According to US President Donald Trump, Iran is on the verge of financial collapse due to the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “Iran is collapsing financially!” Trump wrote on his online service Truth Social on Wednesday. The Islamic Republic is “hungry for money,” Trump added.
According to the US President, Tehran actually wants the strategically important strait to be “opened immediately.” However, the Islamic Republic has declared that it will continue to block the Strait of Hormuz because it allows it to “save face,” Trump continued.
The Iranian Agriculture Minister, however, presented the situation differently. “Despite the US naval blockade, we have no problems with the supply of basic goods and food,” Agriculture Minister Gholamresa Nuri told the state news agency Irna on Tuesday. Due to Iran’s size, “imports across various borders are possible.” In addition, “around 85 percent of agricultural products and basic goods” are produced domestically, explained Nuri.
According to government information, a man who was convicted of spying for Israel has been executed in Iran. The Mizan justice portal reported that the man worked in a civil defense unit and passed on secret information to the Israeli secret service Mossad. The death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court and carried out after the legal process was completed.
Despite the ceasefire in Lebanon between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia and Israel, one report has claimed that one person has been killed in an Israeli drone strike. Two more people were injured overnight in the south of the Bekaa Valley, the Lebanese news agency NNA reported. An Israeli army spokesman, however, rejected the statement when asked. The military was not aware of such an attack, he said.
According to a newspaper report, the US government is stopping dollar deliveries to Iraq and freezing security cooperation. Washington wants to force the government in Baghdad to dismantle Iran-backed militias in the country, reports the Wall Street Journal, citing Iraqi and US government officials. The U.S. Treasury Department is blocking a cash shipment of nearly $500 million from Iraqi oil sales. Washington is also suspending funding for counterterrorism and military training programs until the militias stop their attacks. The Reuters news agency was initially unable to independently verify the report.
