TODAY

In an intriguing development, Poland has been named among the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers covered by a massive new U.S. contract with Boeing for the F-15 program. This has prompted renewed speculation that Warsaw could eventually acquire the F-15EX Eagle II. Poland’s Ministry of National Defense, however, says there is currently no such plan, but there is a precedent here, with the Polish order for AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters following a very similar path.

The U.S. Department of War announced Monday that Boeing had received an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a ceiling value of $131.23 billion for the “F-15 Eagle Crest” program. The agreement covers production, systems integration, modernization, upgrades, retrofits, sustainment and the establishment of depot-level maintenance capabilities for F-15 aircraft. Work is expected to continue through August 2037, with orders initially permitted through August 2031 and an option to extend that period to 2036.

The distinction is significant. An IDIQ contract establishes a mechanism through which orders can subsequently be placed; it does not itself constitute an aircraft purchase by every country named within it. The $131.23 billion figure is therefore a maximum contractual ceiling for the wider F-15 program, rather than the value of aircraft already ordered by the United States and its foreign customers.

Importantly, the contract also covers Foreign Military Sales customers. The Pentagon specifically lists Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, and Poland.

Of these, it should be noted that Indonesia was once in line to be the first export operator of the F-15EX, but, earlier this year, Boeing confirmed the country had abandoned its plans to buy the jets. The deal had been in stasis for the previous two years.

Poland, however, had never formally announced plans to order the F-15EX, although Boeing eyes the country as a potential customer for the aircraft.

Boeing has actively promoted the F-15EX to Warsaw, while Polish military officials have previously visited the company’s facilities in the United States. In 2025, then-Inspector of the Polish Air Force Gen. Ireneusz Nowak flew an F-15EX at Boeing’s facilities.

The aircraft has frequently appeared in discussions about Poland’s requirement for additional fourth-generation fighters. Warsaw has already committed to a large expansion of its fifth-generation F-35 fleet, with Polish officials confirming plans for another 32 F-35As in addition to the 32 aircraft already ordered.

F35 – HUSARZ

As we have discussed in the past, the F-15EX could provide a compelling complement to the F-35, providing a large weapons payload, long range, and a substantial air-to-air weapons capacity. But there is currently no indication from Poland that such a procurement has entered a formal acquisition phase.

Poland’s Ministry of National Defence told Defence24 that the Polish Armed Forces “do not plan to acquire F-15EX aircraft” and that the country’s inclusion in the U.S. framework contract does not mean a decision has been made or that a procurement process has begun.

As it is, the wording of the U.S. announcement is best understood as identifying countries that can potentially participate in F-15 Foreign Military Sales under the new contractual framework.

For Poland, Washington has established a long-term contractual vehicle that could facilitate a future F-15EX purchase, even though Warsaw says it has no current plan to acquire the aircraft.

Whether that changes in the future remains a separate question. However, as Gareth Jennings, aviation desk editor at Janes, has pointed out, in 2017 the U.S. Department of Defense denied that Poland had selected the AH-64 after it was named in a similar contract, for sensors. Not long after, Warsaw became the largest international customer for the Apache, buying 96 examples of the attack helicopter.

Boeing today told Jennings that Poland has not yet made a decision about the F-15EX.

As for the Apache buy, this is just one part of an extraordinary military expansion underway since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Warsaw has pursued major acquisitions across nearly every part of its armed forces, including 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft, 180 K2 tanks and 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks, alongside its 32-aircraft F-35 order. Its existing fleet of F-16 fighters is also set for a major upgrade.

With the FMS case for Indonesia having expired earlier this year, an F-15EX sale to Indonesia now looks far less likely.

For now, there is no Polish F-15EX deal, and Warsaw is clear that no procurement process has begun. But the country’s inclusion in the U.S. framework, combined with Boeing’s continued interest and the Apache precedent, means the possibility is worth watching.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

The trip is thought to be Ratcliffe’s first trip to Russia as CIA director, although he has maintained contact with his intelligence counterparts in Moscow.

John Foreman, who served as a British military attaché to Moscow between 2019 and 2022, told Radio 4’s PM programme that the visit could be focused on “escalation management” given speculation recent drone activity in Germany could be linked to Russia.

He said: “The Americans don’t normally send such a high ranking official to Moscow unannounced at short notice unless something is up.”

Foreman said the trip could also concern the release of US detainees currently being held in Russia.

Ratcliffe played a role in negotiations for the release of Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina’s, who was jailed in Russia for over a year after being accused of providing support to Ukraine.

The CIA was also involved in a 2024 prisoner swap deal with Russia that saw the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, as well as former US marine Paul Whelan and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva.

The US has had strained relations with Russia since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, Russia has been isolated on the world stage and faced international economic sanctions.

Ratcliffe appears to be one of the highest-ranking US officials to visit the country during President Donald Trump’s second term.

Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit in Alaska last year but the meeting did not lead to a breakthrough. Subsequent US-led peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appear to have stalled.

Additional reporting by BBC Verify

Fire containment has reached 27 percent in the rampant wildfire that first erupted in the Sierra Nevada foothills near the city of Reno in the state of Nevada in the United States. At least seven people – three first responders and four civilians – have been injured.

The blaze first broke out on Saturday and exploded in size by Sunday, destroying at least 32 homes and damaging six as it spread perilously close to dense neighbourhoods. Local officials, speaking at an afternoon news briefing on Monday, said those numbers are sure to rise as assessment teams begin to survey the charred areas.

They also said the fire had no new growth and has held steady at about 60 square kilometres (23 square miles) since it burned out of control on Sunday.

“We are making progress,” assured US Forest Service District Ranger Matt Zumstein.

Videos posted on social media showed the smouldering ruins of homes and cars, with only a scorched basketball hoop still standing.

By Monday, the number of residents under evacuation orders and warnings was lowered to about 63,000, down from more than 90,000 people when the blaze first mushroomed over the weekend. While winds have eased, there are still concerns that gusts could propel the flames through dry brush into newly developed neighbourhoods in Nevada’s largest city outside of metro Las Vegas. Reno is home to about 280,000 people.

Schools across the local area were closed because of the evacuations and to keep roads clear for emergency crews.

‘Like nothing I’ve seen before’: Reno faces third wildfire in two weeks

Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said the way the fire spread so quickly at its peak had her fearing for the worst.

“It lit up these areas like nothing I’ve seen before,” she said Monday, adding, “it took your breath away, in the worst way”.

This is the third large wildfire in the craggy, high-desert region north of Reno in just the past two weeks – driven completely by human behaviour, according to fire officials. They have not disclosed whether the Hawk Fire, which is what the blaze is known as due to having started near the Hawk Meadow Trail, was intentionally set or accidental. Much of the area that burned was sagebrush and grass.

Resident Crystal Hallock, 53, has lost her home to a fire twice in under a decade. She moved into the rebuilt house in 2019, a year after an electrical fire burned it down.

Nevada’s governor quickly declared a state of emergency in Washoe County over the weekend after mobilising the National Guard to help with aerial firefighting and protecting evacuated neighbourhoods northwest of downtown Reno. But at one roadblock, residents expressed frustration that they could not get back into their homes, according to The Associated Press news agency.

“There’s no fire here! Why are the National Guard here?” a driver yelled.

Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said he understands that some residents are frustrated that they can’t get home, but the danger isn’t over yet. “It just takes that little breeze and one ember,” he said.

Reno is southwest of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, site of the annual Burning Man festival, which begins on August 30.

Many who travel to Burning Man make Reno a regular pit stop. Organisers on Monday requested that attendees not take hotel rooms and other resources away from fire evacuees, while being mindful of closures.

“Treat our neighbors, first responders, hospitality workers and everyone affected by this emergency with patience and care,” a Burning Man statement read.

Western wildfire risk stays high

Much of Nevada’s western edge is under an increased risk of wildfires this week because of high winds and low relative humidity, the National Interagency Fire Center said. The National Weather Service says the region will see warm, dry and breezy conditions, and that critical fire weather conditions are possible in the week’s latter half. Reno sits at an elevation of 1,370 metres (4,500 feet).

Extremely dry conditions across the American West have sparked a rash of wildfires this summer. Fires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area in early August.

Nationwide wildfires have topped 50,000 this year, marking a 10-year high for the same period, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

A house rammed by a car before the fatal A66 crash in Middlesbrough belonged to the father of a teenager who died in the incident.

Cole Worthy, 17, was one of five young men who died when a Volkswagen Passat travelling in the wrong direction hit a Cleveland Police armed response vehicle, also killing two police officers.

The force said that in the early hours of Saturday, and the previous night, it had received multiple reports of two cars driving dangerously around the town and a Volvo XC60, believed to be linked to the Passat, was seen ramming properties.

There is no suggestion Worthy’s father was involved in criminal activity.

PC Tom Clough, 38, and PC Matthew Blades, 37, died in the crash, as did Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jacob Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Theo Rae, 17, and Worthy.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said officers had been pursuing the Passat for almost seven minutes after it was connected to earlier alleged criminal activity, but the pursuit was abandoned 10 seconds before the crash when it turned on to the dual carriageway.

Both vehicles were operating with cloned number plates but were picked up by automated number plate recognition technology.

Yan Diomande topped Real’s transfers, and Jose Mourinho says he is happy despite missing out on Rodri to Barcelona.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says he is “very happy” with his squad, which he considers complete despite missing out on midfielder Rodri, later signed by rivals Barcelona.

Los Blancos revamped their squad this summer, signing six players including record arrival Yan Diomande, Bernardo Silva and Marc Cucurella.

However, Madrid’s approach for Rodri broke down, meaning that, beyond former Man City playmaker Silva, they have not strengthened in midfield.

“For me the squad is closed, but the market is still open – you never know if a player will come and say ‘I’ve been benched twice and I want to leave,’” Mourinho told reporters on Tuesday.

“In theory, no [more deals]… but something could always happen… In my head the squad is closed, and I have not asked for anyone. I am very happy with the players I have.”

With midfield maestros Toni Kroos and Luka Modric departing in 2024 and 2025 respectively, Madrid have struggled to control matches.

Mourinho’s side snatched a late 2-1 win at Espanyol on Saturday in their La Liga opener, starting with Silva and Federico Valverde together in midfield.

Mourinho said French defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni was not ready to play against Real Sociedad on Wednesday.

“He’s got a problem, the holiday time wasn’t enough [for him to recover], seeing the games approaching, the player wanted to try … but we’ve decided that you can’t start a season in suffering,” explained the coach.

“You can finish a season suffering, the last couple of months, but you can’t start in August not at 100 percent.

“So we decided with him, the staff, the medical department, to get him to return at 100 percent.”

Mourinho said he had faith in Uruguayan international Valverde as a midfielder, despite previous coaches using him in a variety of roles, including right-back and right winger.

“For me he is a player for the centre of the pitch,” added Mourinho.

“Depending on the opponent and our objectives, he might be more set in his position or more mobile.”

Mourinho said that in modern football, players’ positions were less relevant.

“I don’t want to identify Tchouameni as the No. 6, Camavinga No. 6, Fede No. 8, Bernardo No. 10 … things dilute during games.”

Ministers have announced where more than 70,000 social and affordable homes will be built in England over the next 10 years as part of an initial allocation of almost £10bn, in a bid to address the housing crisis.

Funding has been granted to Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, North East England, and Liverpool. An additional £6bn was previously announced for London.

It is the first part of a wider plan to build 300,000 social and affordable homes across the nation, under the government’s £39bn social housebuilding programme.

Earlier this year, before he became prime minister, Andy Burnham had called for the entire 10-year £39bn affordable housing budget for England to be spent on homes for social rent – which means the cost of the unit is about half that of market rents, and there are strict criteria for who can apply for it.

“I would actually devote all of it to social housing,” Burnham told The Social Housing Podcast in May.

But of the new homes announced on Monday, 60% would be for social rent.

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook told BBC Breakfast he did not accept Burnham had failed to meet his previous commitment, saying the government had taken a “pragmatic approach” and wants to “get money out the door”.

He said the next tranche of funding would be more focused on council houses – which are usually also classed as homes for social rent.

It is understood ministers decided against giving councils more of the funding announced in the first tranche because they did not believe councils would be in a position to build the required number of social homes.

Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir spent Monday moving through the power corridors of Tehran: the presidency, parliament, the Supreme National Security Council, and the foreign and interior ministries.

He met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as well as Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is Tehran’s chief negotiator in talks with the United States to end their now six-month-long war.

But amid a deadlock in those peace negotiations, many analysts say that Munir’s true test as mediator will lie in his ability to use his position as one of the region’s most powerful military leaders to convince his Iranian counterparts in olive uniforms to agree to a return to talks with Washington.

Days before Munir’s visit, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told a gathering of doctors in Tehran that it was time to end the war while Iran held the advantage, a message aimed as much at Tehran’s own security establishment as at Washington.

“It is better that we bring the war to an end now as we are in a position of power and dignity,” he said, adding that “the whole world acknowledges our victory”.

Hours later, on August 21, the chief of the general staff of Iran’s armed forces, Major-General Ali Abdollahi, promised “revolutionary, crushing, regret-inducing and devastating” responses to any American miscalculation.

It was a sharp illustration of the gap between Iran’s president and the men now running its military — one that Munir will need to also navigate, analysts say.

And that’s why Munir’s most significant meeting on Monday might have been with General Mohsen Rezaei, a representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and the newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Rezaei is essentially the bridge between the military and Khamenei.

State of the war

Munir’s visit to Tehran came on a day when the region and the world were bracing for US President Donald Trump’s threatened “economic D-Day” sanctions against Iran, accompanied by a threatened punishment for all countries that continue to trade with Tehran.

Later in the day, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled “Operation Economic Outcast“, a sweeping sanctions campaign targeting Iran’s digital assets, gold, aviation, technology and shipping networks.

But while warning other countries to sever trade ties with Iran, he held back from actually announcing any penalties for those nations, acknowledging that such a step would “blow up the global financial system”.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking the same day, kept the option of renewed strikes open.

“If we need to use kinetic strikes, we’ll use them. If Iran is foolish enough to overplay their hand or mess with the American military, we’ll do what we need to do,” he said.

It’s unclear whether Munir’s visit helped stave off broader US action against Iran and its trading partners.

But the timing was significant, analysts point out. Munir travelled to Tehran days after taking a phone call from United States President Donald Trump, who reportedly asked Islamabad to use its influence to bring Iran back to the table.

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the one-day visit had produced “comprehensive discussions” on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war.

Iranian officials, the ISPR added, “appreciated Pakistan’s constructive role and sincere efforts”.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who travelled with Munir, went further, calling the talks “very positive and productive” and saying “significant progress was made”.

A reshuffled Iranian military

This was his fourth visit to Tehran this year, but his first since Iran’s military hierarchy changed earlier this month.

On August 10, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei installed Abdollahi as chief of the general staff and moved Rezaei into the Supreme National Security Council. Ahmad Vahidi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has held his post since March, when his predecessor was killed in the war’s opening strikes.

It is these military men that analysts say are now shaping Iran’s war moves, potentially giving a fellow man in uniform an edge over traditional diplomats in convincing Tehran to get back to talks.

“It is increasingly the IRGC and the wider security establishment driving decisions on war and peace during this crisis,” Ahmed Saeed, a former vice admiral in Pakistan’s navy and a defence analyst, told Al Jazeera.

Naqvi, the interior minister, has travelled to Tehran eight times since April without those visits producing a substantial breakthrough.

But unlike him, Munir is not a politician. He’s a general who appears to enjoy the trust of both the Iranian leadership and, crucially, Trump — who has described the Pakistani army chief as his “favourite field marshal”.

“The call [to Munir a few days ago] was initiated by Trump himself, requesting Pakistani leadership use its influence to bring Iran back to the table,” Saeed said.

Warm words, no movement

What Iranian officials actually told Munir, in accounts carried by Iranian state media, differed little from what they have been telling their own broadcasters all week.

“We distrust America, and it must change its behaviour,” Rezaei told Munir, according to IRNA.

Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, was blunter.

“We are pursuing the implementation of the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, and it is America that must adhere to its commitments based on the Memorandum of Understanding,” he told Munir, according to IRNA.

Pezeshkian, meanwhile, pressed Munir to tell Washington to “correct its tone and approach”, warning that “relying on force and bullying will only complicate the process”, according to Tasnim, another Iranian outlet.

Two tracks, one strait

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi is also expected in Tehran today for a separate round of talks focused specifically on the Strait of Hormuz, a track that has run alongside Pakistan’s mediation for months.

Oman’s involvement is not new. Albusaidi has held recurring talks with Tehran on the strait’s navigation rules.

Ejaz Haider, a Lahore-based defence analyst, said the Omani and Pakistani diplomatic tracks complement each other.

“Oman and Islamabad channels complement, because clause 5 of the Islamabad MoU stresses a bilateral understanding on the strait [between Oman and Iran],” he told Al Jazeera. The Strait of Hormuz passes through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.

“This [a deal between Iran and Oman to jointly manage the strait] is not in the interest of the US, which is why Trump has threatened to bomb Oman,” Haider said, referring to remarks Trump made on August 17, when he told Fox News he would bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of reopening the strait, the second time he had threatened the US ally over Hormuz.

Where Islamabad’s advantage as a mediator lay was in its “direct access to Vahidi, Abdollahi and Rezaei, the actual architects of Iran’s decision-making”, Saeed, the former naval official, said.

An Iranian official close to the negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Albusaidi would be in Tehran “primarily to hear what Iran has decided and what it has discussed with its Pakistani mediator”.

Who holds the leverage?

Andreas Krieg, an associate professor of defence studies at King’s College London, said the differences that had emerged between the Iranian military and civilian leaderships demonstrate a gulf between their understanding of where the war stood.

Pezeshkian and Ghalibaf, Krieg said, were “essentially warning that Iran cannot live indefinitely in this condition”, while “parts of the IRGC believe the opposite and think time is working against Washington”.

But ultimately, he said, “Mohsen Rezaei, Ahmad Vahidi and the IRGC are central to whether any political understanding [to end the war] can be implemented”, referring to Iran’s top military leadership.

“[Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas] Araghchi can negotiate something, and Qatar can broker it, but none of that matters if the security apparatus does not accept the operational consequences.”

For now, Munir appears to be the candidate mediators believe has the best shot at getting Iranian generals from their war room to the board room.

Yellow weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office as heavy rain and thunderstorms are forecast to break out over parts of the UK later this week.

The warnings span Wednesday and Thursday and include parts of east Wales, the Midlands, northern England, East Anglia and southern England – including London.

It is likely to be the one of the most widespread outbreaks of heavy rain across southern and central parts of the UK this summer.

While good news for regions plagued by drought, significant accumulations could lead to flash flooding where the ground is too dry and hard to absorb the downpours. Lightning, large hail and gusty winds are also possible.

The trial judge, Dabney Friedrich, has agreed that the start date should be set aside, underlining the potential importance of the new evidence.

She would have been extremely reluctant to allow an 11th hour postponement after months of preparation and marathon pre-trial legal battles.

For the relatives of those who died and Al-Marimi himself, this latest delay means a verdict might not come until next spring.

It is yet another stunning development in a saga that has witnessed countless twists and turns over nearly four decades.

Pan Am 103 was flying from Heathrow to New York when the bomb exploded in its forward hold, breaking the plane apart at 31,000 feet.

All 259 passengers and crew on board were killed. Another 11 people died in Lockerbie when the wreckage fell on their homes.

Of the victims, 190 were American and 43 from the UK.

Nearly four decades later, the bombing remains the worst terror attack and mass murder in British history.

The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is heading home, finally. After nine months that surely felt longer for the crew and their families and friends waiting at home, the CSG left the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR) over the weekend, formally ending a 200-plus-day combat deployment to the Middle East. The supercarrier was most recently transiting eastbound in the Indian Ocean, once again operating under U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM). The flattop will reportedly make a port call in Thailand, according to a just-released report from USA Today – the first and only liberty port call since deploying late last year – before continuing on to Naval Base San Diego. In Lincoln’s stead, USS George Washington has taken up station in the Arabian Sea, as the Navy maintains dual-carrier coverage in theater to support the ongoing blockade of Iran.

This is TWZ’s weekly carrier tracker monitoring America’s flattop fleet, including deployed Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG), using publicly available open-source information. Check out last week’s report here.

The Lincoln CSG has been deployed for 277 days, as of publication, in what will shake out to be one of the longest deployments in the modern carrier era. The CSG served as the tip of the spear during Operation Epic Fury, pressuring Iran’s southern axis from the northern Arabian Sea, and was instrumental in enforcing the two rounds of blockades that followed. Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 launched more than 10,000 sorties and dropped over 1.5 million pounds of ordnance in support of both operations, according to a statement from the acting Secretary of the Navy.

For the vast majority of Sailors and Marines aboard the Lincoln, the last time they stepped on solid ground was in November 2025 when the flattop deployed. The carrier has pulled into two ports since departing last year, but they have been characterized as brief “pit stops,” and were not “liberty” calls, where the crew has the opportunity to disembark and disengage. The first, in December 2025, was publicized on DVIDS when Lincoln spent a day in Guam; the second, lesser known and reported, took place in early July at a friendly port in the Middle East that TWZ will not identify for operational security purposes. During the latter stop, CNN reporter Pamela Brown embarked for the first media embed of the war, right around the time that Lincoln was set to break the record for the most consecutive days at sea without a port call, which TWZ was among the first to report. It’s still unclear if the record was broken, or if the flattop pulled into port a few days before.

Lincoln is scheduled to enter a Drydocking Planned Incremental Availability (DPIA) after returning home, according to budget documents reviewed by TWZ, and when she will return to service is unclear, as lengthy deployments tend to extend maintenance periods. You can read our recent deep-dive on the status of the four carriers undergoing availabilities, and the broader strain on the carrier fleet, here.

USS George Washington has assumed Lincoln’s watch in CENTCOM, joining USS George H.W. Bush to “support maritime security and stability in the Middle East” as the conflict with Iran approaches the half-year mark, without a negotiated deal in sight. Washington is America’s only forward-deployed flattop, homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, and was conducting a routine patrol in the Western Pacific before transiting the Malacca Strait and steaming toward CENTCOM to relieve Lincoln. Prior to deploying, Washington completed a pierside Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) in Japan “to service critical systems and conduct repairs,” the Assistant Public Affairs Officer (PAO) told TWZ earlier this year.

Washington achieved a significant aviation milestone just before entering the CENTCOM AOR, surpassing 200,000 fixed-wing traps. “Two hundred thousand traps is not just a number, it is a testament to the enduring strength of American naval aviation and the unmatching professionalism of the Sailors who make it possible,” the commander of CSG 5, Rear Adm. Jeffrey L. Heames, said. “This milestone reminds the world that U.S. carriers remain ready to launch and recover aircraft anywhere, anytime, in defense of freedom and our allies,” he added. Washington, which has been in active service for 34 years, is “capable of landing one aircraft on deck per minute, and typically lands 70 aircraft across several events throughout the day,” according to a statement released by the PAO.

TWZ reached out to Washington’s PAO to confirm the composition of the carrier’s air wing. Here’s the current accounting:

Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5

• Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 “Argonauts” – F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (Navy-operated)
• Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102 “Diamondbacks” – FA-18F Super Hornets
• Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 27 “Royal Maces” – FA-18E Super Hornets
• Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 195 “Dambusters” – FA-18E Super Hornets
• Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 141 “Shadowhawks” – EA-18G Growlers
• Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 125 “Tigertails” – E-2D Hawkeyes
• Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12 “Golden Falcons” – MH-60S Seahawks
• Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 77 “Saberhawks” – MH-60R Seahawks
• Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30 Det. 5 “Titans” – CMV-22B Ospreys

Like Lincoln, Washington embarks a single squadron of F-35C Joint Strike Fighters, as well as three squadrons of F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. However, Washington’s F-35C squadron is operated by the Navy, while Lincoln’s is flown by the Marine Corps. The Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) commander for CSG-5 is classified.

The second carrier underway in the CENTCOM AOR, USS George H.W. Bush, has been deployed for more than four months and is operating at an undisclosed location in the Arabian Sea. The ship was spotted on DVIDS, the military’s content-sharing platform, conducting daytime and nighttime flight ops over the past two weeks.

In the continental United States, two carriers are currently underway and working up off the east and west coast. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, got underway on August 21 and is operating 35 nautical miles off the coast with her AIS transponder on. USS Carl Vinson departed San Diego on August 10 and is conducting Tailored Ship’s Training Availability (TSTA) and Final Evaluation Period (FEP). The next carrier scheduled to deploy, USS Theodore Roosevelt, is still pierside in San Diego, based on commercial satellite imagery.

Overall, three U.S. carriers are deployed (with one heading home), one is preparing to deploy in the near term, two are working up in various states of readiness, four are currently in maintenance, and one is being used primarily for training before deactivation next year. One amphibious ready group is deployed, one is forward-deployed, four are working up or in port, and three are in maintenance.

Note: Positions are general approximations. Non-deployed LHA/LHD amphibious warships are not shown.

Contact the author: ian.ellis-jones@recurrent.io

Mérida, August 24, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) –The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued two general licenses granting specific permissions for telecommunications operations with Venezuela.

Under General License 61 (GL61), published on Friday, OFAC authorized US companies to provide “technology, software, or services for the installation, maintenance, refurbishment, repair, upgrade, operation, or support of telecommunications” to Venezuela’s state-owned telecommunications company CANTV and National Telecommunications Commission CONATEL.

According to official OFAC definitions, telecommunications services encompass fixed and mobile telephony, data transmission, internet connectivity, radio and television broadcasting, news agency feeds, satellite communications, and submarine cables.

GL61 permits specific operational activities, including payment processing, logistics, air freight, insurance, data storage, server maintenance, roaming agreements, and infrastructure leasing. However, the license specifies that Venezuelan state entities must procure new acquisitions directly from US companies or US citizens.

In addition, the Trump administration published General License 62 (GL62), authorizing negotiations for contracts in Venezuela’s telecommunications sector, though specific agreements remain contingent on a separate specific license,

Both sanctions waivers impose that any contracts be governed by the laws of a state or federal jurisdiction within the United States. Furthermore, the licenses demand that “dispute resolution proceedings relating to the contract occur in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, or Singapore.”

The Treasury licenses maintain bans on debt swaps, physical gold, or digital currencies and tokens issued by or on behalf of the Venezuelan government.

Furthermore, GL61 and GL62 maintain restrictions prohibiting “any transaction involving a person located in the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the People’s Republic of China, or any entity that is owned or controlled by or in a joint venture with such persons”.

Since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Washington has upheld its wide-reaching coercive economic sanctions in areas such as energy and mining,  while issuing licenses to favor US and Western corporations.

US sanctions and restrictions on Chinese technology firms present a challenge to CANTV’s recent operational landscape. For the past two decades, the Venezuelan government has forged bilateral agreements with Chinese telecom firms, including ZTE and Huawei, establishing joint projects to manufacture and deploy telecommunications equipment domestically. 

Over the last decade, CANTV has worked with Huawei and ZTE to modernize networks, expand fiber-optic infrastructure, and sustain broadband services nationwide. Venezuelan authorities have not commented on the latest US licenses and potential impact on existing agreements.

In addition, CANTV has been identified by analysts as a potential candidate for privatization. The company has recently been mired in controversy after reportedly slashing retired workers’ incomes. Retirees have staged protests in several states in recent days after a US $200 monthly bonus was arbitrarily slashed, while also demanding the restoration of basic medical insurance and health coverage guaranteed by collective bargaining agreements.

In parallel, CONATEL has launched technical and legal working sessions with representatives of SpaceX’s Starlink service to examine radio spectrum allocation, equipment homologation, and regulatory compliance under Venezuela’s Organic Telecommunications Law.

Despite Maduro previously criticizing SpaceX owner Elon Musk for destabilizing politics in Venezuela and Latin America, the acting Delcy Rodríguez government thanked the tech mogul for activating free Starlink services in the wake of the June 24 double earthquake in the Caribbean nation.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Andrei Fedorov, an adviser to the Kremlin, says there might be a “semi-military” response against UK drone factories by “unknown sources” over the sharing military blueprints with Russia.

His comments on BBC Newsnight come as UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham says he plans to travel to the US next month with European leaders to lobby US President Trump on Ukraine’s defence needs.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Burnham said, “I’m looking forward to going to New York in September,” when the UN General Assembly will meet.

He said that while the details were not “fully confirmed”, it is “likely” he will go. The trip would be his first to the US since becoming prime minister in July.

“Leaving today, I’m quite clear what I need to do in the next few weeks,” he said following his official visit to Ukraine on Monday, during which he promised to continue pressuring Russia.

The UK has also agreed to hand over blueprints for British-made components for the Scalp missile, a French version of the UK’s Storm Shadow cruise missile. The blueprints will allow Ukraine to produce the long-range weapon domestically.

Fedorov, who is Russia’s former deputy foreign minister, said Putin was facing “serious” pressure “to undertake certain measures against UK”. Asked on BBC Newsnight where the pressure was coming from, Fedorov responded, “public opinion polls, it’s coming from journalists, from mass media”.

Asked what a “semi-military” response might look like, Fedorov said “it could take the form of something might happen with enterprises, with factories which are producing drones for Ukraine.”

“They could be attacked not by Russia, but by from unknown sources,” he said.

The comments are in line with those made by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday, when he criticised the UK’s decision to share the missile blueprints. Peskov said it prevented “even the slightest progress” towards achieving peace.

He told reporters on Monday that the Russian military was already gathering data to locate any missile production sites to destroy them.

“Britain is involved in this war on the side of the Kyiv regime. Britain methodically and regularly adds fuel to the fire,” he added.

In response, Burnham said: “Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?”

Burnham’s visit to Ukraine was his first official international visit. He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and chaired his first meeting of the “coalition of the willing”, set up by the UK and France under his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer.

Burnham has been reaffirming the UK’s support for Ukraine in the wake of escalating Russian strikes in recent weeks – including one last week on a shopping centre that killed at least 16 people.

Ukraine has been relying on American supplies of the Patriot interceptor missiles, which are used to combat Russia’s ballistic missiles, but stockpiles are running low due to the war in Iran, leaving Ukraine vulnerable to Russian attacks.

Zelensky has said he is hoping to secure 300 patriot missiles ahead of winter, when Russia is likely to increase its attacks on energy infrastructure, as it has done in past years.

In the interview with Bloomberg, Burnham said that he felt “really confident” that the issue was “fixable”. But he pointed out that it wasn’t only the US who could supply Ukraine with Patriots.

“There are other players who could help in the mix who we have influence with,” he said. “It’s probably going to be a solution that involves a lot of layers and a lot of negotiation.”

In July this year, three weeks after offering Ukraine the right to produce Patriots itself, Trump backtracked, saying, “We have not agreed to that. We’re talking about it. But it’s a hard thing to give away, that kind of technology.”

“These weapons are incredible. We have to be very careful about letting somebody build them,” Trump told a cabinet meeting.

In a joint statement after the meeting in Ukraine, Burnham and co-chairs French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the group would aim to strength Kyiv’s air defences “as a matter or urgent priority”.

They also condemned Moscow’s “systemic and escalating strikes against Ukraine’s cities, critical infrastructure and civilians” and pledged to “constrain Russia’s war chest through sanctions and actions against the “shadow fleet”.

In a statement ahead of the visit, Burnham said: “On Ukraine’s 35th anniversary of independence, the Ukrainian people should be in no doubt: the UK is behind you today and for as long as it takes.

“I am proud of the contribution our country has made to Ukraine and I want the Ukrainian people to hear it directly from me that our support will not waver. After all, Ukraine’s security is our security.”

He said the friendship Ukraine shared with the UK would “long outlast Russia’s illegal war”, adding: “Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve. We will not back down until there is a just and lasting peace.”

Netanyahu’s claim comes after US and Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader and four of his family members in a strike on Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that Iran tried to kill one of his sons, but gave no details on when or where the alleged plot took place or which of his sons was targeted.

Netanyahu’s allegation on Monday came as his coalition trailed in opinion polls ahead of the general election in October, in the wake of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran.

The war began with a joint US-Israeli strike on Tehran that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and four members of his family, including his daughter, Boshra, and his 14-month-old granddaughter, Zahra.

According to The Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu made the claim about the alleged Iranian plot against his son during a phone interview with Channel 14, a conservative Israeli outlet known for favourable coverage of the government.

“This is an unbelievable case. Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder him, tried to murder one of my sons,” Netanyahu said.

He was responding to reports that one of Israel’s security agencies had declined to provide a security detail for Gadi Eisenkot, the former army chief who is running neck and neck with Netanyahu for the next prime minister ahead of elections.

Netanyahu voiced support for around-the-clock protection for Eisenkot, saying it was “not a luxury”.

“Without that, [the Iranians] will succeed,” he said.

Netanyahu has two sons and a daughter. Both of his sons and his wife were granted extended personal protection by Israeli authorities in July, according to The Jerusalem Post.

His elder son, Yair, 35, has spent extended periods in the US city of Miami since early 2024, drawing controversy in Israel over the cost to taxpayers of protecting him.

Iran, meanwhile, has promised revenge for the killings of Khamenei and his family.

Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, was named the new supreme leader a week after Ali Khamenei’s death.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since his appointment, but in a message published on the occasion of funeral ceremonies for his father, he pledged to “avenge the blood” of the former supreme leader.

If the action happens, it will be the largest single mass revocation of visas in US history, AP reports.

The United States is preparing to cancel business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are seeking asylum in the country, according to the Associated Press news agency.

The AP, citing State Department documents and interviews with two US officials, reported on Monday that if the plan goes ahead, it would be the “largest single mass revocation of visas” in the country’s history.

It said the State Department is expected to announce the action within the coming weeks, working in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

It would target so-called B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026, whose holders have sought asylum or are now seeking asylum.

“We are coordinating with DHS to identify and revoke the nonimmigrant visas of foreigners who have come to the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but then file for asylum to stay here permanently,” said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.

Officials cited by the AP said the revocations would not automatically trigger deportations.

Instead, most people with pending asylum cases would be shifted into a different immigration category, effectively stripping their business or tourist designation while their cases proceed.

In a social media post on Monday, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau called out people who he said try to use tourist and business visas to get into the US and then apply for asylum.

“People in the US and all over the world are fed up with bogus asylum claims,” Landau wrote on X. “Asylum isn’t supposed to be a loophole to circumvent immigration law.”

Since President Donald Trump took office for his second term last year, his administration has steadily ramped up restrictions on visa applicants – demanding more information about their social media histories, requiring the posting of expensive bonds for the processing of visas, and outright banning the issuance of visas to citizens of certain countries.

In the past 18 months, the State Department has also revoked about 175,000 visas for people who have been convicted or accused of crimes ranging from drunk driving to rape and robbery, as well as for people who have spoken out publicly against US policies, particularly in the Middle East.

There is a report of a new ship attack in the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting the difficulty of ending hostilities with Iran. The strike came hours after the Trump administration on Monday unleashed the threat of harsh new sanctions to further isolate the Islamic Republic. Though details were sparse, and no deadlines were issued, the goal was to compel the Iranians to return to negotiations by inducing additional economic pain instead of through bombardment. Originally touting the announcement as an “economic D-Day” against Iran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s lack of firm timelines presented Monday doesn’t seem to match that initial rhetoric.

Monday evening, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center (UKMTO) said it “received a report of an incident 9NM northeast of Ash Shishah, Oman.”

“The Master of an oil tanker reports the vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile causing damage to the engine room and disabling the vessel,” UKMTO reported on X. “Crew are reported safe. Environmental impact is unknown at time of report. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO. Authorities are investigating.”

UKMTO didn’t assign blame, but it’s obviously extremely likely the attack was carried out by Iran.

Hours before Bessent’s sanctions announcement, the Houthi rebels of Yemen also attacked another Saudi ship in the northern Red Sea. These strikes are a stark reminder that the war launched on Iran by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28 is still sending kinetic shockwaves around the region and roiling the global economy.

At a press conference in Washington, Bessent formally announced the broad outlines of a new list of measures to cut Iran off from global trade. The move comes as the Iranian economy, which was reeling even before the war broke out, continues to suffer after months of war and an ongoing U.S. naval blockade of its ports.

“We are level-setting with every country to tell them our expectations. We know who they are. They know who they are,” Bessent told reporters. “So when the hammer of U.S. Treasury actions falls upon them, they will have no one to blame but themselves.”

Dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast,” the plan calls for every country to “be given a defined timeline to shut down its Iran-related business activity,” Axios noted. “If it fails to do so, the U.S. will impose secondary sanctions.”

As part of this effort, the Treasury Department “issued determinations against five critical sectors––digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping––that the Iranian regime uses to try to prop up its failing economy,” it explained. In addition, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) “sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels in multiple jurisdictions that enable the Iranian regime’s recklessness, including illicit nuclear and missile technology procurement, cyber operations, and oil‑revenue generation networks.”

OFAC also “suspended several general licenses that previously authorized certain remittance payments to Iran and Iranian access to the U.S. cultural and academic system,” Treasury noted. “OFAC issued additional guidance on the sanctions risks of bowing to Iranian demands related to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Asked by a reporter what actions the U.S. might take against China, Bessent hinted that Beijing is not exempt. China has been a major importer of Iranian oil and its banks have helped support Tehran’s economy.

“We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions,” Bessent responded. “That if they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted.”

BIG: Bessent on China and Iran:

We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions.

That if they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted. pic.twitter.com/hVuFLlgaZa

— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 24, 2026

Bessent did not offer any further specifics. He was equally vague about any timelines for this effort.

“We are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior,” Bessent told reporters. “Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?”

For their part, the Iranians dismissed Bessent’s plan and promised their own harsh response to the new sanctions.

“Americans know that no one buys their bombast; the United States is not in an economic position to further restrict its relations with other countries,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, stated on X. “Iran’s trading partners, both in the media and through messages sent to us, have made it clear that they don’t take these statements into account anywhere.”

آمریکایی‌ها می‌دانند که کسی گُنده‌لافی‌های آنها را باور نمی‌کند؛ آمریکا از لحاظ اقتصادی در شرایطی نیست که بخواهد روابط خود با دیگر کشورها را محدودتر از این کند.
شرکای تجاری ایران، هم در رسانه‌ها و هم با ارسال پیام‌ به ما اعلام کرده‌اند که این اظهارات را به هیچ جا حساب نمی‌کنند.

— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) August 24, 2026

“Any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said. “Our hands are not tied.”

Baghaei did not offer specifics, but Iran still possesses missiles and drones that it can use to strike U.S. and allied interests in the region. In addition, Tehran still maintains a large degree of control over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Even the threat of additional attacks could affect the flow of oil through the strategic chokepoint.

In addition, on Saturday, Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran’s national security council, threatened to attack U.S. businesses, The Telegraph reported. He also warned allies of the U.S. that they would be considered enemies, and their interests harmed if they joined Trump’s economic warfare. Cyberattacks on U.S. water systems that officials suspect may be linked to Iran-backed hackers have been reported in at least a dozen states, CBS News reported earlier this month. Iranian-linked hackers are also suspected of forcing a small British power generator offline for four days last month. Aside from that, there are still many U.S. business interests in the Middle East, and especially energy firms, with major facilities right across the Persian Gulf.

While the U.S. and Iran trade threats, the Houthis carried out a fresh strike on Saudi shipping as we noted earlier in this piece.

The Iranian-backed group claimed it hit the oil tanker Amzan off the coast of Yanbu. That’s the kingdom’s key port on the northern Red Sea, about 600 miles north of Houthi territory.

🔺Ansarallah says it struck the Saudi oil tanker Amzan with a ballistic missile off Yanbu in the northern Red Sea, declaring the attack part of its maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and its “blockade for blockade” campaign.

Military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the missile hit… pic.twitter.com/PS6vna9XA2

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) August 24, 2026

Both the UKMTO and the Ambrey maritime security company confirmed the attack, which took place about 64 nm west of Yanbu, Ambrey noted.

After the vessel was hit, “the Egyptian Navy was reported to have responded and was transiting to the area of interest to conduct a rescue operation,” Ambrey stated. “At the time of the attack, the vessel was not transmitting its AIS signal. Its previous AIS transmission was recorded at 02:33 UTC on 8 August.”

The ship attack was the latest Houthi strike against the Saudis. The Yemen-based group had already struck Saudi ships in the southern part of that body of water and refineries along the northern portion after imposing a blockade on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait (BAM), leading several oil tankers in the Red Sea to avoid that route in favor of the Suez Canal. The expansion of the Houthi campaign against Saudi shipping began earlier this month with an attack off the port of Yanbu on the NCC Wafa, a Saudi oil tanker.

Though both the Strait of Hormuz and the BAM remain under pressure, ship traffic ticked upwards in both chokepoints last week, according to the Kpler global trade intelligence firm. Those numbers alone, however, don’t paint the full picture, Kpler cautioned.

“Traffic edged higher through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb last week, but headline volumes obscure contrasting risk signals,” Kpler cautioned on X. “Hormuz crossings rose 2.5% to 121, while laden transits fell 27% and sanctioned crossings increased from 9 to 16. Use of Iran’s unilateral routing scheme also climbed to 46.3% of crossings.”

“Bab el-Mandeb traffic rose 3.1% to 269 crossings,” the firm added. “Dark transits declined, but sanctioned and shadow fleet crossings remained broadly flat at 74 combined. The data suggest commercial substance is weakening at Hormuz even as overall traffic holds up, while Bab el-Mandeb remains resilient despite an active threat environment.”

Hormuz traffic masks rising risk

Traffic edged higher through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb last week, but headline volumes obscure contrasting risk signals.
Hormuz crossings rose 2.5% to 121, while laden transits fell 27% and sanctioned crossings increased from 9 to… pic.twitter.com/iHKsCigEJL

— Kpler (@Kpler) August 24, 2026

While the U.S. is threatening further moves to hurt the Iranian economy, doing so has inherent risks. For decades, Iran has weathered sanctions and isolation and yet the regime has persevered. It withstood mass protests against it earlier this year with bloody crackdowns that played a big role in moving U.S. President Donald Trump to take military action.

Iran continues to wield the cudgel of threatening the U.S. by resuming attacks on its assets in the region as well as against allies. In July, Tehran took rare initiative with a surprise attack on U.S. forces in Jordan, a contrast to its previous pattern of responding to strikes.

For the U.S., continued conflict risks further expenditure of its stocks of high-end offensive and defensive weapons and strain on its troops and equipment. It would also add new economic pressure. To help mitigate gasoline prices that shot up during the war, the Trump administration began releasing a large amount of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve. That move set off a cascade of downstream effects.

“Stocks of crude ​oil in the ‌U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) ​fell ​by about 3.7 million ⁠barrels ​to 289.7 million ​barrels last week, the lowest ​level since ​November 1982,” Reuters reported, citing data from the Department of Energy. “The ​drawdowns ​are ⁠part of a ​U.S. agreement ​to ⁠release 172 million barrels ⁠from ​the ​facility.”

Barchart, the global market data and technology firm, offered a stark assessment of the state of the SPR.

“The U.S. has just 41 days of crude oil inventory left, the lowest level in half a century,” Barchart noted on X.

While that doesn’t mean gas pumps in the U.S. are about to shut down, the alarm bells are ringing.

Earlier this month, the president said his new strategy was to be “low-keying it” in Iran, a suggestion wants to avoid further major military action. However, in addition to global and domestic economic pressure, there are other factors weighing on Trump as he decides what to do next with regard to Iran.

The war is unpopular and the midterm elections are fast approaching. The White House and Republican leadership remain keenly aware that the conflict dragging on until November won’t help the party’s bid to hold onto control of both the Senate and the House.

We will have to see if the Treasury’s plan is actually enacted and what Iran’s response will be. As it sits now, the administration is clearly hoping the threat of such economic isolation will press them to the negotiating table, but Iran has shown no signs yet that it will.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com 

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has announced new economic sanctions on Tehran, describing the measures as an “economic D-Day” as the US war on Iran approaches the six-month mark.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the sanctions on Monday, alongside a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Bessent said the sanctions target key sources of Iran’s revenue, including its oil and gas industry, and called on countries around the world to cut economic ties with Tehran.

What are the sanctions?

The Treasury Department said the sanctions will target Iran’s aviation, digital assets, gold, technology and shipping sectors, as well as impose sanctions on 60 specific individuals and vessels.

“The main point is that Iran seems to have much less room than it did in previous years to simply work around sanctions,” Peiman Salehi, a Tehran-based geopolitical analyst, told Al Jazeera.

Bessent also said on Monday that the new sanctions expose Tehran’s trade partners to secondary penalties. According to a Treasury Department release on Monday, the targets include ships based in or associated with countries including Singapore, China, and Hong Kong.

“Today’s sanctions are mostly incremental, but are part of trying to intimidate remaining trading partners into cutting ties [with Iran],” said Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank.

“There’s a lot of signalling and bluster aimed at getting other countries to crack down on entities involved in grey-zone trade, but new measures are mostly incremental for now,” she said. Grey-zone trade refers to both illegal, underground trade and trade that is unsanctioned but difficult.

The Treasury Department said Iran has used cryptocurrency to circumvent its longtime sanctions and facilitate transactions involving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and members of the Iranian regime. The department also said Iran has used gold to help prop up the value of its currency amid economic instability.

The new shipping sanctions target Iran’s state-linked shipping fleet, which the Treasury Department alleges is being used to transport oil as well as “sensitive weapons components”.

The technology sanctions are intended to restrict Iran’s acquisition of materials that could be used in its weapons programmes. The aviation sanctions target Iranian airlines that the Treasury Department alleges are being used to transport weapons and military personnel, as well as financial resources to Iran’s proxies.

Washington also indefinitely suspended several broad exceptions to its ongoing sanctions on Iran, including those covering academic exchanges, personal money transfers and certain sporting activities. Organisations currently engaged in those activities have until September 8 to wind down their operations.

Ziemba says these measures “will have more effect on Iranians, not just the regime”.

What sanctions were already in place?

Washington’s sanctions on Iran have been in place since 1979, after students took hostages at the US Embassy in Tehran, and increased over the next 45 years. Sanctions were briefly paused, however, after the administration of President Barack Obama and world powers signed a nuclear deal with Tehran in 2015. But the Trump administration withdrew from the deal during its first term, in 2018, bringing back old penalties while adding new ones.

Washington imposed new sanctions during Trump’s second term, many of them before the US and Israel first struck the country on February 28.

In February 2025, the Treasury Department sanctioned 30 individuals and vessels involved in the “brokering [of] the sale and transportation of Iranian petroleum-related products”, according to a department release. The targets were based in several countries, including India and China.

In December 2025, Washington sanctioned 29 vessels it accused of being part of a so-called shadow fleet used to transport Iranian petroleum. It also sanctioned Egyptian businessman Hatem Elsaid Farid Ibrahim Sakr over his businesses’ alleged ties to seven of those 29 vessels. The measures continued the 1979 sanctions campaign against Iran’s oil industry.

The Treasury Department stepped up the sanctions again in April 2026, targeting another two dozen individuals, companies and vessels operating within the network of Iranian oil shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of now-deceased senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani.

Later that same month, the Treasury also targeted what it described as “regime-linked cryptocurrency” and said it had seized nearly half a billion dollars from so-called “shadow banking networks”.

How have sanctions affected US consumers?

Pressure on the Iranian oil market, both through existing sanctions as well as the current war, has tightened the rest of the globe’s oil supply and affected countries that buy Iranian oil.

China, for example, is the primary destination for Iranian oil, buying roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil exports. Beijing bought 1.4 million barrels per day in 2025.

At the same time, Asian markets, China included, also heavily rely on oil travelling through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, where roughly one-fifth of the globe’s oil transited before Iran choked off the route.

This has put pressure on the global oil supply, meaning the benchmark for crude oil has ticked up, translating to higher prices on fuel and food.

For US consumers, that has been most apparent at the petrol pump. The average price for a gallon of petrol (3.78 litres) is $4.09, up from $2.98 on February 28 when the US and Israel first struck Iran, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which tracks daily petrol prices.

Experts warn that if Iran retaliation accelerates, it could hit Americans hard.

“If sanctions provoke Iranian retaliation against Gulf shipping, materially reduce oil exports, or cause insurers and shipping companies to avoid the region, then Americans could feel it very quickly through gasoline, diesel, airfares, freight costs and ultimately inflation,” John Deal, managing director of capital markets at Post Oak Group investment bank, told Al Jazeera.

The economy and Iran are emerging as key issues heading into the US midterm elections, with voters expressing dissatisfaction on both fronts. That could put pressure on Republicans in competitive races, including in traditionally red states such as Texas.

A late-July Reuters/Ipsos poll suggested that only about a third of Americans supported the war, while just 28 percent of respondents in a CNN poll approved of Trump’s handling of Iran.

On the economy, an AP/NORC poll suggested that 32 percent of Americans approved of Trump’s performance. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, meanwhile, suggested that Democrats were narrowly ahead of Republicans on which party voters trust more to handle the economy—the first Democratic advantage in roughly a decade.

How are the sanctions affecting markets?

The latest sanctions announcement is weighing on Wall Street as well as the oil and gold markets.

On the heels of the announcement, the price of gold, largely considered a safe investment during times of economic uncertainty, jumped by 0.8 percent to $4,639.49 per ounce (28 grams) in midday trading, ticking up to its highest level since mid-May.

As for oil, prices pulled back on Monday after two weeks of gains. The price of the global benchmark Brent crude tumbled by more than 2 percent on Monday to $85.22 a barrel.

On Wall Street, the major indices are mixed amid the latest sanctions news as well as Trump’s announcement of new tariffs on Canada. The Nasdaq is down 0.5 percent, and the S&P 500 is down 0.2 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, is trending in positive territory, 0.2 percent higher than the market open on Monday.

The oil sector is taking a hit. Chevron is down 0.8 percent, ExxonMobil tumbled 0.9 percent, BP fell more than 2 percent, and Shell is down 0.2 percent.

Washington also rescinded designation of HTS, formerly led by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, as a ‘terrorist’ organisation.

The United States has removed Syria from its list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism,” the US Treasury has announced.

A statement issued on Monday confirmed the revocation of a decades-old designation placed on the country during the rule of the ousted Assad regime.

The announcement confirms a decision initially revealed last month. It also revoked the designation of al-Nusrah Front – the group formerly led by the now-President Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – as a global “terrorist” organisation.

The move, first announced earlier this year pending a review by Congress, removes a critical impediment to investment in Syria, as the country seeks to reestablish itself in the international community and markets.

It represents a further vote of confidence in al-Sharaa, who has launched what many experts have described as a charm offensive aimed at Western powers, including meetings with President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Today’s action will help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, adding that it is “in line with President Trump’s promise to deliver sanctions relief to Syria”.

Having lifted sanctions on Syria in June 2025, alongside the European Union, the US announced in July its decision to delist Syria from its “terror” list, citing efforts by al-Sharaa to unify the country.

HTS was once al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria and was led by al-Sharaa. Under his leadership, the group removed former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 following a lightning offensive.

The ⁠designation of the state carried restrictions on US foreign ⁠assistance, defence exports, and ⁠financial transactions, so Syria’s removal from the list is already being celebrated in the country, particularly by financial officials.

The governor of Syria’s central bank, Safwat Raslan, said on X that this is “a historic step that restores the country to its natural place in the global economic system”. He added that the bank is “working to build a modern and reliable financial system”.

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh described Washington’s move as “a major and historic success for Syrian diplomacy”, according to the country’s official news agency SANA.

It “opens a major and long-awaited door to strengthening Syria’s integration into the global economic and financial system, attracting investment and modern technologies, and supporting development opportunities”, he said.

US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, meanwhile, called the end of the designation a “decisive step in Syria’s remarkable journey from isolation to partnership, and from a source of terrorism to a committed partner in the global fight against it”.

Falling Republican support, rising gas prices, and fears of a long conflict drive a decline in backing for the Iran war.

Support in the United States for the war on Iran has fallen as President Donald Trump’s approval remains at a record low, a Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests.

Public backing for the war has dropped to its lowest level since the early stages of the conflict, with declining Republican support contributing to the shift, according to the poll released on Monday.

Just 31 percent of Americans surveyed said they support US military action against Iran, down from 37 percent in March and 34 percent earlier this month. Support among Republican respondents fell to 69 percent, compared with 77 percent in March.

The war is also continuing to weigh on Trump’s standing with the public, the poll suggests. For the second consecutive Reuters/Ipsos survey, 33 percent of respondents said they approved of Trump’s performance as president, matching the lowest approval rating recorded in the polling series across his first and second terms.

Trump has defended the military campaign as necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The conflict began on February 28 with US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

But the economic effects of the war remain a concern for Americans. Iran has maintained a de facto blockade of oil exports from the region, contributing to a rise in US petrol prices to near record highs.

The Trump administration has also announced recent pledges to increase economic pressure on Iran. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said on Monday that the US would target all of Iran’s sources of revenue, including oil, with the aim of preventing other countries and companies from doing business with Tehran. The campaign is dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast”.

A growing majority of Americans expect the war to continue for some time, the poll suggests. Eighty-three percent of respondents said they believe the conflict will last for an extended period, up from 80 percent earlier this month.

The prospect of a lengthy war presents a challenge for Trump, who campaigned for the presidency in 2024 on promises to bring down inflation and to adopt an “America First” strategy of avoiding foreign military engagements.

Six months into the conflict, petrol prices are more than $1 per gallon (3.8 litres) higher than they were before the war, adding to economic pressure ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The higher fuel costs could also create difficulties for Republicans defending narrow congressional majorities.

The poll suggests that independent voters favour Democrats over Republicans when asked which party they would support in a congressional election held today. Among independents, 33 percent said they would vote for a Democrat, compared with 19 percent who said they would choose a Republican.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey questioned 1,215 adults across the United States over four days and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction.