US President Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) signals a more hands-off approach toward Iran and marks a departure from the outlook of his first term, according to veteran Iran-watcher and analyst Behnam Ben Taleblu.
The seizure by US forces last week of an oil tanker in the Caribbean for allegedly transporting sanctioned oil from Iran and Venezuela may signal a policy shift that could endanger the funding of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader said Iran is pushing a strategy to link security with economic development in its southeast, arguing that closer trade with neighboring countries will blunt the impact of US sanctions.
As diplomatic horizons narrow and domestic hardships mount, Iran appears to endure less through strategic vision than an ad hoc survival economy backed up by China, Russia and its armed allies abroad.
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Wednesday that US forces had seized a tanker for shipping oil from Venezuela and Iran, publishing footage of troops rappelling onto the vessel by helicopter.
Drone attacks on US-run oilfields in Iraqi Kurdistan – blamed by local authorities on Iran-aligned militia – prompted a US pressure campaign that helped restart the Kirkuk–Ceyhan export pipeline, a move Washington views as curbing funding for Iran-backed groups, Reuters reported.
Iran’s government said inflation stems from unfunded promises financed by unbacked money printing and bank credit, adding it has capped budget growth at about 2% and halted most other outlays in a bid to curb price pressures.
The US State Department said Rewards for Justice is offering up to 10 million dollars for information that helps identify or locate two Iran linked cyber actors tied to operations against US critical infrastructure.
China’s independent refiners are stepping up purchases of Iranian crude held in bonded storage and on tankers idling offshore after Beijing issued a fresh round of import quotas late last month, Bloomberg reported.
Every transaction linked to Iran — no matter how small — must now be treated as high-risk under newly tightened regulations introduced by Canada last week, a move experts warn could fall hardest on ordinary Iranians.
Dozens of foreign tankers suspected of transporting sanctioned crude for Iran and Russia sailed under the Cook Islands flag in 2024-2025, according to an AFP analysis of US and UK sanctions data.
The US dollar surged to 1,160,000 rials in Iran’s unofficial market on Saturday, adding to inflationary pressures and deepening worries about the country’s worsening economic outlook.
A Canadian federal judge has upheld an immigration officer’s decision to deny permanent residency to an Iranian asylum seeker because of his mandatory military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iranian crude held on tankers at sea has climbed to its highest level in about two and a half years, indicating softer buying from China even as Iran’s exports remain high, Bloomberg reported citing shipping data cited by market sources.
The US Department of the Treasury on Thursday imposed broad new sanctions on what it described as a network helping Iran evade restrictions on its petroleum exports and fund illicit activities.
Iran said on Wednesday that no negotiation process is underway with the United States, rejecting President Donald Trump’s claim a day earlier that the two sides had begun talks.
US Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho said on Monday that a bipartisan bill he is co-sponsoring will sap Iranian oil profits and disrupt funding for its armed allies in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Republican lawmakers are preparing legislation that would impose sweeping sanctions on countries conducting business with Russia, with Iran potentially included in the scope of the measures.
Two Democratic members of the United States Congress urged the Secretary of State and CIA Director to investigate a large shipment of missile propellant precursor material from China to Iran.
A senior member in Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office said on Thursday that Iran's leader views talks with the United States as acceptable if they mitigate threats to the country and advanced its interests.
The United States on Tuesday announced sweeping sanctions on 32 individuals and companies across eight countries it accused of helping Iran rebuild its ballistic missile and drone programs after setbacks sustained during a June conflict with Israel.
Iran’s nuclear negotiations have long served to buy time for building atomic weapons, prominent Tehran-based political commentator Sadegh Zibakalam said in a debate published on Tuesday.