Iran channelled $7.5bn in foreign currency earnings from oil sales to its central bank during the first four months of the year, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.

Fars, citing Oil Ministry data, said the figure marked a 50 percent increase from the same period in 2025.

Officials expect the money to fund the government’s foreign currency requirements until late December.

Iran is considering launching attacks on US military targets in Europe if President Donald Trump escalates the conflict, according to a report.

Sources close to Iran’s government told the Financial Times that potential targets included a British air base in Cyprus that was targeted by a drone in March.

Other countries in southeastern Europe such as Bulgaria, which approved US access to its Bezmer air base for refuelling last month, were also weighed up as a potential target for strikes.

A high-ranking Russian general has issued a stark warning that Israel could ‘cease to exist as a state’ if the escalating West Asia conflict continues to widen, while US-Iran tensions remain high over diplomatic engagement and naval blockades. 

The quiet release of long-awaited and long-hidden CIA documents offers key details on how the U.S. and Britain overthrew Iran's democratic government in 1953, says the National Security Archives' Malcolm Byrne

By Tyler Durden

Summary:

The national debt surpassed a record $40 trillion on Wednesday, a staggering milestone as defense costs, social programs like Social Security and Medicare and interest on the burgeoning deficit make up an enormous share of federal spending.