President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that representatives from Washington were heading to Islamabad and they would be “there tomorrow evening for negotiations” with Iran. The US president made the announcement in a Truth Social post, where he also insisted that Washington was offering Tehran “a very fair and reasonable” deal. “And I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” he warned. “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY! They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honour to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years. IT’S TIME FOR THE IRAN KILLING MACHINE TO END!” US media outlets reported, citing the White House spokesperson and officials, that Vice President JD Vance would lead the American delegation, and that Trump’s envoy Steve Kushner and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would also be part of t...
The Iranian government chose Bitcoin as a payment method for oil tolls due to its confiscation-resistant properties, but only dollar stablecoins have been used so far. Iran’s government naming Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method for oil ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz highlights its role as a neutral, strategic asset, according to Sam Lyman, head of research at digital asset advocacy organization Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI). The government selected BTC as one of the payment methods for the tolls because of its censorship-resistant qualities, Lyman told Cointelegraph. He said: Iran is accepting oil tolls in Chinese yuan, US dollar-pegged stablecoins and BTC. However, there is “no onchain evidence” of a BTC toll payment so far, Lyman said, adding that the “majority” of Iran’s crypto transactions are denominated in US dollar stablecoins. Read more
A handful of oil and gas tankers crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday during a brief reopening, tracking data showed, but others retreated and two were reportedly attacked as Iran closed the route again. The toing and froing over the strait cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s optimism the day before, that a peace deal to end the US-Israeli war with Iran was “very close”. Iran reversed its pledge to reopen the strait to commercial traffic during a ceasefire in the war to protest an ongoing US counter-blockade of the route, a crucial passage for commodity shipments. During the reopening, at least eight oil and gas tankers crossed the strait early on Saturday after the Iranian announcement on Friday afternoon, data from tracking firm Kpler indicated. However, tracking platform MarineTraffic showed several other crude oil tankers approached the strait but then turned back near Iran’s Larak Island, a checkpoint for vessels seeking to exit the Gulf under Iranian forces’ blockade of the passage. Screengrab...