Iran records $7. 5bn in oil earnings during first four months of 2026 Iran channelled $7. 5bn in foreign currency earnings from oil sales to its central bank during the first four months of the year, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The US imposed sanctions Tuesday on ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, escalating the Trump administration’s campaign against the court over its efforts to investigate and prosecute officials, including Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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The US president has reportedly shifted to a strategy of attrition aimed at strangling Tehran over time The US has suspended negotiations with Iran and is seeking to gradually "strangle" the country, CNN reported on Tuesday, after its bombing campaign near the Strait of Hormuz failed to yield the desired results.
Iran’s top negotiator says Hormuz Strait will remain closed until US abides by MoU Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the US meets the commitments stipulated in the memorandum of understanding, including lifting its naval blockade. "I want to state clearly that the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until the American commitments stipulated in the memorandum of understanding... are implemented," Ghalibaf said in a speech aired on state television.
US Justice Department targets Iranian institute for activity linked to IRGC The US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced charges on Tuesday against 17 members of Iran’s Mabna Institute for cyber activity and hacking “carried out on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other Iranian entities”. In a statement, the Department said Mabna Institute was involved in “a widespread cyber campaign”, which targeted over than 100,000 accounts belonging to university professors worldwide and stole more than 31 terabytes of academic and intellectual property data, along with email accounts belonging to employees. The campaign targeted 144 US universities and 178 foreign universities, at least 42 US companies and 11 foreign companies, as well as at least five US federal and local government agencies and two nongovernmental organisations, resulting in costs exceeding $20m, according to the statement.
UAE cuts off trade with Iran until further notice The UAE said on Tuesday that all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transations with Iran have been halted until further notice, according to a statement from the country's foreign ministry. The statement added that the decision comes in light of Iran's regional escalation that "undermine regional and international peace and security". The UAE's defence ministry also posted on X on Tuesday that the two ballistic missiles launched earlier from Iran into its territory were targeting maritime traffic and fell into the sea.
US sanctions International Criminal Court president, trial lawyer in bid to dismantle body Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 08/18/2026 - 20:29 Secretary of State Marco Rubio has previously made it clear he intends to take the court apart 'brick by brick' Japanese Judge Tomoko Akane, president of the International Criminal Court, delivers a speech during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, on 14 June 2024 (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP) Off The US announced on Tuesday that it is sanctioning the Japanese president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Tomoko Akane, as well as the body's Senegalese senior trial lawyer, Abdoulaye Seye. The move is just the latest step in implementing US President Donald Trump's stated mission of dismantling the ICC for investigating Israeli and, potentially, US officials for war crimes. Neither country is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court in 2002.
ICC says US sanctions 'undermine the rule of law' The International Criminal Court (ICC) said in a statement on Tuesday that US sanctions on its top members "undermine the rule of law" after Washington imposed measures on the ICC president and its senior lawyer. "When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk," the court said in a statement sent to reporters. It added that it remains undeterred and stands firmly behind its personnel.
US announces sanctions on ICC president and senior lawyer US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced sanctions against the president and a senior lawyer of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The US imposed sanctions on Tuesday on Tomoko Akane, a Japanese judge who is president of the ICC, and ICC senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal, according to the US Treasury Department website. Rubio accused the individuals of directly engaging "in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction".
Emirati officials reported no damage, saying two ballistic missiles fell into the water The UAE has accused Iran of firing two ballistic missiles in its direction on Tuesday, as the two-month window for US-Iran peace talks expired without a breakthrough. Following the incident, Abu Dhabi announced a halt to all trade and financial transactions with Tehran.
Tehran [Iran], August 18 (ANI): Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Tuesday said that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to maritime traffic until all Iranian conditions set forth in the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the US are fully met, tying the reopening directly to the complete removal of foreign sanctions and military operations.
Saudi Arabia tightens rules on financial transfers to UAE Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 08/18/2026 - 13:49 Move appears to be latest sign of rising tensions between two Gulf nations Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bidding farewell to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on 3 September 2025 (Abdulla al-Bedwawi/AFP) Off Saudi Arabia has tightened its oversight of financial transfers to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the latest sign of growing tensions between the two countries. The extra layers of regulatory oversight are normally reserved for countries considered high-risk for illicit money flows, according to Reuters. Three people with direct knowledge of the matter told the news agency that the measures, which have not been announced publicly, put the UAE among more than a half dozen countries in the region deemed high risk in Saudi Arabia for financial crime.
Two Chinese state-controlled shipping companies have stopped sending oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab, instead loading crude outside the Persian Gulf amid heightened security risks, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing industry sources and shipping data.
Hormuz Strait to remain closed until US meets interim deal conditions, says Iran The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US meets conditions of the interim deal with Iran including lifting the marine blockade and sanctions as well as freeing Iran's frozen assets, Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said in comments published by state media.
Iranian official warns shipping companies against backing US An Iranian military official has warned that shipping companies involved in "meeting US military needs" against the country will face consequences, Nournews reported. "Iran is closely monitoring the commercial and maritime network supporting US operations, and any company, ship owner, or service provider that knowingly plays a role in meeting US military needs against Iran will face legal, economic, and counter-sanctioned consequences," the Iranian news outlet cited the official as saying. The official said the transport of fuel, ammunition, equipment, food, and other items needed by US troops will not be seen by Tehran as "merely a commercial activity", but it would be viewed as supporting Washington in its war on Iran.
Donald Trump’s maximum pressure is usually scored by counting tankers and tracking the rial, but Iran’s budget points to a deeper cost: more than $80 billion in NIOC bank debt and sovereign-fund arrears, repeatedly deferred as Iranians shoulder the burden.
Hormuz traffic falls as transit through Bab al-Mandeb passage increases, says data firm Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz fell by 19. 5 percent last week, according to data analysis firm Kpler, with 95 vessels transiting the waterway in the week of August 10 and “reaching just three on 16 August”. Vessels used the Iranian side of the strait or undermined routes, “while no crossings were recorded through the Hormuz TSS or Omani routes”, Kpler posted on X.
Energy prices have been high since the US-Israel war with Iran began and the strait of Hormuz was blocked US gas prices this month are so far the highest ever recorded for August as peace talks between the US and Iran have stalled and Donald Trump launched fresh threats against Oman. The national average price of gas was $4. 06 per gallon on Monday, according to data from AAA , $0.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Senior Iranian and Iraqi officials discussed ways to remove banking obstacles and facilitate access to Iranian foreign-exchange resources held in Iraq.
