Day 179 of the WarTuesday, August 25, 2026
Day 179 — Trump Says Hormuz Mines Are Cleared, Oman and Iran Float a Joint Corridor, and Bessent Says the Pressure Is Working
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The Disappeared and the Dead — Seven Months Without Word of Sara Rashidi
- Sara Rashidi Kachalanlou, 33, from Maku, was arrested without a warrant by IRGC Intelligence near Kermanshah during the January protests and taken to its Nabi Akram detention center; her family has had no word of her fate for seven months, Iran International reports.source
- A video shows 62-year-old protester Jalal Mashedeh-Mohammad before joining the January uprising, hoping 'the evil of this regime would be uprooted'; he was killed by a sniper's direct shot in Tehran's Mokhtari neighborhood, and his son searched morgues for days to find his body.source
- LiveIranNews honors Mohammadreza Alikhani, 20, who on January 8, 2026 stood between security forces and fleeing women — 'If you are men, stand so the ladies pass, then shoot me' — and was shot in the face, throat and side.source
- Trump wrote that the Islamic Republic kills protesters, even when they are not protesting, on an unprecedented scale, calling it 'a humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions' that must be stopped immediately, per Iran International.source
Tehran Backpedals — Pezeshkian Defends the Deal, Gasoline Cuts Are Walked Back
Iran- Pezeshkian said the Supreme National Security Council's decision to accept and sign the agreement was coordinated with the heads of the branches and the military on 'collective wisdom': 'The signing of the agreement was not out of fear and capitulation,' per Iran International.source
- Kayhan accused the 'capitulationist faction' of tying the 200,000-toman dollar to the war and Hormuz, calling the claim that war caused triple-digit inflation 'a big lie' and blaming the scrapping of preferential currency, per Iran International.source
- After officials called quota cuts certain, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said the 1,500- and 3,000-toman gasoline quotas stay unchanged, and the first vice president's office said nothing changes before the end of Shahrivar, per Iran International.source
'Zero Tolerance' — Trump Says the Mines Are Gone as Traffic Hits a Four-Month Low
Gulf & Naval- Trump said the U.S. Navy informed him 'all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz,' warning any ship or boat laying new mines 'will be immediately and systematically destroyed' under a 'Zero Tolerance' policy.source
- Axios, citing two U.S. officials, reports the Navy has cleared the central shipping lane between Iran and Oman; in recent months underwater drones identified more than 100 objects suspected to be mines, and private contractors were hired to remove or detonate them, per Iran International.source
- Kpler data show only two container ships, one large gas carrier and one very large crude carrier entered Hormuz from the Sea of Oman on Monday — the lowest since early May against a 10-day average of 14 — while Tehran blacklisted 45 tankers, per LiveIranNews.source
- OFAC warned shipping companies and seafarers they risk U.S. sanctions even for answering information requests from Iran's 'Persian Gulf Strait Authority,' 'Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company' or 'Hormuz Saif Maritime Services Authority,' per Iran International.source
The Mediators Move In — Oman Floats a Joint Corridor, Pakistan Reports 'Significant Progress'
Gulf & Naval- Oman's and Iran's foreign ministers said in a joint statement they discussed a phased framework including a temporary joint shipping corridor and a joint mine-clearing project to resume 'safe passage' in Hormuz, with technical talks on a permanent corridor to continue, per RadioFarda.source
- Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsen Naqvi, who visited Tehran with army chief Asim Munir, says talks on ending the war reached 'significant progress'; Pakistan's army says they discussed preventing escalation, reopening Hormuz and a quicker end to the conflict, per RadioFarda.source
- A source close to Iran's negotiating team told Tasnim that Munir carried no threatening U.S. message but aimed to pave the way for resumed talks, and that Tehran's conditions include a U.S. return to the Islamabad understanding and its fifth clause on 'Iran's arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz.'source
- Hardline MP Mahmoud Nabavian accused Foreign Minister Araghchi of violating Mojtaba Khamenei's order on the 'monopoly' of Iran's Hormuz management, asking why he invites condemnation of Tehran's management of the 'southern corridor,' per Iran International.source
'The Pressure Is Working' — Bessent Quotes Tehran Back at Itself as Bounties Hit IRGC Chiefs
Global- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said 'Iran's leadership is admitting what the world can now see: the pressure is working,' quoting Pezeshkian and Ghalibaf on hunger and shortages, and vowed to 'sever every economic lifeline sustaining this regime until Tehran stands alone.'source
- Per the State Department, five senior IRGC commanders now carry bounties of up to $10 million each for information: Ahmad Vahidi, Ali Abdollahi, Aerospace Force chief Sa'id Aghajani, cyber-electronic chief Hamidreza Lashgarian and intelligence chief Majid Khademi, Open Source Intel reports.source
- The Washington Post editorial board backed the 'economic ostracism' campaign but warned Bessent's threats will look hollow if Washington turns a blind eye to China's continued trade with Iran, its largest oil buyer, per Iran International.source
- Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman called the new U.S. sanctions on Iran 'unilateral' while backing continued mediation; Doha, itself targeted by IRGC missiles in recent months, has worked with Pakistan and Türkiye to bring Tehran and Washington closer, per RadioFarda.source