New York Times: Iran said on Tuesday that it has no plans to open its damaged nuclear sites to U.N. inspectors, a day after Vice President JD Vance claimed “a major milestone” in talks on the country’s nuclear program aimed at securing a lasting peace agreement.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, responded “no” when asked at a news briefing on Tuesday whether Iran intended to grant access to any of its war-damaged nuclear sites to inspectors from the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency…
Vance says Iran agrees to nuclear inspections, as under Obama deal
Conversations with inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency could occur as soon as Monday, the vice president said, as negotiations continue in Switzerland…
Iran Makes Moves to Assert Control Over the Strait of Hormuz
The head of Iran’s primary insurance regulator, Mousa Rezaei, said on Sunday that a new insurance company had been established that was dedicated solely to the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported. And late last week, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which was created by Iran in May, demanded that vessels register and sign up for a new mandatory Iranian insurance policy — free of charge for now.
Shipping experts see these steps as an attempt to assert Iranian control over the whole waterway, which it shares with Oman. They appear to be a prelude to Iran’s demanding payments from vessels that once transited without fees or need of its assent, the experts say…
US waives Iran sanctions, Trump warns Tehran it must abide by agreement
The United States waived sanctions on Iran for 60 days from Monday after the first talks under a nascent peace deal, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying he will “do what I have to do” if Iran does not stick to its side of the agreement…
Israel smuggled Starlink systems into Iran, former PM says
Naftali Bennett, who served as prime minister in 2021 to 2022, told an audience at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem that he had initiated a “process of acquiring and smuggling into Iran tens of thousands of Starlink receptors that would allow continuity of the internet and social networks”…
Rubio faces tough task of selling Iran reset to wary Gulf allies
Some of those countries are feeling privately disappointed – and surprised – by an interim deal that could open the door to U.S. normalisation with Iran, a predominantly Shi’ite country that most Sunni-led GCC states consider their main adversary.
The opinions of these nations matter to U.S. policymakers…
As Vance Leads Iran Negotiations, Trump Creates Disruptions in His Path
Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Mr. Vance was in a risky spot. He could get credit for ending an unpopular war, Mr. Sadjadpour said. Or he may end up being “viewed as the architect of an American humiliation and a deal that concedes billions of dollars to a committed U.S. adversary.”…
Trump allies defend him to Israelis anxious over Iran deal
“The United States and Israel have an unbreakable bond,” Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said on Sunday after acknowledging there was an “enormous level of anxiety about the relationship.”…
Undoing the ‘tangled nest’ of Iran sanctions won’t be easy or quick
Removing the remaining sanctions – if it happens – would represent a stark change in U.S. policy toward the Middle East, which has long focused on curbing Iran’s influence and using financial pressure to weaken its theocratic government.
It would also be difficult, requiring executive action for some measures, approval by Congress for others and close coordination with the U.N. and other countries that have imposed their own sanctions. Companies, wary after decades of restrictions, could also blunt the impact.
Downed US pilot reported seeing Iranian drones swarm in ‘jellyfish’ formation
If the airman really saw what he described — a formation moving in unison — it would be an alarming advance in Iranian drone capabilities.
“Multiple drones interconnected and moving as one with smaller drones below the bigger drones like legs,” one of the sources familiar with the pilot’s witness account told CNN. “Real alien sh*t.”…
The future of oil prices may depend on China
While elevated prices will likely continue to dampen demand from consumers and refiners, China’s ability to mitigate the global supply shock may be limited by how much it can maintain in fuel reserves, he said.
“The thing that can’t be sustained forever is the stockpiles of crude,” Fishman said. “If prices weakened, you’d expect the first thing they do is start to stockpile again.”…
150,000 square feet of barnacles and sea gunk: The latest problem in the Strait of Hormuz
Barnacles, mussels, clams, algae and other warm-seawater-dwelling fauna and flora have latched onto hundreds of massive oil tankers anchored in the Persian Gulf over the past several months. To get the ships in sailing condition, all those crustaceans, bivalves and more will have to be cleared by large crews of scuba divers with an unappealing job title: “bottom cleaners.”…