EU urges Iran to take nuclear steps and engage with IAEA

US statements about willingness for diplomacy are “nothing but deception and an obvious contradiction,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Thursday.

“It is impossible to bomb a country while holding diplomatic talks and then speak of diplomacy,” he added.

On Tuesday, Iran’s central bank governor Mohammadreza Farzin sought to reassure business leaders that the country’s foreign exchange and gold reserves remain secure.

On Wednesday, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said that reimposition of UN sanctions will not add "new burdensome restrictions" on the country’s oil sales.

Customs data show 2.7 million tons of Indonesian crude -- around 630,000 barrels per day -- arrived in August, far exceeding Indonesia’s average output of 580,000 bpd in 2024, most of which was consumed domestically. The flows followed a sharp jump in July.

China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, officially reported no imports from Tehran since mid-2022. In the meantime, it buys more oil from Malaysia than the country produces. In the past two months, shipments from Malaysia -- often used for ship-to-ship transfers and rebranded cargoes -- have dropped more than 30%.

Analysts say operators are now shifting tactics.

“This is just part of a continuing evolution of the operators’ tactics, hiding what they’re doing,” said Charlie Brown, a senior adviser at United Against Nuclear Iran. “They’re still doing ship-to-ship transfers in the same area off Malaysia; the basic trade pattern remains the same.”

Vessel-tracking data show tankers including the Aquaris, Yuhan, Pola and Pix signaled calls at Indonesia’s Kabil port near Singapore -- a hub not connected to crude exports but close to established transfer zones off Malaysia. These tankers later discharged cargoes in Chinese ports such as Qingdao, Rizhao and Dalian.

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  Sanctions snapback to boost China’s access to cut-price Iranian oil - Reuters

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  Sanctions and graft decimated Iran oil revenues, ex-Treasury official says

Bloomberg cited the Aquaris as receiving Iranian crude from the sanctioned Sorion tanker before unloading in Qingdao in June. The Yuhan and Pola followed similar patterns, according to data from Vortexa and Kpler.

Queries to Indonesia’s energy ministry, Pertamina, Kabil port, and China’s foreign ministry went unanswered, Bloomberg reported.

China’s reliance on Iranian oil has provided Tehran with a crucial economic lifeline as US sanctions continue to target the trade.

The looming return of UN sanctions on Iran is unlikely to curb its oil exports but could boost China’s refiners, who already take nearly 80% of Tehran’s 1.6 million barrels per day at steep discounts, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Dollar rate in Iran kept rising on Thursday, hitting a new record of 1,084,000 rials, figures showed.

The surge comes as the deadline for the snapback mechanism draws closer, fueling pressure on the local currency.

Mizan said Rashidi, who was arrested in 2022 and 2023 for alleged ties with the exiled opposition group Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK), had previously been released under what it called “Islamic clemency” but later resumed contact with the group. It accused her of receiving money to carry out sabotage missions, including arson.

Rights groups and opposition outlets had earlier reported that Rashidi, 43, was repeatedly denied urgent medical treatment despite a serious condition.

Iran International reported earlier in the month that her level of consciousness had dropped and doctors had little hope of saving her.

Family members had voiced concern after Rashidi suffered several seizures and was moved to Mofatteh Hospital in Varamin in recent days.

According to sources who talked to Iran International on condition of anonymity, security officials attempted to pressure the family to describe her hospitalization as the result of a suicide attempt.

Rashidi, born in 1983, was detained in April while writing slogans in Tehran’s Javadieh district and initially held in Evin prison before being transferred to Qarchak after an Israeli strike on the facility in July. She was reportedly beaten during her arrest.