• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held calls with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong regarding Iran and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Britain and France are co-hosting a meeting of 40 defense ministers on Tuesday to plan protection of shipping in the critical waterway once hostilities cease.
  • The US imposed sanctions on three individuals and nine companies, including four in Hong Kong and four in the UAE, for helping Iran export oil to China.
  • The sanctions target a network of shell companies that assisted Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in selling and transporting Iranian oil.
  • The announcement comes ahead of a planned meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, where Trump is expected to urge China to help resolve the standoff with Iran.

Sources & Links