia’s UN envoy

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, has taken a dig at Washington for calling for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The logic of Washington is not understandable. It wants freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but this freedom was ruined by the US aggression against Iran,” he wrote in a post on X.

“Now, they want to remove the consequences of their strategic mistake through the continuation of war. Something is wrong here,” Ulyanov added.

US failed to destroy Tehran’s missile capabilities, says senior Iranian cleric

Ahmad Khatami from Iran’s Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts says the US failed to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, which has “humiliated America and will continue” to do so.

“The enemy wanted to return Iran to the Stone Age, but today the world has realized that the American government itself knows nothing about civilization and democracy, and in practice, it is America that is displaying behaviors that belong to a past era,” he told Iran’s state TV.

Despite US and Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities, “our nuclear capability still remains”, he added.

“Our nuclear power belongs to the country’s scientists and nuclear knowledge.”

‘US stress on keeping gas prices low reversal on war position’

Vice President JD Vance appears to be going somewhat rogue on the position that President Trump has adopted throughout this conflict.

President Trump, from the very beginning, has insisted that the most important thing is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. And, in fact, he justified any economic costs the Americans might be paying by the fact that he will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, as he puts it.

Now, you have the vice president saying that goal number one is to keep oil prices and gasoline [petrol] prices down for Americans. Goal number two, he says, is to ensure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.

So this is a slight blip in messaging from the administration, which had been absolutely adamant that the price of oil is a cost of the primary aim, which is getting rid of any possibility of Iran having a nuclear weapon.

Certainly, this is a reversal in position; whether or not it is endorsed by President Trump, we will probably hear from him in the coming hours.

"President Trump, from the very beginning, has insisted that the most important thing is to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon."

Trump adopted regime change in Iran as that was promised by Netanyahu. Trump pivot to preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons when he had to see that Iran was going to appoint new senior figures to replace those who were killed by the US and the Israelis.

‘Trump admin increasingly focused on midterm election’

Looking at the reversal of position by Vice President Vance makes one thing very clear: midterm elections are a priority for this administration now.

The fact that Vance has put the price of oil above getting rid of any possibility of nuclear weapons for Iran is every indication that the administration is now getting increasingly focused on the midterms.

The price of gasoline [petrol] plays a factor in which way they vote in the midterm elections. Gasoline prices now are at a higher level, at this time of the year, than at any time in the past. National prices will be over $4 a gallon.

Americans don’t like paying a lot for their gas and certainly it may well reflect their attitude and their anger at this administration in the midterm elections.

Hence, the vice president is now putting the priority on getting those gas prices down, rather than what had been the earlier position: to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

Pentagon announces deals to boost missile interceptor production

The Pentagon has announced framework agreements with Boeing and RTX to increase production of components for SM-3 Block IIA and SM-3 Block IB missile interceptors.

The agreements would strengthen production of the ship-launched interceptors that underpin the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defence System, according to a statement.

The announcement comes after the Pentagon earlier this week called on the US defence industry to accelerate weapons production to replenish depleted reserves of munitions.

US weapons supplies have come under increasing scrutiny after five months of war with Iran, with reports indicating that stocks of some offensive and defensive weapons have fallen dangerously low.

The White House has denied that US forces are running low on munitions.

US ‘needs real long-term strategy’ to pressure Iran: Ex-White House official

Former White House Deputy National Security Adviser Mark Pfeifle has questioned Washington’s strategy in the ongoing confrontation with Iran, responding to comments by US Vice President JD Vance that the administration is on track to accomplish its goals in the conflict.

In an interview with US media, Vance said that keeping energy prices stable for Americans was Washington’s first goal in the Iran conflict.

Pfeifle argued that Washington has been working through “crisis to crisis that Iran has put on top of it”. “It has not focused on a real long-term strategy,” he added.

Pfeifle, who served under former President George W Bush called for a coordinated “pressure cell internally in the White House that puts the Iranians on notice”, saying Tehran “has the advantage of time”. “The Americans need to take it away,” he noted.

He urged an “extreme blockade of finances and sanctions” targeting Chinese funding, crypto currency, shadow companies and “shadow fleets”, implemented “not at the speed of press releases, but at the speed of ships”.

Transit through Strait of Hormuz comes at a standstill, data shows

Two vessels passed through the narrow ⁠waterway on Friday, according to analysis from ship tracking firm Kpler: a grain ship entering Iranian waters and an empty dry bulk ship going in the other direction.

A separate empty liquefied petroleum products tanker was sailing into the Gulf via the strait, the data showed. There were no crude oil shipments visible on Friday.

Nine vessels passed through the strait on Thursday, up from five on Wednesday but below the average of 12 for August.

Some ships may pass through undetected with their transponders off, but the figures are nowhere near the more than 130 ships that traversed the Strait of Hormuz daily before the US-Israeli war on Iran in February.

“Alongside the threat to energy infrastructure in the region, Iran’s ability to restrict shipping through the strait is its main source of leverage in negotiations,” Torbjorn Solvedt, principal Middle East analyst with risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, told the Reuters news agency.

US consumer sentiment falls as Iran war fuels inflation fears

New data show that US consumer sentiment fell sharply in August, ending months of recent gains as prolonged inflation and uncertainty over the US war against Iran hit the economy.

“Consumer sentiment fell about 8 percent this August, ending two consecutive months of improvement,” University of Michigan survey director Joanne Hsu told the Reuters news agency.

Preliminary data reviewed by Reuters showed consumer sentiment at 51.0 points, down from 55.2 and well below market expectations.

Before the US-Israeli war on Iran, inflation was already above the US Federal Reserve’s long-term two-percent target and US households are being hit harder after being battered for years by higher prices.

Oil climbs over $1 on tanker attacks, no progress on peace

Crude oil futures increased by more than a dollar a barrel today on news of tanker attacks and lack of progress on a peace agreement between the Trump administration and Iran.

Brent futures settled at $88.52 a barrel, up $1.45, or 1.67 percent. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures finished at $82.40, up $1.15, or 1.42 percent.

Brent and WTI were on track for weekly gains of 6.0 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

“We’re getting a rally going into the weekend after new attacks on tankers and lack of progress on a ceasefire agreement,” Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, told Reuters news agency.

A “day of reckoning” may come if traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains constrained, through which 20 percent of global supply can pass, Lipow said.

"US forces ‘redirected’ 62 commercial vessels since blockade reinstated"

US forces have “redirected” 62 commercial vessels in the Arabian Sea during the reinstated naval blockade of Iranian ports, the US Central Command (CENTCOM)claims.

As of today, forces also disabled three vessels and boarded two others to ensure compliance with the blockade, according to a CENTCOM post on X.

The blockade was reinstated on July 14 after hostilities between Washington and Tehran resumed. Iran has repeatedly said the blockade is illegal and in breach of international law.

 

Canada sanctions senior Iranian government officials over Strait of Hormuz

Canada has sanctioned five senior Iranian government officials, including members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing them of obstructing navigation rights in the Strait of Hormuz.

A statement posted on X said the five individuals were sanctioned “for their involvement in military, legal and communications activities, which undermine international peace, security and stability.”

Canada’s Foreign Minister, Anita Anand, called on Iran to de-escalate and said, “Freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz is essential to global trade and energy security. Today’s sanctions target individuals whose actions undermine these principles and threaten global economic and energy security.”

 

Canada should have sanction those who initiated the Hormuz crisis, and who is the cause of the prolongation of the crisis, which is Trump.

Trump’s confrontation with Iran a ‘campaign of epic endurance’

Trump’s latest pressure campaign against Iran lacks a clear objective and could ultimately force the US president to back down, says former US Ambassador and White House Middle East policy adviser Mark Ginsburg.

“You have a situation where there’s no endgame for this administration. We don’t know what the president is planning to do,” he said.

Ginsburg described the confrontation as a “campaign of epic endurance” and “a game of economic chicken”, asking which side would move first before the two collide.

“I think in the end the administration is going to cave before the Iranian government does,” he said.

Ginsburg said Trump could eventually make concessions because of domestic political pressure before the US midterm elections.

“The American public is disgusted with the state of affairs, but Donald Trump cannot walk away from this because, in the end, the Iranians are basically playing him,” he said.

Trump says he will soon declare Strait of Hormuz a US territory

President Donald Trump says that he will soon be declaring the Strait of Hormuz a US territory, escalating his rhetoric over the vital waterway that carries a significant share of global oil supplies.

Under international law, an attacking belligerent cannot unilaterally declare an international waterway or strait used for international navigation as its own sovereign territory. Such a declaration violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and foundational principles of freedom of navigation.

While a belligerent border state exercises sovereignty over its own territorial sea, international straits remain subject to transit passage rights for global commerce and third-party nations.

‘Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet’: Iran’s Gharibabadi responds to Trump

Iran’s deputy foreign minister has responded directly to Trump’s latest escalation of rhetoric against Iran, in which he said that he will declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory after Iran’s defeat.

“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech. Iran neither fears threats nor cowers before displays of power,” Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X.

“The Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian; this strait will only be closed and opened under Iran’s command, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and cease your fanciful delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” he added.

Americans question trillions spent on wars as US faces prolonged conflict with Iran, says expert

Americans are questioning the trillions of dollars spent to wage foreign wars as the US faces a drawn-out conflict with Iran, says Dan Grazier, a former US Marine Corps officer, who’s now director of the National Security Reform Program at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC.

“The American people have shouldered a huge burden over the last 25 years ever since September 11, [2001]. And a big question that all Americans should be asking right now is where did all that money go?” he asked.

“President Trump’s words don’t exactly match the current situation, because the military is short on a lot of long-range munitions; because planners had not planned on such a long war. But the fact that the American people have spent so much money and that the United States ran out of these kind of munitions in such a short time lends the question, where did the money go? And I don’t think there’s a very good answer for that unfortunately.”

Grazier added that the US no longer has the capacity to quickly replace the expensive munitions fired during the war with Iran.

Araghchi: Memorandum of Understanding with US was ‘not a ceasefire’

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi says that what was in the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding was “the end of the war, not a ceasefire,” according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA).

Araghchi adds that the US violated the memorandum of understanding and the fighting resumed, so “there was no 60-day ceasefire that needed to be extended”.

As ceasefire talks with the US have stalled and the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, Araghchi says “no decision has yet been made to resume negotiations with the US”, though he says that the intermediary countries, Qatar and Pakistan, “are exchanging messages and are in contact with us”.

“The channels that previously existed are no longer effective, and a new channel must be established,” Iran’s Foreign Minister says, via ISNA.

Araghchi: Talks with Oman about Strait of Hormuz ‘may reach conclusion soon’

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in comments carried by the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA), said that negotiations between Iran and Oman “may reach a conclusion soon”.

He says the talks with Oman, which concern the shared management of the Strait of Hormuz between the two countries, “are ongoing, but this is a completely separate discussion” from ceasefire talks with the United States.

Araghchi says they are continuing “a technical discussion related to determining the maritime routes of the Strait of Hormuz for ship traffic”.

“This is a technical work that is being done between experts from the two countries and the armed forces are also involved in it,” Araghchi said via ISNA. “In any case, they are the main opinion leaders on this issue.”

UAE energy giant ADNOC says one of its vessels was attacked in Strait of Hormuz

The United Arab Emirates’ Abu ⁠Dhabi ⁠National Oil Company says that one of its vessels was attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on the evening of Friday, according to Emirati state ⁠news agency WAM.

The state oil company said no injuries were reported, with the situation now under control, according to ‌WAM.

The attack was the third such incident involving ADNOC vessels in less than a week. ADNOC ‌is one of the world’s largest energy producers and exports crude oil, natural ‌gas ‌and refined products worldwide.

The UAE accused Iran of being behind the earlier attacks, but there was no ⁠official comment from the UAE ⁠on Friday evening’s attack so far.