Iran’s top diplomat wades into online row over murky Mideast influence ops

“Iran’s stablecoin limits will not stop dollar demand — they will only drive it deeper underground,” a Tehran-based economist who did not want to reveal his identity told Iran International.

The Central Bank’s High Council late last month approved a $5,000 annual purchase limit per person and a $10,000 ceiling on total stablecoin holdings.

The rule, announced as the rial plunged to a record low of 1,170,000 per US dollar earlier this month, drew sharp criticism from Iranians using Tether and other digital currencies to protect their assets from geopolitical headwinds.

The slump was triggered by the UN sanctions which resumed late last month after European countries suspicious about Iran's nuclear activities activated the so-called snapback mechanism.

The rial stood slightly below 1,140,000 at the time this report was published.

Even a prominent government official criticized the move.

“A disaster is when policymakers with good intentions, but based on wrong reasons and ignoring evidence, make a decision. The result will be weakening governance, erosion of public trust, a threat to people’s assets and discrediting institutions,” Deputy Minister of Communications Ehsan Chitsaz wrote on X.

Crypto market endangered

Traders contacted by Iran International described the new ceilings as both impractical and punitive. “The government keeps tightening controls because it has no real answer for the collapsing rial,” said Farzad, a 29-year-old trader in Tehran.

“They call it regulation, but it’s just another way to shift the burden onto ordinary people. When markets tumble, traders like us will be trapped — unable to cash out or protect our savings.”

“They’ve also started deciding how much people can spend based on their job status — fifty billion rials if you’re unemployed, 200 billion if you earn a salary,” Parham, a 25-year-old in Tehran, said.

“These limits kill initiative and push everyone toward informal channels.”

Parham referred to another Central Bank directive last week that set tiered limits on rial transactions — 200 billion rials for wage earners, 50 billion for the unemployed, and five billion for inactive entities.

Manipulation risk

The new regulation and a concurrent media campaign were meant to manipulate prices, the economist said.

“The $5,000 Tether cap is not about stability; it’s a cover for manipulation,” he said. “They’re draining liquidity under the guise of regulation and trying to buy time while the rial keeps falling. Fear about frozen assets fuels panic, making people sell at a loss.”

Tasnim, a media outlet linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, reported that “thousands of addresses on the Tether network have so far been frozen and their assets effectively made inaccessible,” calling for tighter oversight of exchanges such as Nobitex.

Black-market growth likely

Other commentators say the measure will only feed a shadow economy. Saeed Reza Moradian of OTC Crypto Exchange warned that such limits “will lead to the spread of rented accounts.”

“A $5,000 annual Tether limit destroys the digital economy. People’s needs won’t disappear — they will just move to opaque and foreign platforms,” wrote a user called Sepideh on X.

Iran International has observed advertisements offering cash for renting national ID numbers, allowing others to exploit the $5,000 per person stablecoin quotas.

Central Bank officials insist the measure is needed to prevent capital flight. Asghar Abolhasani, Secretary of the bank's High Council said users have one month to comply. But crypto traders told Iran International the rule is unenforceable.

“You can’t police digital assets with outdated banking tools,” said Farrokh, a Tehran-based trader. “Once trust is gone, people won’t wait — they’ll take their money abroad in whatever form they can.”

Failing controls

The comments by people depict a widening gap between official policy and public behavior. Small traders and households that once relied on Tether as a hedge against inflation now face the choice of breaking the rules or watching their savings erode.

For many Iranians confronting another devaluation and the return of UN sanctions, the Central Bank’s rule represents yet another blow to financial autonomy.

Those who spoke to Iran International said the cap will narrow legal channels, amplify underground trade and further alienate citizens from a banking system which is already widely distrusted.

Netanyahu said in an interview with right-wing podcaster Ben Shapiro on Monday that Iran is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles with a range of about 8,000 kilometers, warning that Tehran’s expanding weapons program could threaten major American cities.

The Iranian missiles could “put New York City, Boston, Washington or Miami under their atomic guns," the Israeli prime minister said.

“Israel ... finally managed to deceive the US into attacking the Iranian People," Araghchi said in response on X, referring to Israeli and US attacks on Iran in June. "With the failure of that action, Israel is now trying to make an imaginary threat out of our defense capabilities.”

"By now, Americans have had enough of fighting Israel's Forever Wars," he added.

Referring to ultimately incorrect US intelligence assessments about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD), Araghchi said the consequences were disastrous.

“There was never any ‘intelligence’ that Iraq was hiding WMDs. There was only unfathomable destruction, thousands of dead American soldiers, and seven trillion American taxpayer dollars down the drain,” Araghchi wrote on X.

Araghchi said that after several rounds of indirect talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, a deal with Iran was within reach in late May, as long as Tehran's demand that it be allowed to enrich uranium was heeded.

The Trump administration had set a 60-day deadline for reaching a new agreement with Iran. On day 61, June 13, Israel launched a surprise military campaign targeting Iran’s senior military and nuclear officials and facilities. The attacks also killed hundreds of civilians.

The United States joined the campaign on June 22 with strikes on nuclear sites in Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow.

US President Donald Trump said Iran's nuclear program had been "obliterated", a view Araghchi contested.

“Buildings and machines can be destroyed, but our determination will never be shaken. Doubling down on that miscalculation does not resolve anything,” he said.

Araghchi urged Washington to return to diplomacy, saying, “Iran is a great country and Iranians are a great nation — the heirs of a great and ancient civilization ... There is NO solution but a negotiated outcome.”

Progress on resolving the lingering impasse has stalled after the June combat.

Iranian officials have said US peace demands, including that Tehran end enrichment and curb its missile program, are non-starters.

Majid Mousavi, who assumed the position after his predecessor Amirali Hajizadeh was assassinated during the June war, produced a report on the military organization’s role in the conflict, asserting its full recovery and readiness.

“Praise be to God, with the repair of the inflicted damages, we have full readiness to decisively and swiftly counter any enemy threat or adventure,” Mousavi said, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.

During the June conflict, Israel's air force took control of Iranian airspace, delivering a significant blow to the country's air defenses, while Iran's armed forces responded with successive waves of missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory.

Israeli military officials say that 120 air defense systems were destroyed or disabled since the first wave of attacks—around a third of Iran’s pre-war total. Long-range systems, including Russian-supplied S-300s and Iran’s Bavar-373 batteries, were among those targeted.

'US preparing to seize Iran ships'

Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen reported on Tuesday that the United States is preparing to seize Iranian ships on the high seas under the UN sanctions renewed late last month.

The report cited unspecified sources suggesting that any US action against Iranian vessels would trigger a swift and decisive response from Iran’s naval forces, which are ready “to neutralize threats to the maritime security of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.”

According to the report, Iran’s naval fleet and missile bases along its southern coastline are on high alert and ready to respond immediately to any hostile action targeting commercial or civilian Iranian vessels.

Iran’s Oil Minister said on Tuesday that despite restrictions and sanctions, new records have been set in crude oil exports and production.

“Current crude oil production has increased by more than 120,000 barrels per day,” Mohsen Paknejad told state media.

“After implementing the ‘Ship Act’ law last year, we faced heavy restrictions, but with necessary measures these were managed and sanctions circumvented,” Paknejad said.

The Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act is a US law targeting foreign ports, refineries, and entities involved in trading or processing Iranian petroleum products.

Paknejad added that renewed UN sanctions would not impose new restrictions beyond what Iran had previously weathered.

Afrashteh had previously left Iran for Turkey, where he was reportedly approached by Israeli agents, but his father convinced him to return voluntarily after contacting security officials, Mahmoudian said.

Upon his return, Afrashteh was sentenced to death on charges of collaborating with foreign intelligence services.

His case had never been reported before, as he had been promised clemency if he refrained from publicizing it, Iran International has learned.

However, human rights activists revealed his identity and case on Tuesday as he was being transferred for execution.

Mahmoudian said the Evin Prison confrontation took place in Ward 7, Hall 12, where prisoners barricaded the doors to stop Afrashteh’s transfer. He described the situation as “highly tense.”

Sources told Iran International that the prisoners successfully prevented his execution on Tuesday. However, it remains unclear whether the authorities plan to carry out the hanging at a later date.

The report comes amid growing concern among activists over the number of political prisoners in Iran facing the death penalty, with around 70 reportedly at risk of execution.

According to the source, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' main Chinese partner is Haokun Energy Group, a Beijing-based company that owes Iran nearly $1 billion for oil transactions with IRGC-linked firms over the past several years.

An oil firm closely linked to Iran's conventional armed forces has been pursuing air defense kit from a Chinese customer, the source added.

"The oil headquarters in the Armed Forces General Staff and the IRGC are using their commercial connections in China to contact Chinese companies for procurement of Chinese strategic weapons systems, mainly missiles, UAVs and air defense systems," the source told Iran International.

The Iranian military organizations, the source added, want the Chinese companies act as intermediaries and facilitators for Chinese state-owned defense manufacturers, to settle debts or structure oil-for-arms deals.

Haokun Energy, which is operated by former Chinese military officials, was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in May 2022 for allegedly purchasing millions of barrels of oil from IRGC foreign operations division, the Quds Force.

“A high-ranking IRGC delegation in September visited China to negotiate with Haokun executives over the settlement of the outstanding debt,” the source said.

Although official reports made no mention of the IRGC visit, a separate Iranian government delegation led by President Masoud Pezeshkian traveled to China around the same time. Pezeshkian announced that during the trip, “good agreements” were reached with Chinese officials.

The source confirmed that one of these agreements proposed involved Haokan settling part of its oil debt by transferring weapons directly to the IRGC.

It remains unclear whether the deal has been finalized, but if confirmed, it would mark the first reported instance of China providing military equipment to Iran as payment for oil.

Haokan Energy did not respond to an Iran International request for comment.

Iran’s defense systems need

Iran’s efforts to purchase weapons from China come as its air defense infrastructure was largely destroyed during a 12-day conflict with Israel in June, leaving the restoration of its replenishment a top priority for Tehran.

Field and military assessments indicate widespread destruction of Iran’s defense installations in that war, including the loss of more than 70 key air defense systems and radar units, significantly reducing the country’s operational capability.

The reimposition of UN sanctions last month triggered by European powers skeptical of Tehran's nuclear program has likely rendered Iran's ability to rebuild its arsenal more difficult.

Under the sanctions, the export or import of weapons to or from Iran — including small arms, heavy weapons, ammunition and missile systems — is prohibited. Iran is barred from acquiring or selling any military equipment, whether through official or unofficial means.

All activities related to ballistic missiles, including testing, production, research, development or supply of components and related technologies, are also banned by the new measures.

China opposed the reactivation of the snapback mechanism and has so far not announced any intention to comply with the sanctions, which are codified in a UN Security Council resolution and apply to all member states.

Beijing is secretly funneling billions of dollars to Iran through a covert payment system that bypasses international sanctions by swapping oil for infrastructure projects, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, saying the hidden conduit enabled Tehran to receive up to $8.4 billion last year.

Citing Western officials, the report said the mechanism -- linking state-owned firms, a government insurer, and an unregistered financial intermediary -- has provided a critical lifeline to Iran’s sanctions-hit economy, with state insurer Sinosure and a little-known financial vehicle called “Chuxin” channeling the money to Chinese contractors working in Iran.

A second channel for Chinese arms procurement

In addition to the IRGC’s direct contacts with Haokan, Majid Azami, CEO of Sepehr Energy, a company affiliated with the Armed Forces General Staff, has also played a key role in parallel negotiations for weapons purchases from China, the source said.

The US Treasury sanctioned Azami in November 2023 for his alleged role in facilitating international oil sales on behalf of Iran’s military.

The source said that during meetings with representatives of an energy and oil company based in Hong Kong, Azami proposed the purchase of advanced air defense systems for Iran.

Iran International is withholding the name of the firm pending its response to a request for comment.

Through these arrangements, oil brokers affiliated with Iran’s armed forces, like those tied to the IRGC, have leveraged their connections in China’s energy sector to pursue weapons deals.

It may not be the first time Chinese companies have provided materials or equipment for Iran’s military programs.

A Chinese company, Lion Commodities Holdings Limited, had signed a contract with an Iranian firm linked to the General Staff to supply thousands of tons of ammonium perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel, Wall Streel Journal reported in June.

China’s proposal

"The Chinese side explicitly stated its willingness to sell weapons systems to Iran, similar to its existing arms trade with Pakistan," the source said.

Earlier, the Hudson Institute had reported Iran’s growing interest in acquiring a wide range of Chinese military hardware, including fighter jets, air defense systems, and missiles.

Less than a month after the 12-day war, Newsweek also published a report on Iran’s efforts to procure Chinese weapons.

On July 6, Middle East Eye, citing an Arab diplomatic source, reported that China had transferred advanced surface-to-air missile systems to Iran in the weeks following the ceasefire between Tehran and Tel Aviv, in exchange for oil shipments.

Military control over oil

A significant portion of Iran’s oil exports are handled by Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars, a company affiliated with the General Staff of the Armed Forces, according to several US Treasury Department statements. Its multi-billion-dollar annual revenues are directed toward the IRGC, Quds Force, and the General Staff.

The Treasury said that in December 2024 alone, this company and its network exported nearly two million barrels of oil worth over $100 million to China.

A Reuters investigation found that by late 2024, the IRGC controlled nearly 50 percent of Iran’s oil exports primarily to China through a shadow fleet and front companies, up from about 20 percent in 2021.

Haokan’s failed investments in Iran

According to Iran International’s source, Haokan has in recent years attempted to settle part of its debt to the Iranian military through contracts with Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters and by transferring a passenger aircraft.

Haokan Energy on May had bartered two Airbus A330 aircraft, each worth under $30 million, for Iranian oil at a total value of $116 million, Iran's semi-official news agency ILNA reported.

It added that Haokan joined the project to expand Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport Phase II during Ebrahim Raisi’s presidency but abandoned it after the groundbreaking ceremony. Its other attempts to enter railway, wagon procurement and Tehran–Mashhad electrification projects also failed.

History of Iran-China military

During the 1980s and 1990s, Iran purchased anti-ship cruise missiles from China, which later served as the basis for domestically produced Noor, Nasr and Kosar missiles through reverse engineering.

According to the US Institute of Peace, the years 1991–1994 marked a peak in Iran’s arms imports from China. In 2010, Iran inaugurated the production line of the Chinese-origin Nasr-1 missile, but Beijing withdrew from the project following the imposition of UN sanctions.

Research reports indicate that since 2015, no record of direct Chinese arms sales to Iran has been documented. Military cooperation between the two countries appears to have been limited to dual-use components, chemicals and technologies rather than large-scale weapons transfers.