Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding with Washington turned into “a declaration of US defeat."
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran had told Washington it would not seek tolls, insurance costs or other charges from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Access to Iran’s attacked nuclear sites and nuclear materials will only be examined and resolved within the framework of a final agreement with the United States, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Wednesday.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the military would not withdraw from its security zone in southern Lebanon, even if the United States demanded it.
The European Union’s diplomatic service has proposed a three-year military and civilian mission to advise and train Lebanese forces, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a document it had seen.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that a very large share of funds made available under the Iran arrangement would be used to buy US food and medicine under Treasury oversight.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the Iran deal, safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz and the importance of peace and stability in the region with the UAE leadership, the State Department said on Wednesday.
Iraq is working to restore full oil export capacity after the Iran war sharply reduced exports and aims to raise production to 7 million barrels per day in the coming years, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a government spokesperson.
The spokesperson declined to comment further on Iraq’s OPEC quota or whether Baghdad was considering leaving the group.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Washington wanted a deal with Iran, but “not at any price,” during a meeting with foreign ministers of Gulf Cooperation Council states in Manama, Bahrain.
He voiced hope that the deal with Iran would work, saying, “That's what we are prepared for, particularly if Iran makes the decision that instead of being a revolutionary movement that seeks to export its ideology into other countries, they're now interested in being a nation state that focuses on the well-being of their own people.”
Rubio said the United States would not accept the Strait of Hormuz belonging to any single nation, adding that whether Iran described payments as a toll or a fee was “all semantics.”
He said Washington wanted the agreement to work but would ensure that any decisions under the deal took into account the interests of US allies and partners.
"We are open for peace, but a peace that is enduring, that is real, and that in no way undermines our security, our prosperity, or the security or prosperity of our friends and allies in the Gulf region," he said.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani welcomed on Thursday Oman’s announcement of a corridor for safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iraq is seeking a significant increase in its OPEC quota after a sharp decline in oil exports caused by the Iran war triggered a critical financial crisis, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a senior oil ministry official.
The official said Iraq would be compelled to consider all available options if its quota was not raised significantly.
Iraqi officials have discussed the idea of leaving OPEC, though the current plan is to remain a member and secure a higher quota, Reuters reported, citing sources.
The United States' new Iran sanctions waiver could do more than boost Iranian oil exports. It may also help shift Iranian energy trade from shadow networks back toward conventional global markets.
On June 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License X (GL X), authorizing the production, delivery and sale of Iranian-origin crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemicals through August 21, 2026.
Though temporary, the measure represents one of the broadest sanctions waivers for Iran's energy sector in years.
Unlike earlier authorizations, GL X goes well beyond the sale of oil itself. It temporarily authorizes a range of transactions ordinarily prohibited under several Iran sanctions programs, including the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations and the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations. It also covers certain transactions involving blocked vessels, provided they fall within the license's authorized purpose.
Security conditions in the Strait of Hormuz have completely changed and the strategic waterway will never return to its previous situation, Iran parliament’s national security committee secretary said on Thursday.
Behnam Saeedi also said Iran’s nuclear rights were not negotiable in any agreement and that unfreezing Iran’s blocked assets and ending the maritime blockade were Tehran’s most basic expectations.
UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said on Thursday that new geopolitical realities could not be imposed on regional states “as a result of a treacherous aggression against them.”
“Imposing a fait accompli born of aggression does not create stability, but plants new seeds of discord and conflict in the future,” he wrote on X .”And this is precisely what applies to the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iran’s negotiators have leverage to push the United States to meet its commitments under the memorandum of understanding to end the war, said a member of the country’s Expediency Council on Thursday.
Gholamreza Mesbahimoghadam said Washington appeared to be trying to avoid granting concessions as much as possible, but argued that Iran’s negotiators could use available tools to press it to meet the maximum level of its obligations.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accused NATO of “active complicity” in US-Israeli strikes on Iran after a Fox News interview by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, saying Rutte had named Italy and Romania as participants.
US President Donald Trump thanked several Republican senators after the Senate reversed course on the Iran War Powers resolution, saying a change in votes by Senators Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy turned the outcome in favor of advancing the measure.
"Wow! The Senate just changed its vote on Iran from 50-48 against, to 50-47 for. Rand Paul and Bill Cassidy changed. Thank you to Leader John Thune, Lindsey Graham, Bernie Moreno, and all. This vote puts Iran on notice!" he posted on Truth Social.