The US has said it intend to bring Iran's oil exports down to zero. In July Iranian crude and condensates exports totaled around 450,000 b/d, which was less than half of the May export figure of 910,000 b/d,

Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, said Wednesday that the U.S. will “continue to drive up the costs” for Tehran’s efforts to develop ballistic missiles and take other actions soon after the Treasury Department imposed new restrictions on a shipping network controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"Western sanctions have helped deepen Russia-China energy links as Chinese entities have emerged as a source of capital, which in turn has facilitated Chinese financing of the Yamal LNG project as well as the conclusion of the Power of Siberia pipeline," Dr Michal Meidan, director of the China Energy Program at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, said.

Foremost among the areas to be patrolled is the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran, through which about one-fifth of the world’s seaborne crude flows out of the Gulf.

The UK's Royal Navy will work with the US to assure the security of merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Ministry of Defence said.

"I think Iran will look at it as a successful cost imposition to the adversary," "They're making all of the adversaries now rally forces, move them into the theater, put them at risk in the theater and pay for that presence at a very hefty price."

"We are committed to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open and secure," Pompeo said.

European signatories to the Iran nuclear deal do not see Tehran's recent moves reducing compliance as significant and do not intend "for now" to trigger the agreement's dispute mechanism

Iran said on Sunday it will shortly boost its uranium enrichment above a cap set by a landmark 2015 nuclear deal, prompting a warning ‘to be careful’ from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pressured Tehran to renegotiate the pact.

British Royal Marines seized a giant Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar on Thursday for trying to take oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions, a dramatic step that drew Tehran’s fury and could escalate its confrontation with the West.

Once again, Iran has been exempted from the OPEC output cut deal, Zangeneh told the reporters.

the United States had never targeted an Iranian head of state before and that was a sign Trump was getting personal.

Iran and Russia already have a deal whereby Iran sells 100,000 b/d of crude oil to Russia and receives 50% of the value in cash and 50% in equipment.

The Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran, connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most important oil chokepoint because of the large volumes of oil that flow through the strait. In 2018, its daily oil flow averaged 21 million barrels per day (b/d), or the equivalent of about 21% of global petroleum liquids consumption.

It is essential that Iran fully implements its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano told the Agency’s Board of Governors