Iran, Tehran: ‘consequences’ for countries that join US sanctions

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has warned that there will be “consequences” for countries that join the US campaign of economic pressure against the Islamic Republic. “The necessary warnings have certainly been issued, because any complicity with America in carrying out its aggressive actions against Iran will undoubtedly have consequences,” said ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai during the weekly press conference, ahead of the announcement expected today in Washington of new measures to isolate the Iranian economy.

Iran has not received any official invitation to join the trilateral defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, known as the Mecca Agreement. This was stated by the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, in response to questions about the possibility of an offer being made to Tehran. “We have not received any official invitation in this regard,” Baghaei clarified, as quoted by the official IRNA news agency. The spokesperson added that the proposals put forward by countries in the region were aimed solely at “dialogue and consultation” with Iran on matters relating to collective security.

Military officials from Uganda and Burundi travelled to Israel last week to discuss the deployment of troops to Gaza as part of an international security force envisaged by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. An official from the Board of Peace told the Associated Press that the Ugandan officials had joined a Burundian military delegation and that Uganda is finalising the details of its participation after parliament approved the deployment of troops earlier this month. “We have shared significant information amongst ourselves, and the Burundian representatives have expressed an interest in our mission,” the official said. A Burundian military officer told the AP that three other senior military officers had led the delegation to Israel and that Burundi appeared keen to join. A Ugandan military officer familiar with the forthcoming deployment said that troops are being selected to be sent to Gaza.

“Nobody has a crystal ball, but it seems to me” that the risk of stagflation linked to the war in the Middle East and the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz “is rather remote”.

ATUF (Jordan Valley) – The new wall does not yet exist. But it can already be felt. In Atuf, as in so many places in the Jordan Valley, people have learnt to imagine the future imposed on them by ‘others’. Everyone admits it will happen. They promise to resist, even in the most isolated villages. They wouldn’t know where to go. But they know that this time, many will abandon the lands their families have inhabited for generations. Life, in this part of the West Bank, is already very difficult. Once the “Scarlet Line” is built, it will become unbearable.

Under the resigned gaze of Palestinian farmers, Israeli bulldozers began digging a few weeks ago. From these trenches will rise the security road that will wind its way along the 22 km of the new barrier designed to cut across the northern part of the Jordan Valley. The Israelis have called it ‘Scarlet Thread’ (Ḥut HaShani). For now, only trenches cut into the dark soil, one of the most fertile in the West Bank. Yet the Palestinian communities living in this area are already feeling the effects: the expropriation of thousands of hectares of pastureland and farmland, the destruction of irrigation water pipes, and the confiscation of tractors and cars.

Oman’s Foreign Minister, Badr Albusaidi, will be in Tehran tomorrow to meet with a number of Iranian officials. This was reported by the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Ministry in a statement released by the IRNA news agency.

The spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baghaei, stated that Albusaidi will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues. He added that the visit forms part of the ongoing political dialogue between the two countries, which share responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz.

“We have now reached the decisive stage. This is economic D-Day, the largest financial offensive ever launched against an adversary” – Iran. This is according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to the Financial Times. “Countries that believe a policy of appeasement towards the regime is the safer option should reconsider their position,” said Bessent, adding that “for those who choose to tie their fate to that of Tehran, the alternative is the closure of all paths to lasting prosperity. Becoming a haven for terrorism means becoming a global pariah.”

Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton are among a group of stars from the Marvel universe who have called for the release of Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, who has been held in an Israeli prison since 2002.

More than 20 actors – including many British actors – from famous film franchises based on comic books, such as the X-Men and the Avengers, have signed a petition calling on the UN and governments around the world to put pressure on the State of Israel to secure their release.

Fewer than 20 merchant ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, due to the blockades imposed by Iran and the United States, which continue to restrict traffic through this strategic chokepoint for energy shipments. The shipping data was published on Monday by the vessel-tracking service Kpler, showing that four vessels passed through the strait on Sunday, compared with 13 on Saturday. The figures may rise as some vessels switched off their transponders whilst passing through the strait.

“We are warning Hamas that if the attacks on Israel do not cease immediately, the Israeli army will step up its operations against those responsible.” This was stated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who added that Israel will order the forced evacuation of Palestinians from areas of the Gaza Strip used to “launch drones, balloons and kites”. As stated in a joint statement issued by Netanyahu’s office and Defence Minister Israel Katz, the Israeli Prime Minister added that the Gaza Strip will not return to the situation that existed prior to 7 October 2023, and relations between Israel and the Palestinian enclave can never again be as they were before the Hamas attack. Netanyahu and Katz carried out an assessment of the threat posed by the launching of drones, balloons and kites from the Gaza Strip towards Israel. The discussion was attended by the Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the head of military intelligence and senior IDF officers.

According to reports by the Syrian television channel “Alikhberiya”, Israeli forces equipped with military vehicles are said to have advanced into the village of Maariya, in the Daraa countryside in southern Syria.