Iran reportedly loading tanker at Jask as crude builds in floating storage

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.

Iran has not reached a final understanding with the United States despite continued exchanges of messages and will wait to see whether Washington actually ends what Tehran calls an illegal naval blockade, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state TV.

Baghaei said Iran “said goodbye to the language of ‘must’ 47 years ago” and that Western governments cannot dictate terms to the Islamic Republic.

“We make our own decisions based on the interests and rights of the Iranian people,” he said.

He also said what Washington has described as a naval blockade was illegal from the beginning, calling it both a violation of the ceasefire and a disruption of international freedom of navigation.

Baghaei said Tehran would wait to see whether the United States follows through in practice on its stated position or whether it is merely a “propaganda claim.”

“If they do it, it means stopping an unlawful act they started a few weeks ago and should never have committed in the first place,” he said.

On a possible understanding with Washington, Baghaei said messages were still being exchanged but no final agreement had been reached.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Pakistan’s “sincere diplomatic and mediation efforts” for peace and stability in the region and beyond during a meeting with Pakistan’s foreign minister in Washington, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said.

"The Secretary thanked the Minister for the constructive role Pakistan continues to play in realizing President Trump’s vision for peace in the Middle East and its mediation efforts with Iran," the US State Department said.

"The Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister agreed upon the importance of working together to further strengthen a meaningful partnership that fosters security and prosperity for both Americans and Pakistanis."