Qatar, Saudi Arabia discuss efforts to ease US-Iran tensions

Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf suggested Tehran still holds significant leverage in its standoff with the United States, saying the country retains key “energy and shipping cards” in a cryptic social media post.

Ghalibaf wrote on X that Iran’s “supply cards” match Washington’s “demand cards,” listing the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb and pipelines as potential sources of pressure, against what he described as US strategic reserve releases, demand destruction and further price adjustments.

He added that summer vacation should be counted among America’s vulnerabilities “unless they want to cancel it,” in an apparent reference to the political and economic costs of rising fuel prices.

Oman’s foreign minister said freedom of navigation must be ensured through sustained diplomacy after talks with his Iranian counterpart on the Strait of Hormuz.

“Much diplomacy is required and practical solutions to ensure lasting freedom of navigation,” Badr al-Busaidi wrote on X on Sunday.

Busaidi said both sides, as littoral states, share responsibility toward the international community and highlighted the need to secure the release of detained seafarers.

A vice president warned that Iran would retaliate against countries backing any damage on its infrastructure following remarks by the US president about pressure on its oil sector.

“If any part of our infrastructure, including oil wells, is damaged as a result of a blockade, we guarantee that four times that damage will be inflicted on the same infrastructure in countries that support the aggressor,” Esmail Saghab Esfahani, vice president and head of Iran’s Strategic Energy Policy and Management Organization, wrote on X on Sunday.

“Our math is different; one oil well equals four oil wells,” Saghab added.

Donald Trump said on Fox News on Sunday that if Iran remains unable to transfer oil to storage or tankers under continued pressure, its pipelines could reach a critical point within about three days.

An Iranian lawmaker said Pakistan does not have the credibility to mediate negotiations and aligns its positions with the interests of the US president.

“Pakistan does not have the necessary credibility for mediation,” Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the parliament’s National Security Commission, wrote on X, adding that Islamabad takes into account the interests of the US president in its positions.

Rezaei added that Pakistan is unwilling to say that Washington has retreated from its previous proposal.

Internet disruptions are causing daily losses of up to 50 trillion rials — equivalent to roughly $31 million, Jahangir Aghazadeh, head of the Internet and Data Transfer Commission at Tehran’s ICT Guild Organization said Sunday.

Aghazadeh added that about one-fifth of the workforce in digital companies faces potential layoffs.

The internet blackout in Iran has now reached 58 days and, according to NetBlocks, is unprecedented both in Iran and globally.

NetBlocks said on Sunday morning the disruption had exceeded 1,368 hours in its ninth week, adding that the restrictions continue to hinder independent reporting and documentation across the country.