26 million ago Iranian currency hits new record low The Iranian currency hit a record low against the dollar on Monday as the U.S. government prepared to unveil new sanctions in a bid to further squeeze the country’s economy to force Iran’s theocratic rulers to capitulate in the nearly six-month war. The rial fell to 2.02 million per US dollar when trading in informal currency markets opened. The Central Bank of Iran’s official exchange rate stood at around 1.5 million rials to the dollar, but the informal rate is what most Iranians pay. The currency had already been under pressure before the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, with double-digit inflation and negative growth, but it has been hitting new lows as the war takes an even greater toll. Saudi Arabia, the British military’s Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Monday. The incident caused a fire on the ship’s main deck, but the crew were safe, UKMTO said in a brief statement. The incident took place 63 nautical miles west of the Saudi city of Yanbu, the agency reported. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said on July 20 they would impose a blockade on Saudi ports and ships in the Red Sea, and have since attacked multiple Saudi-owned oil tankers in the Red Sea. region. 3:42 AM Greek military reportedly moves Patriot interceptor systems in response to Iranian threats The Greek military on Monday moved one of its Patriot missile interceptor systems to the island of Crete in response to Iranian threats to attack US military bases in Europe, local media said. The battery was moved from the eastern island of Karpathos to Crete, where there is a major US base at Souda, according to reports. Media images showed the Patriot system on a truck waiting to be loaded onto a barge. The Financial Times reported last week, citing Iranian sources, that Iran would fire missiles at US targets in Europe if President Donald Trump steps up military pressure over the Strait of Hormuz. The Greek Defense Ministry did not comment on the alleged transfer of the missile system. 3:01 AM Talks between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz will continue on Tuesday Oman and Iran will continue their talks on the future management of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, Tehran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday. The spokesperson said Oman’s Foreign Minister will travel to Tehran to meet with Iranian officials. The two countries, whose coasts include the strategic waterway, have been in talks for weeks to negotiate how to manage the choke point. Some details have emerged regarding the possible introduction of fees for ships transiting the strait, as well as specific routes to enter and exit the area. CBS/AFP 3:01 AM Treasury Secretary warns Iran and allies of ‘economic D-Day’ Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned Iran and its allies that the United States will unleash an “economic D-Day” against Iran as part of a shift in strategy to pile up economic pressure in hopes of breaking the deadlock in the conflict, a term used for the first time. by President Trump last week. In an article in the British newspaper Financial Times, Bessent said the measures would be “the largest financial offensive ever carried out against an adversary.” The secretary also urged Iran’s allies to sever ties with Tehran, saying doing so would “deepen their access to global capital, bolster confidence in their markets, and achieve the position they seek in the global economy.” Bessent will hold a press conference on Monday in which he will announce the new measures. After months of military pressure and a failed deal to negotiate an end to the war, Trump in recent weeks signaled a shift in strategy to exert economic pressure on Iran. 3:01 AM Iran’s president defends memorandum of understanding as best way forward Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States in June as the best way for the country to overcome what he described as a “neither war nor peace” situation. “There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to a capitulation,” Pezeshkian said. “The supreme leader sets the policies and we will follow that path.” The agreement known as the Memorandum of Understanding was signed by President Trump in June. He set an ambitious 60-day deadline to end the war with Iran and reach an agreement on its nuclear program. That period ended last week, after weeks of months of stalled progress and flare-ups, with both sides declaring they had abandoned it. There appears to be no sign of compromise on the crucial issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, vital to global shipping. CBS/AP 3:01 AM Iran says any country that joins US sanctions is considered an ‘enemy’ Iran on Saturday warned countries not to participate in the United States’ “economic war” against the Islamic republic, saying they would be considered enemies. “All countries… do not join the economic war waged by the United States. Any country that participates in imposing economic restrictions against us is considered an enemy,” Mohsen Rezai, head of Iran’s supreme national security council, said on state television. If the affected countries refuse to “distance themselves” from the United States, Iran would “harm” their interests, he added. Rezai also insisted that Iran had more cards to play in the war, stating: “We have not yet attacked any American economic interests.” Trump said last week that the United States will impose “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale.” But he also called on the rest of the world to help the United States enforce the sanctions, the details of which have not yet been announced.CBS/AFP
