Secretary Rubio dissolves Syria special envoy role

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, said on Friday that negotiations should be conducted quietly, warning that “chaotic assessments and public comments” could undermine diplomatic efforts.

"Negotiations must be conducted quietly. Chaotic assessments and public comments, which can change several times a day, create an unhealthy backdrop for diplomatic efforts," he posted on X.

A satellite image shared by Bloomberg energy analyst on Friday shows a tanker being loaded at Iran’s Jask oil terminal, according to open-source analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-2 data, as Iran continues to use alternative export infrastructure outside the Strait of Hormuz.

The image indicates activity at the Gulf of Oman terminal, which Iran has developed as a secondary export outlet to reduce reliance on its main loading hub at Kharg Island.

One of the final obstacles to a tentative US-Iran peace deal is the phased unfreezing of roughly $6 billion in Iranian funds held in Qatar, according to The New York Post.

The Qatar-held funds, originally released during a 2023 prisoner swap under former President Joe Biden, would not be transferred directly to Iran. Instead, they would be used for humanitarian purchases such as food and medical supplies for delivery to the country.

An administration official said disbursement would be conditional on Iranian compliance with benchmarks, including reopening and de-mining the Strait of Hormuz, the report said.

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with the Department of Commerce and the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, on Friday designated an Iran-based procurement network under the “Economic Fury” campaign for allegedly impersonating US small businesses to fraudulently obtain restricted goods for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

According to the Treasury, Iranian national Ali Majd Sepehr, through his company Sorena Hushmand Samaneh Company (Sorena), created false US business identities to defraud dozens of American IT firms, resellers, and vendors out of millions of dollars. The network is accused of procuring network security equipment, encryption hardware and software, spectrum analyzers, and non-linear junction detectors for MODAFL-controlled entities, including Sairan Information Exchange Space Security Industries Company (SAAFTA).

Sepehr worked with Iranian national Mohammadali Mansour Darehshiri, who used Dubai-based firms Green Light Computer Co LLC and Al Kawther Neon LLC as fronts to receive and re-export US-origin goods via the United Arab Emirates to Iran, Treasury statement said.

Italy-based Saied Zahedi allegedly used a US financial account to register deceptive domains and facilitate payments to freight forwarders involved in the scheme.

The Treasury also designated Sorena chair Roudabeh Sarmadi, along with several company officials and sales managers, including Manoochehr Zandian, Hoda Baradaran Bagheri, Farzaneh Rezaei, and Seyyed Payam Akhtarian.

The US government also said the Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $15 million for information disrupting Iran’s IRGC financial networks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views the emerging US-Iran agreement as a political and strategic disaster, while figures close to him blame President Donald Trump for blocking Israeli-backed plans to help topple Tehran’s leadership, Al-Monitor reported citing a senior political source.

The report said Netanyahu’s circle believes the Iranian government could have been toppled early in the war if Washington had backed Israeli plans, including a proposal involving Kurdish forces entering Iran under US and Israeli air cover.

A senior Israeli intelligence source said the Kurdish plan was detailed and had required major investment, but Washington “hit the brakes” at the last moment. The source said Trump also blocked other Israeli operational initiatives, warning that the consequences could be “disastrous and long-term.”

One Netanyahu associate said the prime minister’s “hands are tied” and that he can do little but “salute Trump.”

Netanyahu has reached the point where he longs for the days of President Joe Biden and even President Barack Obama, the political insider was quoted as saying.

The report also said the possible US-Iran agreement has fueled speculation that Netanyahu may consider stepping down before elections and seek a plea bargain in his corruption trial if the deal proves as damaging as Israel fears.