Iran still has the knowhow, middlemen and shadow-fleet infrastructure it spent years developing to sell sanctioned oil to China. But it has now run out of oil outside Iran to put through that system.
The United States is tightening economic pressure on Iran to bolster efforts to reach a diplomatic solution and can sustain its naval blockade for the foreseeable future, the US Ambassador to the UN said, as President Donald Trump weighs renewed strikes after midterm elections.
China's imports of oil recorded as Malaysian have plunged alongside the collapse of Iranian exports under the US naval blockade, suggesting how heavily Iran relied on relabeling its crude for its biggest customer.
Iran's LPG exports have collapsed since the US naval blockade began in mid-July, leaving Tehran to find domestic uses for millions of tons of propane and butane that would normally be sold abroad.
Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir left Tehran on Tuesday after Iranian leaders reiterated their conditions for negotiations with Washington and ruled out transferring enriched nuclear material abroad, as regional mediators continue efforts to ease the standoff.
Iran spent years building influence in Yemen through Hezbollah recruiters and Revolutionary Guards officers, a former Yemeni pro-democracy activist told Iran International, and is now using the Houthis to carry the war to Saudi Arabia and its Western allies.
A senior Revolutionary Guards official has compared Iran’s conflict with the United States to a world war that could reshape the global order, reflecting a mindset in Tehran that appears increasingly resistant to backing down despite the risk of renewed US attacks.
Despite signs of movement in negotiations with Washington, Tehran is showing little inclination to ease military pressure, pursuing diplomacy while signaling that renewed US attacks could trigger a broader regional response.
Two commercial vessels were attacked near Oman on Sunday, two Indian sailors were left missing, and a drone struck an Iranian Kurdish opposition camp in Iraq on Monday, as Iranian officials warned that a renewed war could put regional infrastructure at risk.
A deadly Houthi attack on Riyadh’s main airport drew a Saudi vow of retaliation on Saturday, as President Donald Trump raised the possibility of joining strikes on the group and resuming attacks on Iran.
Oil tanker captains are being paid as much as $100,000 a month and offered $50,000 bonuses for individual trips through the Strait of Hormuz, the latest sign of the extraordinary costs now required to keep crude moving through the waterway since the Iran war began.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Iran had failed to take advantage of repeated opportunities to reach an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program, while also saying Tehran had “lost complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi-backed Yemeni forces on Monday reversed weeks of Houthi gains around Bab al-Mandab, the strategic strait linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, exposing vulnerabilities in the Iran-backed group even as fighting elsewhere showed how far Yemen remains from a decisive shift.
A senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader issued a pointed warning to the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, saying “imported security has an expiration date” as tensions between Tehran and Abu Dhabi continue to rise.
Iranian officials and media have sharply condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the UAE, warning Abu Dhabi over its deepening ties with Israel amid renewed tensions over three disputed Persian Gulf islands.
Iran’s rial fell to another record low on Monday, with the dollar reaching 2.45 million rials as economic and military pressures persisted and efforts took shape for possible new indirect talks with the United States.
Oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have climbed despite the conflict, with Washington pointing to rising exports as Iran warns shipping companies against unauthorized passage and threatens US forces with retaliation if fighting resumes.
US President Donald Trump’s rejection of Iran’s proposal for a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz may say less about Washington’s opposition to a deal than about its changing assessment of Tehran’s most important bargaining chip.
Iran says a negotiated settlement remains the only way out of the war and is awaiting a formal US response to its latest proposal, despite President Donald Trump saying he has rejected Tehran’s offer.
Talks between Iranian and US diplomats have continued in New York despite increasingly harsh rhetoric from both capitals, but the emerging dispute is less over whether to negotiate than over who must move first.
Tehran is signalling that its response to US pressure may be to widen the conflict, turning restrictions on its shipping and aviation into risks for airports and waterways stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea and potentially the Indian Ocean.
Iran’s economy contracted sharply in the spring as war hit its oil and gas sectors, with new data pointing to an energy crunch that could force Tehran to balance gas exports against rising domestic demand as winter approaches.