US-Iran Conflict

The United States plans to impose its most severe sanctions yet on Iran in a campaign designed to bring down the government in Tehran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Thursday, with details expected at a press conference on Sunday.

The escalation follows a June agreement signed by President Donald Trump that set a 60-day deadline to end hostilities and reach a nuclear deal. Trump has since threatened the most crushing economic operation against Iran, while Bessent pledged unprecedented economic measures against Tehran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, apologising in a televised national address on Sunday, acknowledged citizens face numerous problems and said Iran is now in a full-scale economic, military, and security war waged by Washington, after wartime strikes and a naval blockade crippled the economy.

Pakistan's army chief General Asim Munir is expected to visit Tehran in the coming days for talks aimed at reviving stalled negotiations between the United States and Iran, Pakistani government sources said.

Munir and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed regional developments and ways to strengthen peace and stability in West Asia in a phone call, Iran's government posted on X. The visit, confirmed by two Pakistani government sources, will address threats from President Donald Trump to impose sweeping new sanctions on Iran, the status of the Islamabad reconciliation framework, and Houthi-related issues. Oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has halted, with Tehran threatening to attack any vessel transiting without its consent.

The mediation push follows the expiration of a 60-day deadline for a final agreement. US-Iran talks, launched after a June 17 memorandum of understanding, collapsed over security guarantees and navigation rights in the strait. The defence ministry spokesperson Esmail Baqaei said the visit would strengthen bilateral relations. Pakistan signed a joint defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Turkey earlier in August.

Iran will treat any country participating in US-led economic sanctions as an enemy and target American commercial interests worldwide, Mohsen Rezai, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned Saturday, escalating rhetoric after Tehran dismissed the new US pressure campaign as destined to fail.

Rezai told state television that nations joining Washington's economic war should distance themselves or face strikes on their interests. He said Iran had so far targeted only US military bases but would now strike American oil holdings and corporate assets in Iran and elsewhere. The warning follows the United Arab Emirates' decision to suspend all trade and financial transactions with Iran.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who pledged the measures would trigger the collapse of the Iranian government, is scheduled to detail further pressure on Monday, nearly six months after the US-Israeli offensive that launched the war. China criticised the sanctions push, arguing it would not resolve the Middle East conflict.

Iran has granted special permits allowing several Iraqi oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, the state-run IRNA news agency reported Saturday, easing a key Iraqi demand after commercial shipping through the waterway largely halted following tanker attacks.

The concession followed repeated requests from Baghdad through multiple channels and was a central demand raised during Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf's visit to Iraq this week. Iraqi President Nisar Amedi confirmed Saturday that Iran had facilitated the passage of Iraqi oil vessels in recent days.

The exemption is critical for Iraq as it aims to raise oil output to between 8 and 10 million barrels per day within six years, up from roughly 4 million before the February war. Baghdad is also pursuing expanded exports via Turkey's Ceyhan port and planned routes through Syria and Jordan.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that his newly declared economic campaign against Iran does not restrict American military options, insisting Washington retains full control of the Strait of Hormuz region after announcing what he called an unprecedented economic war and isolation targeting Tehran.

Trump asserted that Iranian authorities have no money, navy, or air force, are unable to pay soldiers or police, and face 350 percent inflation. While Tehran would like to negotiate, he said, it is not prepared to reach the right deal. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to provide details of the sanctions plan on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the measures, calling the so-called economic D-Day a diversion from America's own crisis. The UK Maritime Trade Operations office reported Friday that traffic through the strait is roughly 90 percent lower than before the conflict, which began in late February with a joint U.S.-Israeli strike.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared on Friday that the time has come to end the war with the United States, arguing that Tehran currently holds a strong and dignified position. Pezeshkian called a June memorandum of understanding — a 14-point deal signed in Islamabad with Pakistani and Qatari mediation — a major achievement, though the 60-day negotiation window toward a final agreement expired on Monday. Talks between the two sides remain suspended, and Iran continues to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The conflict began when the US and Israel struck Iran on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. A ceasefire has nominally been in place since April 8, though both sides have violated it. Tehran has accused Washington of breaching the memorandum and committing economic terrorism and crimes against humanity.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to tighten economic sanctions, saying the measures would reduce the need for large-scale military operations.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 10 individuals on Thursday for operating a courier network accused of smuggling hundreds of millions of dollars in cash to Hezbollah via commercial airline flights.

The network moved money between Lebanon, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran, according to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Turkish businessman Yunus Alper Yilmaz is accused of running the operation, which was once linked to deceased IRGC-Qods Force finance official Behnam Shahriyari. The sanctions freeze any US-held assets and bar Americans from dealing with the designated individuals.

OFAC also re-designated Hezbollah as a specially designated global terrorist organization, noting the group operates under the command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. A State Department official said the updated designation explicitly identifies Hezbollah as an Iranian proxy. The action was taken under Executive Order 13224.