Panama’s Maritime Authority said it has removed more than 650 vessels from its shipping registry since 2019, including 214 in the past year alone, as it intensifies efforts to comply with US sanctions on tankers linked to Iran.
The registry, one of the world’s largest with over 8,500 vessels, has come under renewed pressure from the US and watchdog groups over its role in what they describe as enabling illicit oil shipments from Iran. Ships removed from the Panamanian registry can no longer operate under the country’s flag.
The move follows criticism from US-based United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which accused Panama of being the "flag of choice" for Iranian oil trade in violation of US sanctions.
UANI says nearly 17% of vessels suspected of transporting Iranian crude sail under Panama's flag, using tactics such as flag-hopping, false ownership documentation, and disabling tracking systems.
“This is not just a failure of Panama's registry. It’s a direct threat to global sanctions compliance and regional and US security,” UANI said in a statement last month.
Panama has defended its enforcement record, citing Executive Decree No. 512, which empowers authorities to deregister ships linked to sanctioned entities. In March, 107 vessels were removed, with 18 more under review.
The Maritime Authority said it has reinforced controls on ship-to-ship operations and is collaborating closely with the United States to prevent sanctions evasion.
In 2019, Panama signed an agreement with Liberia and the Marshall Islands to exchange data on suspect vessels.
The measures come as Iran expands its oil exports, despite sanctions. Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad recently announced a production boost of 150,000 barrels per day, with plans to increase daily oil and gas output further through $10 billion in new energy projects.
While Tehran has not addressed the UANI report directly, it has consistently rejected US sanctions as illegitimate and maintains that its exports are legal under international law.
In recent months, the US has stepped up enforcement efforts, seizing Iranian tankers in the Persian Gulf. Some vessels were found using forged Iraqi documents, according to Iraqi officials.
Iran's Athletics Federation said it will take disciplinary action after reports that two athletes and a coach were arrested for alleged sexual assault during the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in South Korea.
“Three members of the national team committed inappropriate behavior on the sidelines of the Asian Championships,” the statement said, adding that the matter is under review and disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with regulations.
South Korean police said on Saturday that two Iranian athletes and a coach were arrested in the city of Gumi after a local woman, 20, alleged she had been sexually assaulted at a hotel, where the Iranian delegation was staying.
Iranian newspaper Khabar Varzeshi on Monday published a detailed account of the alleged group sexual assault.
Citing an eyewitness, Khabar Varzeshi reported that around 6 a.m., a 20-year-old Korean woman arrived at the hotel with an Iranian athlete referred to as K, after meeting him at a bar. A second athlete, R, later joined them in the room, followed by a third, M, whose presence prompted the woman to object.
The woman, the report said, entered the bathroom and discreetly sent her location to police. Authorities arrived shortly after and, based on her complaint of group sexual assault, arrested the three.
According to Khabar Varzeshi, the accused claim the first two encounters were consensual and only the third was forced. Police, however, reportedly dismissed this distinction and detained all three men.
The hotel remains under heightened security despite the arrests, the paper added.
Iran’s Ministry of Sports pledged to address the issue, with a senior official, Shervin Asbaghian, saying that serious action would be taken against anyone found responsible.
“We have no tolerance for violations of ethical conduct,” he told Iran’s state news agency IRNA, while calling for a full investigation once the delegation returns to Iran.
It is the latest scandal to rock the sport. Federation president Ehsan Hadadi, who was one of several senior officials on the delegation, has been at the center of allegations of corruption In recent months.
Athletes and coaches have held protest gatherings outside the Ministry of Sports building in Tehran, calling for his resignation, citing concerns over alleged misconduct and mismanagement.
South Korean authorities have not yet confirmed whether formal charges will be filed, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the United States has yet to provide clear assurances on lifting sanctions, a key condition for any nuclear agreement between Tehran and Washington.
“It must be clear to us how the oppressive sanctions against the Iranian people will be lifted, to ensure that past experiences are not repeated,” Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters in Tehran.
"I regret to inform you that the American side has not yet been willing to clarify this issue," Baghaei said at his weekly press.
The White House ordered a freeze on new sanctions activity on Iran last week, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, pausing President Donald Trump’s so-called maximum pressure campaign against Tehran.
Oman's Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi visited Tehran on Saturday to deliver what Iran described as "elements of a US proposal" related to a possible nuclear agreement.
Muscat has been mediating between Iran and the United States as the two countries seek a breakthrough following five rounds of indirect talks last held in Rome this month.
US proposal under review
Baghaei emphasized that receiving a written text from the US did not signal any agreement on Iran's part.
"Certainly, receiving a text does not mean it is accepted, nor even that it is acceptable," he said. "Exchange of documents is a common practice in all negotiation processes."
Any proposal, Baghaei added, containing “radical and maximalist demands” which ignores what he called the legitimate rights and interests of the Iranian people would not receive a positive response from Tehran.
“The red lines of Iran will be the basis for our response to the American proposal,” he said, underlining the centrality of Iran’s uranium enrichment program and the demand for effective lifting of sanctions.
Iran accuses IAEA of bias
Baghaei also addressed the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying it was prepared under pressure from certain Western countries.
“The report contains mostly repetitive content, and some technical matters have been exaggerated,” he said. “We are certain that this report was prepared under pressure from specific countries.”
Documents seen by the IAEA showed that Iran carried out secret nuclear activities with material not declared to the UN nuclear watchdog at three locations which have long been under investigation, Reuters reported last week.
Baghaei criticized what he described as a long-standing pattern of Western states using international organizations for political purposes. “Unfortunately, this has become an undesirable trend over the past two decades,” he added.
He said that Iran’s nuclear activities remain under full monitoring by the agency and warned against misrepresenting internal procedural issues—such as revoking the accreditation of a few inspectors—while ignoring the continued presence of 125 active inspectors in the country.
Israel using nuclear issue to sway US policy, Iran says
Responding to longstanding allegations that Iran seeks to develop nuclear weapons, Baghaei argued that such claims have been used politically by Israel to influence US foreign policy.
“If you review the reports on Iran’s nuclear issue, you will see that since 1984, officials from the Zionist regime have claimed that Iran would obtain a nuclear bomb within six months,” he said. “It’s been nearly 40 years. The peaceful nature of our nuclear program has been consistently proven.”
He added, “Israel’s concern is not about a nuclear Iran, but about losing its ability to impose its will in the region and control US foreign policy.”
No clarity from US yet
Baghaei said that Iran’s key demand remains the complete and verifiable removal of economic sanctions.
“In the nuclear field, the matter is clear to us. If America’s concern is the absence of nuclear weapons, that issue is already resolved,” he said. “What matters is ensuring the real and observable end of the sanctions imposed over the past decades.”
He explained that Iran seeks to see practical outcomes, including improvements in banking, trade, and economic relations.
Iran will respond to any new sanctions
The Iranian spokesman also took issue with recent proposals by some US lawmakers to make certain sanctions permanent.
“This is a clear contradiction in the US approach,” Baghaei said. “On one hand, they claim to support diplomacy, but on the other, they reinforce the very obstacles that prevent any understanding.”
He said Iran regards any new sanctions as “a sign of the lack of seriousness and real intent on the part of the United States to advance diplomatic efforts.”
On the potential activation of the “snapback” mechanism—formally known as the dispute resolution process under the 2015 nuclear deal—Baghaei warned, “We have anticipated multiple scenarios. If such a mechanism is triggered by European signatories, we will respond in kind and appropriately.”
Consortium cannot replace enrichment inside Iran
Baghaei also said that any proposal to replace Iran's domestic uranium enrichment with a multinational consortium is unacceptable.
“This idea is not new, and it’s not surprising that negotiating parties continue to raise it. But the consortium proposal can in no way replace enrichment on Iranian soil.”
Baghaei added that while Iran is willing to participate in such initiatives, it would not consider any arrangement that undermines what Tehran sees as its sovereign right under international law.
Iran remains under global sanctions not only for its nuclear program but also over its human rights record at home, and supporting Russia's war on Ukraine. The situation has left Iran's economy in its worst state since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
The White House has issued a directive to pause all new sanctions activity toward Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a source close to the administration.
According to the report, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued the order last week, halting measures that had been part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing "maximum pressure" campaign.
The directive was passed to senior officials at the National Security Council, the Treasury Department, and the State Department, the report said.
While the White House did not deny the sanctions pause, deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to the Journal: “Any new decisions with regard to sanctions will be announced by the White House or relevant agencies within the administration.”
The report said that Trump officials view the move as a temporary slowdown aimed at reviewing potential sanctions more carefully amid sensitive nuclear negotiations, and that it was overinterpreted somewhere along the chain.
Others expressed concern that key policymakers have been out of the loop and surprised by the sweeping pause.
Hardliners in Iran are warning world powers of costly consequences if United Nations sanctions are revived ahead of an October deadline, as Western capitals weigh triggering the so-called snapback mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal.
A commentary published Sunday by Tasnim News, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, accused Britain, France and Germany of “blackmailing” Iran by threatening to invoke the snapback clause of a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
The so-called snapback of UN sanctions on Iran can technically be restored automatically if any party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deems Iran to be non-compliant with the deal.
“Much of the Europeans’ audacity stems from their perceived ability to trigger the snapback clause,” the article said. “Increasing the cost of their strategic choices is the only viable countermeasure.”
The conservative daily Khorasan struck a similar tone, warning Western powers that any military action or invocation of the snapback clause would provoke a fundamental shift in Iran’s defense doctrine. The paper said Iran could produce 10 atomic bombs and that its intercontinental ballistic missile capability should not be underestimated.
“If the snapback mechanism is activated, it means all of Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEAI) has yielded nothing,” the editorial said.
All eyes on IAEA Board
The UN nuclear watchdog on Saturday confirmed that Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium now exceeds 400 kg—enough for developing 10 nuclear weapons if further enriched. It also accused Tehran of running a secret nuclear program using unreported material.
The findings have convinced the United States, Britain, France, and Germany to submit a draft resolution on Iran non-compliance for adoption by the agency’s board at its upcoming meeting during the week of June 9, diplomats said Saturday.
The last time the IAEA Board formally declared Iran in breach of its non-proliferation commitments in 2005, it led to Iran’s referral to the UN Security Council and triggered a round of international sanctions.
Iran's warning
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday spoke by phone with the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, warning against political pressure on the nuclear watchdog ahead of its board meeting.
“Iran will respond appropriately to any improper moves by European parties,” Araghchi said.
“The responsibility for any fallout will lie with those who use the Agency and its mechanisms as tools to advance their political agenda against Iran.”
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization and foreign ministry dismissed the IAEA’s new report, accusing the agency of relying on “forged Israeli documents.”
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also condemned the report as a Western effort to reopen previously settled issues, saying it was “based on a series of fabricated data provided by the Zionist regime.”
US proposal
Iran and the United States are now engaged in diplomatic talks aimed at clinching a deal that would curb Iran's nuclear program and provide some sanction relief for Tehran.
Washington has floated proposals aimed at breaking the deadlock in nuclear talks with Iran. Axios reported over the weekend that the US is considering recognizing Iran’s right to uranium enrichment in exchange for a suspension of enrichment or the creation of a regional fuel consortium.
The idea was shared with Iran in a proposal from US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, relayed via Oman’s foreign minister during a brief visit to Tehran on Saturday.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran would respond in line with its “national interests and rights,” but officials made clear that enrichment will remain central to Iran’s nuclear posture—regardless of pressure or inducement.
Enrichment a red line for Tehran
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said, “Enrichment is a national value and a symbol of independence ... No negotiation over the principle of enrichment is meaningful."
Another lawmaker, Vahid Ahmadi, raised the possibility of a temporary nuclear deal with the United States while indirect talks continue if there is a softening on American demands to totally halt uranium enrichment.
“If the Americans show some retreat in their stance, there is a possibility of reaching a temporary understanding,” he said in remarks published by ISNA. However, he insisted that “there is no way we will accept shutting down enrichment.”
Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching uranium to 60% U-235, a level that causes "serious concern," according to Grossi.
The IAEA has consistently maintained that there is no credible civilian use for uranium enriched to this level, which is a short technical step from weapons-grade 90% fissile material.
Persistent electricity outages are wreaking havoc on daily life across Iran, according to dozens of citizen reports collected by Iran International as part of a campaign documenting the human cost of the country’s deepening energy crisis.
Residents from Tehran, Pardis, Gorgan, Shiraz, Ahvaz, and other cities have described widespread blackouts, water cuts and economic losses as the country struggles with an electricity shortfall now estimated at nearly 20,000 megawatts.
Iran’s nominal power generation capacity stands at around 94,000 megawatts (MW), but only 62,000 MW is actually operational. The gap is due to the decommissioning of aging thermal plants and reduced output from hydroelectric facilities amid ongoing drought conditions.
In video and text messages submitted to the campaign, citizens recounted the fallout from unannounced power cuts. "There’s no electricity, so the water pumps stop working. Life becomes impossible. You can't even flush the toilet," said one resident who filmed a sudden blackout in his building.
In the town of Pardis near Tehran, where many buildings rely on wall-mounted heating systems and electric water pumps, residents described being trapped in high-rise apartments without water or elevator access. “The heating system stops, the water doesn't come up to the 14th floor, and the elevator doesn't work. Elderly residents are stuck. It’s torture,” one woman said.
Power outages, which traditionally peak during summer, began unusually early this year in mid-May after Iran's national electricity company, Tavanir, warned of rising temperatures and lower hydropower capacity due to drought.
“We’re returning to the Middle Ages,” said a resident from Gorgan, who reported a 48-hour gas outage alongside electricity cuts.
Small businesses in danger
The outages have paralyzed small businesses, with several owners saying they cannot meet customer demands or preserve equipment.
A carpenter from Yazd said his workshop bought two generators, both of which caught fire. “The generators were substandard, and when they burned, they destroyed a large part of our equipment,” he said. “Each generator cost hundreds of millions of tomans. Now we have nothing.”
Another business owner, a carpenter, lamented the daily disruption. “Because of the repeated power cuts, I can’t complete orders on time. Customers get angry. It’s a constant battle of nerves,” he said.
Damage to home appliance
Residents also reported widespread appliance damage due to power surges. “Our washing machine board burned out last year and we still haven’t been able to replace it,” one person wrote.
Another said a refrigerator was destroyed: “It cost us 12 million tomans (about $150) to fix. Who’s going to pay for that?” The average monthly income in Iran is about $150.
Power cuts are pushing some households and businesses to divert limited funds toward emergency power solutions instead of long-term development.
“People are spending their capital on diesel for generators. That’s their only ask now—just give us fuel,” one analyst told Iran International.
But many families lack access to backup power altogether. One resident wrote: “We live in an apartment, and when the power goes, there’s no water. You go to the electricity office, and it’s shut. Go to the bank, and you have to wait two hours until power is restored.”
Beyond the physical toll, citizens described a growing sense of despair and hopelessness. “Life has lost all meaning,” one wrote. “This is Iran, the looted land. We are people still waiting for a savior instead of changing our fate.”
Iran, which possesses some of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves, has long faced criticism for underinvesting in its power grid and renewable energy infrastructure.
Officials have attributed part of the electricity shortfall to illegal cryptocurrency mining, which Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said now consumes over 1,000 megawatts—roughly 5% of the national deficit.
Still, many believe mismanagement is the root of the crisis. “I wish electricity was the only problem,” one message read. “The whole system is rotten from the root. The government and the country are both decayed and broken.”
The campaign, titled Crisis Line, continues to collect stories from across the country, painting a picture of an energy grid in freefall—and a population increasingly exhausted.
“Nothing works. No electricity. No water. No internet. No peace,” said one resident. “This is already hell.”