The United States on Wednesday issued new Iran-related sanctions on several individuals and entities from Iran and China it accuses of advancing Tehran's military weaponry, the Treasury Department said.
“In support of the United Nations Security Council snapback of Iran sanctions, Treasury is targeting Iranian weapons procurement networks that help maintain its ballistic missile and military aircraft programs,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“The Iranian regime’s backing of terrorist proxies and its pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens the security of the Middle East, the United States, and our allies around the world,” Bessent added.
Bessent said that under President Donald Trump’s leadership, Washington “will deny the regime weapons it would use to further its malign objectives.”
The US has deployed a large number of KC-135 Stratotankers to the Middle East in one of the biggest aerial refueling operations in recent months, Newsweek reported on Wednesday.
The report cited flight tracking data showing the aircraft departing from Atlantic bases and converging on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the headquarters of US Central Command.
Newsweek said the deployment signals a sharp increase in US military readiness amid rising tensions with Iran, which has threatened retaliation against any attack.
The report added that the sudden deployment comes at a volatile moment in the region, mirroring large-scale movements that preceded the 12-day conflict involving Israel and US strikes on Iranian infrastructure and nuclear sites in June.
According to the report, stalled nuclear negotiations with Tehran and ongoing sanctions have further heightened the risk of confrontation.
The concentration of aerial refueling assets in Qatar ensures that US forces can respond quickly across the region, underscoring the strategic significance of the deployment, the report added.
Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad on Wednesday said the reimposition of UN sanctions does not pose a concern for Tehran.
Tehran is facing an escalating water crisis as dammed reservoirs drop to critical lows, a senior sanitation official said, with rainfall and dam inflows reduced by nearly half leaving most of the capital’s reservoirs nearly depleted.
“Rainfall has dropped 40% and dam inflows 42%, leaving most of the capital’s five dams near dead storage. Only Taleghan Dam remains relatively stable,” Abbasali Mosarzadeh, CEO of Tehran’s Sewage Company cited on Tuesday as saying by official media.
“Tehran’s reserves in October fell to 258 million cubic meters, 227 million less than last year," he added. These figures were cited by Iran’s Water Resources Management Company.
The crisis extends far beyond the capital. Nationally, water reserves have fallen to alarming lows, with Iranian energy officials acknowledging that 19 of the country’s major dams are operating at below 20 percent capacity.
Independent reporting by Iran International based on satellite data showed Tehran’s Amir Kabir reservoir at roughly 6 percent of usable volume in July, with the Lar and Latyan reservoirs also at historic lows.
Groundwater depletion is worsening the picture. Research cited by Iranian geoscience institutes shows parts of Tehran sinking by more than 10 centimeters a year due to subsidence.
Agriculture, which consumes about 80 percent of the country’s water according to government and international environmental assessments, remains highly inefficient, further straining supplies.
Experts warn that without sweeping reforms in consumption and water management, Iran risks deeper shortages, environmental collapse, and growing public unrest.
Iran’s most senior Sunni cleric, MowlaviAbdolhamidEsmaeelzahi, warned on Wednesday that the reimposition of international sanctions had plunged the country into “serious and unbearable crises."
In a post on X, the influential Friday prayer leader of Zahedan said Iran’s negotiators had “returned without any achievement” from recent talks with Western powers.
“The people demanded a change and reform of the fruitless policies of the past, but there is no sign of determination or will among the officials to realize these demands. Today, the Iranian people see no window of hope,” Abdolhamid wrote.
