TOP STORIES
Labor Protests and Panic Buying Signal Growing Pressure in Iran | Wall Street Journal
“Iranians rushed to buy fuel and food this week, signaling mounting economic pressure as the Trump administration’s threat to tighten sanctions sparked fears of deeper shortages and pain. Small demonstrations by labor unions—which had all but disappeared during the war—are popping up across the country. Oil workers, pensioners and teachers have gathered to complain about the declining currency and rising cost of living. Those same issues triggered protests that rocked the regime around the new year, leading to a brutal crackdown that killed thousands.”
Iran and Oman Reach Agreements on Share of Hormuz and Revenues, Revolutionary Guards Say | Reuters
“Iran and Oman have reached agreements on their share of the Strait of Hormuz and its revenues, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards spokesperson said, according to a report by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Wednesday. The spokesperson said the U.S. was obstructing negotiations between Oman and Iran, leading to them being delayed.”
Lawmakers Press Treasury to Target Chinese Banks over Iran | Politico
“A number of hawkish lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are urging the Trump administration to focus its effort to cut off Iran’s economic lifeline on one primary target: Chinese banks. . . . ‘Any country complicit in providing an economic lifeline to Iran’s terrorist regime, including China, must be held accountable,’ said Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), a member of the House Select Committee on China. Sanctions on Chinese banks that do business with Iran would send ‘a clear message to China and every other nation that enabling Tehran’s malign actions will come at a cost,’ he said.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
“‘Anger is simmering just below boiling point,’ Kasra Aarabi, the director of IRGC Research at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told FOX Business, referencing the mass protests that unfolded inside Iran earlier this year. ‘And these economic measures, that tightening the economic noose, could take it to 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 it fears—the one thing it fears the most—is protests with air cover,’ he added. . . . Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, told FOX Business that ‘Operation Economic Outcast is a different iteration of the maximum pressure campaign which has been ongoing for many years now.’ ‘This has been an unprecedented situation because right now there's the synchronization of economic and military power from the United States with the launching of an unprecedented economic blockade against the Iranian regime,’ he said. ‘So all of this is going to be contributing to the dire financial situation and picture that the Iranian regime confronts.’ . . . UANI on Wednesday also released its 10 recommendations for Operation Economic Outcast, which Brodsky described as policy recommendations ‘aimed to provide some meat on the bones’ of the U.S. Treasury’s campaign.”
Iranian Ships Flee from Foreign Shores | Kronen Zeitung (Translated from German)
“Off Malaysia alone, there are 48 ships trading Iranian crude oil, according to the US organization United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI). They are at an anchorage traditionally used for transferring oil to Chinese ships. From there, according to UANI, the oil is then transported by the state to independent refineries in China.”
“Some American analysts believe that the sanctions announced by the US on Iran's trading partners will hit the ayatollahs’ regime hard. Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which lobbies for Iran's economic and political isolation, told Fox Business that the new sanctions would constitute a new installment in a maximum pressure campaign against Iran that has been ongoing for years. ‘This is an unprecedented situation because we are currently witnessing the synchronization of the United States’ economic and military power with the introduction of an unprecedented economic blockade against the Iranian regime,’ he said. He added that ‘all of this will contribute to the dire financial situation and image the Iranian regime is facing.’ . . . Kasra Aarabi from the same organization assessed that the Iranian regime fears further protests. He argued that the US-imposed blockade is working, and Iran's maritime oil exports are practically nonexistent. ‘This affects their ability, above all, to fund the regime’s military,’ he continued.”
“As United Against Nuclear Iran policy director Jason Brodsky implied to Fox News, raving like a crazy person on state TV doesn’t necessarily translate into legitimate retaliatory force capability: ‘The answer is this iteration is taking place against a backdrop where there is a synchronization of economic and military pressure against the Iranian regime—a combination which has never been deployed by a U.S. administration until now. The U.S. naval blockade currently in place against Tehran is unprecedented. The Iranian regime’s industrial base—for example, steel plants—has also been damaged following kinetic strikes. The Iranian regime’s military capacity has likewise been degraded.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
US Aims to Revive Civil War-Era Court to Claim Iran Oil as Prize | Bloomberg
“The Justice Department is preparing to activate a long-dormant maritime war court to streamline military capture of Iranian oil tankers as US prizes, according to three people familiar with the plans. Reviving prize courts, which is expected to face legal challenges, is intended to strengthen the blockade of Iran and offset the cost of the conflict.”
Iran’s Inflation Crisis Deepens as Year-on-Year Rate Hits 84.4% in August | IranWire
“The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that Iran’s inflation rate has surged for the eighteenth consecutive month, with point-to-point (year-over-year) inflation reaching 84.4 percent in August.”
Kilometre-Long Petrol Queues in Iran Signal Further Strain on Tehran | Euronews
“Long queues stretched for kilometres outside petrol stations in Tehran and other Iranian cities in the early hours of Thursday as a daily fuel shortfall collided with a surge in panic buying, and government officials simultaneously confirmed that petrol prices will rise, without specifying when or by how much. Videos posted on social media showed lines of vehicles forming in the capital and nearby city of Karaj around midnight on Wednesday and lasting into the early hours, with several stations closing before demand could be met.”
Iran’s Bank Melli Remains Open in Germany Despite Sanctions | Iran International
“Bank Melli Iran’s branch in Hamburg remains open despite EU sanctions that Germany says apply to the Iranian state-owned bank’s German operation, as Washington steps up pressure for its foreign branches to be closed. The German Foreign Ministry . . . did not say whether Germany was considering closing the Hamburg branch or whether Washington had formally asked Berlin to do so.
MILITARY MATTERS & SHIPPING
Iran to Allow No Military Ships in Hormuz Under Potential Deal with Oman | Euronews
“Iran and Oman have reached a potential agreement to manage ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, excluding military vessels from the vital waterway. . . . [Iranian Foreign Minister Kazem] Gharibabadi told state television late Tuesday that commercial shipping traffic into the Persian Gulf would pass through Iranian waters, while the outbound route would pass partly through Iranian waters and partly through Oman’s waters. He said the routes would be temporary and that Iran and Oman must discuss a permanent maritime traffic plan within 30 to 60 days. . . . The Trump administration has told Oman it opposes parts of the yet-to-be-announced deal, including joint Iranian and Omani management of the exit route from the passage critical to global supplies of oil and natural gas. Washington believes Oman has not been tough enough in its negotiations with Iran and is unhappy with Oman’s agreement to collect voluntary fees from vessels, even if the charges are related to security and maritime environmental protection.”
Greek-Operated Air Defence System Shoots Down Drones over Saudi | Reuters
“An air defence system operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia intercepted a swarm of drones on Thursday in the wider Yanbu region, home to major oil refining facilities, Greek security sources told Reuters.”
Trump Declares ‘Mission Accomplished’ in Iran as Conflict Drags On | New York Daily News
“President Donald Trump on Wednesday declared ‘Mission Accomplished’ in Iran even as the unpopular and costly war drags on with no end in sight and no sign that the United States is close to achieving any of the lofty goals he set for the conflict. Trump posted an image of himself along with Iran's slain former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei against a stylized landscape background of punishing U.S. air and missile attacks. ‘2026 Mission Accomplished’ a caption reads.”
DIPLOMACY
CIA Chief Used Moscow Visit to Warn Russia Against Attacks on NATO Allies, Helping Iran | Politico
“CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned Russian officials in Moscow this week not to escalate conflict with America’s NATO allies, in particular Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in response to Moscow’s stalemated invasion of Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter. The U.S. spy chief also used the rare, unannounced trip to the Russian capital on Tuesday to press Russia to reduce military and economic support for Iran, according to one of those two people and a U.K. official with knowledge of the trip.”
Qatar PM to Visit Tehran to Pursue Mediation Efforts | Reuters
“Qatar’s prime minister will visit Tehran on Thursday in a bid to relaunch diplomacy after the U.S. and Iran traded recriminations over Washington’s promise to increase economic pressure on Tehran by targeting its trade partners for sanctions.”
Iranian FM Calls on UN to Condemn US ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ | Iran International
“Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has written to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Security Council president and UN member states, calling on them to condemn Washington’s ‘Operation Economic Outcast,’ which he described as an illegal campaign of ‘economic terrorism’ against Iran.”
NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Iran Refuses IAEA Access to Damaged Nuclear Infrastructure | IranWire
“Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), stated that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cannot request inspections of nuclear sites that came under military attack until specific rules and protocols for inspecting such facilities are drafted and approved.”
TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSION
“The Iranian general who has threatened Persian-language journalists abroad as potential military targets has a history of incendiary attacks on critics and was among officials who initially dismissed reports that Iran had shot down Flight PS752. Abolfazl Shekarchi, a brigadier general and senior spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, said on Wednesday journalists working for Persian-language media abroad could be placed on a list of military targets. ‘Media outlets such as Iran International, BBC Persian and Radio Farda are directly connected to Mossad, the US Central Intelligence Agency and other foreign intelligence services and receive support from them,’ he said. He called the employees of the Persian-language outlets ‘soldiers of Israel and the United States,’ adding: ‘They can be included in the bank of military targets because, from our perspective, these are not media outlets.’”
TERRORISM
“A State Department memo reveals that an international technology collective, now under a U.S. global terrorism designation, provided services to overseas terrorist groups and violent far-left agitators causing chaos in American cities, according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital. . . . Autistici/Inventati, called the A/I Collective by the State Department, is an Italy-based group that builds highly sophisticated digital infrastructure used by violent left-wing organizations in the United States and Europe, along with Islamic terrorists, according to the State Department. . . . Rose City Antifa is listed in the memo alongside a media organization that the State Department says uses A/I Collective tools to disseminate information to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is proliferating inside the United States, Hamas, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hezbollah and others.”
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Hardliner Running Iran’s Powerful Domestic Militia | Financial Times
“It was an open secret in Tehran that Hossein Taeb, as head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence wing, had gone too far. Critics within Iran’s regime accused the cleric, who ran the organisation from 2009 to 2022, of bending the intelligence services to his political ambitions, pursuing notorious cases against environmentalists and other domestic figures, and all the while failing to stop Israeli assassinations of nuclear scientists. Removed under former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Taeb spent years in political isolation. Now, he is back, appointed by Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba to run the IRGC’s domestic Basij paramilitary as the regime turns to one of its most feared security figures to assert control at home.”
MISCELLANEOUS
Trump: If Ayatollah Is Dead, Iran ‘Putting on a Good Show’ | The Hill
“President Trump said Wednesday he does not believe Iran’s supreme leader is dead after a report suggested he could be deceased or brain-dead. ‘He was very seriously wounded, but I don’t think he’s dead,’ Trump said in an interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck. ‘And if he is, they’re putting on a pretty good show because they talk about going back to talk to him all the time to get a final blessing on things,’ he added.”