TOP STORIES
“An Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump prompted an extraordinary operation last month in which he flew secretly from Turkey on an alternate military aircraft while the White House said he was aboard Air Force One, The Washington Post has learned.”
U.S. Fires on Ship Breaking Its Blockade of Iran | Wall Street Journal
“U.S. forces fired on a Panama-flagged ship that attempted to run the American blockade of Iranian ports early Tuesday, a U.S. official said, stepping up enforcement as the Trump administration attempts to squeeze the regime economically. . . . There were no immediate reports of any casualties in the incident, which took place before dawn on Tuesday.”
Trump Says Iran Must Pay Compensation for Those It Has Killed and Wounded | Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he will demand that Iran pay compensation for ‘all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded,’ in response to Iran seeking compensation for the damages it has incurred from U.S. and Israeli attacks.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
Iran’s Mysterious Ruler Signals a Hard Line on Trump with New Leadership | Wall Street Journal
“In a sweeping overhaul of the government’s top echelon on Sunday and Monday, Iran named seasoned hard-liners to run the country’s security policies and institutions of repression. . . . ‘The regime is preparing for a more confrontational posture at home and abroad,’ said Kasra Aarabi, an expert on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful paramilitary force, at United Against Nuclear Iran, a policy organization that opposes Iran’s government. . . . [Mohsen] Rezaei’s decades navigating Iran’s changing political waters have given him an adaptive streak. . . . His appointment may signal ‘more as an effort by the system to balance, contain, or marginalize those who favor maintaining the ceasefire or moving toward some kind of accommodation,’ said [UANI Senior Advisor] Saeid Gol[k]ar, an expert on Iran’s security services at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.”
Ship Struck in Gulf of Oman off Pakistan | Seatrade Maritime News
“Charlie Brown, Senior Advisor to United Against a Nuclear Iran has been tracking cargo vessels linked to Iran and says that the Vela Nova had been in port alongside other Iran-linked ships. He told Seatrade Maritime News: ‘We reported on August 4 that Zyra and Enzo 2 were together at Mumbai, and both vessels have subsequently been associated with Port Klang. Zyra is particularly notable because it changed from the Iranian flag to the false Comoros flag, raising questions about whether such reflagging is being used to obscure its Iranian connections. The reported US disabling and stopping of the Panama-flagged Vela Nova near the blockade line in the Gulf of Oman, after its recent Mumbai port call alongside these vessels, underscores the heightened scrutiny now being applied to Iran-related shipping across the region.’”
The Regime Has Impoverished Iran, and Trump Is Waiting for the Situation to Get Worse | Il Foglio
“In June, as soon as the US blockade was suspended following the brief truce, oil exports had risen to $4.5 billion according to figures from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), whilst in July they had fallen to $2.44 billion after attacks by the Pasdaran on commercial vessels prompted the United States to reinstate the blockade. However, since then, almost no loaded Iranian oil tankers have left the Gulf, except for those bound for China at a discount of $10–12 per barrel, according to UANI.”
“Iran’s semi-official Mehr News agency also released an undated video on Saturday showing [Supreme Leader Mojtaba] Khamenei apparently in good health. In the footage, he is seen sitting with several men and speaking to them as they listen. It is not known when the video was recorded. . . . Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, wrote on X that the footage was ‘old, from before the war’ and had first circulated in March.”
MILITARY MATTERS & SHIPPING
U.S. Assesses Iran’s Priority Shifted from Nuclear Weapons to Strait of Hormuz | NBC News
“A U.S. military intelligence assessment says Iran’s strategic priority has shifted from its nuclear program to the Strait of Hormuz, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the assessment.”
Gulf States Accept a New Normal in Hormuz: Iran Is in Control | Wall Street Journal
“Iran’s rivals in the Gulf don’t like the deal now under consideration to crack open the vital waterway that formalizes Iranian oversight of inbound ships. But Gulf officials said the region sees the agreement as preferable to further military action between the U.S. and Iran, which would put Arab states’ energy infrastructure at risk.”
Khamenei Fills Six Top Military Posts as Key Intelligence Gaps Persist | Iran International
“Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appointed six senior military commanders on Monday, formalizing parts of a wartime leadership structure that had operated for months without decrees while leaving several of most sensitive intelligence posts without publicly named permanent chiefs. Ali Abdollahi was appointed chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, while former Army Ground Forces commander Kioumars Heydari was named his deputy. Khamenei also formally appointed Ahmad Vahidi as commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and promoted him to the rank of major general. Mostafa Izadi, the former commander of the Cyber and New Threats Headquarters of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, was named deputy commander-in-chief of the IRGC. Rear Admiral Ali Azmaei was formally appointed commander of the IRGC Navy, while Hossein Taeb, the powerful former head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, was named commander of the Basij paramilitary force.”
Three Killed in Houthi Attack on Cargo Ship in Bab El-Mandeb Strait | Reuters
“A deck cargo ship has been attacked by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, killing three of its crew members, two sources from the Yemeni coast guard and two military officials in the government say.”
Hormuz Traffic Drops Below 10-Day Average amid Iran-US Tensions—Reuters | Iran International
“Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to six vessels on Monday, down from a 10-day average of about 11, amid fading hopes for an Iran-US peace deal, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing Kpler data.”
Trump’s Blockade Keeps the Economic Pressure on Iran | Wall Street Journal Editorial
“The better option, then, would be to continue the pressure of the blockade and sanctions, rather than sign a deal that hands over control of the Strait and gives economic relief up front, while knowing that Iran will violate its commitments. Amid all the attacks and demands, it’s easy to forget that the regime is economically weak, with a damaged nuclear program, leadership and industrial base. The risk is that Iran could still dictate events by striking at regional energy sites and U.S. forces, or by escalating Houthi attacks. But if Mr. Trump is unwilling or unable (owing to lack of weapons) to escalate militarily, then sustained economic pressure isn’t the worst strategy. It isn’t the quick win the President wanted, but it also isn’t the strategic defeat for Mr. Trump that Iran is offering.”
Iran Parliament Advances Hormuz Bill Targeting US, Israeli Transit | Iran International
“Iranian lawmakers are advancing a sweeping bill aimed at asserting greater control over the Strait of Hormuz, including restrictions on US and Israeli assets in a waterway through which about one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies passed before the war.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Trump’s Iran Strategy Depends on Economic Pain. The Pain Is Mounting | CNN
“Deepening poverty, rising household debt, rampant inflation, hidden unemployment. The indicators for Iran’s economy signal a deepening crisis on multiple fronts—and at least one official news outlet is not shy about reporting it. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump made clear that inflicting economic pain on Iran is part of Washington’s strategy. ‘We are only semi-negotiating with (Iran). We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,’ he said. The state of Iran’s economy suggests that calculation may not be misplaced.”
US Blockade Could Cost Iran $18 Billion a Year, Business Chief Says | Iran International
“US maritime blockade could add about $18 billion annually to . . . Iran’s trade costs, the head of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce said on Tuesday, warning against trying to adapt to it as Tehran did with sanctions.”
Iranian Workers Report Layoffs, Months of Unpaid Wages | Iran International
“Workers across Iran’s mining, industrial and municipal sectors say they have gone months without full pay, while some employers have also cut staff, deepening pressure on households already struggling with rising living costs.”
Iran Wrestling Federation Loses Power over 22-Billion-Toman Debt | IranWire
“Fars News Agency reports that electricity to the complex belonging to the Wrestling Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been cut off due to a 22-billion-toman debt owed to the power utility sector.”
PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS
Iran Executes Woman Who Claimed Self-Defence Against Sexual Assault | Euronews
“Marzieh Nieri, 23, was executed at Qazvin Central Prison after a court rejected her account of wounding a man who had attempted to assault her, bringing the number of women executed in Iran since the start of 2026 to at least 14.”
Iran Judiciary Chief Praises Journalists as 16 Remain Behind Bars | IranWire
“Less than 24 hours after a 15-year prison sentence was handed down to photojournalist Yalda Moaiery, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, Chief Justice of the Islamic Republic, praised journalists, characterizing them as individuals who operate without defenses. . . . The Judiciary Chief’s praise and the heavy sentence issued to a photojournalist come at a time when press freedom conditions in Iran remain among the worst worldwide.”
25-Year-Old Kulbar Shot Dead by Iranian Military in Baneh | IranWire
“Reports indicate that a 25-year-old kulbar (cross-border porter) was killed in the early hours of Monday, August 10, after being directly shot by armed forces of the Islamic Republic in the Hengazhal border region of Baneh County. Human rights news agency HRANA, citing Kurdpa, identified the victim as Mohammad Tohidpanah, 25, the son of Osman, from Vezmaleh village in the Sarshiv district of Saqqez County. . . . Kurdpa reported that the armed forces opened fire on the kulbar without prior warning. Mohammad Tohidpanah was struck by bullets during the shooting and died at the scene.”
Iranian Woman Jailed over Social Media Posts on Arbaeen | IranWire
“The Prosecutor’s Office of Markazi Province announced the arrest of a female citizen following social media posts regarding the state-sponsored Arbaeen pilgrimage. According to Mehr News Agency, the woman was arrested on Monday, August 10, and transferred to prison, while her social media accounts were blocked by judicial order. Markazi prosecutors labeled her posts ‘insulting and undocumented,’ without disclosing her identity, the specific content of the posts, or her current detention facility.”
Wave of Business Closures Hits Cafes Across Iran | IranWire
“In an escalating wave of business shutdowns and public space closures across Iran, three cafes in Mashhad, Bojnourd, and Birjand have been sealed by authorities. Failure to enforce mandatory hijab regulations has been cited among the primary justifications for these actions.”
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Pezeshkian Says He Held Seven-Hour Meeting with Khamenei | Iran International
“Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday he held a seven-hour meeting with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, adding that Khamenei’s biggest recommendation was to preserve ‘unity and cohesion.’”
Two Years On, Pezeshkian’s Presidency Is a Tale of Survival | Iran International
“Masoud Pezeshkian may have a claim to being Iran’s unluckiest president, with his two years in office dominated by wars that have battered an already ailing economy to the point that keeping households above subsistence would count as an achievement. Pezeshkian inherited years of accumulated economic problems, many created or left unresolved by previous administrations, before war deepened those structural weaknesses. Two recent assessments of his record suggest the result is something larger than the difficulties of one presidency: the ambitions of government itself are contracting from development toward survival.”