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12:18
Staple Food Prices Soar In Iran As Inflation Hits ‘Unprecedented Levels’
An Iranian woman shops in a local market in Tehran. (file photo)
Year-on-year inflation for basic food staples surged sharply in Farvardin 1405 (March 21-April 21, 2026), according to new data from the Statistical Center of Iran.
Amid continuing reports of soaring prices in the country, particularly since the recent war with the US and Israel, year-on-year inflation for some essential food items reached unprecedented levels,” the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported on May 9.
According to the new data published by Iran’s official statistics agency, the price of solid vegetable oil rose 375 percent compared to the same period in the previous year — the highest jump among food products.
Liquid cooking oil followed with inflation of 308 percent, while imported rice ranked next at 209 percent.
Products with the lowest year-on-year inflation rates included animal butter at 48 percent, powdered milk at 71 percent, and pasta at 75 percent.
With reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda
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02:59
In Talks With Vance, Qatari PM Urges All Sides To Focus On Diplomacy
Qatari Prime Minister Muhammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani called for all warring parties to utilize diplomacy and not arms to find an end to the war in the Middle East.
Thani made the remarks following talks with US Vice President JD Vance in Washington, the Qatari Foreign Ministrywrote on X.
During the meeting, the prime minister “stressed the need for all parties to engage with the ongoing mediation efforts, to pave the way for addressing the root causes of the crisis through peaceful means and dialogue, leading to a comprehensive agreement that achieves lasting peace in the region,” the ministry said.
Qatari Prime Minister Muhammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (left) and US Vice President JD Vance.
Pakistan has acted as official mediator between Tehran and Washington, but media reports have said the Qataris have been operating behind the scenes to drive to resolve the conflict.
US President Donald Trump on May 8 said he expects a response in the next few hours from Tehran to the latest US peace proposal to end the nearly 70-day war.
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01:52
Trump Says Expects Iranian Response To Peace Proposal In Next Few Hours
US President Donald Trump on May 8 said he expects an answer from Tehran to the latest US peace proposal within the next few hours, as hopes again rise that an agreement to end the nearly 70-day war was possible.
“I’m getting a letter supposedly tonight, so we’ll see how that goes,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on May 8.
Trump and other US officials have often asserted that a deal was close with Iranian leaders to end the war — which began with US-Israeli air strikes on Iran on February 28 — only to have talks end without a breakthrough.
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters from the South Lawn of the White House on May 8.
On May 7, Trump said a deal was “very possible,” but he also warned Tehran of the resumption of massive air strikes if it did not accept the US proposal.
Leaders in Tehran have said they are studying the latest US plan, reportedly a one-page memorandum that would call for an end to the fighting and the opening of the crucial Strait of Hormuz but leave many key issues — including Irans right to enrich uranium — until later.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Washington was awaiting Irans response to a US proposal aimed at ending the conflict.
“We’re expecting a response from them today at some point…I hope it’s a serious offer, I really do,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to Rome on May 8.
The remarks come after two days of renewed violence in the Middle East, with US forcessayingthey had disabled two more Iranian-flagged tankers in the Gulf of Oman on May 8 as Washington continued enforcing its blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iran.
In addition, the United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems intercepted two ballistic missiles and three drones launched from Iran, leaving three people moderately injured.
In an X post on May 8, the country’sDefense Ministrysaid that since the start of blatant Iranian attacks on the UAE, its forces had intercepted 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles and 2,263 drones.
SEE ALSO:
Rubio Wraps Up Rome Visit With Sharp Warning To Iran Over Hormuz
In a potential threat to the current cease-fire, US forces on May 7 said they intercepted and “eliminated inbound threats” and struck unspecified Iranian military sites after Iranian forces launched missiles, drones, and small boats at US Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
“US forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as US Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman, May 7,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
Trump later told ABC News that retaliatory strikes against Iran were just a “love tap” and insisted that, despite the action, the cease-fire announced on April 7 was still “in effect” and that negotiations were ongoing.
The semiofficial Fars News Agency reported that parts of Iran’s Bahman Port on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz had been targeted by unknown attackers.
During an exchange of fire between Irans armed forces and the enemy, commercial sections of Bahman Port were targeted, said Fars, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
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00:12
US Slaps Sanctions On People, Firms Accused Of Aiding Iran’s Shahed Program
The US Treasury on May 8 said it had imposed sanctions on 10 individuals and companies for aiding efforts by the Iranian military to secure weapons and materials used to build Shahed drones.
Included in the list are entities in China and Hong Kong, with the action coming days before US President Donald Trump’s planned trip toChinafor meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“The Trump Administration is imposing sanctions on 11 entities and three individuals based in Iran, China, Belarus, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) involved in Irans efforts to acquire or use arms and related material,” the Treasury said in a statement.
“Included in todays actions are several China-based entities providing satellite imagery to enable Irans military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East,” it added.
The Iranian-made Shahed drones provided by Tehran to Russia have been used by the Kremlin’s forces for attacks in Ukraine, often hitting civilian targets.
The Treasury said it stands ready to take further economic action against Iran’s military-industrial base as part of efforts to prevent Tehran from rebuilding its output capacity and projecting its power in the Middle East region.
TheTreasurysaid it would also act against any foreign company supporting illicit Iranian commerce and could impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that aid Tehran’s efforts, including those connected to China’s independent”teapot” oil refineries.
Shahed drones supplied by Iran have been used by Russian forces in attacks on Ukraine.
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22:10
8.5.2026
Iran Says Latest Clashes With US In Strait Of Hormuz Have ‘Ceased’
Tehran has said armed clashes with US Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz have come to an end and that the situation is now calm.
After a period of mutual fire, the fighting has ceased and the situation is under control, the Tasnim news agency, which has close ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), quoted a military source as saying on May 8.
The report said the latest escalation — which endangered but did not end the cease-fire now in place — came after US forces fired on an Iranian-flagged oil tanker on May 6.
The Iranian navy fires a missile, at an unknown location, in this still image taken from a video released on May 8.
The two sides dispute the nature of the clashes and accuse the other of firing first.
On May 8, US Central Command (CENTCOM)said in a post on Xthat two more Iranian-flagged tankers were disabled by US forces in the Gulf of Oman as Washington continued enforcing its blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iran.
Talks are under way through Pakistani mediators on a potential peace deal, With US President Donald Trump expressing optimism even as he threatens Iran with massive air attacks if it rejects the US proposal.
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20:02
8.5.2026
US Announces New Round Of Talks Between Israel And Lebanon Next Week
The United States says it will facilitate two days of “intensive talks” next week aimed at advancing a comprehensive peace and security agreement between the governments of Israel and Lebanon.
According to a statement issued by US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott on May 8, the meeting will take place May 14-15 in what will be a previous round of talks held on April 23.
Pigott said “both delegations will engage in detailed discussions aimed at advancing a comprehensive peace and security agreement that substantively addresses the core concerns of both countries.”
“These talks aim to break decisively from the failed approach of the past two decades, which allowed terrorist groups to entrench and enrich themselves, undermine the authority of the Lebanese state, and endanger Israel’s northern border,” he added.
Since the war with Iran broke out at the end of February, Israel has struck targets inside Lebanon it says are related to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States.
The two sides had agreed to a cease-fire last month, but on May 6 Israel launched an attack on a southern suburb of Beirut, where Hezbollah is based. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had personally approved the strike which targeted a commander of the group’s elite Radwan Force.
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19:33
8.5.2026
Report: Images Show Suspected Oil Slick Near Iran Export Hub
A satellite image shows a likely oil spill covering dozens of square kilometers near Iran’s Kharg Island on May 6.
Satellite images reviewed by Reuters appear to show a large oil slick near Irans Kharg Island, the countrys main oil export hub, raising concerns about a possible spill amid ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf.
Images captured between May 6 and May 8 by Copernicus Sentinel satellites showed a grey-and-white slick covering waters west of the island.
Leon Moreland of the Conflict and Environment Observatory said that the slick appeared visually consistent with oil and estimated it covered roughly 45 square kilometers.
The cause of the possible spill remains unclear.
Reuters said the US military and Iran’s mission to the UN did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Kharg Island handles about 90 percent of Irans oil exports and has been at the center of heightened tensions and military activity during the US-Iran conflict.
SEE ALSO:
Coral And Crude: Life On Iran’s Kharg island
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16:37
8.5.2026
US Says It Has Disabled 2 More Iranian-Flagged Tankers
Two more Iranian-flagged tankers were disabled by US forces in the Gulf of Oman as Washington continued enforcing its blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iran, US Central Command (CENTCOM)said in a May 8 post on X.
According to CENTCOM, which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East, US Navy fighter jets struck the “unladen oil tankers” Sea Star III and Sevda before they could enter an Iranian port, while another tanker, the Hasna, had been disabled on May 6.
CENTCOM said more than 50 commercial vessels had been redirected during blockade operations.
CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said US forces remained committed to full enforcement of the blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iran.
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15:49
8.5.2026
Iran Says 5 Sailors Missing After US Strikes
The governor of the southern Iranian city of Minab has said that a cargo vessel near the citys waters was struck and caught fire during overnight US strikes, leaving five crew members missing.
Mohammad Rademehr told Iranian media on May 8 that 15 sailors had been aboard the cargo vessel, 10 of whom were transferred to hospital, while volunteer and search teams were trying to locate the remaining crew members.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for American forces in the Middle East, said the US had launched strikes on Iranian military facilities in the early hours of May 8 in response to Iranian attacks against American destroyers.
In apost on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump said Iran had used small boats, missiles and drones in the incident and that the “Iranian attackers” had been completely destroyed.
Iran’s military said it targeted the US ships after American forces struck an Iranian oil tanker moving from Irans coastal waters, as well as another vessel entering the Strait of Hormuz near Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates
With reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda, AFP, and Reuters
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15:24
8.5.2026
Rubio Says US Awaiting Iran Response to Peace Proposal
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks reporters at the US Embassy in Rome on May 8.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Washington is awaiting Irans response to a US proposal aimed at ending the conflict.
“We’re expecting a response from them today at some point… I hope it’s a serious offer, I really do,” Rubio told reporters during a visit to Rome on May 8.
Rubio also denounced Irans efforts to control transit through the Strait of Hormuz after reports that Tehran had established an authority to approve vessel passage through the crucial maritime conduit.
“Iran now claims that they own, that they have a right to control, an international waterway… That’s an unacceptable thing that they’re trying to normalize,” he said.
Rubio also defended recent US military action in the Gulf, saying American forces had responded after Iranian fire targeted US warships on May 7.
Iran, however, said the confrontation began after US vessels attacked an Iranian civilian tanker near the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio’s remarks came on the same day as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi accused Washington of undermining diplomacy,saying in a post on Xthat “every time a diplomatic solution is on the table,” the United States opts for “a reckless military adventure.”
With reporting by Reuters
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