Overview
- The U.S. has announced it is preparing an unprecedented package of economic measures, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will give details on Monday.
- Iran's armed forces chief, Major General Ali Abdollahi, vowed a crushing, multidomain response across land, sea, air, air defence and cyberspace if Tehran faces new threats.
- On Friday, President Masoud Pezeshkian publicly urged an immediate end to the war, saying Iran is 'in a position of strength' and calling for a return to peace.
- Negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain stalled after two earlier ceasefires collapsed, and ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has plunged from about 130 daily transits before the war to single digits on some recent days.
- Iran's economy is under heavy strain from prolonged conflict and sanctions, with steep inflation and a weakening rial that shape both hardline calls to resist and political pressure to seek de-escalation.