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Iranian oil supplies to China tighten as US blockade cuts Tehran's crude exports

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Iranian flag with stock graph and an oil pump jack miniature model are seen in this illustration taken October 9, 2023. (photo credit: REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION/FILE PHOTO) Offers of Iranian crude to Chinese buyers have declined and prices have jumped this week as the US blockade has cut Tehran's shipments, according to trade sources, with the threat of more sanctions from Washington looming. The US re-imposed its blockade of Iran's shipping and ports on July 13 as a deal to halt the war between them broke down in an attempt to cut off oil sales - Tehran's primary source of hard currency - compounding earlier losses from wartime strikes on its energy infrastructure. The number of offers for Iranian oil cargoes to China for September and October delivery has declined from July and August cargoes, four trade sources familiar with the matter said. The offers have declined as barrels already in ships on the water have been sold, they said.
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Iran's Ghalibaf calls for strategy to counter 'toughest' US sanctions threat

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Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran November 27, 2024. (photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA/REUTERS) Following Washington's announcement of what it called the toughest sanctions on Iran, Tehran said it would pursue measures to withstand economic pressure. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said on Friday that Iran must plan to overcome "unjust sanctions," a day after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced what he described as the toughest sanctions ever imposed on Iran. Bessent said on Thursday the measures would be detailed on Monday, suggesting they could lessen the need for further major military operations. Ghalibaf, one of Iran 's most influential political figures and Tehran's top negotiator in talks with the United States, said economic development and security were closely linked. Go to the full article > >
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Clash erupts between Palestinians, Jewish West Bank settler group during unapproved hike

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  A fire in a West Bank village, allegedly started by settlers, August 21, 2026. (photo credit: SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT) A Jewish settler group clashed with West Bank Palestinians after entering a village during an unapproved hike, Army Radio reported on Friday. The group had not received approval from IDF forces prior to entering the West Bank, a security source told Army Radio. The Palestinians attacked the group with rocks. Footage circulated online showing a fire in one of the village homes which was allegedly started by the settler group.
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Chance of Iran war expansion dropped after Trump declared economic warfare, officials say

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  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a special plenum session in honor of US President Donald Trump at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, October 13, 2025 (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) Security sources said on Friday that the chances of expanding the military confrontation with Iran in the near term have decreased, following a series of meetings and discussions with senior US officials. According to the officials, US President Donald Trump ’s decision to impose another harsh package of economic sanctions is intended to “buy time” until after the US midterm elections. Accordingly, the IDF will increase its level of preparedness for the worst-case scenario of renewed strikes against Iran across all areas: intelligence, weapons procurement, interceptor production, target bank development, and Air Force readiness for both defensive and offensive operations.
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Israel’s new Syria dilemma: Netanyahu’s Russia playbook faces 'Turkey test'

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  ANKARA IS seeking to entrench itself in Syria for strategic and economic reasons, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s broader ideological and historical ambitions are putting Turkey on a collision course with Israel, the writer argues. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan. (photo credit: Kristina Kormilitsyna /Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Israel awoke to a fundamentally changed Middle Eastern reality on September 30, 2015: Russian fighter planes streaked through the skies over Homs, carrying out Moscow’s first combat sorties in the Middle East since the end of the Cold War. President Vladimir Putin had arrived to save Russia’s key Middle Eastern ally, Syria’s then-president Bashar al-Assad.   Stalins Drehbuch Putins Machtapparat zieht die Daumenschrauben immer fester an. Doch trotz repressiven Klimas regt sich subtiler Widerstand. Sponsored by IPG Nine days earlier, on September 21, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who had good intelligence about Russia’s p...
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US targets Hezbollah with fresh sanctions, emphasizes ties to Iranian government

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   The United States will on Thursday issue fresh sanctions targeting Lebanon's Hezbollah, including re-designating it under a terrorism authority, according to a statement seen by Reuters, in a move aimed at emphasizing its links to the Iranian government. While Hezbollah is not being designated under any new authority, the Treasury Department is re-designating it as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist "for service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force," according to the statement.  A US official said that the re-designation was intended to show that Hezbollah is acting on behalf of the Iranian government and update the public record to link the designation to Hezbollah's actions on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
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USS George Washington arrives in Middle East as USS Abraham Lincoln prepares to sail home

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  US Sailors work on the flight deck of USS George Washington, Aug. 20, as the aircraft carrier transits the Arabian Sea. (photo credit: X/CENTCOM) The USS George Washington aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, US Central Command announced on Thursday, as a US official told The New York Times that the USS Abraham Lincoln began its journey back to the US on the same day.   This comes a week after US Senator Richard Blumenthal demanded a formal inquiry into the conditions aboard the Lincoln amid reports of low morale, suicide attempts, supply shortages, water contamination, and several other issues. CENTCOM refuted claims that soldiers had tried to jump off the Lincoln in a post on X/Twitter. 
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