Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei has threatened “earthquake-like” retaliation should US president Donald Trump take any further action. Tehran has also cautioned its Gulf neighbours against joining Donald Trump’s “economic D-Day” sanctions after the US said it would look to hit Iran’s financial interests.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.”Trump has promised to wage "Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale” on Iran in what he called the “toughest sanctions in history”. In response, Tehran accused Trump of threatening “economic terrorism”.Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Saturday said that the imminent US announcement of new economic sanctions on Iran was an "assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations".Chile shuts its Iran embassyChile will shutter its embassy in Iran by the end of August but will not sever its diplomatic ties with Tehran, the Chilean foreign ministry said.The ministry said the reshuffle was aimed at streamlining diplomatic resources while protecting diplomats as instability continues to grip the Middle East. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar23 August 2026 07:00Iran threatens Trump with 'earthquake-like' retaliationIran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei has threatened “earthquake-like” retaliation should US president Donald Trump take any further action.Trump said earlier this week that he would impose a "most crushing economic operation" against Tehran as the war nears its six-month anniversary.Should Trump "take action, our confrontation will be like an earthquake," said Rezaei. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar23 August 2026 06:30Israel drops proceedings over airstrike on Gaza convoy that killed Polish volunteerPoland's foreign ministry has summoned Israel's ambassador in Warsaw, expressing that it was "very disappointed" after Israel decided against pursuing criminal proceedings over a 2024 attack on a volunteer convoy in Gaza that killed a Polish citizen.Damian Sobol, a volunteer from Przemysl in southeastern Poland, was among seven individuals working for celebrity chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen who died in the April 2024 central Gaza airstrike, an incident that prompted an international outcry.More here.Alisha Rahaman Sarkar23 August 2026 06:00Everything you need to know as US threatens 'economic D-Day' on Iran• US president Donald Trump has issued another economic threat against Iran, vowing “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences” for any country that trades with Tehran• In a rant on Truth Social, he wrote: “This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat”• He also said Iran are not ready to make the "right deal" and called the Strait of Hormuz “American territory”• In response, Tehran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that the threats would only bring Trump “further defeat” as he struggles to find an exit strategy from an unpopular war• Iran also gave permission to a number of Iraqi tankers to progress through the Strait on SaturdayNicole Wootton-Cane23 August 2026 05:30Recap: Iranian official urges Qatar to move detained pilots to hospital on landAn Iranian military official has called on Qatar to transfer detained Iranian pilots to a hospital on land, saying they were being ⁠held on water and were in "poor physical condition"”.Tasnim news agency reported that Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran's Armed Forces General ⁠Staff, said the location where ​the ⁠pilots were being held was unsuitable and requested that the International Committee of the Red Cross ⁠send an air ambulance to Qatar to expedite ​the ⁠return of injured and sick ‌detainees to Iran.Qatar denied last week that it was holding Iranian pilots, saying they had violated Qatari ‌airspace earlier this year and failed to ‌respond to attempts to contact them.Doha said it had contacted Iran to coordinate the handover of the remains of one ⁠pilot and had invited Tehran to review details of its search and rescue operations, but had received no response.A foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the invitation remained open for an Iranian delegation to visit over the pilots issue.In his latest statement, Mr Baqerzadeh welcomed ‌Qatar’s decision to receive a team of Iranian ​experts and called on Doha to provide ‌them with the necessary ⁠cooperation.Mr Baqerzadeh had previously said an Iranian Air ⁠Force expert and fact-finding team had been waiting for months to enter ‌Qatar and accused ​Qatari officials of repeatedly ‌delaying the investigation. Nicole Wootton-Cane23 August 2026 05:00Trump cannot let Iran make him ‘look like a loser,’ says former Fox News personalityPresident 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.You can read more below:Nicole Wootton-Cane23 August 2026 04:00Three admit arson attack at Persian media company’s UK baseTwo men and a teenage boy have admitted taking part in an arson attack on the UK office of a Persian media company.On April 15, the offices of Volant Media, the parent company of Persian news channel Iran International, were allegedly targeted.Police had been alerted after an “ignited container” was thrown towards the site in Wembley, north-west London, landing in a car park where the fire immediately went out.There were no injuries and the suspects left the area in a black four-wheel-drive vehicle, police had said.Nathan Dunn, 19, pleaded guilty to a charge of arson being “reckless as to whether life is endangered” on April 15.During an Old Bailey hearing on Friday, a 17-year-old boy denied that charge but admitted the lesser alternative offence of arson.The prosecution indicated his plea was not accepted and he faces a trial on February 1 next year.Previously, the driver of the car, Oisin McGuinness, 21, had pleaded guilty to arson, which was accepted by the Crown.He has also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in north-west London on the same date and possession of the class A drug cocaine.Sam Rkaina23 August 2026 03:00Trump threatens to crush Iran with ‘Economic D Day’ - but he is running out of cards to playThe US president has threatened to impose unprecedented economic punishment on Iran, but experts tell Maira Butt that China may prove a huge obstacle.Nicole Wootton-Cane23 August 2026 02:00Recap: Trump says he will declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territoryDonald Trump has threatened to declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory, escalating his rhetoric over control of the waterway amid the war with Iran.The US president said he would make the designation “pretty soon”, as Tehran and Washington remain at an impasse over the future of the strait nearly six months after it was closed when the US and Israel launched their war on 28 February.“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz strait a territory of the United States,” Mr Trump told a crowd of law enforcement officers.“Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to.”You can read the full report below:Nicole Wootton-Cane23 August 2026 01:00Nicole Wootton-Cane23 August 2026 00:00