The Trump administration on Monday launched what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called an unprecedented global economic offensive against Iran, unveiling a sweeping sanctions campaign designed to sever Tehran from the international financial system and choke off revenue flowing to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian regime.
The Trump administration formally removed Syria from the U.S. list of State Sponsors of Terrorism on Monday, ending a designation that had been in place since 1979 and opening the door for broader foreign investment and Syria’s reintegration into the international financial system.
European leaders rallied around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday as Ukraine marked 35 years of independence and its fifth Independence Day since Russia’s full-scale invasion, while senior representatives of the administration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump were notably absent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that holding elections in wartime, as suggested by his former defense minister, would “destroy” the country.
The European Union marked Ukraine’s Independence Day by pledging to provide the war-torn nation with 6.1 billion euros ($7.1 billion) for “air and missile defense systems” as well as other “missiles, ammunition and radars.”
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham accused Russia on Monday of “outrageous threats” against the United Kingdom after Moscow warned that his decision to provide Ukraine with newly declassified blueprints for the production of long-range missiles would escalate the war.
Iran flexed its muscles Monday, saying it had blacklisted 45 tankers that had “broken its rules” for crossing the Strait of Hormuz, ahead of the United States launching what it called its “greatest financial offensive ever” against the Islamic Republic.
The American-Chinese race for global dominance in Artificial Intelligence (AI) escalated further Monday, with Taiwan announcing the indictment of nine people over the alleged illegal export of advanced AI servers to China as Beijing showcased increasingly capable humanoid robots.
Iran’s parliament speaker has issued a rare public warning that military power alone cannot preserve the Islamic Republic as hunger, inflation, and sanctions tighten around the country.
Concern was mounting Monday about a Christian in northwestern China who was detained for listening to the Bible stored on a USB memory stick plugged into his car’s audio system, amid a wider crackdown on Christian activities in the Communist-run nation, Christian sources said.