US still open to talks with Iran, White House says

In a display of outrage, a poultry farmer dumped dead chickens in front of the Electric Distribution Management Center in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, blaming the power outage for their deaths.

"Since this morning, there has been no electricity. At least inform us so we can use generators," the farmer says.

A baker also posted a video showing spoiled bread dough, saying that three separate outages in a single day caused the dough to go bad, forcing him to throw it all away.

A construction worker shared footage of cement bags hanging midair on a stalled hoist, explaining that the outage had brought their work to a halt.

"It’s been less than an hour since we started, and already we can’t continue. We can’t access the cement, and the entire operation is stopped — not just for us but for others too," he said in the video.

Sanctions, age and mismanagement have taxed Iran's energy infrastructure, and the country has long faced blackouts especially in summer months when water and electricity demand surge.

However, conditions appear to have worsened following the 12-day war with Israel, with Iranians reporting more frequent and severe blackouts.

Businesses and services are also struggling, with one factory worker filmed a halted production line saying: "We can’t do anything — there’s no electricity."

In another video, a shop in the Tabriz bazaar was shown operating on a generator during an outage.

Disrupted daily life

The blackouts are affecting not only businesses but also social and domestic life.

A student filmed herself using a kettle heated on a gas burner to iron her scarf, saying, "There’s no electricity, but since we still have gas, we find ways to manage."

"It’s 2025 — while most countries have stable electricity, I’m heating a kettle to iron my scarf before heading to university," she added ruefully.

Another video from the city of Ahvaz shows a man standing in 122-degree heat, complaining about the power outage and turning on a faucet to show that the lack of running water.

A member of the Iran's Electricity Market and Exchange Commission warned that if current trends in electricity supply and consumption continue, Iran will face managed blackouts for at least four more years.

"The total nominal capacity of the national power grid is 94,500 megawatts, but actual production is just over 63,400 megawatts," Ali Shahmohammadi told Shargh daily in June.

"Over the past five years, electricity demand has grown by about 5.5 percent, while power generation capacity has increased by only 2.2 percent up to 2024 — a figure that highlights the severity of the crisis," Shahmohammadi added.

Not even daily commutes to and from affected homes and workplaces provide a respite from the blackouts, with a video from the city of Mashhad showing heavy traffic caused by disabled traffic lights.

According to data released by Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia is intensifying drone swarm attacks while limiting their targets to two or three locations.

On Monday alone, Ukraine reported what it described as 200 Shahed-type strikes on its official Telegram channel.

The Shahed-136 drone was originally designed and manufactured in Iran. Russia has begun producing the drone domestically, giving it a Russian name and modifying it for greater speed to evade air defenses.

Russian-manufactured Shahed drones are called Geran, or Geranium, in keeping with a Soviet-era tradition of naming weapons after flowers.

Russia often uses Shahed drones in combination with ballistic missile barrages to overwhelm Ukrainian air defense systems.

Ukraine counters drone attacks through electronic jamming of guidance systems and the use of anti-aircraft guns.

Financial Times analysis shows that the likelihood of Shahed drones hitting their targets has tripled over the past month.

The United States has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Iran’s drone production and procurement networks.

In February, the Trump administration sanctioned six entities in Hong Kong and mainland China for facilitating the acquisition of components used in Iranian armed drones.

Mostafa Nourizadeh, the husband of Hakimeh Bakhto—one of the workers killed in the explosion—told the reformist-leaning paper that the cargo was not handled by regular customs brokers and could not have been transported by a private company.

This cargo belonged to a military institution, he said citing investigations by the victims' families.

“That’s where the questions begin: What entered the port? Why was it there? Why wasn’t it stored safely?”

The report also said, citing victims' families, that no officials have been dismissed or otherwise held accountable and that court proceedings have stalled, with case files marked as confidential.

While the judiciary announced compensation payments to the families of the 58 victims, Ham-Mihan said some relatives reported receiving no support, and injured workers had to pay medical expenses out of pocket.

According to the private security firm Ambrey, the explosion was “reportedly the result of improper handling of a shipment of solid fuel intended for use in Iranian ballistic missiles.”

Months later, officials have not publicly provided a detailed explanation.

Brian Assi, also known as Brahim Assi, 63, of Beirut, was convicted in October 2024 of multiple charges including conspiracy to violate US sanctions, attempted unlawful export, smuggling, submitting false export information and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

“The defendant conspired to export millions of dollars of US-made heavy machinery to Iran, a leading state sponsor of terrorism,” said John Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security in a statement.

According to the Justice Department, Assi conspired with individuals tied to Sakht Abzar Pars Co. (SAP-Iran), based in Tehran, to export two US-origin blasthole drill rigs from a manufacturing plant in Florida to Iran without obtaining required licenses.

To conceal Iran’s role, Assi arranged for the equipment to be sold to an Iraq-based distributor as a front, and facilitated shipment to Turkey, with the intention of reexporting the machinery to Iran. He allegedly misled his employer and submitted false information to the US Automated Export System, listing Iraq as the final destination.

The Justice Department said the transaction involved approximately $2.7 million transferred through the US financial system.

Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted Tehran's ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali as saying that that the meeting between the defense chiefs focused on “reinforcing bilateral cooperation in the defense and military fields.”

The meeting comes after Moscow, an ally of Tehran, appeared to offer no material support to Iran during its 12-day conflict with Israel last month.

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Iran and Russia began their three days of joint drills aimed at boosting maritime safety and regional cooperation, Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Tasnim News reported.

According to Tasnim, a Russian Navy vessel entered Iranian waters on Monday to take part in the exercise, codenamed CASAREX 2025, or

In May, Iran’s parliament approved a 20-year strategic partnership with Russia, signaling a further tightening of ties between the two countries in both defense and economic matters.

The agreement, initially signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on January 17, was ratified by Russia’s State Duma in April.

While the pact does not include a mutual defense clause, it commits both nations to enhanced military-technical cooperation, joint military exercises, and coordination in the face of what they define as shared security threats.

The launch of the joint military exercise follows a high-level political meeting held a day earlier in which Ali Larijani, advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.

Larijani briefed Putin on the Iranian officials’ view regarding the crisis in the Middle East and developments related to Iran’s nuclear program, Russian state news agency RIA said citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.