Iran describes US sanctions as 'economic terrorism' while Trump doubles down

Israel's war on Lebanon has killed at least 4,348 people since 2 March, with over 12,300 being wounded, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Health.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not think that Iran was ready to make the "right deal," and that Washington was observing "what happens" in the conflict.

"It just means that we're seeing what happens," Trump told reporters when asked USS military options with Iran were limited.

"We have total control of that entire region having to do with the Strait of Hormuz, and that means well into it, the land areas. So, they would love to make a deal, but they're not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion," Trump added.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday joined European countries in condemning plans by Israel to open up construction tenders for a residential property project called 'E1' in the occupied West Bank.

"The Israeli Government's decision to publish construction tenders for the E1 settlement project is unacceptable," she said in a post on X.

"We have long opposed this step."

France, Germany, Britain and Italy issued on Thursday a joint statement condemning the Israeli project.

An oil tanker under US sanctions for allegedly transporting Iranian petroleum products has become the latest victim of resurgent Somali piracy when it was boarded off the coast of Yemen and diverted toward Somalia.

The Eritrea-flagged Sibu 1 was seized on Thursday by six armed individuals, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The tanker was sanctioned last December by the U.S. Treasury for allegedly being part of a shadow fleet that helps Iranian petroleum products evade U.S. sanctions.

The Sibu 1 was at least the 13th vessel attacked this year off the coast of Somalia or in the Gulf of Aden, which links Somalia and Yemen, according to data from the International Maritime Bureau and reports by UKMTO.

The Omani and Iranian foreign ministers discussed in a phone call ways to create suitable conditions for resuming dialogue and negotiations, and developments affecting navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Oman's state news agency said on Friday.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday it was time to end the months-long Middle East war with the United States because Tehran appeared to be in a stronger position than Washington.

Talks between the longtime foes remain on hold, and the war started by the US and Israel in February has been locked in a stalemate.

Tehran is keeping the key Strait of Hormuz partially shut, and Washington is persisting with a naval counter-blockade of Iran.

"It is better that we bring the war to an end now as we are in a position of power and dignity," Pezeshkian said in a meeting with doctors.

"The whole world acknowledges our victory and emphasises that America has attacked our schools, hospitals and infrastructure in violation of all regulations and is hated around the world."

Turkey said on Friday it would seek an Interpol red notice for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a domestic criminal case linked to an attack on activists seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

NATO member Turkey has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel's assault on Gaza and has previously issued domestic arrest warrants for Netanyahu over the war there. It has repeatedly called for international measures against Israel over what Ankara calls its violations of human rights and international law. Israel denies those charges.

In May, Israeli forces opened fire on at least two vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla sailing towards Gaza as it was making a renewed attempt to deliver aid to the enclave after earlier missions were intercepted by Israel in international waters.

Britain, Canada, and Australia on Friday condemned as "shameful" Israel's decision to close an investigation into the deaths of seven aid workers killed in Gaza in 2024.

The World Central Kitchen employees -- three Britons, a dual US-Canadian national, a Pole, an Australian, and a Palestinian -- died in a drone strike on their vehicle convoy after overseeing the unloading of a food aid shipment.

Israel's military called the incident a "tragic mistake".

"In the more than two years since, we have been pressing for Israel to swiftly and thoroughly consider the case and hold those responsible to account," the three nations said in a joint statement.

"The announcement by the [Israeli army] on 19 August 2026 that it would not pursue criminal investigations into this strike, without further explanation, is shameful," it said.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an "antisemitic dictator" and vowed Israel would "continue to act forcefully against Turkey's attempts to destabilise the region".

It comes days after Syria accused Israel of bombing an air base in the country's north, a short drive from the Turkish border, with Netanyahu later tacitly acknowledging the strike.

Netanyahu had said Turkey was looking to establish a military presence there, but Turkey has denied any visit to the site.

It also follows an announcement by Turkey on Friday that it had sought an international arrest warrant for Netanyahu, accusing him of "genocide" linked to Israel's interception of an aid flotilla for Gaza.

"Israel has long been unimpressed by Turkey's hypocrisy. Erdogan is an antisemitic dictator who massacred Kurds, supports the massacre of the Hamas terrorist organisation, and oppresses his own people," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

It added that Israel would "continue to act forcefully against Turkey's attempts to destabilise the region and against any threat to its security".

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates condemned Israel's settlement policies in Palestinian territories and said they categorically rejected the residential property project called 'E1' in the occupied West Bank.

"The Ministers call for immediate action to halt the “E1” settlement plan, rescind all measures taken in connection with it, and cease all settlement activities and other measures aimed at altering the geographic and demographic character of the Occupied Palestinian Territory," they said in a joint statement, adding that the plan constituted a "dangerous escalation" that further advanced settlement expansion and annexation of Palestinian lands.

Nearing the six-month mark of the Iran war and facing diminishing stockpiles of key weapons, the Trump administration is touting a crushing financial campaign against Tehran, promising an “economic D-Day” against a country that has so far withstood nearly five decades of punishing American sanctions.

With sparse details, President Donald Trump announced this week that the US would be imposing an “unprecedented” level of economic warfare and isolation on Iran, aiming to force its leadership to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.

An Israeli man guarding a group of illegal settlers who walked onto Palestinian village land on Friday opened fire towards Palestinians, killing a 17-year-old and wounding a 70-year-old man, officials said.

The incident in the occupied West Bank village of Sa'ir followed the latest in what the Israeli military describes as "unauthorized hikes" by settlers, who enter the outskirts of villages in what Palestinians view as an act of intimidation.

"A security official opened fire in the area, and there are Palestinian casualties as a result of the shooting," the military said.

The Israeli army says it struck a building in southern Lebanon earlier today after several "suspects" crossed the ceasefire line and entered it.

Soldiers of the Kfir Brigade spotted the "suspects" crossing into the military’s buffer zone in the area of the village of Baraashit.

The army says the suspects who entered the building “posed a threat to IDF troops,” without providing evidence and a short while later, the Israeli Air Force struck the site.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministries of Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom condemned Israel's decision not to pursue criminal investigations into the April 2024 attack on a World Central Kitchen convoy in Gaza, calling the move "shameful".

The three governments said announcing the decision on World Humanitarian Day was "particularly egregious", adding that the seven aid workers killed in the Israeli strikes and their families "deserve justice and accountability".

They said the World Central Kitchen attack was one of “countless incidents” in Gaza where there had been no accountability and called on Israel to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law and ensure humanitarian workers can operate safely.

But they offered no tangible actions on how to do that, nor are they reconsidering trade with Israel. 

Hezbollah said on Friday that the United States "will not deter" its resistance against Israel after Washington announced new sanctions on the group, accusing it of serving Iran.

The US Treasury Department amended Hezbollah's legal designation on Thursday to note that it operated in "service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps".

It also announced new sanctions targeting 10 people who are allegedly part of a network that transfers cash to Hezbollah.

"All these unjust sanctions and classifications will not deter us from adhering to the path of resistance and the right of Lebanon and the Lebanese to defend their land, sovereignty and resources," Hezbollah said in a statement.

The group, armed and funded by Iran, stressed that it "does not need anyone to vouch for its Lebanese identity and patriotism".

"Our close and fraternal relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran is a relationship we cherish and are proud of," it added.

Turkey has issued an international arrest warrant for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of an investigation into Israel's interception of an aid flotilla for Gaza, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced Friday on X.

Turkey has already issued warrants against Netanyahu and other top officials for "genocide" over Israel's actions in the Gaza war.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday it was time to end the months-long war with the United States because Tehran was in a position of strength over Washington.

"It is better that we bring the war to an end now as we are in a position of power and dignity, and the whole world acknowledges our victory and emphasises that America has attacked our schools, hospitals and infrastructure in violation of all regulations and is hated around the world," he said in a meeting with doctors.

His comments came after Iran's foreign ministry accused the US of "economic terrorism" and "crimes against humanity" after Washington said it would ramp up sanctions to heap pressure on Tehran.

"The perpetrators and instigators of these sanctions are deserving of trial and punishment for committing such heinous crimes," it said in a statement carried by state media.

More than 20 actors who have appeared in Marvel films and television series have backed calls for Israel to release jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti.

Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Doctor Strange, Hulk actor Mark Ruffalo and Don Cheadle, who portrays War Machine, are among the major Marvel names supporting the international Free Marwan campaign.

Other supporters with Marvel links include Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Tatiana Maslany, Daniel Brühl, Zawe Ashton, Emma Corrin, May Calamawy, Elliot Page, Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Brian Cox, Dan Stevens, Rob Delaney and Kingsley Ben-Adir.

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Reuters reports that offers of Iranian crude to Chinese buyers have declined and prices have jumped this week as the U.S. blockade has cut Tehran's shipments, according to trade sources, with the threat of more sanctions from Washington looming.

The US re-imposed its blockade of Iran's shipping and ports on 13 July as a deal to halt the war between them broke down in an attempt to cut off oil sales—Tehran's primary source of hard currency—compounding earlier losses from wartime strikes on its energy infrastructure.

The number of offers for Iranian oil cargoes to China for September and October delivery has declined from July and August cargoes, four trade sources familiar with the matter said. The offers have declined as barrels already in ships have been sold, they said.

International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane of Japan warned on Friday against "the demise of international rule of law" after the United States targeted her with sanctions.

"The sanction against me this time was something I had anticipated to an extent, so I'm not surprised," Akane said in a statement released on X by her publisher Bungei Shunju. "The important thing is not to let this be the beginning of the demise of international rule of law."

The United States sanctioned Akane and trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal on Tuesday as part of the Trump administration's campaign against what it calls a "corrupt and fatally politicised" body, notably to defend Israel. 

The measures bar them from entering the United States and from carrying out transactions in the US financial system.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, General Ali Abdollahi, vowed a "devastating" response to what he described as enemies’ threats, in light of the US actions towards Tehran.

Abdollahi said, in a message on the occasion of Defense Industry Day in the Iranian calendar, that "any miscalculation and traditional and modern threats from enemies will be met with revolutionary, strict, remorseful and destructive responses."

The Chief of Staff stressed that his country’s response to "the enemy’s threats will be devastating," in a position that comes in the wake of increased US pressure and threats.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Friday that the country plans to raise oil production to between 8 million and 10 million barrels per day within six years.

He said a ministerial committee had been sent to Saudi Arabia to discuss expanding Iraq’s OPEC production quota. Iraq was also working to export oil through Syria’s Baniyas port and Jordan’s Aqaba port, he added.

Israeli artillery shelling have reportedly hit the outskirts of Mayfadoun, near Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, and on the southern town of al-Mansouri in southern Lebanon this morning, according to the country’s National News Agency.

An Israeli air strike also targeted a house on the outskirts of Baraachit, in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon, NNA added.

US Vice President JD Vance said the US entered a "new phase" with its war on Iran, arguing that economic pressure was Washington's "most effective tool".

"We're kind of now in a new phase where the most effective tool that we have is the economic pressure that we can apply to them," Vance said during an interview. “We're going to keep that going. If we can get enough oil and gas out to give some Americans some ease at the pump, some ease on energy prices."

China said on Friday that US "sanctions and pressure" would not resolve the US-Israeli war on Iran, after Washington urged governments, including Beijing, to join efforts to isolate the Iranian economy.

"Sanctions and pressure will not help resolve the issue," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a news briefing, calling on "all relevant parties to take responsible measures and resolve the problem through political and diplomatic means".