US-Iran war news Highlights: Iran condemns US' new economic sanctions, urges other nations not to join

The Trump administration is taking steps to limit an Egyptian bank's operations in the United Arab Emirates, accusing the financial institution of serving as an economic lifeline to Tehran's leadership as the US war against Iran reaches the six-month mark.

Under a new rule proposed Friday by the Treasury Department, the Emirati branches of Banque Misr, Egypt's second-largest bank, would be severed from access to the US financial system.

It follows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's announcement this week of a new campaign to push countries that still do business with the already heavily sanctioned Islamic Republic to sever their financial ties or face retaliation from the United States.

In stopping short of imposing sanctions on the Egyptian bank, the move signals the Republican administration's reluctance to penalize major trading partners that do business with Iran, including China and India. Bessent told reporters on Monday that he wanted countries to have an opportunity to shift away from Iran before it was too late in a bid to avoid upending the global financial system.

— PTI

Iran’s top diplomat said resuming diplomacy with the US “isn’t impossible,” after what he described as “creative discussions” with Qatar, a mediator in the war between Washington and Tehran.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said progress “hinges on U.S. understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn’t work,” in a statement on X. He called on Washington to build trust and uphold its commitments, without elaborating.

The relatively positive comments come despite the launch this week of a US campaign to cripple Iran’s economy, and follow a flurry of diplomatic visits to Tehran. The main mediator in the conflict, Pakistan, sent a delegation on Monday, followed by senior officials from Oman and Qatar.

— Bloomberg

The US Treasury Department has announced two new sets of Iran-related sanctions, targeting an individual allegedly connected to Iran’s Bank Melli and a Hong Kong-based company.

The latest measures follow Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s warning earlier this week of an “economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe”.

Iran condemned the United States' new economic sanctions on Friday as "state terrorism" and said other countries were legally obliged not to implement them.

The Iranian foreign ministry's statement came as mediators stepped up efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which handled 20% of world oil supplies before the war began six months ago and whose status remains the biggest obstacle to a peace deal.

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday warned countries to cut their business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions as part of what it billed as an "economic D-Day," though the Treasury Department stopped short of actually imposing penalties.

— Reuters

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that all countries were obligated under international law to refrain from implementing US sanctions against Tehran.

President Donald Trump said he plans to authorise farmers and ranchers to process their own food amid rising price of beef. This comes ahead of mid-term elections in the US.

Oil prices fell on Friday and were on track for a weekly drop as traders weighed crude flows making it through the Strait of Hormuz against the deadlock in US-Iran diplomacy.

Venezuela is considering whether it should quit OPEC, as per a report by Bloomberg. However, no final decision has been reported.

US President Donald Trump launched his war against Iran, calling it an “excursion” that would take just a few weeks. The war has now entered its sixth month.

The UK government said on Thursday that it remains committed to implementing the 20-point Gaza peace plan and any move to remove its officials would “undermine shared efforts", as reported by AP.

US-Iran war news LIVE Updates: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that there are no negotiations happening between the US and Iran right now, as reported by Fox News.

President Donald Trump arrives at an awkward moment for his presidency on Friday as the U.S.-Israel war against Iran reaches the six-month mark, a notable milestone for a conflict that the Republican leader repeatedly assured Americans would be a “little excursion” lasting a matter of weeks.

The war isn't over, though Trump claims that through bombs and blockade, he has already devastated Iran’s leadership, military and economy, news agency AP reported.

Mediators in the Iran war are stepping up efforts to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened, with Tehran agreeing to draw up a list of conditions to restore normal traffic after a Qatari emissary pressed the Iranians to respect freedom of navigation, Reuters reported.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Tehran is determined to use all its capabilities to defend the country against the ‘combined U.S.-Israeli military, economic assault,’ Reuters reported.

Iran left the door open to diplomacy on Friday, six months into a war with the United States that has upended the Middle East, but only if Washington abandons its pressure campaign.

"Putting diplomacy back on track isn't impossible. It hinges on US understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn't work," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X on Friday.

A US-sanctioned oil tanker that was hijacked last week by suspected pirates off the coast of Yemen and diverted toward Somalia is not registered in Eritrea despite flying the country's flag, Eritrea's government said.

The Sibu 1, which the US Treasury sanctioned last December for allegedly being part of a shadow fleet that helps Iranian petroleum products evade U.S. sanctions, has no affiliation with Eritrea, Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told Reuters. The ship is widely listed by ship-tracking websites as sailing under an Eritrean flag, but a database run by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization states its current flag status as "Eritrea False", suggesting its registration is not recognised as valid. It was last seen on Monday about 6 km off the coast of northeastern Somalia.

Iran’s acting Defence Minister Majid Ibn al-Reza has claimed that the country has “changed the regional power equations” and demonstrated that the era of “hit-and-run” attacks and threats against Iran is over.

In a post on X, he also urged Iran’s adversaries to read the country’s “several-thousand-year history”, adding that they would then understand that “one must speak to the Iranian nation in the language of respect”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that diplomacy with the United States could be put back on track if Washington changed its approach toward Tehran.

“Putting diplomacy back on track isn't impossible,” Araghchi said in a post on X.

He said progress depended on the United States recognizing that “pressure doesn't work” and called on Washington to “build trust, speak respectfully, acknowledge our rights, and uphold commitments.”

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Major General Mohsen Rezaei has said that one of Iran's conditions to end war is that US must end its wars on all fronts, including Lebanon.

In an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Manar television, Rezaei said Tehran is watching events in Beirut and its southern suburbs with the highest sensitivity. Those areas, he said, are Iran’s red lines, and “no one has the right to move toward them.”

“We will send him to hell and we will prove that Netanyahu’s great mistakes have brought the end of the Zionist regime closer,” he said, according to Fars news agency and Tabnak.

The head of Iran's Basij organization said on Friday that US economic pressure was aimed at disrupting business and shutting down the country's production and trade, according to Tasnim news agency.

“The enemy's plan is to shut down the cycle of production, trade and consumption in Iran,” Hossein Taeb said.

“They pursued this in the past with missiles and bombs, and today they are pursuing it with security and economic tools,” he added.