Washington DC [US], August 29 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) announced the 'biggest oil deal in world history' with Venezuela. The landmark agreement with Venezuela will give the US majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves.
Commercial shipping through Hormuz 'significantly reduced', UKMTO says Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains about 90 percent below pre-conflict levels, with operators increasingly favouring a northern route, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. The agency recorded 101 outbound and 103 inbound full transits in the seven days to 28 August. In a report published on 28 August, UKMTO said vessel traffic had remained “significantly reduced” despite a brief recovery in late June.
Trump claims 'biggest oil deal in world history' signed with Venezuela US president Donald Trump said Washington has accomplished the "biggest oil deal in world history", after entering into an agreement with Venezuela. "At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with Highly Respected Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, have secured majority U. S.
US cuts off major Egyptian bank from global financial system The US Treasury on Friday announced plans to cut off Banque Misr's branches in the United Arab Emirates from the global financial system, as the Trump administration seeks to "asphyxiate" what it said were Iran's "enablers". Banque Misr is Egypt's second-largest bank. Its Emirati arm will no longer be able to do business in US dollars as of 28 September, under the new plans.
Iran’s ability to export fresh crude has fallen close to zero under the US maritime blockade, according to Kpler, just as Washington begins targeting the foreign banking networks Tehran relies on to collect the proceeds.
US cuts off major Egyptian bank from global financial system Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 08/28/2026 - 18:55 Sanctions on Banque Misr's branches in the UAE are part of Trump administration's 'Operation Economic Outcast' against Iran The high-rise commercial building, left, serves as the modern headquarters of Banque Misr, in Cairo, Egypt photographed on 9 February 2023 (Amir Makar/AFP) Off The US Treasury on Friday announced plans to cut off Banque Misr's branches in the United Arab Emirates from the global financial system, as the Trump administration seeks to "asphyxiate" what it said were Iran's "enablers". Banque Misr is Egypt's second-largest bank. Its Emirati arm will no longer be able to do business in US dollars as of 28 September, under the new plans.
The US has opened a new front in its economic campaign against Iran by threatening to cut a major third-country bank out of the dollar system over alleged involvement in Tehran’s shadow-banking network.
The US Treasury moved Friday to cut the UAE branches of Egypt’s Banque Misr off from direct access to the US financial system over alleged dealings with Iran, marking the first major action in Washington’s new “Economic D-Day” campaign against Tehran.
US issues fresh Iran-related sanctions as war marks six months The United States issued more Iran-related sanctions targeting one entity and one individual on Friday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this week threatened further action amid the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. The sanctions target one entity based in Hong Kong and one person linked to Iran's Bank Melli, a notice posted on the Department of Treasury's website showed.
'A very frightening time': US terror tag endangers UK Palestine Action activists, critics say Submitted by Katherine Hearst on Fri, 08/28/2026 - 12:39 Washington announced the sanctions days before it was revealed that activists who targeted Trump's Scottish golf resort could face sentencing as 'terrorists' The designation raises questions about the fate of over 2,700 protesters who were arrested in the UK under the Terrorism Act for supporting the banned group, in London, April 2026 (Katherine Hearst/MEE) Off Washington's move to designate Palestine Action as a transnational terrorist organisation could place British activists associated with the group at heightened risk of surveillance and being frozen out of the financial system, campaigners warn. In a statement on its website, the US Department of the Treasury announced a slew of sanctions targeting “Violent Far-Left Terrorist Networks”, including Palestine Action and Masar Badil , a movement that advocates for an "alternative revolutionary path" for Palestinian rights and freedoms. Italian tech collective Autistici/Inventati was also designated as a terrorist group for allegedly supplying “specialized digital architecture, tools, and services for Antifa cells and other violent far-left extremists, including a foreign terrorist organization”.
US to set limits on Egyptian bank in effort to pressure Iran The Treasury Department is due to cut off a major Egyptian bank's operations in the United Arab Emirates from the US financial system, a US official confirmed Friday, as Washington pushes to choke Iran off economically. The move impacts UAE branches of Egypt's second biggest bank, Banque Misr. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent laid out plans earlier this week for Iran's "economic asphyxiation" six months into a war on Tehran.
Washington could gain access to 90 billion barrels of oil reserves, while Caracas is weighing an OPEC exit The US is moving to lock in long-term access to the world's largest proven crude oil reserves by discussing a 100-year deal with Venezuela, as Caracas plans to leave the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), several outlets have reported.
A British-Iranian man accused of seeking to assist Iran’s IRGC Quds Force will stand trial next year after prosecutors said he offered his services to Iranian authorities and later took part in an undercover police operation involving a bag he believed contained a drone.
Iranian Foreign Ministry condemns US sanctions as 'state terrorism' The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the United States' newest sanctions campaign as an act of 'state terrorism' in violation of the UN Charter, Al Jazeera reported. According to Al Jazeera, the Ministry stated that the sanctions would put the health and livelihoods of millions of Iranian civilians at risk. The Ministry also warned that countries participating in sanctions imposed on Iran would be complicit in the US' 'unlawful' campaign.
Iranian banks and businesses continue to operate in Dubai despite Washington’s demand that countries sever their remaining economic links with Tehran, exposing the difficulty of isolating Iran from one of its most important commercial hubs, the Wall Street Journal reported.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the US’ new wave of economic restrictions against Iran, dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast”, as a form of state terrorism, warning all countries against complying with the hostile measures.
Iran presses other countries to refrain from implementing US sanctions Iran’s Foreign Ministry said all countries were obliged to refrain from implementing US sanctions against Tehran, adding that participation in them amounted to complicity in imposing one state’s unlawful will on independent states. In a statement published on its X account on Friday, the ministry described new US economic measures as illegal and reprehensible "state terrorism" and a crime against humanity, saying they put the health and livelihoods of millions of civilians at serious risk. It called on the international community to uphold the rule of law and said Tehran would use all its capabilities to defend itself against what it called a combined US-Israeli military and economic assault.
Persian Gulf states are accelerating billions of dollars in investment in ports, pipelines and railways to reduce their dependence on the Strait of Hormuz after months of disruption during the Iran war, Reuters reported Friday.
Oil companies and governments are consuming their once vast stockpiles as Iran and the United States continue to struggle for control over the Strait of Hormuz.
US Treasury Secretary says blockade on Iran will 'crush failing Iranian economy' US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington's blockade of Iranian ports will destroy the country's economy. "The Blockade and Operation Economic Outcast will crush the failing Iranian economy," Bessent said in a post on X, claiming that the US helped move 130 millions barrels of oil through the Gulf over the past two weeks. The Blockade and Operation Economic Outcast will crush the failing Iranian economy.
