US urges allies, China to join campaign to isolate Iran

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said Wednesday that the United States is now further pressuring Iran under the label of an "economic war," which he views as an attempt to cover up Washington's previous failure.

Gharibabadi said in a social media post that while the United States claims Iran is "on the verge of collapse," it is reaching out to all its allies for help, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported.

To cover up its failure, the United States has to create an even bigger failure, Gharibabadi said, adding that the military war had failed to deliver results, and Washington was now calling the next defeat an "economic war."

The United States on Thursday approved a potential $4.5-billion sale of refueling aircraft to Qatar, which has acted as a mediator in Washington's war with Iran, the State Department announced.

Qatar had asked to purchase up to four KC-46A aircraft, equipped with missile warning sensors, the department said in a statement.

The sale, which was sent to Congress for its approval, will help support US national security by "helping to improve the security of a strategic regional partner," it said.

The deal will "increase Qatar's capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing its defense capabilities and interoperability with US and allied forces," it added.

Iran accused the United States of "economic terrorism" and "crimes against humanity" on Thursday, after Washington said it would ramp up sanctions to heap pressure on Tehran.

"Undoubtedly, the US economic sanctions against Iran, which have targeted the fundamental human rights of every Iranian citizen, are a case of 'economic terrorism' and 'crimes against humanity', and the perpetrators and instigators of these sanctions are deserving of trial and punishment for committing such heinous crimes," Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state media.

The United States on Thursday issued a stark warning to its allies and China to get on board with a new economic campaign to "collapse" the Iranian government, saying that they would otherwise face tough consequences.

"This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world. And we are going to them and saying you are either with us or against us," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told broadcaster CNBC of his message to allies.

On whether the United States would pressure China, he said "many conversations are best to have in private," but called on Beijing "to get with the program."

Bessent called on other countries to support the US actions or face the consequences.

"So it is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision, and we are going to squash the economy of this murderous regime, which, that will curtail their ability to project power through their proxies," he said.

Washington has issued a raft of new economic sanctions since US President Donald Trump launched the war with Tehran in late February, but the Iranian government has managed to stay afloat.

Bessent, however, insisted that this new slate of sanctions would work, and that "we are going to collapse this regime."

He added that the new pressure meant that there likely would not be a ramp-up in US military operations against Iran "for now."

"If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart, but I will emphasize that is for now," he said.

Bessent said he would hold a press conference on Monday to outline specifics of what the new economic pressure campaign would entail.

A plan to sharply increase pain from economic sanctions on Iran aims to "collapse" the country's government, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday.

"It is going to work in Iran and we are going to collapse this regime," he told CNBC. "This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world."

A plan to ramp up economic sanctions against Iran means the United States is less likely to have to return to heavy military operations against the country, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday.

"If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart, but I will emphasize that is for now," he told CNBC.

India can play a role in helping create conditions for Iran and the United States to reach an agreement to end the ongoing conflict in West Asia and "bring peace, stability and harmony" to the region, Iranian Consul General in Mumbai Saeid Reza Mosayeb Motlagh said on Thursday.

Speaking to ANI on India's potential role in bringing Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table and finding a lasting solution to the conflict, which began on February 28, Motlagh described India as a "peace-loving country" and said New Delhi could contribute to mediation efforts between the two sides.

"We have said this many times: India is a great country, the Indian people are a great people, and India is a peace-loving country," Motlagh said.

The Iranian diplomat noted that several countries were already acting as intermediaries between Iran and the United States and said India could also contribute to efforts aimed at facilitating dialogue, adding that New Delhi's standing as a major country committed to peace could help create an environment conducive to an agreement between Tehran and Washington.

He further said that an agreement between Iran and the US could have wider implications for the region.

"The outcome of such an agreement could bring peace, stability, and harmony to the entire region," the Iranian Consul General added.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said on Thursday that they targeted an airport and a facility belonging to state-owned oil giant Aramco in Saudi Arabia's southern Najran region, near the Yemeni border.

The group "successfully carried out two military operations using drones: the first targeted a sensitive Saudi enemy site at Najran Airport, while the second targeted the Aramco facility in Najran", military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on Telegram.

Earlier on Thursday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards had warned that Saudi Arabia would be "unable to contain" the Houthis as the rebels ramp up attacks on the kingdom.

Three Houthi military sources, as well as a spokesman for the Yemeni government forces battling them near the waterway, also told AFP the rebels were planning to advance south from their current territory.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of an incident 136 nautical miles east of Al Mukalla, Yemen.

According to UKMTO, a tanker travelling west through the Gulf of Aden broadcast a distress call on VHF Channel 16 after being approached by an unauthorised vessel.

UKMTO later received confirmation that six armed people had boarded the tanker, taken control of the vessel and redirected it towards Somalia.

A new US aircraft carrier strike group has arrived in the Middle East, the US military announced Thursday, after conditions aboard a long-deployed carrier provoked fresh criticism of President Donald Trump's war against Iran.

"The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is operating in Middle East during a scheduled deployment after arriving in the CENTCOM theater yesterday," Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US forces in the Middle East, said in a post on X.

Iran on Thursday said it has always been prepared for negotiations and dialogue with the United States to end the West Asia conflict that began on February 28, but stated that Washington pursues talks with the Islamic Republic only when it serves its interests.

Iran's Consul General in Mumbai, Saeid Reza Mosayeb Motlagh, while dismissing reports of direct or back-channel negotiations between Tehran and Washington, said that Tehran remained committed to dialogue, while maintaining that certain conditions must be met for negotiations with the US to be meaningful, productive and capable of delivering results.

"Iran has always stated that it is prepared for negotiations and dialogue. Unfortunately, the United States has declared itself ready for talks whenever it has served its interests, using negotiations as a pretext for launching renewed attacks and another war," Motlagh told ANI.

He said Iran was aware of Washington's approach but would continue to remain committed to dialogue.

"Nevertheless, because it has made a commitment to itself to remain committed to dialogue, it is always prepared for negotiations," the Iranian diplomat said, adding that the necessary conditions must be fulfilled before Tehran can engage in meaningful talks.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected the economic threats made against his country, saying that such "failed policies" will stir more hostility among Iranians and "bring more failures."

Araghchi's comments came a few hours after President Donald Trump threatened "crushing economic measures" against Iran. Trump promised "Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale," but provided few details.

In a social media post, Araghchi maintained the threats aim to divert the attention of the US public from domestic financial problems, adding that the US "economic terrorism threatens the global economy and the national sovereignty of countries around the world."

Oman said lasting security in the Strait of Hormuz requires regional peace, restraint and diplomacy, while rejecting further escalation and conflict.

The Foreign Minister, speaking in Muscat alongside his Japanese counterpart, also called for greater international efforts to safeguard freedom of navigation and the flow of maritime traffic and energy supplies through the strategic waterway.

After nearly six months of war, Donald Trump is trying another way to force Iran to bend: Squeeze its economy until Tehran can no longer afford to resist.

The US president has announced what he calls the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY”, threatening not only Iran but countries, banks and businesses that help keep its economy alive.

The strategy represents an important shift. Washington is effectively betting that economic pressure can achieve what military action and attempts at diplomacy have so far failed to deliver — force Iran into an agreement on US terms.

So what exactly is Trump planning, how vulnerable is Iran — and which side can withstand the pain longer?

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on Thursday that Saudi Arabia will not be able to contain the Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen as the rebels ramp up attacks on the kingdom.

"Saudi Arabia will certainly be unable to contain Yemen and Ansarullah or remain safe from their attacks," Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi told Defa Press, using another name for the Houthis.

"As we have seen in recent days, the more Saudi Arabia attacks, the more it is hit in return."

This week, a Yemeni minister told AFP that the Houthi rebels were plotting to seize land along the Bab Al Mandab Strait, which would allow them to further threaten the vital shipping artery.

Three Houthi military sources and a spokesman for the Yemeni government forces battling them near the waterway also told AFP the rebels are planning to advance south from their current territory.

Iran on Thursday executed a foreign national over involvement in the killing of four police officers during anti-government protests in January, the judiciary reported.

"Ghaem Hosseini, a foreign national," who was convicted of involvement in an incident in central Isfahan province that resulted in the deaths of four police officers, "was hanged after his case was reviewed and his sentence upheld by the Supreme Court," the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported.

The report, which did not disclose Hosseini's nationality, said he was convicted "of drawing a weapon and causing fear and terror, creating widespread insecurity, acting against people's physical integrity and national security in a manner that seriously disrupted public order".

Iran has already hanged four others over the same case since July.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the so-called “Economic D-Day” is an attempt to divert attention from what he described as an economic crisis in the United States.

In a post on X, Araghchi pointed to rising US debt and interest costs, arguing that continuing what he called failed policies would lead to further setbacks and deepen hostility among Iranians.

He also accused Washington of practising “economic terrorism”, saying US policies threaten the global economy and the sovereignty of countries worldwide.

US President Donald Trump has expressed dissatisfaction with South Korea over its unwillingness to assist Washington in securing the Strait of Hormuz, whilst questioning the conduct of large-scale joint military manoeuvres targeted at North Korea, a development underscoring friction over burden-sharing and regional security dynamics.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump highlighted his displeasure regarding Seoul's response when approached for maritime security assistance in the crucial energy passageway. "I was not happy when South Korea said, no, they're not interested in helping us with the Hormuz Strait, and yet they get 60 per cent of their oil from the Hormuz Strait," Trump said.

Six months into its war with the United States, Iran's military has begun signalling a shift from retaliation to offence, which analysts say could reflect Tehran's belief it holds leverage to advance its demands and break the stalemate.

Since US-Israeli strikes launched the war on February 28, Tehran has largely portrayed its strikes against the United States, Israel and Gulf countries as revenge for attacks on the Islamic republic.

Now, Iranian officials are openly talking about giving offensive operations a greater priority while keeping control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key source of leverage against Washington that has disrupted a vital global energy route and driven up energy prices.

Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei outlined that approach in a reshuffle of top military commanders earlier this month, calling for "strengthening maximum deterrence and preparing to conduct large-scale offensive operations against the enemy".

Earlier this month Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei reshuffled Tehran's top security team, putting his own personal stamp on the appointments and readying the Islamic republic for a long-term confrontation with the United States.

Khamenei, in power since his father Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran in February, has yet to be seen in public since taking on the top job and his health and influence remain uncertain.

But on August 9 and 10 he filled key security posts -- many of which became vacant after previous incumbents were killed in the war -- with loyal, veteran figures hailing from the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), Iran's ideological army, which has a long history of antagonism with the US.

The appointments are "indicative of the adoption of a more risk-ready, confrontational stance", said Jason Brodsky, policy director of the US-based United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) think tank.

Britain said on Wednesday it had summoned Israel's charge d'affaires and demanded a halt to a major West Bank settlement project after Israeli authorities opened bidding for more than 1,200 homes in the area.

The E1 plan, green-lit by Israel last year, has drawn international condemnation, with the UN secretary general saying at the time that it posed an "existential threat" to a contiguous Palestinian state.

The project would further separate east Jerusalem, occupied and annexed by Israel and predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, from the West Bank.

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard figure has dismissed President Donald Trump as “short-sighted” and “childish,” saying he would place more faith in a taxi driver’s word than in the US leader’s statements — a pointed sign of the distrust now shaping Tehran’s approach to Washington.

Brig Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, an adviser to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), made the remarks in a video circulated widely online this week as tensions persist over US-Iran diplomacy, military pressure and the Strait of Hormuz.

“The current president of the United States is extremely short-sighted and childish,” Naqdi said. “He has no long-term vision.” He added that Trump’s statements had “no foundation or consistency,” arguing that “I trust a taxi driver much more than I trust him.”

Day 168: US-Iran conflict: Trump says Iran situation is ‘so good

Day 167: Trump says no talks planned; UAE detects Iranian missiles

Day 166: Israel strikes Lebanon; Oman holds Hormuz talks

Day 165: US-Iran tensions rise over Trump’s Hormuz claim

Day 164: Iran demands faster US exit from Middle East

Day 163: 2 ADNOC vessels attacked in Hormuz; no injuries

Day 162: Trump says US has ‘total control’ of Strait of Hormuz

Day 161: Tehran: Hormuz stays shut as US-Iran diplomacy push continues

Day 160: Tehran reshuffles military