Economic war escalates
CNN reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled to hold a news conference at 2 p.m. ET on Monday as the Trump administration ramps up its economic threats against Tehran.
In parallel, CBS News said Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told Friday that the world had “approved” the country’s victory over the U.S. and that the war should therefore end.
The BBC said Rezaei warned that “any country that participates in imposing economic restrictions on Iran is considered an enemy,” and added that if neighboring countries cooperate with the Americans, “not a single drop of oil will come out … from the Gulf and the Hormuz Strait.”
Allies warned, talks tested
Iran’s warnings to Gulf and other partners were echoed across outlets, with the BBC quoting Rezaei saying, “We say to all neighboring countries and to the whole world: Do not join the economic war being waged by the United States.”
The Guardian framed Rezaei’s threat as targeting “oil-shipping routes out of the Gulf” if neighbors joined the “economic war,” adding that those neighbors would be “considered an enemy” and “we will target their interests”.
CBS News reported that Egypt’s foreign minister spoke by phone with Iran’s counterpart on Saturday to restart negotiations, with Egypt’s foreign ministry saying the call discussed Iran continuing talks with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz or returning to the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding from June.
CBS News also said Iran granted some Iraqi oil tankers permission to transit through the Strait of Hormuz after repeated requests from Baghdad, while the BBC said Iran allowed a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the strait after repeated requests from Baghdad.
What’s at stake next
The BBC warned that the U.S. is watching “what is happening” in the conflict and quoted Trump saying, “They strongly want to reach an agreement, but they are not willing to reach the right agreement, in my view.”
AP described the pressure inside Iran as families struggling to afford basics, quoting Ahmad Karimi, 52, a taxi driver and father of two, saying, “We’re cutting out fruit, we’re cutting out protein, we’ve given up leisure, we even work on weekends.”
Reuters and other outlets also tied the economic fight to shipping access, with CNN noting that the number of ships crossing the strait rose 27% in the past week while Iran granted permission to a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.