US lawmaker urges continued pressure on Tehran

The House Select Committee on China said it “applauds” the US Treasury Department for what it described as action aimed at preventing China from purchasing Iranian oil.

"As a recent investigation detailed, China is acquiring oil from Iran using its shadow fleet of thousands of foreign-flagged tankers. This report’s policy recommendations called for Treasury to sanction ports and terminal operators receiving shadow fleet cargo, such as illegal crude," Committee posted on X on Friday.

Republican Senator Roger Wicker said on Friday negotiations with Iran should be halted, urging instead military action to dismantle Tehran’s nuclear program and degrade its conventional forces.

"The time is over for negotiations with Iran's regime. The radical successors of Khamenei can never be trusted to keep any promise or agreement," chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee posted on X.

"Our Commander-in-Chief should direct his skilled military leaders to finish destroying Iran’s conventional military capabilities and eliminating any last remnants of their nuclear program. This is the only way to ensure lasting stability in the region," Wicker added.

UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said on Friday Iran clearly emerged as the region’s “long-term threat” following its large-scale missile and drone attacks on Persian Gulf states during the latest Middle East war.

“It has now become very clear to the region, to the United Arab Emirates and other countries, that Iran is the long-term threat,” Gargash said, speaking via video conference at the World Policy Conference in Chantilly, France.

Gargash said Iran fired around 2,800 missiles and drones at the UAE, with roughly 89% targeting civilians and critical energy infrastructure, and warned that rebuilding trust with Tehran after such attacks would take “ages and ages.”

An Iranian national charged with running a transnational human smuggling operation that brought migrants, mostly Iranians, into the United States via Latin America, US authorities said on Friday.

The US Department of Justice said an indictment unsealed in Texas accuses Jafar Tafakori, 57, of coordinating the illegal entry of large numbers of people into the United States between December 2022 and May 2024.

Tafakori was arrested on Thursday in Colombia at the request of the United States and is expected to face prosecution after extradition.

Prosecutors said he worked with others to arrange routes through South and Central America, providing migrants with shelter, transportation and at times airline tickets before directing them to cross the US-Mexico border illegally.

Iran’s economy is heading into a period of sharp deterioration following the March war, with mounting pressure from inflation, currency depreciation and damage to key industries raising the risk of a broader crisis.

Over the next two to four months, Iran’s economic conditions are expected to continue deteriorating sharply, with high inflation, rising unemployment, falling real incomes, and significant stress across key industries, the external sector, and the financial system, amounting to severe stagflation.

The economy entered the recent war from a weak starting point, and the combined effects of war-related damage, financial strain, and policy responses are likely to intensify these pressures.

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