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Iran has accused US president Donald Trump of threatening “economic terrorism” after the US treasury said it would introduce the “toughest sanctions in history” against Tehran.
Trump has promised to wage “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale”, suggesting the US will extend sanctions to allies that have helped mediate peace talks.
“ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,” Trump wrote.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent also made a similar warning, calling on allies to pick a side.
“We are going to collapse this regime. It is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision,” Bessent told broadcaster CNBC. “You are either with us or against us,” he said.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that further sanctions would only bring “further defeat” to the US and said Trump was seeking to create a “diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt and surging interest costs”.
Meanwhile, over 750 members of the US military have been injured since the Iran war began, US officials said. More than 50 soldiers were added to the Pentagon’s casualty database on Wednesday, bringing the total figures to 757 injured and 18 killed.
From there, he travelled to Jerusalem where it was proposed the weapons would instead be handed over under the supervision of an American general. This change to the disarmament process is a clear illustration of what has gone wrong with each agreement reached over Gaza since January 2025: none have established, in advance, who certifies compliance.
Adam Farquhar21 August 2026 08:00
A threat by US president Donald Trump to impose unprecedented economic warfare and isolation on Iran could have implications for countries that trade with it. Trump warned of economic consequences for any country that supports Iran.
Here are some of Iran’s main trading partners in recent years:
- China: Iran’s biggest oil buyer, taking more than 80 per cent of its shipped oil in 2025. New US sanctions could put pressure on Chinese refiners and banks.
- UAE: A major trade and re-export hub for Iran, accounting for 30 per cent of Iran’s imports in 2024. The UAE has now suspended financial and economic transactions with Iran.
- Turkey: Bilateral trade is worth about $5-6bn annually. Turkey also relies on Iran for 13 per cent of its gas imports.
- Iraq: Trade exceeded $10bn in 2025, including $4-5bn a year in Iranian gas used for electricity generation.
- Oman: A long-standing partner and mediator, with bilateral trade reaching $1.5bn in 2025.
- Pakistan: Informal trade is estimated at about $4bn, with both sides seeking to expand bilateral trade to $10bn.
- India: Trade fell to $1.63bn in 2025-26, with Indian exports dominated by cereals, tea, coffee and spices.
- Armenia: Iran accounted for 3.6 per cent of Armenia’s trade in 2025 and supplies gas under a gas-for-electricity swap.
- Azerbaijan: Two-way trade rose 4.5 per cent in the first half of 2026 to $312.6m.
Shweta Sharma21 August 2026 07:30
Israel’s far right national security minister is facing a major backlash over the construction of a gallows site to execute Palestinians sentenced to death at a prison in Israel.
Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video online showing the construction of the facility in an unidentified location, which will include viewing booths for the family members of victims to witness executions.
It follows the passage of a highly controversial “Death Penalty for Terrorists Law” earlier this year that made death by hanging a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks.
Shweta Sharma21 August 2026 07:15
Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell on Thursday amid growing security concerns in the Middle East, as US-Iran peace talks remained stalled, Reuters reported.
Preliminary data from ship-tracking firm Kpler showed seven commodity vessels transited the waterway on Thursday, down from 14 on Wednesday. Four vessels entered the Gulf, while three exited.
A drone view shows vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
No supertankers or liquefied natural gas carriers were recorded passing through the narrow chokepoint.
However, one very large gas carrier carrying propane and butane exited the waterway via the Iranian route, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters.
Shweta Sharma21 August 2026 06:45
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has urged China to “get with the programme” as Washington ramps up economic pressure on Iran, warning Beijing that it relies heavily on Gulf energy.
China buys more than 80 per cent of Iran’s shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler, but engaging in further economic warfare with China, a major exporter to the US including vital rare-earth minerals, risks retaliation against Washington.
When asked if the United States could target China for doing business with Iran, Bessent said many conversations were best to have in private.
“Keep in mind that the Chinese get 50% (of their) energy… from the Gulf. So it would do them a big service to get with the program,” he said.
China’s embassy in Washington said “sanctions and pressure do not help resolve the problem.”
“China calls on the relevant parties to take responsible actions and resolve the issue through political and diplomatic means,” according to an embassy spokesperson.
Shweta Sharma21 August 2026 06:24
Ship tracking data by Kpler reveals that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz had nearly tripled before a 60-day ceasefire agreement expired.
Around 374 million barrels transited through the Gulf amounting to around 6.1 million barrels per day, according to a briefing published on Wednesday.
Before the MoU was signed this was around 2.3 million barrels. But despite the halting progress through the agreement period, numbers have not reached the heights of 15 million barrels a day prior to the conflict.
(Marine Vessel Traffic)
Shweta Sharma21 August 2026 05:47
The US issued fresh sanctions targeting Lebanon’s Hezbollah, including re-designating it over actions on behalf of the Iranian government.
The Treasury Department redesignated the group “for service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force,” according to the statement.
A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the redesignation was intended to show that Hezbollah is acting on behalf of the Iranian government, specifically Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.
The US official said Thursday’s move was not part of new actions the US has vowed it will take against Iran.
Shweta Sharma21 August 2026 05:29
Iran’s foreign ministry said it condemned US economic and trade sanctions, calling them “economic terrorism” that would not “create even the slightest hesitation in Iranians’ determination to safeguard Iran’s independence, dignity and national sovereignty.”
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Trump’s latest post warning of unprecedented economic isolation was “a diversion” from America’s own economic problems.
“Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat – and enmity of Iranians,” he wrote on X.
Trump is under pressure at home to end the unpopular war, with high fuel prices dragging down his approval ratings and potentially threatening his party’s control of Congress in midterm elections in November.
Shweta Sharma21 August 2026 05:00
Donald Trump promised “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale” against Iran.
In a Truth Social post, he did not say what specific steps the US would take or name any country, though the warning would appear to extend to US allies that have helped mediate peace talks.
He warned that he would launch “the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country”.
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President Donald Trump talked about Iran, the economy and mending fences during his first public conversation with Michael Cohen, his former fixer, in eight years (Getty)
“ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences,” Trump said.
“Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies – it all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are.”
Shweta Sharma21 August 2026 04:44
Oil prices were on track for a second weekly rise with little change on Friday as the stalemated US-Iran war continues to disrupt supply from the key Middle East producing region.
Brent crude futures rose 4 cents to $93.82 a barrel by 0142 GMT, after climbing 2.4 per cent in the previous session.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 6 cents to $86.78 a barrel, after climbing 2.3 per cent in the prior session.
Over the previous five days of gains, Brent rose more than 7 per cent and WTI climbed more than 8 per cent, reaching their highest levels since July 24.
Prices have climbed on concerns the inconclusive state of the US-Israeli war on Iran will mean the continued curtailment of supply from major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait.
Shweta Sharma21 August 2026 04:30