TOP STORIES
“US forces on Sunday struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month, snapping a lull in fighting. Iran swiftly retaliated for what it called a deadly attack, launching missiles at American soldiers stationed in Jordan and the UAE. Forces with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait, according to Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for the US Central Command.”
“Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian admits that US sanctions on his country are hurting its economy, despite just days ago insisting they would achieve nothing. ‘Some say sanctions have no effect at all; to those people, I really don’t know what to say,’ Pezeshkian tells state TV in an interview. ‘We are in a war situation, and we must accept these wartime conditions,’ he adds.”
Treasury Moves to Sanction UAE Branch of Egyptian Bank over Iran Ties | CNBC
“The Treasury Department on Friday moved to sanction the United Arab Emirates branch of an Egyptian bank over its financial ties to Iran. Treasury intends to revoke the access of Banque Misr UAE to U.S. financial institutions, the department said in a statement. Banque Misr UAE processed about $1.8 billion over the past two years for some 100 companies that are potentially part of Iran’s shadow banking network, according to Treasury.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
Interview with UANI Director of IRGC Research Kasra Aarabi | Fox News
“These economic measures have caused panic in Tehran, and against the backdrop of U.S. military assets in the region, against the backdrop of . . . anti-regime dissent domestically. Let’s not forget: In January, millions of Iranians took to the streets responded with unprecedented brutality . . . These wounds have not healed in Iranian society. Actually, anger is simmering just below [the] boiling point. And these economic measures that [are] tightening the economic noose could take it to [the] boiling point. The regime wants to absolutely avoid a situation whereby protests take place against it and the U.S. has military assets in the region because the one thing it fears most is protests with air cover.”
“Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, said the strike was a signal that Washington would not allow Iran to reverse what he described as American gains in recent weeks in ensuring freedom of navigation in Hormuz. ‘Today’s strike is a signal from the US that it is not going to allow Iran to reverse the American gains in recent weeks over ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,’ Brodsky told RFE/RL. But Brodsky cautioned against portraying the attack as the beginning of an entirely new phase of the conflict. ‘It’s not a decisive shift to a new phase of the war,’ he said. ‘Rather it is a reminder that the US has the will to police the Strait of Hormuz.’”
Interview with UANI Policy Director Jason M. Brodsky | Al Arabiya
“I do anticipate protests to eventually begin again in Iran. The drivers that brought Iranians to the streets in successive rounds of protests from 2017 onwards have only gotten worse—politically, economically, socially.”
US, Iranian Regime Trade Strikes After Weeks-Long Lull | Jewish News Syndicate
“Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told JNS on Sunday that ‘today’s strike is a signal from the U.S. that it is not going to allow Iran to reverse the American gains in recent weeks over ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. It’s not a decisive shift to a new phase of the war,’ he said. ‘Rather it is a reminder that the U.S. has the will to police the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian retaliation was likely factored into U.S. planning.’”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Bessent Brings Iran Pressure to Asheville | Carolina Journal
“The world’s finance ministers are gathering in Asheville this week for a G20 meeting, but one of the most consequential issues on US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s agenda is not simply economic growth. It is Iran. . . . Bessent is using the gathering to press other countries to cut financial ties with Iran as the Trump administration escalates its economic campaign against Tehran.”
Iran Trade Falls as Supreme Leader Khamenei Urges Less Reliance on the U.S. Dollar | CNBC
“Iranian trade has fallen sharply under U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade, President Masoud Pezeshkian said, as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei urged a reduction in reliance on the U.S. dollar. ‘We have had a decrease of between 25% and 35%. Our exports have decreased, but imports have decreased more,’ Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said . . . ‘The decrease in exports is slightly less than the decrease in imports, and imports have decreased significantly.’ . . .Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called for greater economic self-reliance in a written message Friday.”
A Core Egyptian Bank Gets Caught Up in Treasury’s Iran Crackdown | Wall Street Journal
“When Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that he would be announcing major sanctions against a financial institution as part of the tightening economic squeeze on Iran, speculation immediately centered on China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil. In the end, the target was the United Arab Emirates branch of Banque Misr, one of Egypt’s most important banks, in a shot that is alarming leaders in Cairo who worry it could rattle the country’s banking system.”
US Campaign to Isolate Iran Closes in on Dubai | Financial Times
“For decades, Dubai has served as Iran’s offshore commercial hub, providing the financial services, trade and access to global markets that Tehran’s sanctions-hit economy badly needed. Sharing commercial and historical ties that preceded the founding of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, Dubai is home to several hundred thousand Iranian residents and merchants, as well as banks, trading houses and the dhow trade. That is now under threat, after the UAE and US announced plans to target Iranian trade and bring about what Washington has described as an ‘economic D-Day’ to force the regime in Tehran to its knees. . . . The Iranian Business Council, a non-profit promoting bilateral commerce, is still operational, according to an employee reached by phone. Travel agents in Tehran said this week that Iranian airlines were still flying to Dubai. And two leading Iranian lenders, Bank Melli and Bank Saderat—both under US sanctions—were still open serving clients. US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent called for every Melli branch in the world to be shuttered.”
UAE Central Bank Orders Urgent Banque Misr Review over Iran-Linked Transactions | Iran International
“The Central Bank of the UAE said Saturday in a statement that it had ordered a special and urgent examination of Banque Misr branches operating in the country, a day after the US Treasury proposed restrictions over transactions it linked to Iranian shadow-banking networks.”
“President Donald Trump’s administration plans to impose sanctions on another bank this week as it intensifies efforts to economically isolate Iran, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told The Associated Press on Sunday. ‘This is going to be financial violence if we have to,’ Bessent said in the interview. ‘We are showing people that we know who you are, you know who you are, and this has got to stop.’ . . . Bessent told the AP he would speak to his Chinese counterparts at the G20 meeting and ‘all options are on the table’ in terms of sanctioning Beijing for its continued purchases. But he rejected the idea that the administration was reluctant to confront China, calling it ‘a completely false narrative that the media picked up on.’ He insisted that China and the U.S. agree on the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.”
Pezeshkian Hints at Gasoline Price Increase as Iran Faces Supply Pressure | Iran International
“Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that the government plans to raise the price of gasoline purchased above existing subsidized quotas to 10,000 tomans per liter, while saying the timing has yet to be finalized. . . . He also said Iran was facing gasoline supply constraints because import routes were blocked during the war.”
Iran Bets on China to Blunt Trump’s Economic Offensive | Iran International
“China’s refusal to bow to US sanctions has raised hopes in Tehran that Beijing could blunt Washington’s new economic offensive, but a debate inside Iran reveals doubts over how far China is willing or able to go on Iran’s behalf.”
“The Iranian government pledged on Saturday to stand firm against US sanctions and what it called US-Israeli ‘conspiracies,’ after the Islamic Republic’s leaders acknowledged its economy was hurting. In a statement carried by state media, the Iranian government said diplomacy and defense were ‘complementary, coordinated and inseparable’ tools for protecting the country’s national interests, security and territorial integrity. The government said it would pursue both tracks simultaneously and focus on curbing inflation, creating jobs, supporting domestic production and gradually reducing dependence on the US dollar.”
Iran Demands Nations Defy New U.S. “Operation Economic Exclusion” | IranWire
“In response to a new wave of U.S. economic pressure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic has called on countries around the world to refrain from enforcing Washington’s unilateral sanctions against Iran. On Friday, August 28, the ministry described the U.S. ‘Operation Economic Exclusion’ as ‘state terrorism’ in a statement, claiming that Washington’s new sanctions violate the United Nations Charter and the principles of international law.”
Iranians Are Selling Their Own Graves to Pay for Living | Iran International
“Dying has become one of the costs Iranians can no longer meet. Burial plots are advertised at years of wages, families are selling the graves they had reserved for themselves, and some are taking their dead to villages where burial is still free.”
Iran Sanctions Reach Education: Duolingo Blocked, TOEFL and GRE in Doubt | Iran International
“Iranian students seeking admission to universities abroad are facing new uncertainty over access to tests such as TOEFL, GRE and Duolingo after Washington suspended a 12-year sanctions authorization covering academic exchanges, admissions services and standardized exams.”
MILITARY MATTERS & SHIPPING
Military Leaders Warn Hegseth Against Extending Iran War Operations | Washington Post
“Several U.S. military leaders have advised Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks weakening their ability to confront threats elsewhere, including the U.S. homeland, according to people familiar with a recent assessment prepared for the Pentagon chief. The warnings—detailed for Hegseth by the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force and the four-star commanders overseeing U.S. operations throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America—appear in the Aug. 14 edition of the Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB), these people said.”
US to Hit Iran ‘Hard’ After Attack on American Forces, Trump Tells Fox News | Fox News
“President Donald Trump vows retaliation on Iran’s strikes on U.S. bases in Jordan. ‘We’re going to hit them hard,’ Trump told Fox News’ Trey Yingst in a phone call Monday.”
“The U.S. Defense Department was forced on Monday to deny it had struck Iran's main petroleum export facility after President Donald Trump posted a fake, AI-generated video showing a purported attack by American forces. The video, posted to the president’s Truth Social account, appears to show storage tanks and refining facilities erupting in flames from the perspective of someone filming from inside a helicopter above the carnage, with an accompanying message describing the scene as ‘Kharg Island being blown to smithereens’ and signed as ‘President DJT.’”
Goldman Says Gulf Oil Exports at Two-Thirds of Pre-War Level | Bloomberg
“Oil exports from the Persian Gulf have recovered to around two-thirds of pre-war levels, limiting the Iran war’s impact on global crude prices, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.”
Inside the Dangerous US Mission That Cleared Iran’s Mines from Hormuz Shipping Lanes | Fox News
“President Donald Trump declared last week that the United States had removed or detonated all mines in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz. Now, the commander of U.S. Central Command has offered the clearest public account yet of the high-stakes operation behind that declaration: a monthslong effort in which U.S. forces quietly cleared Iranian sea mines from established international shipping lanes used by commercial vessels.”
Why Larak Island Is Strategically Important for Iran | New York Times
“In announcing its first strikes on Iran in a month, the U.S. military said on Sunday that it had hit targets on Larak Island, a six-mile-long territory that provides a foothold for Iran’s military near the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. The tiny island has played an outsize role in Iran’s efforts to blockade the waterway, a major conduit for the world’s energy supplies that has become a focal point of the war with the United States.”
Iran’s Navy Says It Has ‘Full Control’ over Strait of Hormuz | Reuters
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy rejected U.S. claims that the Strait of Hormuz was open, calling them an attempt to control oil prices and conceal what it described as U.S. failures. It said the restrictions would continue until U.S. military actions against Iran end and relevant commitments are implemented, according to a statement.”
Guards Adviser Says Iran Stands up to US with Fraction of Military Spending | Iran International
“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.”
Iran Lawmaker Says Hormuz Gives Tehran Leverage over Sanctioning Countries | Iran International
“Iran can use its control over the Strait of Hormuz to exert pressure on countries that impose sanctions on it, Iranian lawmaker Habib Ghasemi said on Saturday.”
No, Iran Is Not Winning: In Act IV of the War, It’s Losing Its Leverage in Hormuz | Brett McGurk
“The earlier acts in this war were mired from the US side by shifting and ill-defined objectives, widely careening positions, and inconsistent statements. But Act Four seems different. The US military has a clear objective as outlined this week by the commander of CENTCOM, Admiral Brad Cooper. It is enforcing the blockade on Iran and facilitating the movement of commercial traffic. The objective for the US should be similarly well-defined. Iran must abandon claims on the Strait and give up the nuclear enrichment program. Until then, this will be the new status quo. And that status quo—perhaps for the first time since the war began—now favors Washington, not Tehran.”
DIPLOMACY
Wartime Presidents of Russia and Iran Rally with Chinese and Indian Leaders | New York Times
“The presidents of Russia and Iran, facing increased domestic pressure from drawn-out wars, were set to rally with the leaders of China and India at a summit on Monday in Central Asia. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran headed to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, for a two-day meeting of the 10-nation political and security grouping known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The forum will allow Russia and Iran to demonstrate alternative sources of support as they work to defy Western efforts to isolate them.”
Iran Says Getting US Diplomacy Back on Track Not Impossible | Bloomberg
“Iran’s top diplomat said resuming diplomacy with the US ‘isn’t impossible,’ after what he described as ‘creative discussions’ with Qatar, a mediator in the war between Washington and Tehran. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X on Friday that progress ‘hinges on US understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn’t work.’ He called on Washington to build trust and uphold its commitments, without elaborating.”
Iran Still Wants Negotiated End to War, President Says After Exchanges of Fire | Reuters
“Iran is still seeking a negotiated solution to its conflict with the U.S., President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, a day after the two countries resumed hostilities for the first time since late July . . .”
PROXY WARS
Iran-Led Militias in Iraq Plan to Target Saudi Arabia: Sources | Al Arabiya
“Iran-led militias in Iraq were planning to target Saudi Arabia ‘within hours,’ sources told Al Arabiya English on Friday citing intelligence.”
US Says Hezbollah Takes Orders from Iran, Must Disarm | Iran International
“The United States said Saturday that Iran-backed Hezbollah must disarm and that the group was refusing talks because it was ‘simply taking orders from Iran.’”
INTEL
Israeli Minors Accused of Carrying Out Paid Missions for Iranian Agent | i24 News
“Israeli police said Sunday that two teenagers from the Haifa and Krayot area are suspected of completing assignments for an Iranian intelligence operative, including photographing sensitive locations and attempting to recruit other minors.”
ASSASSINATION THREATS & PLOTS
“The Shin Bet confirmed an Iranian threat against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son, Yair, on Saturday after reports circulated following his quick evacuation from Florida back to Israel.”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
IRGC Intelligence Issues Warning on Domestic Unrest | IranWire
“The Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement on Thursday, August 27, warning of intensifying social discontent. The statement referenced the failure of ‘Iran’s enemies’ in ‘efforts to bring about regime change in Iran through military strikes,’ asserting: ‘Opponents of the Islamic Republic are shifting their strategy.’ The military and security body claimed that activating internal crises, psychological warfare, economic pressure, and covert security operations constitute the core pillars of this strategic shift.”
She Fled Iran. America Sent Her to Africa | CNN
“‘It’s okay now, I’m safe,’ she remembered thinking. ‘I can make one new life here.’ She described her joy at reaching ‘one of the best countries in the world,’ but her happiness would prove fleeting. Nika is among a growing number of migrants deported by the Trump administration to countries they’ve never been to—countries that can hardly be considered safe havens. It’s a loophole. Judges have stopped the US government from sending some migrants back to their home countries. So it has inked dozens of arrangements with third countries, where people like Nika are increasingly festering.”
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran Supreme Leader Warns Against Political Infighting | Iran International
“Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Friday banned actions that could damage social cohesion and urged officials to avoid rhetoric that could weaken public morale, in a new written message published on the Telegram channel ‘News of the Martyr Leader.’”
Khamenei Calls on Muslim States to Unite Against US, Israel | Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
“A written message attributed to Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was posted on his Telegram channel on August 30 calling on Muslim countries to unite against what he described as their ‘real enemy,’ the United States and Israel.”
MISCELLANEOUS
Iran Weighs UN General Assembly Attendance over US Conditions | Iran International
“Iran has not decided whether to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York after Washington imposed what Tehran called ‘illegal conditions’ on its delegation, a presidential protocol official said on Monday.”