Donald Trump’s administration is set to lay out a programme of sanctions against Iran it has dubbed “economic D-Day”, despite warnings from Tehran that this will be met with an immediate response. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent wrote in the FT yesterday that: “At dawn begins an economic D-Day – the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary.” Trump had earlier promised to wage "Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale” on Iran in what he called the “toughest sanctions in history”. Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei threatened an “earthquake-like” retaliation should the US go ahead with its plan, while also warning Trump’s Gulf neighbours against joining in any sanctions.
Should Trump "take action, our confrontation will be like an earthquake," Rezaei said. He added: “If the countries surrounding Iran join the Americans in their economic war, not a drop of oil will leave the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and we will also target other oil export routes from the Persian Gulf.” After the chaos sparked by Trump and Israel’s war in Iran, experts tell Maira Butt that the Mecca Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey could represent a new dawn in the region. Gas prices on Wednesday hit their highest-ever price for mid-August earlier this month, according to GasBuddy.
Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, reported in a post on X that gas prices have never gone above $4 per gallon after August 12 in any year. On Wednesday morning, the average fuel price was just over $4 per gallon. The last time fuel cost nearly that much around mid-August was in 2022 when the national average gas price was $3.98 per gallon.
The US president has threatened to impose unprecedented economic punishment on Iran, but experts tell Maira Butt that China may prove a huge obstacle. Journalist Mariam Abu Dagga was killed in the 25 August 2025 double-tap attack on Nasser Hospital in Gaza. Based on dozens of witness testimonies, whistleblowers and visual analysis, this is the most comprehensive reconstruction yet into the strike.
Newly disclosed emails show US immigration officials worked directly with Iranian representatives to deport Iranian nationals in 2025, even as tensions between Washington and Tehran were escalating. The records, obtained by the National Iranian American Council and released Tuesday, detail cooperation surrounding three removal flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026 that returned more than 100 Iranians. The emails indicate Iranian representatives requested changes to proposed passenger lists and that US officials sometimes accommodated those requests.
President Donald Trump cannot let Iran make him “look like a loser” because his legacy is tied up in the war with the Islamic Republic, a former Fox News personality says. Political commentator Bill O’Reilly, the former host of The O’Reilly Factor, made the remark on Tuesday night as the six-month anniversary of the start of the war draws closer. Appearing on NewsNation’s On Balance, O’Reilly began by saying that he believes the US does have a strategy going forward in the conflict with Iran. ”From what I understand, there is some kind of strategy that will involve a tougher approach on Iran,” he claimed. It’s top secret, classified.” Mariam Abu Dagga, a mother and journalist, was killed in a 2025 Israeli double-tap attack on the last functioning hospital in South Gaza - she had a way out of Gaza but stayed to cover the slaughter.
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