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The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency met Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on Monday, state media reported, a day before a second round of talks between Iran and the United States.
The first round of Iran-US negotiations was held earlier this month in Muscat, mediated by Oman. Tuesday’s talks are also set to take place at Oman’s embassy in Switzerland.
Iranian media described the meeting with the IAEA chief as part of preparations for the next phase of negotiations. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said talks were moving forward within frameworks approved by senior state bodies and stressed that Iran was negotiating “in a climate of complete mistrust.”
Israeli prosecutors have charged a man with gathering intelligence on former defense minister Yoav Gallant on behalf of an Iranian agent.
According to the indictment, Fares Abu al-Hija was arrested in late January after photographing streets near Gallant’s home in Amikam at the direction of his handler. Police and the Shin Bet security service said he is from the Galilee village of Kaukab Abu al-Hija.
Prosecutors said he first made contact with the alleged Iranian agent on Telegram while searching for work and was paid in cryptocurrency for carrying out intelligence-gathering missions. Before surveilling Gallant’s residence, he was allegedly instructed to film a cafe in Tel Aviv, earning $1,000 in digital currency.
He has been indicted on charges of contact with a foreign agent, and prosecutors are seeking his detention until the end of proceedings.
Iran’s Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said authorities should not delay issuing indictments against what he described as the “main protesters” involved in the unrest, adding that the public expected trials and punishment.
“We must not delay in issuing indictments related to the main elements of the disturbances,” Ejei said, according to state media. He added that investigations may take longer in some cases because of the “multi-layered” nature of the alleged actions.
Rights groups say tens of thousands of protesters have been arrested during the uprising, with detentions continuing.
Iran’s clerical leadership only understands strength, US Senator John Hoeven said, arguing that a US show of force was meant to signal to Iran’s leaders “that this is serious and that change has to happen.”
“There's only one thing that the Ayatollahs in Iran understand, and that's strength. And in the Middle East, there's an old saying, bet on the strong horse. And President Trump and the United States are the strong horse,” the North Dakota Republican told Fox News.
Hoeven described Iran’s ruling system as “the largest exporter of terrorism in the world” that oppresses Iranians and supports groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.
“This is the kind of oppressive regime that the people of Iran are suffering under right now,” he said, referring to marches on Saturday, when hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets against Iran’s government across the world.
Hoeven also talked about the role exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi plays and added that “Ultimately, it's got to be about what the Iranian people want for their governance.”
Iran’s oil exports declined sharply at the start of 2026, new tanker-tracking data show, raising fresh questions about the durability of Tehran’s most important economic lifeline under renewed US sanctions pressure.
Crude oil loadings from Iran’s Persian Gulf terminals fell to below 1.39 million barrels per day in January, a 26 percent drop from a year earlier, according to data from commodity intelligence firm Kpler reviewed by Iran International.
The decline extends a steady downward trend since October, suggesting sustained pressure rather than a temporary disruption.
The slowdown is most visible in China, Iran’s primary—and effectively only—major oil buyer under sanctions. Daily discharges of Iranian crude at Chinese ports fell to 1.13 million barrels per day last month, down from an average of around 1.4 million barrels per day in 2025.
Unsold Iranian crude is also accumulating at sea. The volume of oil stored on tankers has nearly tripled over the past year to more than 170 million barrels, a sign that shipments are becoming harder to sell or deliver.
Keeping that oil afloat is costly. Chartering a Very Large Crude Carrier typically costs more than $100,000 per day, and tankers carrying sanctioned Iranian oil command even higher rates due to legal and insurance risks. Analysts estimate that roughly one-fifth of Iran’s oil revenue is effectively consumed by these transport and storage costs.
Much of the oil remains stranded in Asian waters. About one-third of Iranian tankers are anchored offshore, while others move continuously or conduct ship-to-ship transfers to evade sanctions enforcement—tactics that have become standard within Iran’s so-called shadow fleet.
Sanctions are increasingly targeting those networks. According to Kpler, 86 percent of the tankers transporting Iranian oil over the past year have themselves been sanctioned by the United States, highlighting the expanding scope of enforcement.
The pressure has forced Iran to offer steep discounts to maintain sales. Iranian crude is currently priced about $11 to $12 per barrel below comparable benchmarks, up from a discount of roughly $3 per barrel early last year, significantly reducing Tehran’s net income.
The decline extends beyond crude oil. Exports of petroleum products such as fuel oil fell to about 350,000 barrels per day in January, down from 410,000 barrels per day a year earlier, with China and the United Arab Emirates among the main buyers.
Additional pressure may be coming. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order imposing a 25 percent tariff on trade partners of Iran, a measure that could further deter companies and countries from handling Iranian oil.
The mounting economic strain provides important context for renewed indirect talks between Washington and Tehran.
For Iran’s leadership, easing sanctions remains the most direct path to stabilizing oil revenues and relieving fiscal pressure. But deep differences over Iran’s nuclear program, missile development, and regional activities make an agreement unlikely unless one side decides to compromise on core demands.
Taken together, the data suggest that Iran’s ability to sustain oil exports under sanctions—long a cornerstone of its economic resilience—is becoming more constrained.
