Iranian officials told Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei that the U.S. naval blockade is crushing the economy, according to reporting cited from the New York Times. The accounts emerged as Tehran weighed whether to sign a memorandum of understanding to reopen aspects of the Strait of Hormuz ceasefire diplomacy. The reporting says President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran’s central bank head warned that budget stress and supply risks—including an inability to sell oil through alternative routes—could intensify quickly if restrictions remain. Khamenei is described as hesitating even as internal assessments pushed pragmatists toward approval of the MOU. For higher education stakeholders, the development matters indirectly through energy market volatility and the downstream effects on inflation, research costs, and operational planning for institutions with global commitments tied to energy-intensive logistics and supply chains.