Iran rejected on Saturday US plans to announce new sanctions that could increase pressure on its economy, with potential repercussions for its main trading partners, including China. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Baqaei denounced the US announcement as representing an "imposition of sovereignty beyond territorial limits on every independent State member of the United Nations".
Six months after the war that erupted following US and Israeli attacks on Iran on 28 February, the parties are not currently exchanging fire, but there are also no signs they are moving towards resuming peace negotiations. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled for a press conference on Monday at 18:00 GMT, after having threatened to impose "the most severe sanctions in history" against Iran.
Oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are virtually paralysed, while Tehran threatens to attack any unauthorised tanker attempting to cross the vital passage. Only four commercial vessels transited the strait on Thursday, none of them crude oil tankers or liquefied natural gas carriers, according to ship tracking data. Iran allowed several Iraqi tankers to cross the strait following repeated requests from Baghdad, the Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.
Lieutenant General Ali Abdollahi, head of the Joint Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, threatened on Friday that Iran would respond militarily to threats from its adversaries with "overwhelming, punitive and destructive responses". US President Donald Trump warned on Friday of economic consequences for any country that provides "any kind of support to Iran", though he also said Washington is monitoring "what is happening" in the conflict.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on Friday for a diplomatic solution, according to the ISNA agency. Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Tehran has received "multiple messages" from neighbouring countries about establishing new regional security arrangements and strengthening economic cooperation, though he did not specify which countries. Thousands have died in the war, mostly in Iran, including 168 Iranian students killed on the first day of fighting.
