US says 82 ships rerouted under Iran blockade as Tehran reports 35% trade drop

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that US government elements and actors aligned with Israel were trying to influence energy markets and prolong the war.

“Our intelligence shows major efforts to game energy markets,” Araghchi said in a post on X.

He said US government elements were using “gullible media” to influence prices “for personal gain” and keep President Donald Trump “mired in a losing war.”

Araghchi also said Israel-aligned actors were promoting further conflict through what he called overly optimistic assessments.

“US consumers feel the real bottom line,” he added.

Iran-aligned militias in Iraq were preparing to target Saudi Arabia “within hours,” Al Arabiya English reported on Saturday, citing intelligence sources.

The report did not identify the groups involved or provide details on the potential targets.

Iran-aligned militias in Iraq have previously launched attacks on Saudi Arabia. In July, Saudi air defenses intercepted drones targeting oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh, according to the Saudi Defense Ministry.

Saudi Arabia later carried out strikes against militia sites in Iraq that it said were linked to those attacks.

An agreement reached between Iran and the United States is a major victory for the Iranian people and contains terms more favorable to Tehran than any similar document in recent history, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said on Saturday.

“In contemporary history, I do not know of any document whose provisions have been this much in favor of the Iranian people,” Momeni said, according to ISNA.

He called the Iran-US agreement “a document of victory for the Iranian nation.”

Momeni said public unity, government efforts and the strength of Iran's armed forces had helped deliver what he described as a major victory in the war.

He also urged provincial and local officials to preserve national unity, saying anyone who damaged that cohesion would be doing a disservice to the public.

Momeni separately said Iran had faced severe energy imbalances when the current government took office, with fuel reserves at eight power plants at one point falling to zero and supplies having to be delivered daily.

Iran does not seek war but will respond forcefully to any aggressor, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not start wars and we do not welcome war, but we will stand with strength against any aggressor,” Pezeshkian said at a ceremony marking the opening of development projects.

“No power can force a nation that stands with all its strength and determination to surrender,” he said.

Pezeshkian said Iran would not bow to threats despite its diplomatic efforts and credited public support, government officials and the armed forces for strengthening the country's position.

He said national unity was key to overcoming the country's problems.

Iran has been able to stand up to the United States despite spending only about 1% as much on its military, a senior Revolutionary Guards adviser said on Saturday, according to state media.

Mohammad Reza Naghdi, a senior adviser to the Guards commander-in-chief, said Iran had built up its defense capabilities largely through domestic production.

“Despite the fact that Iran's military budget is about 1% of the US military budget, the Islamic Republic has been able to stand firm in confrontations by relying on domestic capabilities,” Naghdi said.

He said Iran, which once lacked the ability to make even basic weapons, now produced a large share of the equipment used by its armed forces and had made advances in satellites and other military technology.

Egypt's Banque Misr said on Saturday it would engage with the US Treasury over proposed restrictions on dollar correspondent banking services for its UAE branch, while stressing that the measure was not yet final.

The bank said it was reviewing the US findings “with the utmost seriousness and attention” and would seek further information from the Treasury before submitting a formal response.

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  Iran or the dollar? US makes an example of Banque Misr

“What has been announced constitutes a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM),” Banque Misr said, adding that it was subject to a formal comment period before any final rule was issued.

The US Treasury proposed cutting the UAE branch off from correspondent banking services provided by US financial institutions over transactions it linked to Iranian shadow-banking networks.

Treasury estimates said the branch processed about $1.8 billion for 103 companies potentially linked to those networks between January 2024 and June 2026.

Banque Misr said the proposed action applied only to its UAE branch and did not extend to its operations in Egypt or elsewhere.

It added that the UAE branch continued to provide banking services to customers and remained committed to meeting its obligations.

Iran did not seek a ceasefire during this year's war with the United States and Israel and it was Washington and Israel that wanted the fighting to stop, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards' ground forces said on Saturday.

“They asked for a ceasefire. We did not,” Mohammad Karami said, according to Defa Press.

Karami said Israel launched the war believing Iran and its armed forces had been weakened, but Iranian forces continued fighting despite the killing of senior commanders.

Iran's government has been judged unfairly despite running the country through two years of war and carrying out major infrastructure and energy projects, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said on Saturday, according to state media.

“The government has been engaged in a full-scale war for two years,” Aref said. “Despite managing wartime conditions, it also carried out numerous infrastructure and long-term projects, but the government's performance is being judged unfairly.”

Aref said President Masoud Pezeshkian's administration had inherited shortages, debts to the private sector and imbalances across several parts of the economy.

He said the government had also sought to repair damage to key infrastructure from recent fighting while dealing with economic pressure and shortages.

Aref urged government officials to avoid public disputes and conflicting figures that could give people the impression of divisions within the administration.

“Government officials should not speak against the government's strategy, argue with each other in the media or present contradictory statistics,” he said.

Washington has launched a global campaign to cut off Iran's remaining trade, and its central message is aimed at third countries: keep doing business with Tehran and lose access to the United States. Treasury is calling it an economic D-Day.

The name is not decoration. "In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday, announcing Operation Economic Outcast. "Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran's financial connections around the globe."

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