Lot of things going on……
China isn’t happy about more sanctions against the place they get a LOT of Oil from….
Iran IS continuing to try to lock down ‘control’ of the Strait of Hormuz with Oman…..
Iran could go after MORE Gulf states for helping Trump beat on them….
Iran’s military actions have already force the US rely on longer distant logistical supply routes for its military in the Gulf region….
There are now reports that Iran has also attacked US intel assets just as the US has attacked Iranian ones…..
And?
Besides chatter about Trump’s jet?
There is a report that there was also chatter heard about a price of $10 Million for taking out Trump’s son Barron….
In making the sanctions threat on Monday, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced an initial set of sanctions on 60 individuals, entities and vessels for alleged involvement in trade with Iran, but there were no Chinese financial institutions on the list, despite their involvement in financing the Iranian oil trade. The omission reflected US caution.
Asked why the Trump administration had not declared immediate sanctions and had stopped short of naming potential sanctions targets, Bessent replied: “Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?”
Financial and trade experts say the administration is well aware of the risk of Chinese retaliation before a scheduled summit next month between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. China could strike back through financial markets or with limits on its export of critical minerals….
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Bessent said Trump was “making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime”, but he did not specify whether the US president would talk to his Chinese counterpart.
Sina Toossi, a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, said: “After nearly six months without a military or diplomatic victory, Washington appears to be trying to accomplish through intensified economic strangulation what military force has so far failed to achieve. But Tehran is answering that zero-sum approach with one of its own.”…..
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ISW….Iran Update, August 25, 2026
- Iran has not changed its negotiating position and continues to seek formal control over transit through the Strait of Hormuz as Pakistan tries to revive US-Iran negotiations. Iran has continued talks with Oman over transit arrangements that would formalize an Iranian role in controlling commercial traffic through the strait, which also demonstrates the lack of progress in talks.
- Iranian officials appear to be debating potential responses, including a more proactive military response, to sustained US economic pressure. Iran may target regional energy infrastructure as part of an effort to threaten the regional and global economy to impose political costs on the United States and its partners after the imposition of the US economic campaign. The regime is likely debating whether it should target regional energy infrastructure, however.
- Iran is implementing short-term economic measures to contain the effects of US pressure and reduce the risk of domestic instability, but these measures are unlikely to resolve Iran’s underlying economic problems.
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Iran Inflicted Billions in Damage to U.S. Intelligence Sites
“Iranian missile and drone attacks have inflicted damage on U.S. intelligence posts and surveillance hardware in the Middle East that is more extensive than any destruction America’s spy agencies have endured and will cost billions of dollars to repair,” NBC News reports.
“The Iranian strikes have forced Congress to find funds to restore the targeted facilities and prompted officials to weigh how to deploy personnel and intelligence resources in a region now facing a heightened threat from Tehran’s drone and missile arsenal.”
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“Hossein Taeb built a reputation for ruthlessness over a four-decade career in Iran’s post-revolution security apparatus. After a break from the public eye, he’s back, reprising his former job as head of the country’s powerful volunteer militia, the Basij,” Bloomberg reports.
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