Trump team plans sanctions on Iran's oil industry - Bloomberg
Advisers to US president-elect Donald Trump are crafting a wide-ranging sanctions strategy to squeeze Iran, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
Advisers to US president-elect Donald Trump are crafting a wide-ranging sanctions strategy to squeeze Iran, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.
Trump’s key advisers plan to return to a maximum pressure strategy targeting Tehran, the sources said, starting with a sanctions package targeting major players in the oil industry due as soon as February.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday said the latest US sanctions targeting Russian and Iranian oil could eventually dent their export volumes.
New US sanctions on Iran and Russia announced last Friday target entities responsible for over one-third of Russian and Iranian crude exports in 2024.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that the so-called Resistance Axis had succeeded in forcing Israel to retreat.
"Today, the world understood that the patience of the people of Gaza and the steadfastness of the Palestinian resistance forced the Zionist regime to retreat," he wrote on X.
"History will record that one day, a Zionist group, with the most heinous crimes, killed thousands of women and children and ultimately failed."
A ceasefire agreement between Hamas, the Tehran-backed Palestinian armed group, and Israel, mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt, is expected to begin on Sunday.
The agreement stipulates the release of Israeli hostages held during the 15-month conflict, triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack, which devastated Gaza and resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Iran's other armed allies in the region including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen joined the fight against Israel, and the Islamic Republic itself has twice launched missile fusillades against the Jewish State.
The dominant theme in nearly all statements from Iranian officials is the celebration of the resistance's victory against Israel.
This perceived victory is attributed to the resilience and steadfastness of the Gazan population, the majority of whom have been displaced.
"Peace be upon you for your patience. We welcome the ceasefire agreement in Gaza and salute the souls of the martyrs. It was this brave 15-month Palestinian resistance that thwarted the Zionist regime from achieving its strategic goals," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, wrote on X,.
A statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) framed the agreement as a ceasefire imposed on Israel.
"The end of the war and the imposition of a ceasefire on the Zionist regime (Israel) is a clear and great victory for Palestine and a greater defeat for the Zionist regime," it said.
The IRGC also warned against any Israeli violations of the ceasefire and emphasized its forces' readiness to confront future conflicts, saying, "The resistance remains alive, thriving, strong... and has deeper faith in the divine promise of liberating the al-Aqsa mosque and Jerusalem."
Almost none of the Iranian statements detailed any specific achievements for Hamas, instead focusing on portraying the truce as a loss for Israel.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement declaring the agreement a "historic victory for the Palestinians" and condemned the role of Western nations in supporting Israel and prolonging the conflict.
Hamas, designated a terrorist group by countries such as the US and UK, has been significantly weakened since Israel's relentless retaliatory action following Hamas's October 7 2023 attacks.
IRGC Deputy Commander Ali Fadavi declared the ceasefire a major victory because Israel was compelled to accept "all the conditions of Hamas and the resistance front."
Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani said that Israel was forced to sign an agreement it had initially rejected, labeling it as a failure for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his efforts to dismantle the organizational structure and military capabilities of Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.
However, Sadegh Zibakalam, a former lawmaker known for his critical views, offered a contrasting perspective. "The ceasefire between Hamas and Israel hasn't even begun, and the Islamic Republic is already claiming victory. I wish they would define what victory means," he said.
He said US President-elect Donald Trump was to be credited with the ceasefire: “Netanyahu hasn't won either because the agreement is the same one they had reached before, but Biden couldn't stand up to Netanyahu. If there is a victory, it belongs to Trump, who was able to force the Israeli hardliners to agree to a deal."
Israel's acceptance of the deal would not be official until approved by the country's security cabinet and government, with a vote scheduled for Thursday, according to Reuters.
Netanyahu accused Hamas of making last-minute demands and reneging on agreements. Reuters reported that Gaza residents and authorities said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 70 people in the enclave overnight on Thursday.
In November, Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a 60-day ceasefire weeks after escalating conflict led to the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
In October, Israeli forces also killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the October 7 attacks which killed around 1,100 Israelis - most of them civilians - and ensnared over 250 hostages.
Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the group's political bureau was killed in an Israeli bombing of his guesthouse in Tehran in August.
Western officials, including White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, have suggested that the conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed "Resistance Axis" has significantly weakened Tehran.
However, the IRGC's top commander Hossein Salami stated last week that Iran's enemies are experiencing a "false sense of delight" regarding recent regional developments including the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Tehran’s longtime ally.
