The day that was not silent: Hormuz and the streets of Iran

Many described today as a quiet day. But when we look at international sources, the picture is completely different.

In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran targeted a ship owned by Abu Dhabi Oil Company on Saturday — just as talks with Oman continue. Iran's Supreme National Security Council has announced a list of heavy conditions for the full reopening of the strait: the end of threats against Iran, the end of the blockade, the complete withdrawal of American military equipment from the region, the lifting of sanctions, the release of blocked assets, and compensation for war losses.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that Iran has not yet entered into official negotiations with the United States, messages are only exchanged through intermediaries, and he does not call this "negotiations". He also claimed that America continues to violate the obligations of the June agreement.

At the same time, the Houthis of Yemen have taken responsibility for the fire in an Aramco oil facility in Jizan, Saudi Arabia. It means that the scope of the conflict is going beyond the Persian Gulf.

The situation is not quiet inside the country either. According to the Voice of America Farsi report, social security retirees in Rasht and a number of buyers of Kerman Motor in Tehran have held separate rallies for livelihood and union demands. In several other cities, including Ahvaz, Mashhad, Ardabil and Kermanshah, telecom retirees have protested.

The noteworthy point here is that even the official of the Labor and Social Security Commission of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce has declared that the actual unemployment rate is several times the official statistics - that is, this acknowledgment is from within the official structure itself, not just the claim of the protesters.

Now let's see what is confirmed and what is not.

What can be said with certainty: Iran's attack on the Abu Dhabi ship in Hormuz, the six conditions of the National Security Council, the Houthis' claim about the Jizan attack, and the continuation of pensioners' union gatherings in several cities - all these have been confirmed by several independent international sources.

But there is one thing that should be stated with caution: the exact statistics of teacher arrests published by a human rights organization is not yet an official or multi-source confirmed figure and should be treated with caution.

Today's summary: It was not a quiet day. In Hormuz, the fire is still burning, and in the streets of Iran, the sound of subsistence protest is still heard.