Day 174 | Iran warns Gulf countries against helping US after UAE cuts trade ties

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The United States announced new sanctions Thursday against an alleged Hezbollah financing network, while highlighting the Lebanese armed group’s close ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Hezbollah’s legal designation as a terrorist organization has been amended to note that it operates in “service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” particularly the elite Quds Force, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The change comes as the US facilitates direct negotiations between ‘Israel’ and Lebanon, which remain technically at war.

Hezbollah rejects these talks.

Washington designated Hezbollah as a “foreign terrorist organization” in 1997, and in 2001 updated its label to a “specially designated global terrorist” group.

The new redesignation “specifies that Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, not a stand-alone operation as implied by the previous designation,” a State Department official said.

“This underscores that Hezbollah operates with little to no regard for Lebanese sovereignty, the Lebanese people, or the Lebanese state.”

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the broader Middle East war in March with rocket fire at ‘Israel’ in support of its backer Iran.

‘Israel’ responded with a heavy air campaign and ground invasion that Lebanese authorities say have killed more than 4,300 people.

“This action builds on years of US designations that have repeatedly documented the operational, financial, and logistical integration between Hizballah and the IRGC-QF,” the State Department official said, calling Hezbollah “an extension” of the latter.

“It is not a Lebanese resistance movement,” as Hezbollah describes itself, the official said.

The new sanctions target 10 people who are allegedly part of a network that transfers cash to Hezbollah, which has already been punished with US sanctions many times, the Treasury statement said.

A new US aircraft carrier strike group has arrived in the Middle East, the US military announced Thursday, after conditions aboard a long-deployed carrier provoked fresh criticism of President Donald Trump's war against Iran.

"The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is operating in Middle East during a scheduled deployment after arriving in the CENTCOM theater yesterday," Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US forces in the Middle East, said in a post on X.

The update comes just days after media reports on grim conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier -- deployed since November 2025 -- had created an unwelcome distraction for Trump in his attempt to sell the already unpopular war.

Several outlets, including specialist military publications, quoted relatives of crew members as saying that living conditions had deteriorated on the Lincoln, with food shortages and broken plumbing.

Notably, there have been reports of several suicide attempts.

Trump dismissed the concerns but confirmed another carrier would swap out with the Lincoln.

The Japan-based USS George Washington had been operating in the Pacific.

Its transfer means there is no longer any US aircraft carrier in that region -- a boon for an assertive China.

The Lincoln had departed California in November 2025 for duty in the South China Sea and was rerouted to the Middle East before US-‘Israeli’ attacks on Iran that began in late February.

Iran accused the United States of "economic terrorism" and "crimes against humanity" on Thursday, after Washington said it would ramp up sanctions to heap pressure on Tehran.

"Undoubtedly, the US economic sanctions against Iran, which have targeted the fundamental human rights of every Iranian citizen, are a case of 'economic terrorism' and 'crimes against humanity', and the perpetrators and instigators of these sanctions are deserving of trial and punishment for committing such heinous crimes," Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state media.

A plan to sharply increase pain from economic sanctions on Iran aims to "collapse" the country's government, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday.

"It is going to work in Iran and we are going to collapse this regime," he told CNBC.

"This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world."

More than 750 US military personnel have been injured since the war with Iran began on February 28, according to data published by the US Department of Defense.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has called on all parties in Lebanon to cease violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and avoid actions that could further escalate tensions.

UNIFIL warned that instability “is not in anyone’s interest” and urged all actors to renew their commitment to Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to end hostilities between ‘Israel’ and Hezbollah.

UNIFIL maintains presence
The peacekeeping mission said its personnel remain “fully committed” to their mandate and continue maintaining a visible presence across southern Lebanon.

UNIFIL said its activities include monitoring, liaison with relevant parties and supporting humanitarian partners in the area.

Iraq has told Iran that its constitution does not permit armed groups to threaten the security of other countries.

Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Obaidi made the remarks during a meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Baghdad, according to a statement from the Iraqi National Security Advisory.

Al-Obaidi said the Iraqi government was continuing efforts to ensure that weapons remain exclusively under state control.

Ghalibaf expressed Iran’s support for steps aimed at establishing a legal framework placing weapons under the authority of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

He also reaffirmed Tehran’s full commitment to security agreements signed between Iran and Iraq.

Yemen’s Houthis have claimed they carried out attacks on “sensitive” targets at Najran airport and Saudi Aramco facilities in Najran, according to the Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah media outlet.

Iran’s Defense Ministry said the country’s two most recent wars served as a real-world test of its defense capabilities.

The ministry said mounting threats and pressure had highlighted the importance of relying on domestic expertise and national capabilities.

It said the wars demonstrated that attempts to undermine Iranians’ willingness to defend themselves would face a population prepared to resist and rely on its own capabilities.

According to the ministry, defense capabilities developed over years proved effective on the battlefield and disrupted a significant part of what it described as the enemy’s calculations and objectives.

Ben Gurion Airport halted operations at 2 p.m. local time Thursday amid a labor dispute that had already shut down all check-in counters, according to 'Israeli' media.

The 'Israel' Airports Authority and air traffic authorities reportedly warned airlines in advance that the airport would close.

Several flights heading to Tel Aviv were forced to turn around and return to their countries of origin as airport operations were scaled back. Employees at four ground-services companies also reportedly stopped working.

The disruption comes during one of the busiest periods of the year, with Ben Gurion handling about 100,000 passengers and 600 flights per day.

The 'Israel' Airports Authority said the work stoppage, carried out following instructions from a workers’ committee, had disrupted airport operations and passenger services.

The authority called on employees to immediately end the stoppage and warned that it could seek judicial intervention if disruptions continued.

'Israeli' Transportation Ministry officials also warned that employees could face dismissal if the stoppage was found to be part of a deliberate slowdown.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev instructed ministry Director-General Moshe Ben Zaken to address the situation immediately, according to Ynet.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has confirmed that the USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group is now operating in the Middle East as part of a scheduled deployment.

“The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is operating in Middle East during a scheduled deployment after arriving in the CENTCOM theater yesterday,” CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X.

The deployment follows a lengthy mission involving US personnel aboard the USS Lincoln, which has drawn attention amid heightened regional tensions.

China has rejected US President Donald Trump’s “economic D-Day” campaign against Iran, warning that additional sanctions and economic pressure will not help resolve disputes.

“Imposing sanctions and pressuring do not help to solve the issue,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

China called on the parties involved to take responsible steps and address the outstanding issues through diplomatic and political channels.

Beijing could be particularly affected by any new US measures targeting Iran’s oil trade. Data from analytics firm Kpler shows that China purchased more than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped oil in 2025.

Trump has threatened further economic action against countries that continue to help or conduct business with Iran, escalating pressure on Tehran as tensions between the two sides remain high.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has called for traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to return to the conditions that existed before the US-‘Israeli’ war on Iran.

Speaking at a news conference in El Alamein, Egypt, Sheikh Mohammed said the consequences of the war had been “grave,” affecting not only the Gulf region but also countries around the world.

“We need the situation to go back to what it used to be before,” he said, while condemning threats or attempts to obstruct navigation through the strategic waterway.

He also called for an end to any attempts by parties to the conflict to “blackmail” one another over access to the strait, a critical route for global energy shipments.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that Saudi Arabia will be unable to contain Yemen’s Houthis as attacks on the kingdom intensify.

IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi told Defa Press that Saudi Arabia would “certainly” be unable to contain Yemen and Ansar Allah, another name for the Houthis, or remain safe from their attacks.

“As we have seen in recent days, the more Saudi Arabia attacks, the more it is hit in return,” Mohebi said.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Thursday it received a report of an incident involving a tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

The tanker, which was traveling west, reported being approached by an unauthorized vessel about 136 nautical miles east of Mukalla, Yemen.

UKMTO provided no further details and did not say whether the tanker or its crew were safe.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has accused the United States of “begging” its allies for support following President Donald Trump’s threat of an “economic D-Day” against countries that help or do business with Iran.

“They claim Iran is on the verge of defeat, hanging by a thread, yet they are begging all their allies to help them!” Gharibabadi wrote on X.

Gharibabadi also pointed to the US public debt surpassing $40 trillion, saying Washington had failed to achieve its objectives through military action.

“The military war didn’t yield results, so now they’ve named the next failure ‘economic war’,” he added.

An Iranian parliamentarian has called for Tehran to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in response to US President Donald Trump’s escalating economic pressure on Iran.

Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of Iran’s parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the “best response” to Trump’s economic escalation would be to leave the treaty, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

Previous withdrawal proposal
Iran’s parliament discussed a draft law in March that would pave the way for the country to withdraw from the NPT, arguing that there was “no reason to remain” in the agreement, Tasnim reported.

Iran ratified the NPT in 1970. The treaty allows member states to pursue peaceful nuclear energy while committing them not to acquire nuclear weapons and to cooperate with the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

Rezaei’s remarks come as tensions between Tehran and Washington continue to rise over US economic pressure and Iran’s nuclear program.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose “crushing” economic sanctions on Iran, calling the move a diversion that would only lead to further failure.

“The so-called ‘Economic D-Day’ is a diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt and surging interest costs,” Araghchi wrote on X.

His remarks came after US federal debt reached a record $40 trillion on Tuesday, according to the US Treasury Department.

Araghchi said doubling down on what he described as failed policies would bring “further defeat” and increase Iranian opposition to the United States. He also accused Washington of using “economic terrorism” that threatens the global economy and national sovereignty.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also criticized the US approach, saying Washington’s decisions were based on “flawed calculations.”

“Every time they try to cover up one miscalculation, they end up setting themselves up for an even greater failure,” Gharibabadi wrote on X.

He argued that the war had failed to achieve its intended US objectives and said Washington was now giving its next phase a new name: “economic war.”

Global oil prices have remained elevated since the US and ‘Israel’ went to war against Iran in February, while disruptions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz have fueled concerns over global energy supplies.

The standoff has raised fears of a broader fuel supply crisis as oil reserves decline and pressure mounts on international energy markets.

The US military has established a discreet shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, enabling the nightly transit of 15–20 oil tankers and the export of roughly 10 million barrels of oil per day—about half the pre-war volume—according to a report by Axios citing two US officials.

The operation, underway for several weeks, routes vessels through a southern channel hugging the coast of Oman.

Empty tankers enter the Gulf from the Arabian Sea, load oil at regional ports, and exit under U.S. military guidance, while loaded ships move outbound in coordinated groups during designated nighttime windows.

“We have been controlling the southern lane of the Strait of Hormuz for two months now. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps can be a nuisance, but they don’t control the strait. We do,” one US official with direct knowledge of the operation reportedly told Axios.

The effort is overseen by a task force based at Army headquarters in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which coordinates daily ship lists with Gulf partners and schedules separate inbound and outbound convoys.

US Central Command’s recent two-week campaign degrading Iran’s radar and maritime surveillance systems made the corridor viable.

Iranian monitoring is now limited to a handful of reconstituted radars and “spotters” in small IRGC fast boats, leaving Tehran largely “blind” to southern-channel traffic and prompting imprecise drone and cruise-missile launches.

US Air Force fighters provide protection; earlier this week forces downed eight Iranian drones and two cruise missiles.

Donald Trump confirmed the scale of the flows, telling Axios: “There is a tremendous amount of oil coming out of the Strait of Hormuz.”

He added that the US is not currently negotiating with Iran, stating, “They are wasting time. It’s a waste of time to negotiate with them,” and describing Iran as “a shell of themselves” despite retaining some residual fighting capacity.

Average daily exports have climbed toward 10 million barrels, with some recent nights seeing 15–20 million barrels moved.

On one night this week, more than 20 ships were scheduled, potentially carrying about 15 million barrels.

Analysts and earlier reporting note that US forces have assisted more than 1,000 ship transits since the war began, with vessels often sailing “dark”—transponders off—to reduce detection risk.