LiveLive Updates August 28, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeAugust 28, 2026UpdatesRights group calls U.S. sanctions on Palestine Action an 'anti-Palestine witch hunt'A London-based human rights advocacy organization condemned the U.S. designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, calling it part of an "anti-Palestine witch hunt" and a broader crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism.CAGE International, which campaigns against state policies and abuses connected to the global "War on Terror," said Washington was using the "language of counter-terrorism" to target people carrying out what it described as "lawful direct action" against Israel's war in Gaza."Palestine Action has now been proscribed as a terrorist organisation on both sides of the Atlantic – first by Britain in 2025, now by Washington," the group said. "What unites them is the shared logic that disrupting the supply chain of arms for a genocide passes the ever-expanding threshold for terrorism."🚨The far-left clampdown Rubio announced in Washington last month is manifesting as an anti-Palestine solidarity witch hunt hiding behind the language of counter-terrorism.The campaign leaves "no legitimate channel through which Palestinians or their allies are permitted to act," CAGE said.Anas Mustapha, the group's head of advocacy, said the U.S. and British measures were part of a "full-spectrum crackdown of Palestine solidarity globally.""The U.K. and U.S. are upending centuries of hard-won rights to protect a genocidal state they're both complicit with," Mustapha said.Iranians will never 'forget' or 'forgive' Minab school attack, says Iran's FMIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Iran would never "forget" or "forgive" the deadly U.S. attack on a school in Minab, which killed dozens of students. Rescue workers and residents search through the rubble in the aftermath of an Israeli-U.S. strike on a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran. Credit: AP Rescue workers and residents search through the rubble in the aftermath of an Israeli-U.S. strike on a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran. Credit: AP Speaking during a visit to a Tehran art exhibition dedicated to the victims, Araghchi said the students had become a "heroic symbol" for Iran, according to Iran's state broadcaster IRIB.Trump claims a major Strait of Hormuz victory over Iran, but is it sustainable? | AnalysisDonald Trump changed direction on August 1. In that weekend the U.S. president canceled an extensive aerial attack on Iran at the last moment. In Israel, too, the air force and Home Front Command were on high alert. The assumption, based on what the Americans had told their Israeli counterparts, was that there was a high probability the U.S. was about to strike again, after long months of threats and hesitations.But once Trump retracted, he didn't look back. At least according to the president's public pronouncements since then, the only possibility of action currently on the agenda is economic warfare against Iran: sanctions instead of bombs.The shift in U.S. policy is reflected in a reduction in the readiness level of the forces deployed in the Middle East, together with something of a thinning out of these forces. Almost 10 U.S. bases across the region that were hit by missile and drone attacks by Iran and its proxy militias have been evacuated because of the scale of the destruction.The Americans have been showing restraint in the face of a series of Iranian attacks against ships sailing through the Gulf, with the latest incident taking place this week. They are also ignoring occasional attacks by the Yemen-based Houthis in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and against military bases and seaports in Saudi Arabia.Between mid-April and the beginning of August, Trump changed his mind a number of times and renewed the war on several occasions, albeit for relatively short periods and on a limited scale. His zigzagging also had an inherent advantage: The Iranians found it difficult to read his intentions and were still somewhat afraid of the United States' and Israel's combined military might that would be used against them anew. This is no longer the case.Read the full articleIs Turkey the New Iran? | Haaretz PodcastIsrael's controversial strike on an airbase in northern Syria close to Turkey was "first and foremost a message to the United States" that Turkish military penetration deeper into Syrian territory "can be turned into a real and total war," and any U.S. policy that tolerates it is "not sustainable," according to Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast.The attack has been criticized as an election ploy by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While Yanarocak said such considerations may have played a role in its timing, he stressed that Turkey's ambitions in post-Assad Syria are a legitimate source of deep concern for Israel. Israel's military establishment sees them as a substantial threat and pushed for the attack after Turkey ignored warnings.The past three years of war have shifted the balance of power in Turkey's favor with the weakening of both Iran and the Gulf states, he explained in a conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer. He discussed the bold ambitions of the country led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the key role Syria plays in them."The public discourse in Turkey is neo-Ottomanism," Yanarocak said. "Putting it more familiar to the American ears: 'Make Turkey Great Again' … Turkey is thinking very big."Read the full articleU.S. targets Iranian financial networks with new sanctionsThe U.S. Treasury Department on Friday announced new measures targeting Iran's financial networks, including sanctions against the manager of Bank Melli's Dubai branch and a Hong Kong-based company that the Treasury said helped launder money for a sanctioned Iranian exchange house.The department also proposed cutting Banque Misr's UAE operation off from U.S. correspondent banking services, saying it processed about $1.8 billion between January 2024 and June 2026 for 103 companies potentially linked to Iranian shadow-banking networks.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measures were part of "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign launched this week to economically isolate Tehran. "Iran's enablers cannot continue to enjoy access to the U.S. dollar and the global financial system," Bessent said.Treasury promised to sever every economic lifeline Tehran has left and finally end the threat of the Iranian regime. We also warned that Iran’s enablers cannot continue to enjoy access to the U.S. dollar and the global financial system. Banque Misr UAE decided to find out theShow moreToday, under Operation Economic Outcast, @FinCENnews proposed a rule that would revoke Banque Misr UAE’s correspondent banking access to U.S. financial institutions. Additionally, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Bank Melli Dubai manager Reza MohammadThe Treasury said Banque Misr's UAE operation had become a financial lifeline for Iran, with customers including apparent front companies used by Iran's Defense Ministry and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to evade sanctions and launder money.The department also sanctioned Reza Mohammad Taeedi, the general manager of Bank Melli's Dubai branch, and Kameng Trading Limited, the Hong Kong-based company it said helped a sanctioned Iranian exchange house launder money.State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott also welcomed the measures, saying on X that "Operation Economic Outcast continues in full force.""We will not relent in pursuing those sustaining the Iranian regime through illicit financial practices," he added.Operation Economic Outcast continues in full force. Today, the United States sanctioned the manager of the Dubai branch of Iran’s Bank Melli. We will not relent in pursuing those sustaining the Iranian regime through illicit financial practices.5 hours agoSecurity forces say they killed three militants in JeninThe Israeli army said Friday that three Palestinians were killed in a targeted airstrike near Jenin, including Qais Bitawi, whom it identified as a senior Hamas operative in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp.The IDF and Shin Bet said the operation was based on intelligence from the Shin Bet and military intelligence and was carried out by IDF and Yamam forces. They said Bitawi was killed alongside two accomplices in an Israeli Air Force strike, and that a weapon was found in their vehicle.According to the security services, Bitawi was responsible for Hamas activity in the Jenin refugee camp and was involved in directing, financing and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces. They said he also maintained ties with Hamas in Gaza and abroad.A house attacked by the IDF near Jenin, West Bank on Friday. The security services said Bitawi was a relative of Noor Bitawi, a former commander of the Jenin militant network who was killed by Israeli forces in May 2025.According to Palestinian reports, Israeli forces surrounded the strike site in the al-Saada grove, west of the Jenin refugee camp. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its forces were delayed by Israeli soldiers, who confiscated medical equipment and ordered them to leave the scene without evacuating the wounded.Palestinian reports also said Israeli forces were surrounding a house in Jenin's Harouba neighborhood and that drones were operating in the area.Read the full articleRECAP: Iran urges countries not to enforce U.S. sanctions, vows to defend against U.S.-Israeli pressure