TOP STORIES
Trump Weighing Limited Strikes Against Iran to Curb Hormuz Attacks | Axios
“President Trump and his senior aides have been considering waging limited strikes in the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from reconstituting its radar and missile capabilities to attack ships, according to three U.S. officials.”
Iran Court Sentences 10 Protesters to Death in Isfahan | Iran International
“A Revolutionary Court in Isfahan has sentenced 10 protesters to death and six others to prison terms of up to 25 years over the nationwide demonstrations in the central Iranian city, according to an activist-run Telegram news channel. . . . Those sentenced to death are Taraneh Rahimi, Navid Elyasi, Mehrdad Boeri, Abolfazl Dadgostar, Armin Gholami, Mehdi Mansouri, Ahmadreza Saeedi, Mohammadmehdi Asadi, Parsa Jafari and Mehdi Jafari, also known as Mehdi Khosravi.”
Iran Could Face Economic Collapse in Months, US Treasury’s Bessent Warns | Al Jazeera
“On Monday, [U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott] Bessent said Iran is taking the sanctions seriously, and he told US business news network CNBC that the goal is ‘to create the conditions that they will want to come to the table’ for negotiations. . . . Bessent said that he believes the Iranian economy could collapse ‘within weeks or months’ and stressed that it does not have to happen. ‘We just have to have the regime come to their senses,’ he said.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
Interview with UANI CEO Amb. Mark D. Wallace | Al Arabiya
“This is the first time that Iran is not engaging in enrichment activity or enrichment of uranium, and the highly enriched uranium that it does have and whatever remaining equipment that it has I’m sure is badly damaged, is deeply buried underground as a result of the bunker-busting bombs that were used.”
President Trump Was Right: America Controls the Strait of Hormuz | WhiteHouse.gov
“Here’s what they’re saying: . . . United Against Nuclear Iran Policy Director Jason Brodsky: ‘Tehran can hoot, holler, and threaten, but its hold over the Strait of Hormuz is being eroded, while its economy is deteriorating and its revenue streams are drying up.’”
“Let us hope that U.S. and allied military and intelligence agencies are thinking through the next steps. Suppose economic pressure succeeds, and the Iranian population rises against the regime. Does America stand by as the regime renews its power through another bloodbath, do we intervene in what is likely to be a bloody civil war, or is there some third alternative? Mr. Trump’s critics are right that six months into this war, the pathway out remains obscure. But this is how war normally works. Risk and unpredictability are baked into the cake. That is a good reason to avoid unnecessary wars; it is also a reason to avoid excesses of either gloom or joy as the fortunes of war shift and turn.”
New Report Exposes Intact Iranian Bunker That May Hide Regime’s Ongoing Nuclear Work | Fox News
“A new report from a leading think tank has revealed what it says is a partially submerged Iranian uranium facility at the Natanz nuclear compound in Iran. . . . Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital that ‘The report assesses the structure at the Natanz nuclear facility was not targeted during Operations Midnight Hammer and Epic Fury. This raises questions as to why the U.S. and Israel did not target the site. Given that Iran is not allowing IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspections of bombed facilities, in contravention of its NPT [Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons]obligations, this will require Washington and Jerusalem to rely on their own intelligence estimates as to this bunkered building.’”
Tehran Urges Return to June Deal, Oil Prices Rise as Trump Vows to Hit Iran ‘Hard’ | CNBC
“Analysts largely view the U.S. strike on Larak Island as an attempt to break a deadlock rather than a shift in strategy. . . . ‘It is enforcing the blockade,’ said Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, adding that the Trump administration’s goal was to further degrade Tehran’s capabilities to mine the Strait of Hormuz, while focusing on economic coercive measures as the midterm elections approach.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
EU to Partner with US on Heightened Pressure Against Iran | IranWire
“The European Union announced that it will continue working with the United States, fellow G7 members, and international partners to maintain pressure on the Islamic Republic, expressing support for further economic pressure on Iran. This position was outlined on Monday, August 31, in an EU statement issued alongside the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Asheville, North Carolina.”
Iran’s Economy in Crisis as US Launches New Sanctions Campaign | Guardian
“For many Iranians, the new US sanctions campaign, called Operation Economic Outcast, seems superfluous given the grim economic situation in their country. Iranians are facing runaway food inflation, closed petrol stations and a seemingly never-ending depreciation of the nation’s currency caused by a lack of foreign exchange reserves.”
Iran Says It Has Enough Foreign Currency Despite US Sanctions | Reuters
“Iran has sufficient foreign currency reserves despite U.S. sanctions, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said on Tuesday, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tehran was lashing out because it was losing the economic war. The central bank was ready to inject up to $2 billion into the foreign exchange market to calm recent volatility, Hemmati said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.”
MILITARY MATTERS & SHIPPING
U.S. Strikes May Have Targeted a New Type of Iranian Naval Mine | New York Times
“The U.S. airstrikes against Iran overnight Monday targeted two Iranian rocket launchers that the military said could have dispensed small naval mines. But such a weapon—an artillery rocket that releases a mine into the water—would be unusual and could mean that Iran has created yet another way to potentially cause chaos in the Strait of Hormuz.”
“The United Arab Emirates said that it intercepted an Iranian drone over its waters Monday, an attack that comes after the United States and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend for the first time in a month.”
Trump Says U.S. Might ‘Smack’ Iran but That Fighting Is Likely to Remain Limited | Washington Post
“Asked in the Oval Office whether the strikes were a return to full-scale war, Trump downplayed the threat from Iran. ‘They’re a failed nation. They’ve got 350 percent inflation. They have no currency. They’re not paying their soldiers. Their leaders are largely dead. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their surveillance equipment is almost entirely gone. That doesn’t mean we won’t smack them. We’ll see what happens,’ he said.”
Trump Was Sending Message to Iran with Kharg Island Post, Says Vance | Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump was sending a message to Iran with his social media post about Iran’s energy hub of Kharg Island being blown to smithereens, Vice President JD Vance said on Monday.”
DIPLOMACY
Pezeshkian: Iran Will Reciprocate “Immediately” If US Returns to Islamabad Accord | IranWire
“Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stated that if the United States returns to its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic will ‘immediately’ take reciprocal action.”
Pakistan Backs US-Iran Peace Framework as Best Hope for Region | Bloomberg
“Pakistan ‘firmly believes’ the US-Iran peace framework that it helped broker in Islamabad offers the best prospect for peace in the region, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on Tuesday.”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Court Sentences 10 Protesters to Death in Isfahan | Iran International
“A Revolutionary Court in Isfahan has sentenced 10 protesters to death and six others to prison terms of up to 25 years over the nationwide demonstrations in the central Iranian city, according to an activist-run Telegram news channel. . . . Those sentenced to death are Taraneh Rahimi, Navid Elyasi, Mehrdad Boeri, Abolfazl Dadgostar, Armin Gholami, Mehdi Mansouri, Ahmadreza Saeedi, Mohammadmehdi Asadi, Parsa Jafari and Mehdi Jafari, also known as Mehdi Khosravi.”
CONGRESS & IRAN
Sen. Collins Says It’s Clear Trump Administration Went Into Iran War Without Clear Plan | WGME
“Senator Susan Collins says she's consistently been in favor of stopping the conflict [with Iran] until President Donald Trump gets Congressional approval, something he needs under the more than 50-year-old War Powers Resolution Act. She also says it’s clear the President went into the conflict without much of a strategy.”