live US Treasury Targets Currency Exchanges, Shell Companies Tied To Iran

The US State Department announced on August 7 that the Treasury Department had targeted three Iranian foreign currency exchange houses and their associated front companies.

The announcement emphasized that the United States was taking decisive steps to cut off the financial arteries that sustain the Iranian regime.

"Today, the US Department of the Treasury took steps to dismantle a web of currency exchange houses and shell companies that helped Iran secretly move hundreds of millions of dollars through the international financial system," spokesman Thomas Pigott said in a statement on the State Department's website.

"Through these networks, Tehran accessed oil revenue and evaded sanctions designed to curb its destabilizing activities, laundering funds using front companies," he added.

According to the State Department, the sanctions target banks, currency exchange businesses, and individuals involved in the network to demonstrate that financial institutions and other parties that assist Iran in operating or using such channels expose themselves to serious penalties.

The department said the latest Treasury measures are consistent with the White House's "maximum pressure" policy toward Iran, which aims to deprive Tehran of the financial resources Washington says it uses to undermine regional stability, back terrorist groups, and bolster its military capabilities.

The statement also said the measures came as Iran faced growing public scrutiny over government corruption and economic mismanagement. It added that the sanctions were intended to deepen the country's isolation from the international financial system while signaling that continued Iranian support for terrorism and other aggressive regional activities would result in substantial and enduring costs.

The United Arab Emirates’ energy giant, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), said attacks on its employees and vessels in the Persian Gulf have significantly impacted its operations.

ADNOC said in an August 7 statement that 15 of its vessels, including three in the past week, have been targeted by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global oil and gas supplies, since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran in late February.

The company, one of the world's largest energy producers, added that the attacks have left one of its employees dead and 20 others injured.

In retaliation for US and Israeli air strikes, Iran has effectively closed the strait and fired thousands of ballistic missiles and combat drones at American allies in the Persian Gulf, including the UAE.

ADNOC’s statement came amid diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran and Oman in talks to establish new safe routes through the strategic waterway.

The effective closure of the strait has rattled international energy markets and sent global oil prices soaring.

With reporting by Reuters.

WASHINGTON -- This wasn't the first time during Russia's full-scale invasion that Ukrainian officials came to Washington seeking weapons, ammunition, and financial support. But the message was markedly different.

According to lawmakers, organizers, and participants interviewed by RFE/RL, two frontline Ukrainian drone commanders visited Capitol Hill on July 29 not to ask for more aid but to explain what the United States can learn from nearly five years of fighting the world's first large-scale drone war.

The closed-door Senate Republican Steering Committee luncheon, chaired by Senator Rick Scott of Florida, brought together almost every Republican senator for an unusually candid briefing on the changing nature of warfare seen in the more than four years of combat in Ukraine.

The meeting coincided with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington and came as Kyiv and Washington negotiate a broader drone cooperation agreement after signing an initial framework earlier this summer.

To read the full news analysis, click here.

As regional security tensions continue to mount amid the protracted conflict between Iran and the United States, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey came together on August 7 to sign a joint defense agreement in order to "strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression."

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement stipulates that "any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all," said Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on August 7.

Signed by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Saudi city of Mecca, the trilateral pact comes at a time of growing uncertainty in the Middle East, with no immediate end in sight to the confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

The agreement reflects the shared commitment of the three states to further strengthen their collective security and to "promote peace, security and stability in the region and beyond in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future," the ministry said in a statement.

To read the full report, click here.

Despite the halt in reciprocal attacks by the United States and Iran, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted, business intelligence firm Kpler announced.

According to data released by Kpler on August 7, only eight ships passed through the strait on August 6.

Last week, an average of about 13 ships a day passed through the strait between the coasts of Iran and Oman. Before the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28, that figure was more than 100 per day.

The temporary framework agreement between Iran and the United States signed on June 17 brought a period of relative calm to the region. But since the collapse of that agreement and the resumption of blockades, dry cargo ship traffic has almost halved.

The new US naval blockade has also had a severe impact on Iran. Shipping data analytics firm Windward reported, based on satellite imagery, that it has been a while stankers have docked at Kharg Island, the main hub for Iranian oil exports.

Iran and the United States have recently spoken of being close to reaching an agreement on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has announced that it is in direct talks with neighboring Oman.

The Federation of German Industries (BDI) says the war in Iran has dealt a blow to the global economic outlook, triggering what it described as a stagflationary shock.

In its latest global growth outlook, published on August 7, the BDI forecasts global economic growth of 3 percent this year.

BDI says the US economy is expected to grow by 2 percent, supported by the boom in artificial intelligence, while China's economy was forecast to expand by 4.6 percent.

Growth in the euro area is expected to slow to 0.8 percent, while Germany's economy is forecast to grow by 0.6 percent, according to the BDI.

The BDI warned that the war and its impact on energy prices and global trade were weighing on the economic outlook. Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have added to pressure on the global economy.

The United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28. The conflict has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil and gas shipments.

The BDI's outlook comes as Iran and the United States seek arrangements to restore shipping through the strait, with Oman playing a role in the process.

For Germany, Europe's largest economy, the BDI forecasts growth of 0.6 percent this year, while the euro-area economy is expected to expand by 0.8 percent.

US President Donald Trump said on August 6 that he believed the war with Iran would end soon, while saying negotiations were continuing over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he believed Iran could not sustain the conflict much longer.

“I think it’s going to end pretty soon. I don’t think they can go much longer,” Trump said, referring to Iran.

Trump's comments came as Iran and Oman were working on a proposed agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although key details remained unresolved. Reuters reported on August 5 that the proposed arrangement could give Iran control over inbound maritime traffic through the strait, while issues including fees and the management of outbound traffic remained under discussion.

The United States has promoted a southern shipping route through Omani waters as an alternative route through the strait. The route was established after the central channel was considered unsafe because of reported naval mines.

The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, and the conflict has continued for more than five months. Iran has repeatedly attacked commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including vessels using the southern route through Omani waters.

Trump also acknowledged that the US military was experiencing shortages of some types of ammunition.

Asked about the status of US munitions stockpiles, Trump said some weapons were available in almost unlimited quantities but that supplies of others were more constrained.

“We have certain types of munitions that are very powerful, that we have unlimited, virtual unlimited supply. We have others where it’s a little bit tighter,” Trump said.

Trump said US defense companies were building additional production facilities, including plants for Patriot and Tomahawk missiles.

His comments followed a Reuters report published on August 4 that the US Army had used up much of its global stockpile of highly accurate, long-range missiles during war with Iran. The missiles include Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, and Precision Strike Missiles, or PrSMs. Two sources told Reuters the military had used “virtually all” of those weapons.

Oil prices jumped again on August 6, continuing their volatile trend, while global stock markets faltered and investors evaluated corporate earnings reports.

As traders awaited developments related to the Strait of Hormuz, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil rose 3 percent to around $82, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.3 percent to near $77.

"The rise in oil prices has capped some of the optimism at the start of the week. But prices are still well below where they were a week ago, and that provides some positive momentum as we enter the second week of August," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at trading platform IG.

Kathleen Brooks, director of research at trading firm XTB, also said: "Today's caution in the oil market shows that the market needs confirmation from the White House that all of this is real and that the prospect of reaching an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is not a fleeting mirage."

Kuwait has ordered the closure of an Iranian-funded school in the small Persian Gulf nation, according to state media.

Iran has fired thousands of ballistic missiles and combat drones at US allies in the Persian Gulf, including Kuwait, during the five-month war with the United States.

Iran has accused the Gulf states, many of which house US military bases, of aiding the American war effort, an allegation they deny.

Kuwait’s Education Minister Seyyed Jalal Tabatabaei on August 6 revoked the Iranian school’s license and ordered its closure, reported Kuwait's state news agency, KUNA. Authorities did not disclose the reason for the decision.

The school is one of the largest Iranian-funded education institutions abroad. Around 1,600 students were enrolled at the school, according to Iran’s Embassy in Kuwait City.

In March, the United Arab Emirates cracked down on Iranian-linked institutions in the country, closing a social club and several schools.

Authorities also closed the Iranian Hospital, a state-affiliated health facility in Dubai. Employing around 700 people and run by the Iranian Red Crescent Society, the hospital was one of the oldest health facilities in the country.

UN experts have urged Iran to end what they say is the escalating arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and execution of members of ethnic minorities in the country.

In a statement issued on August 6, the UN experts said the plight of ethnic minorities has worsened since mass anti-government protests in January that posed the most serious threat to Iran’s clerical rulers in decades.

During the demonstrations, the authorities killed thousands of people and detained thousands of others, many of whom were subjected to torture, according to human rights groups.

Western Iran, home to the Kurdish and Azeri minorities, were the scene of some of the biggest protests and harshest government crackdowns.

The Islamic republic has long been accused of suppressing and discriminating against the country’s ethnic minorities.

“Reports point to a significant increase in arbitrary arrests, and what appears to be politically motivated sentences, including against individuals from ethnic minorities, who are often arrested under broadly defined national security charges,” the UN experts said.

In 2026, at least 24 members of the Baluch minority and 22 members of the Kurdish minority have been executed, and dozens more are at imminent risk of execution, the experts said.

The UN experts said a 2025 law broadening the definition of espionage and other national security offences, including enmity against God, spreading corruption on earth, and armed rebellion against the Islamic republic have been used, specially against the Kurds, “as a tool to repress dissent,” said the experts.

The Kurds make up about 10 percent of Iran's 88-million population.