US President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping new sanctions law targeting Russia and Iran, escalating Washington’s economic pressure as the wider Iran war continues to reshape the geopolitical landscape. The legislation expands the pressure on Russia while extending existing Iran sanctions, with the new framework also giving Washington additional tariff powers against major buyers of Russian energy. At the same time, Trump has said the Iran war could come to an end soon and suggested that energy prices could eventually fall sharply once the conflict winds down. The comments come as disruption around the Strait of Hormuz continues to keep global oil markets on edge, with the wider Middle East conflict raising fresh concerns over energy security and shipping routes. Meanwhile, Tehran is pushing for a diplomatic route to revive the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding with the United States. Iranian officials say efforts are underway to resolve outstanding issues and expect the other side to honour its commitments under the agreement. Pakistan has also stressed the importance of implementing the Islamabad MoU as a way to help defuse regional tensions.

The El Gaia tanker fire has triggered a fresh confrontation between Iran and the United States, with the IRGC and US Central Command offering sharply different accounts of what happened to the vessel near the Strait of Hormuz. The IRGC claims the El Gaia exploded and caught fire after striking naval mines while travelling on a route south of Hormuz that Tehran says is "forbidden". Iranian officials say firefighting efforts failed to contain the blaze as the vessel was engulfed in flames. Iran has also reiterated that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and under its naval control, while warning shipping companies, insurers and classification societies against providing services to vessels included on its updated list of ships allegedly violating its restrictions. The United States has rejected Iran's version of events. US CENTCOM has described the mine claim as false and accused Iranian forces of attacking the El Gaia. WATCH