UPI: The U.S. Navy is said to have deployed unmanned underwater vehicles to the Persian Gulf to search for mines in nearby oil-shipping lanes.

UPI: A major Canadian bank is telling Iranian-Canadian customers to find another bank due to federal economic sanctions against the regime in Tehran.

Bloomberg: The cost of producing each barrel will rise to $30 or more from $7 currently, the newspaper said, citing citing Gholamreza Manouchehri, an adviser to the head of National Iranian Oil Co.

Bloomberg: Iran’s central bank opened a $10 billion line of credit for several upstream domestic oil projects, the Tehran Times reported, citing Mohsen Khojasteh- Mehr, who’s in charge of planning and supervision at the Oil Ministry.

Wall Street Journal: Iran is opening a public debate over its approach toward Syria’s crisis, with some diplomats publicly questioning whether Tehran should continue supporting Syria’s regime.

AFP: Canada on Wednesday warned Iran’s mission in Ottawa against recruiting expatriates, after reports the embassy was doing so under the guise of cultural outreach programs.

AFP: Iran is “100 times stronger” today than 30 years ago despite the multitude of Western sanctions imposed since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday.

Reuters: International mediator Kofi Annan said on Wednesday Iran and Iraq supported a plan for a political transition in Damascus led by Syria and that they would use their influence to try to push all parties in that direction.

AP: South Africa’s government says it is investigating allegations its former envoy to Iran accepted payments from a South African cell phone company.

Reuters: Iran is shipping oil to China, its top buyer, despite a row over freight terms, and Japan has taken steps to resume imports in August as Tehran finds ways to get around Western sanctions on ship insurance for its drastically reduced shipments.