An Iranian port city feels the pain of Washington's tightening economic measures

BANDAR ABBAS, Iran (AP) — In the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterfront once busy with boats, trucks and workers has fallen quiet. It's a front line of the economic pain that the United States now hopes to intensify after six months of war.

The Associated Press visited the city shaken by new U.S. airstrikes targeting coastal areas in the past week, and found anger along with growing anxiety about simply getting by as a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports continues.

A taxi driver, Hamid Hajizadeh, said he does not understand Americans. “They are heroes in movies, but here they killed people in schools, wedding ceremonies and other places. They bombed roads and bridges," he said.

In this city of over 700,000 people, residents have a closer view than almost anyone of events on the strait that have seized global attention. They say their location has brought little but danger and discomfort over the past half year.

Mohammad Torabian works at the dock providing services to passengers. Before the war, he said, as many as 50 trucks carrying food and meat would unload there every day. Now, with the U.S. blockade that's aimed at keeping Iran from exporting its oil, much of the dock is empty.

“The business right now is terrible,” Torabian said. He estimated that about 500 people had been earning a living around the dock but “there is no job here.”

The fortunes of Bandar Abbas have long been tied to the sea and nearby Shahid Rajaee, one of Iran’s largest commercial ports. Shahid Rajaee has the capacity to handle 100 million metric tons of cargo a year, according to a report in July by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

Iranian officials have sharply criticized the blockade, which the U.S. imposed in April and then imposed again after negotiations with Tehran on a path to end the war fell apart. Washington has since vowed more economic pressure over the strait, which is crucial to global shipping of oil, natural gas and related products.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the lead negotiator in talks with the U.S. that collapsed, warned earlier this month that an escalation of the blockade would be met with a military response.

In Bandar Abbas, the effects are spreading through nearly every layer of the economy, from ships and dock workers to customs-clearing companies and shopkeepers.

Mahsa Shojaei, an accountant with a customs-clearing company, said much of its business before the war involved importing rice, tea and coffee from India and Pakistan.

Now, Shojaei estimated that 80% to 90% of her company’s workload has disappeared. A business that might have handled around 100 customs-clearance files during a certain period now processes only about 10, she said. At the same time, the cost of bringing cargo through customs has risen.

The economic damage has spread beyond the waterfront, especially as Iran's currency reaches record lows. In the retail markets, merchants said customers are disappearing as purchasing power deteriorates.

Mehrdad Jahangiri sells children’s clothing at a shop that supports both his household and his father’s. He said sales have fallen by about half compared to the same period last year.

“There are simply no customers,” Jahangiri said. “The market has become very quiet.”

The timing of the war was especially damaging for merchants. It began just before the Iranian New Year, Nowruz, traditionally one of the busiest shopping periods. Merchants rely on families to spend more than during ordinary months. The war wiped out much of that expected business.

Now another crucial shopping period is slipping away. In the weeks before schools reopen later in September, families traditionally buy new clothes for their children. This year, Jahangiri said, the usual crowds have barely materialized.

The downturn has become severe enough that the shop sometimes falls behind on rent and accumulates debts in the market, something he said had not happened before.

“People’s pockets are empty and incomes have fallen,” he said.

Asked whether his family had been forced to cut back on everyday expenses, Jahangiri’s answer was immediate. “Absolutely,” he said. “It has changed a lot.”

Other merchants have tried to adapt by offering discounts or allowing regular customers they trust to pay for goods in installments.

For people earning their living directly from the sea, the problem goes beyond the disappearance of business. They also must consider how far they dare to venture offshore.

Abbas Golzanaei, a motorboat driver who transports passengers to ships and other nearby ports, said that before the war he traveled as far as 30 miles (48 kilometers) for work.

“Before the war, business was good,” Golzanaei said. “Now I can’t go beyond seven or eight miles. The sea is not safe.”

That has left him with fewer passengers and less money. And “things are hard to find,” he said. “We have difficulty getting gasoline.”

Farther offshore, cargo vessels were silhouetted against the setting sun, suspended in uncertainty like Bandar Abbas itself, waiting to know when they can move again.

The sun sets over commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, with the city's skyline in the background, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A man works aboard a boat as a motorboat leaves a harbor in Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Water pipes are displayed along the corniche overlooking the Strait of Hormuz in Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People examine embroidered fabric at a textile shop in a traditional bazaar in Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A gull flies overhead as a boy stands with his bicycle on a beach overlooking commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

NEW YORK (AP) — After missing more than three months, Aaron Judge is ready to return to the New York Yankees.

The three-time MVP was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Monday night, an off day for the Yankees. They open a three-game series at home Tuesday night against the Colorado Rockies.

Judge hasn't played since May 31 because of a broken right rib, but the slugger traveled with the Yankees on their recent trip to the West Coast. He took batting practice on the field multiple times last weekend in San Diego and ran the bases as he worked toward his return.

The 34-year-old outfielder will rejoin New York's active roster without going on a minor league rehab assignment first. Throughout his absence, Judge said he wouldn't need a stint in the minors to get ready.

“If I tell them I’m ready to go play, I think we’re ready to go play,” Judge said on Aug. 27. “I’m not a pitcher. I’m a position player. I can get my reps down here in the cage. I’m in every game. I’m sitting there in the dugout watching every game, feeling the environment, feeling the energy, so I don’t think there’s going to be much of a difference.”

With 19 games remaining in the regular season, the Yankees (81-62) trail first-place Tampa Bay by four games in the AL East. They are two games ahead of rival Boston (80-65) for the top American League wild card and hold a potential tiebreaker between the teams after winning the season series.

The higher seed plays at home throughout every best-of-three Wild Card Series.

New York was 36-23 after Judge last played on May 31 and went 45-39 in the 84 games he missed since.

The offense, however, was obviously affected. The Yankees batted .243 with 86 homers in 59 games through May 31 but hit only .227 with 107 homers in 84 games while Judge was out.

Their batting average during that stretch ranked 29th among the 30 major league teams, ahead of only Seattle (.225).

New York had a .770 OPS through May 31, but it was .681 in his absence.

Judge is hitting .248 with 17 homers and 38 RBIs. He was initially injured attempting to avoid second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a diving catch in Houston on April 26 and batted .263 with seven homers and 20 RBIs in 31 games before being sidelined.

The captain's only homer in the final 18 games before he went on the injured list was a game-ending, two-run shot to beat Tampa Bay 2-0 on May 24 that snapped an 11-game drought without an RBI, the longest of his career.

Judge won a batting title last season when he hit a career-high .331 with 53 homers and 114 RBIs in 152 games. He missed 10 games from July 26 to Aug. 4 with a flexor strain in his right elbow that he sustained on a throw to home plate July 22 in Toronto. He underwent a plasma-rich platelet injection and did not require offseason surgery.

Judge skipped a rehab assignment in 2023 when he missed 42 games with a fractured right big toe after crashing into the right-field fence at Dodger Stadium. In 2019, he appeared in five minor league games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when he missed two months with a strained left oblique.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Judge, right-hander Chase Hampton was designated for assignment Monday night.

New York optioned right-hander Elmer Rodríguez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Sunday's loss in San Diego.

This story has been corrected to show Judge is 34 years old, not 35.

AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, right, gives autographs to fans before a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday}, Aug. 31, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge talks to third base/outfield coach Luis Rojas before a baseball game against the Houston Astros Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Yankees' Ben Rice, left, Spencer Jones, center, and Aaron Judge, right, lean on the dugout rail in the first inning during a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge smiles towards fans during a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)