US opens new sanctions front, Iran vows to retaliate

This liveblog is no longer being updated; for our new liveblog, visit here.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy said Friday that the Strait of Hormuz remained closed to any ships attempting to transit without coordination with the Islamic Republic, according to a statement carried by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.

The force said US claims that the strait was open were “an obvious lie” aimed at controlling oil prices and covering up what it described as American failures, according to the statement.

“Islamic fighters’ control over this strategic waterway is completely decisive,” the statement said, adding that the strait remained closed “with full force” to all ships seeking passage without Iran’s approval.

The IRGC Navy said the restrictions would remain in place until what it called US military “aggression” against Iran ended and agreed commitments were implemented.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that the government plans to raise the price of gasoline purchased above existing subsidized quotas to 10,000 tomans per liter, while saying the timing has yet to be finalized.

“We want to raise the third-tier quota, which is outside the existing quotas, for example from 5,000 tomans to 10,000 tomans,” Pezeshkian said in an interview with state television.

“The third-tier rate should be 10,000 tomans and not more than that,” he added.

Pezeshkian said the government would coordinate the timing and implementation with parliament and the judiciary before announcing the measure.

He also said Iran was facing gasoline supply constraints because import routes were blocked during the war.

“We are in a war and first we must accept that we are in wartime conditions,” he said. “The route is now blocked and goods are not coming in. One of those goods is gasoline.”

Iranian parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday backed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s call to preserve social cohesion.

“Any action that harms social cohesion is, for all of us, both nationally and religiously forbidden,” Ghalibaf wrote in a post on X.

“We pledge to the people and to the leader that, until our last breath, we will devote ourselves to serving the people and the progress of Iran,” he added.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a Friday interview with state television that Iran’s exports and imports had fallen by between 25% and 35%, with imports declining more sharply than exports.

“Then some people say sanctions have no effect at all,” Pezeshkian said. “I really don’t know what to say to these people.”

“Reason is a good thing,” he added, saying claims that sanctions had no impact were inconsistent with the trade figures.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday in an interview with state television that Oman had accepted a framework for reopening a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, while insisting that the United States must fulfill commitments under the Islamabad MoU.

Pezeshkian said Omani representatives had returned to talks and accepted that the route could reopen “based on the map that was agreed” with Iran.

“If this route is opened according to those frameworks, the United States must also fulfill its commitments,” Pezeshkian said, adding that those included lifting the naval blockade and sanctions, releasing Iranian funds, allowing oil-related measures and investment to proceed, and pressing Israel to halt actions in Lebanon.

He said Iran had exported nearly 90 million barrels of oil over a short period after restrictions were eased, but was no longer able to do so under current conditions.

Pezeshkian said the Islamabad MoU also envisaged about $300 billion in investment, with Iranian officials working on plans for the projects and holding discussions with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

He also said negotiations with the United States were not currently linked to reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“Our talks with the other side are based on the same memorandum we had,” Pezeshkian said, adding that the agreement had been signed by both Iran and the US president. “If they remain committed, we will remain committed.”

Pezeshkian argued that dialogue offered a path toward peace and security, saying: “I think we can bring peace and security to Iran, and that is possible through dialogue.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Tehran would not abandon its pursuit of retribution for the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.

“We will never let the blood of our martyred leader go unanswered,” Araghchi said at a meeting with participants in an international Islamic unity conference.

“This is a movement, and the movement for blood vengeance will continue, just as the movement for vengeance for Imam Hussein has continued for more than 1,400 years,” he added, according to Tasnim.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Friday banned actions that could damage social cohesion and urged officials to avoid rhetoric that could weaken public morale, in a new written message published on the Telegram channel “News of the Martyr Leader.”

“I firmly declare that committing anything that harms social cohesion is forbidden,” Khamenei said in the message issued for Government Week.

He also called on authorities to avoid “discouraging statements that weaken national and public motivation” and warned against what he described as false divisions, including “war or negotiations,” “consensus or extremism” and “compromise or warmongering.”

Khamenei urged officials to emphasize Iran’s “power and strength,” saying that highlighting the country’s weaknesses could help its enemies and unsettle supporters.

On the economy, Khamenei called for greater attention to inflation, unemployment, prices, investment and domestic production, while advocating a reduced role for the dollar in Iran’s economy.

Khamenei has not made a public appearance since the 40-day war began on February 28 and has remained out of public view since the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, and his subsequent elevation to the leadership.

The United States sanctioned the manager of the Dubai branch of Iran’s Bank Melli on Friday as part of its Operation Economic Outcast campaign, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

“Operation Economic Outcast continues in full force,” Pigott wrote in a post on X.

“We will not relent in pursuing those sustaining the Iranian regime through illicit financial practices,” he added.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization warned Thursday that Iran’s adversaries were focusing on “disrupting stability and reducing Iranians’ national resilience” by fueling social discontent and pushing it into the streets.

The organization said it was monitoring what it described as a Mossad project to create a “confidential and dedicated structure” for exerting pressure from inside Iran.

It said the network used contacts with “divergent groups,” sabotage operations and “local agents.”