Iran’s top security official has suggested Tehran could reconsider its longstanding rejection of nuclear weapons, arguing that US attacks on Iran have strengthened the case for acquiring an atomic bomb as a deterrent.
Warnings from senior Iranian officials about the cost of prolonging the war are increasingly converging with Washington’s central pressure point: whether Iran can economically sustain the conflict.
Yemen’s Houthis have become a more effective ally for Iran than Hezbollah, using Iranian support and their strategic Red Sea position to pursue both Tehran’s interests and their own agenda, Yemen analyst Mohammad al-Basha told Iran International.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday the Strait of Hormuz was open and the US blockade of Iran had been “100% successful,” as media reports indicated Tehran had lost significant control over traffic through the waterway.
For years, diplomacy between Iran and the United States has largely been conducted through a familiar group of intermediaries.
Gas stations in parts of Tehran closed after running out of fuel Wednesday, while motorists elsewhere in the Iranian capital waited up to an hour to fill their tanks amid mounting fears of a fuel price hike, locals told Iran International.
The 60-day period associated with the Iran-US interim peace deal ended Monday without a breakthrough, with Washington rejecting an extension and a senior Iranian official saying the US had a few weeks to meet the agreement’s terms before further talks.
Iraqi Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani played a role in relaying messages between the United States and Iran and in efforts to ease tensions, a spokesperson confirmed to Iran International on Sunday.
Qatar on Saturday dismissed the Iranian military’s claim that it had detained and held three pilots from two Su-24 bombers shot down in March, saying it recovered only one pilot’s remains and had invited Tehran to review the search.
Iran says its non-oil trade has fallen by around 30% since the war began, but figures from several of its biggest trading partners point to far steeper declines in some of the country’s most important commercial relationships.
President Donald Trump said he may soon declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory as shipping through the waterway nearly stopped and Tehran insisted it alone would decide when the strait opens or closes.
With a deadline to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz only days away, parts of Iran’s media are increasingly treating any easing of tensions not as a return to normality but as a brief window to replenish essential supplies before the confrontation potentially resumes.
One extra letter on Iranian state TV turned Abbas Araghchi into the minister of the Kharijites, the sect that abandoned Shia Islam's first imam and killed him, prompting some Iranians to read it as the broadcaster's latest shot at the man negotiating with Washington.
US Democrats appear to be sharpening their attacks on President Donald Trump over the economic fallout from the Iran war as rising fuel and household costs become an increasingly potent issue ahead of November’s midterm elections.
A dispute in Iran’s parliament over the terms for reopening the Strait of Hormuz is threatening to complicate negotiations in Muscat, as lawmakers challenge a proposed role for Oman and Pakistan in monitoring shipping through the waterway.
The US-Iran standoff is hardening around the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington saying it can sustain maritime pressure indefinitely and Tehran signaling readiness for a prolonged confrontation and more offensive operations.
Replacing a single ship carrying essential goods to Iran would require about 2,500 trucks, a Chamber of Commerce official warned, saying land routes cannot offset the US maritime blockade and negotiations are the only realistic way to restore trade.
OPEC oil production continued its sharp post-war recovery in July, but Iran remained a notable exception, with output still around a quarter below pre-war levels and its oil revenues taking an even steeper hit.
A US strike on a container ship approaching an Iranian port has complicated Tehran’s narrative of a strategic victory against Washington over the Strait of Hormuz.
Six people were killed when Iran-backed Houthis attacked a vessel in Bab el-Mandeb, an escalation experts say reflects not a second front in the Iran war but two conflicts converging, as the Houthis pursue their own interests while adding pressure on Iran’s adversaries.
The maritime confrontation around Iran widened Tuesday as US forces struck an Iran-bound vessel and Tehran-backed Houthis attacked a ship in Bab el-Mandeb, even as Pakistan and Qatar signaled progress in mediation over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials and analysts are publicly playing down the threat posed by a new defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, even as some commentators warn Tehran against underestimating an emerging regional alignment.