Iran on Saturday denounced U.S. plans to announce new sanctions that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic's economy and have an impact on its most important trading partners including China.
Hamas has accused Israel of using reports of kites launched from Gaza as a pretext to continue military operations in the territory after Israel threatened intensified strikes and possible evacuations.
In a statement, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said Israeli claims regarding kites allegedly landing in Israeli communities were being used to justify attacks on Palestinians, including children. He called on the United States, mediators, guarantor states and the UN Security Council to pressure Israel to halt its military actions and uphold the ceasefire.
The comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yisrael Katz warned that Israel would launch intensified attacks and order evacuations if launches from Gaza were not stopped.
Syria and Israel held high-level talks in Jordan on Sunday under U.S. mediation, according to Syria's state news agency SANA, citing a diplomatic source at the foreign ministry.
The discussions were aimed at reducing tensions between the two sides following recent Israeli strikes on Syrian territory.
The reported meeting comes amid ongoing diplomatic efforts by Washington to prevent further escalation and encourage dialogue on security issues.
Israel has warned Hamas that it will intensify military strikes in Gaza and order additional civilian evacuations unless the launch of drones, balloons and kites from the territory towards Israel stops immediately.
In a statement on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel would escalate its response if the launches continue, signalling the possibility of broader military action and further displacement of civilians in affected areas of Gaza.
On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addressed the latest U.S. sanctions, saying they were similar to measures imposed by the previous U.S. administration.
"This is a repetitive scenario. From the crippling sanctions imposed during the Obama administration, to the maximum pressure campaign during Mr. Trump’s first administration, and now to the latest sanctions, all of these measures have been introduced under different titles, but they represent the same kind of bullying that we have always seen in American policy."
Araghchi said Washington's return to sanctions after making military threats was "desperate" and is a clear sign that the U.S. does not have a solution to the current crisis.
"They must understand that there is no option other than respectful dialogue with the Iranian people and a solution based on justice and dignity," he added.
Iran has discovered over 7.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in a field south of its Fars Province, Iran's oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said in comments carried by state media on Sunday.
Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, Portugal and Spain are urging the European Union to impose a windfall tax on oil companies whose profits have surged since the start of the war in Iran.
According to AFP, a draft letter from the six countries says oil companies are benefiting from higher profitability and refining margins that have outpaced the increase in crude oil prices.
The countries said the conflict has triggered one of the biggest supply shocks in decades and contributed to growing public concern over rising living costs.
Iranian Defence Ministry spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik said the country’s production of weapons and defence equipment has doubled over the past 12 months.
Speaking to state-run IRIB TV, Talaei-Nik said production of certain strategic military products and equipment had increased more than threefold since the war began in late February.
He said the increase came despite limited parts of Iran’s defence industry being targeted during the 12-day war with Israel in June last year.
Talaei-Nik said strengthening Iran’s military capabilities was necessary to counter foreign powers seeking to threaten the country’s independence.
Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir will visit Tehran on Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday, according to a statement by the ministry.
Baghaei said the visit was in continuation of Pakistan's efforts to strengthen peace and security in the region.
Pakistan has taken on the mediator role in negotiations between Iran and the U.S. aimed at ending their war.
In a televised speech, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the government was “ashamed” of the country’s economic difficulties and accused Washington of seeking to impose severe sanctions on Iran.
“[U.S. President] Trump easily says that they will impose the most crushing or the most terrible sanctions on Iran,” Pezeshkian said. “We are standing and trying to serve the people in the face of this unequal war.”
Pezeshkian also said the U.S. had expected Iran to collapse under pressure and become like Venezuela.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Paris for a two-day visit starting Sunday (23 August), with the two leaders expected to discuss ways to reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.
According to officials in the French presidency cited by The Associated Press, proposals include boosting trade through Omani ports outside the Gulf, expanding or doubling oil pipelines in Saudi Arabia and other countries, and developing new rail links.
“We tell all neighbouring countries not to participate in the economic war with the U.S.; otherwise, we will consider them an enemy,” said Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaee, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
“We are not seeking to expand the war, but if the countries surrounding Iran join the Americans in the economic war, we will strike their interests,” he added.
Rezaee warned that if neighbouring countries cooperated with the U.S. campaign, “not a single drop of oil will leave the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran has no intention of making concessions and stressed the need to move beyond what he called a “no war, no peace” situation, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.
Pezeshkian said Iranian officials were discussing almost daily how to move beyond the situation and reach an understanding that would preserve Iran’s principles and values, while deterring adversaries from contemplating another attack.
He said war offered no solution, while prolonged uncertainty about whether fighting could resume was also taking an economic toll on the country.
U.S. efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy through an oil blockade and sanctions are becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to withstand, acc...
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citi...
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia that he believed there was "a chance of finding a solution," to the conflict.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August and 2 September.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing an unnamed source. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said American envoys will visit the capitals of both countries.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 3rd of September, covering the latest developments.
The Iranian Army has again struck at U.S. bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for U.S. attacks on southern and western parts of Iran late on Tuesday, which reportedly killed 18 people and injured more than 100 others.
U.S. efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy through an oil blockade and sanctions are becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to withstand, according to three senior Iranian sources. Washington is escalating pressure in hopes of securing concessions in future negotiations.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August and 2 September.
The Iranian Army has again struck at U.S. bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for U.S. attacks on southern and western parts of Iran late on Tuesday, which reportedly killed 18 people and injured more than 100 others.
The U.S. has launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, targeting Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sites as Tehran retaliated against U.S. positions across the region, while Iranian officials said at least five people were killed and dozens wounded at a wedding near Sirik.
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Jordan in the first direct U.S.-Iran military escalation in weeks.
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