TOP STORIES
“Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned shipowners on Wednesday that any new transit route through the Strait of Hormuz established without coordination with Tehran is ‘unacceptable and dangerous,’ threatening actions against vessels that ignore its instructions. . . . The IRGC Navy said that only the shipping routes designated by Iran are permitted for passage, and that coordination with Iranian forces via the designated communication channel is mandatory, according to Iranian local media.”
59% of Americans Say They Lack Confidence in the Iran Deal | New York Times
“[According to a new Quinnipiac University poll, n]early 60 percent of voters say they lack confidence in the deal’s effectiveness. That pessimism is driven by Democrats, with 90 percent saying they do not think the deal will be effective. A healthy majority of independent voters were also pessimistic. A majority of the president’s base—76 percent—felt confident in the pact. But there are signs of potential cracks. Only one-quarter of Republicans say they are ‘very confident’ and about 20 percent say they are ‘not so confident’ or ‘not confident at all.’ Most voters—including a majority of Republicans—say it is likely that Iran will develop nuclear weapons.”
Iran Sentences Three Political Activist Brothers to Death over Protest Allegations | IranWire
“Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported the issuance of death sentences for two brothers, Hadi and Fazlollah Nikbakht, warning that both are at imminent risk of execution. Their other brother, Mohammad Nikbakht, is also facing charges that could potentially lead to a capital sentence. According to the report, Hadi and Fazlollah Nikbakht were sentenced to death approximately two weeks ago by the Revolutionary Court of Golpayegan on charges of ‘corruption on earth.’ The two brothers were arrested at their home in Golpayegan on October 24, 2025, after they attempted to prevent the confiscation of their agricultural land.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
Nearly 20% of Strait of Hormuz Traffic Is Sanctioned Ships Linked to Iran, Data Show | New York Post
“At least 30 tankers transporting Iranian crude and petrochemicals have exited the waterway since the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) June 17, according to the United Against Nuclear Iran monitoring group.”
“Brussels-based maritime intelligence provider Kepler told the BBC that more than 170 ships had transited the [Strait of Hormuz] safely with cargo including crude oil, LNG and fertilizer, among other products, beginning June 18, the day after the MoU was signed. Jemima Shelley, a senior research analyst at the United Against Nuclear Iran campaign and monitoring group, said that at least 30 of those vessels were tankers loaded with Iranian oil and petrochemicals.”
Interview of UANI Director of IRGC Research Kasra Aarabi | The Brink
“[The Iranian regime’s] view of the war is that they had divine support, and that’s what’s guided them through—that’s what’s made them victorious. . . . They say that their conviction to their ideology is what made them endure, but actually, the West is driven by material interests, and as a result, we [the regime] were able to able to endure longer than they [the West] were able to. Actually, when you look at it like that, if anything this war has revealed that our cost/benefit analysis, our rationality, is guided by material interests, whereas their cost/benefit, their rationality, is completely different to ours.”
DIPLOMACY
Rubio in Middle East Tour Says Any Iran Deal Will Ensure Security of Gulf Allies | Reuters
“U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Gulf allies on Thursday that any deal with Iran would take their interests into account, as he wrapped up a Middle East trip aimed at selling the Trump administration’s preliminary accord to sceptical regional partners. Speaking at a meeting of Gulf Arab foreign ministers and officials in Bahrain—home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet — Rubio said Washington was seeking an enduring peace with long-time foe Iran that would not undermine the security and prosperity of its allies in the oil-rich region, which fear the accord is too soft on Iran after it attacked them in the war.”
MILITARY MATTERS & STRAIT OF HORMUZ SITUATION
“A Liberian oil tanker made its way out of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday despite threats to shipping from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, using a new route close to Oman’s shore that has been promoted by a U.N. maritime agency. . . . The naval arm of the Revolutionary Guard, apparently reacting to the new [International Maritime Organization] route, issued an angry warning Thursday, carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.”
US Energy Secretary Says 20 Million Barrels of Oil Exited Hormuz in Last 24 Hours | Al Jazeera
“Some 20 million barrels of crude oil have exited the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright says at the Reuters Global Energy Forum in New York. Wright blamed Iranian mines in the vital waterway for any delay in a return to normal oil shipping levels.”
“At least 20 oil tankers stranded in the Persian Gulf with 35 million barrels have exited the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Iran agreed to open the sea lane, according to data provided by Kpler, a firm that tracks global trade flows. The tankers, which were not Iranian in origin, had been stuck in the Gulf for more than three months after Tehran effectively closed Hormuz early in the war, Kpler analysts said in a Tuesday note. The ships should reach their final destinations, which are mostly in Asia, by early August, the analysts said. In total, confirmed oil shipments through Hormuz have risen to around 4.8 million barrels per day since the U.S.-Iran deal, according to Kpler. Oil flows in June are the highest since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. But exports remain well below prewar levels when 15 million bpd exited the strait.”
Energy Secretary Says U.S. Has Ended Iran’s Ability to Close Strait of Hormuz | CNBC
“U.S. military escorts of commercial ships have ended Iran’s ability to close the Strait of Hormuz in the future, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday. . . . “If we can get no deal with Iran, we will assure that the flow of energy is there, the world is well supplied and the Iranian administration will be in a world of hurt,” Wright said. Wright noted that the U.S. waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales for 60 days is not a major win for the Islamic Republic. The Trump administration hasn’t released any money to Tehran yet, he said.”
Trump Says It May Never Be Known Who Was at Fault for Strike on Girls’ School in Iran | Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday it may never be known who was at fault for a deadly strike on a girls’ school in Iran on February 28, the first day of the Iran war, that killed scores of children. . . . ‘I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it because there were missiles flying all over the place, and it’s horrible what happened but there were missiles flying all over the place,’ he said. ‘Somebody said it was our missile, maybe it wasn’t our missile but I have seen nothing to lead me to believe it was,’ Trump remarked, adding: ‘I don’t think it was us.’”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Don’t Feed Us, Free Us: Iranians Hit Back at Vance over ‘Hunger’ Remarks | Iran International
“After Donald Trump said Iran has ‘a hunger problem’ and JD Vance said unfrozen Iranian assets could help ‘feed the Iranian people,’ Iranians pushed back, saying the country’s real crisis is repression, corruption and the fight for freedom, not hunger.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran Central Bank Says Foreign Currency Supply to Rise After US Waivers | Iran International
“Iran’s Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said on Wednesday he had more leeway to significantly increase the allocation and supply of foreign currency after recent US waivers and improved access to foreign assets, Noor News, a website close to the Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) reported. Hemmati said the central bank would start using part of the foreign currency reserves built up in recent months and that a visible change in currency supply for industry would begin on Saturday, according to the report. He said $2 billion would be supplied in the first phase, adding that increased currency access for basic goods, raw materials and production needs could help reduce import-related price pressures.”
President’s Economic Reality Check Fuels Iran’s US Deal Debate | Iran International
“President Masoud Pezeshkian's unusually blunt remarks about Iran's economic crisis have intensified infighting over Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's position on the US-Iran agreement. . . . ‘For 40 to 50 days, we could not export a single barrel of oil from the Persian Gulf,’ he said. ‘They have devastated our economy, and many young people have become unemployed. Our young people have no hope for the future. We have to pay benefits to the unemployed and we cannot collect taxes. You tell me, where is the money supposed to come from?’ Pezeshkian also revealed that the government had diverted $20 million in oil-export revenues that would normally have gone into the state budget to the IRGC Aerospace Force to procure military equipment. ‘If we had not supported the IRGC, our armed forces would not have been able to fight.’”
India, Iran Explore Opportunities to Cooperate in Energy Sector, Minister Puri Says | Reuters
“India's Oil Minister Hardeep Puri said on Thursday he explored opportunities for New Delhi and Tehran to cooperate in the energy sector during his meeting with Iran's Petroleum Minister Mohsen Paknejad in New Delhi.”
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran Lawmaker Says Tehran Will Not Bargain Away Hormuz | Iran International
“A spokesman for Iran’s parliament’s National Security Committee said Tehran would not be swayed by regional pressure over the Strait of Hormuz, as disputes continue over how the waterway should be managed under the US-Iran memorandum. Ebrahim Rezaei wrote on X that Iran respected its regional friends but knew they fear America. ‘The Islamic Republic did not conquer the Strait of Hormuz through negotiation, so it would now give it up through negotiation,’ Rezaei said. He added that Iran ‘is not influenced by others.”
Iran MP Says Nuclear Talks Need Parliament Approval | Iran International
“A member of Iran’s parliament’s presiding board said Tehran’s nuclear technology is not negotiable and warned that any talks over nuclear knowledge or technology would violate Iran’s strategic action law unless approved by parliament. Alireza Salimi said negotiations held ‘under the shadow of threat’ amounted to imposition rather than diplomacy. ‘Negotiation under the shadow of threat is not negotiation, but imposition,’ Salimi said. ‘We will in no way accept such negotiations and will not submit to any threat.’ He added that red lines set by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei must be observed ‘case by case’ in the talks.”
CONGRESS & IRAN
Senate Rejects Measure to Restrict Trump’s Iran War Powers as Key Republicans Shift Votes | CBS News
“The Senate late Wednesday rejected a measure aimed at restricting President Trump's power to wage war against Iran, in a victory for the president and Senate GOP leadership as they seek to quell congressional discontent with the Trump administration's Iran strategy.”
Republican House Members Raise Concerns About Iran MOU | CBS News
“House Republicans raised concerns on Wednesday about the Trump administration's Iran memorandum of understanding, particularly around sanctions relief, unfreezing assets, nuclear inspections and the potential cost of implementation, even as many continue to support the president's military action against Iran. Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon said he would be ‘very hesitant to give $1 to Iran,’ arguing ‘money's fungible’ and warning any sanctions relief could ultimately benefit terrorism. Bacon also questioned reconstruction funding, saying, ‘Why would we be doing reconstruction of the IRGC government?’ Rep. Mike Lawler, of New York, said ‘any final agreement has to address the issue of the enriched uranium’ and argued that ‘the enriched uranium is what matters here’ as discussions continue around sanctions relief and unfreezing assets. Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick said he is ‘not a big fan of the MOU’ and questioned whether Iran would uphold its commitments. ‘I just don't trust them,’ he said, adding he wants to see the administration's ‘long-term plan and the strategy.’”
Trump, Republican Senator Engage in Shouting Match over Iran War | Reuters
“Several Republicans who attended [a closed-door meeting with the president] said Trump engaged in a shouting match with Senator Bill Cassidy, who said the administration needed to explain a framework deal Trump signed last week that gives Iran financial incentives but falls short of the goals he laid out at the war's beginning. ‘The American people need to know more than we are being told,’ Cassidy told reporters. ‘It does not appear, although I don’t know for sure, that the course of this is going the way that we were told.’”
CYBERSECURITY MATTERS
Iran: Israel Killed "Handala" Head Hacker | Channel 14
“Iran has publicly confirmed for the first time that Yahya Hosseini Panjaki, leader of the notorious ‘Handala’ hacking group that breached phones of Israeli officials including former PM Naftali Bennett and IDF Chief Herzi Halevi, was killed in a targeted strike during recent fighting. . . . This marks the first time Iranian sources have publicly confirmed Panjaki’s senior role and the fact that he is no longer alive.”
Iranian Banks Suspend Card Services After Cyberattacks—Report | Retail Banker International
“Three major Iranian banks halted card-based services after cyberattacks caused disruption, reported Reuters citing the country’s state-owned banking technology provider. . . . Iran has not identified any suspected attacker. In earlier cases, officials have accused hostile foreign actors such as Israel of similar actions. Israel has not commented on those claims.”
CANADA & IRAN
“Mohammadreza Pakatchian said he chose to study aerospace engineering at Carleton University because it was a ‘great opportunity’ to further his skills and knowledge. In its acceptance letter to the Iranian, Carleton University offered him a scholarship, while an MP’s office spoke with immigration officials about his student visa. But Canada’s national security agencies aren’t so keen on the 41-year-old doctoral student. They have flagged Pakatchian as a security threat, warning that he is pursuing studies that will advance the Islamic Republic’s weapons programs. Classified intelligence reports obtained by Global News allege that Pakatchian works for an Iranian company that has been sanctioned due to its role in weapons of mass destruction (WMD).”