Iran has granted permission for a number of Iraqi oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz following repeated requests from Baghdad through various channels, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday. IRNA said obtaining special permission for Iraqi tankers was one of Baghdad’s main requests during Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s visit to Iraq.

Iraqi President Nizar Amedi said on Saturday that Iran had facilitated the passage of vessels carrying Iraqi oil through the Strait in recent days and Baghdad had discussed the export of Iraqi oil through Hormuz with Iranian officials. The issue remained complicated, he added, speaking at the Baghdad Dialogue policy conference.

Iraq significantly impacted by blockade on Strait of Hormuz Iraq has been among the countries most affected by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic in the strait remains significantly below pre-war levels, and ships continue to face Iranian attacks in the area.

Iraq produced around 4 million barrels of oil per day before the outbreak of the Iran war. Baghdad is working to expand its exports through Turkey's Ceyhan port and also to begin exporting oil through Syria's Baniyas port and Jordan's Aqaba port, Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Friday.

- The U.S. and Iran have maintained their war of words even as kinetic strikes on one another's targets have halted in recent days. - The U.S. is planning on implementing a tough round of new sanctions against Iran. - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told CNBC that the measures would negate the need for more military action.

- An announcement on the details of the economic measures is due Monday. Iran maintained its harsh rhetoric Saturday against the U.S.' plans to impose tough new sanctions. "The United States' declaration of new economic sanctions on Iran is far more than continued unlawful 'economic warfare' against a single country," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a post on X.

"It is an assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent Member State of the United Nations." U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that the Trump administration's plan to crush Iran's economy will likely negate the need for major U.

S. military operations against the Islamic Republic. Bessent vowed that the U.S. will create "the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world" against Iran. He said he will hold a news conference on Monday to "talk about exactly what we're going to do.

" In a preview of the plan, he said that the U.S. will be telling all of its allies, "You are either with us or against us." Vice President JD Vance said economic pressure is the United States' "most effective tool" against Iran. Speaking on a podcast, Vance said that the move was "a delicate dance" as both sides apply pressure to each other, but added that "what has been true over the last couple of weeks is they felt a lot more pressure than we have.

" Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told an event in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Friday that Muslim countries must make a plan to overcome "cruel" sanctions, according to a government summary of his comments. 'Crushing economic operation' The comments came after U.

S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will launch what he called the "most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country" against Iran. Trump also threatened severe financial penalties on any nation that helps Tehran evade sanctions, and added that "this will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale.

" While both sides have held off attacking one another's targets in recent days, shipping through the economically crucial Strait of Hormuz remains a fraction of its levels before the U.S. launched its war against Iran on Feb. 28. Negotiations to reopen the strait have stalled.

Recently observed ship traffic through Hormuz has remained low, with 10 crossings on Monday and two transits on Sunday, according to data provided by the trade intelligence firm Kpler. Oil prices were little changed Friday after Iran's president indicated that Tehran wants the war with the U.

S. to end sooner rather than later. Brent crude futures added 61 cents to close at $94.39 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 23 cents to $87.06. Oil prices finished the week more than 5% higher after Bessent's comments. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian described his country's memorandum of understanding with the U.

S. signed on June 17 as a victory for the Islamic Republic. Pezeshkian said "it is better to end the war today" when Iran is "in a position of power and dignity," according to the state news agency PressTV. The MOU allowed Tehran to determine how the Strait of Hormuz would be administered through negotiations with Oman and the other Gulf states.

One analyst questioned the effectiveness of the new round of economic penalties. Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets said Iran is already one of the most sanctioned countries in the world. It is not clear whether the U.

S. will go after China and Russia who are partners of Iran, Croft told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." The question is whether more sanctions will change Iran's behavior, Croft said. Tehran appears to believe that it can outlast the U.S., she said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Brunei expressed profound concern over the heightened tensions and renewed hostilities in West Asia, particularly involving the United States and Israel against Iran, and the retaliatory strikes against several countries in the region.

In a joint statement issued following the 27th Annual Leaders’ Consultation in Bandar Seri Begawan on Saturday, Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the situation had resulted in civilian casualties, damage to infrastructure and a worsening humanitarian situation.

“They urged all parties to exercise restraint, avoid further escalation, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, and return to dialogue and diplomacy, towards ending the hostilities and coming to a resolution,” the statement said.

The leaders further noted that the situation had disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, affecting global supply chains in energy and essential goods. “In this regard, they underscored the importance of maintaining maritime safety and security, and upholding freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“They expressed deep concern over any discriminatory or unilateral measures which are inconsistent with international law, and called for the restoration of the safe, unimpeded, and continuous transit passage of vessels and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz, in accordance with the 1982 UNCLOS,” it said.

On Palestine, both leaders emphasised that the Palestinian issue remains the root cause of conflict and broader instability in the region and expressed strong condemnation against the continued acts of genocide and ethnic cleansing committed by Israel, the Occupying Power.

They also condemned the indiscriminate violence and blockade of humanitarian access and aid delivery, which have resulted in mass casualties and prolonged suffering of the Palestinian people. The leaders urged the international community to act decisively to end the cycle of impunity, including by ensuring respect for international law and securing a permanent ceasefire, with a view to ending the occupation and aggression by the Occupying Power.

Both leaders also welcomed the growing global momentum towards recognising Palestinian statehood and reiterated their call for Palestine’s admission as a full Member State of the United Nations. On a broader regional context, the leaders also strongly condemned the targeting of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), comprising personnel from the Malaysian Battalion and the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF).

Both leaders emphasised that the safety and security of United Nations personnel must be fully ensured, and called upon all parties to take immediate and concrete steps to ensure accountability for all attacks against United Nations personnel and their premises.

They also called for full respect for UNIFIL’s mandate, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) and 2823 (2026). -- BERNAMA BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.

bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies. Follow us on social media : Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio Twitter : @bernama.

The Iranian army said Saturday that its military doctrine is shifting from a “defensive to an offensive” posture, citing lessons from the country’s recent wars, Anadolu reports. Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia, spokesman for the Iranian army, told state news agency IRNA that the shift had gradually taken place during what he described as the 12-day and 40-day wars.

“Our country’s military doctrine was defensive in the past, but gradually during these two wars, we witnessed the military doctrine moving from a defensive posture toward an offensive one,” Akraminia said. He stressed that an offensive doctrine does not necessarily mean conducting preemptive operations, but said Iran had adopted such an approach at one point during the war by striking a US base in Jordan before the US entered the conflict.

Akraminia claimed the attack inflicted “serious damage” on US equipment, facilities and personnel. He said other elements of the offensive doctrine include immediately responding to any attack, with Iran’s response potentially being broader than the initial action.

According to Akraminia, the shift from a fully defensive to an offensive doctrine was demonstrated during the war through rapid and broader responses to attacks as well as preemptive operations. Bounty for killing US troops Akraminia said the army had devised a plan offering rewards for killing or capturing US troops in the event of a ground incursion into Iranian territory.

READ: Iran’s president says war with US should end while Tehran is in position of ‘power, dignity’ Under the plan, members of the armed forces or civilians legally possessing hunting weapons would receive 5 billion tomans (about $26,000) for killing or capturing US troops entering Iran, he said.

The reward would be doubled to 10 billion tomans (about $53,000) if the action were carried out by a woman, Akraminia added. He said the army would also purchase the weapon used for twice its value, preserve it in a military museum under the owner’s name and provide the individual with a similar replacement weapon.

Akraminia said the recent merger of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters with the General Staff of the Armed Forces was aimed at making Iran’s armed forces more agile, ensuring greater unity and enabling faster decision-making and responses to threats.

He said the merger would improve unity of command, coordination among the armed forces and the speed of responses to threats. Akraminia said Iran is pursuing through legal and diplomatic channels the status of three Iranian army Su-24 pilots, which he said Qatar has yet to clarify.

He said one of four pilots who took part in an attack on a US base in Qatar, Brig. Gen. Majid Kazemi, was killed and later buried in the Iranian city of Shiraz, while the status of the other three remains unclear. The spokesman said the issue was being pursued through Iran’s Foreign Ministry and army with Qatari and international parties, urging Qatar to clarify the pilots’ status in accordance with international conventions.

Akraminia also claimed that US influence in the region had declined sharply, pointing to what he described as a defense and security mechanism established by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan independently of Washington. He said that regardless of its future effectiveness, the mechanism demonstrated what he called the decline of the US position in the region and described it as the first regional defense and security mechanism without US participation.

OPINION: Has US strategy towards the Middle East changed after the war?