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🟠 US launches “Operation Economic Outcast” sanctions against Iran
🟠 This time too, you will fail — Iranian economy minister responds to Bessent
🟠 US rescinds Syria’s designation as State Sponsor of Terrorism — Rubio
🟠 Trump threatens Canada with “far worse” consequences as trade row deepens
🟠 US must change its behavior and honor Islamabad Memorandum — Major General Rezaei
🟠 US not ruling out more strikes on Iran — Hegseth
🟠 Russian strikes on Odessa paralyze Ukraine’s war machine and undermine its fighting spirit
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🇨🇳 China converts coal into high-value fuels as oil risks grow
China has brought the world’s largest coal-to-liquids production line into full operation in Ningxia, turning domestic coal into fuels and high-end chemicals while reducing reliance on imported oil, the South China Morning Post reported.
The facility processed 24 million tons of coal in 2025. Using indirect coal liquefaction, it produces diesel, naphtha, liquefied gas, waxes, and other products, with some worth up to seven times more than the original coal. China has also developed coal-based rocket fuel used for the Long March-12, while Ningxia Coal Industry produces high-end lubricants for automotive and industrial use.
The project gives China another way to convert its vast coal reserves into strategic oil substitutes when imported crude supplies are disrupted.
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🇺🇸 US launches “Operation Economic Outcast” sanctions against Iran
The United States announced sweeping new sanctions against multiple entities, individuals and vessels linked to Iran, the State Department said in a press release.
The measures target:
🔸 Iranian military officials
🔸 Procurement networks linked to Iran’s military and missile programs
🔸 Cyber groups accused of intrusions into US critical infrastructure
🔸 Shippers and brokers involved in moving Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products through the UAE, China, Singapore and Europe
The State Department said the cyber component was coordinated with the FBI, following indictments against eight Iranian nationals accused of compromising US energy companies, defense contractors, healthcare institutions and government offices.
💰 Last week, the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program offered up to $10 million for information on five individuals accused of cyber activity against US critical infrastructure.
The new sanctions mark another escalation in the US pressure campaign against Iran after the US failed to force Iran into submission through its war of aggression, blockade and threats.
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🇮🇷 US must change its behavior and honor Islamabad Memorandum — Major General Rezaei
Iran remains distrustful of the United States, and the US must take practical steps to implement the Pakistan-brokered Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said during a meeting with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, Press TV reported.
Rezaei also stressed that Iran maintains strong security control over the Strait of Hormuz.
The June 17 Islamabad MoU called for an end to hostilities, the reopening of Hormuz and further talks toward a final agreement.
But the US violated the memorandum by resuming its illegal aggression, prompting Iran to suspend its own obligations and deliver a firm response.
Munir reaffirmed Iran-Pakistan brotherly ties and Pakistan’s efforts to strengthen border security.
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🚨 Oil tanker hit by unknown projectile off Oman — UKMTO
An oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile 9 nautical miles northeast of Ash Shishah, Oman, UK Maritime Trade Operations reported.
According to UKMTO, the projectile damaged the vessel’s engine room and disabled the tanker.
The crew are reported safe, while the environmental impact remains unknown.
Vessels have been advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.
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🇮🇷 “This time too, you will fail” — Iranian economy minister responds to Bessent
Iranian Economy Minister Seyed Ali Madanizadeh hit back at US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s new sanctions threats, saying US economic war against Iran is nothing new.
He said Iran’s enemies first tried to use military force to question the country’s existence, partition Iran, destroy its political system and bring the Iranian people “to blood and dust.”
But the Iranian people, military, government and diplomatic front stood together and defeated that plan, he stressed.
💬 “They have made these statements again and again, and they have seen the result,” Madanizadeh said.
💬 “The world’s financial and economic arteries are not so simple that they can claim they can cut Iran’s financial and commercial arteries,” he said.
🇺🇸🇸🇾 US rescinds Syria’s designation as State Sponsor of Terrorism — Rubio
💬 “Today, I formally rescinded Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X.
💬 “These actions represent another historic step by President Trump to give the Syrian people a path to prosperity,” Rubio added.
🔸 US unleashes new wave of Iran sanctions
🔸 Field Marshal Munir lands in Tehran—what's really on the agenda?
🔸 Russian Space Forces send new military satellite into orbit
🔸 Trump announces 50% tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, and steel
🔸 Pakistan aims to boost seafood exports to $10 billion under Blue Economy program
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🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷 US unleashes new wave of Iran sanctions
The US Treasury has imposed fresh sanctions on more than 60 organizations, individuals, and vessels worldwide over alleged ties to Tehran, Treasury Secretary Bessent announced.
🟠 The economic campaign will target anyone who helps Iran
🟠 The US aims to cut off every source of funding for Iran and the IRGC
🟠 The pressure will intensify until Iran is left in "complete isolation"
🟠 Any country or company supporting Iran should be ready for US sanctions
🟠 The US will not wait indefinitely for others to cut ties with Iran
🟠 Those who continue doing business with Iran risk being cut off from the dollar system
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🇵🇰🇮🇷 Field Marshal Munir lands in Tehran—what's really on the agenda?
The chief of the Pakistani general staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has arrived in Iran. Pakistan continues to play the role of chief mediator and is trying to bring the US and Iran to the negotiating table.
💬 “There are several issues, including the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program, and the sanctions that have been implemented on Iran and their potential removal, which Iran is insisting upon. These are several issues that have not been resolved,” says Dr. Shaista Tabassum, Professor of International Relations, University of Karachi.
💬 “Thus, Pakistan wants to make sure that Iran knows that this agreement is not against Iran in any way,” the expert emphasized.
🇵🇰🌾 Pakistan aims to boost seafood exports to $10 billion under Blue Economy program
🔶 Pakistan intends to tap into the potential of its fishing industry, with the government planning to increase revenue from this sector to $10 billion.
🔶 The development of the fishing industry is part of a broader "blue economy" program. At its center lies the ambitious "Maritime @100" initiative, backed by a $100 billion budget and set to run until 2047. Within this framework, fisheries are a key link in the chain of port development, shipbuilding, and maritime trade.
🔶 Commenting on the feasibility of these plans, Prof. Adam Saud, Professor of International Relations at Bahria University, Islamabad, told Sputnik, "Although $10 billion seems exaggerated, it can still be achieved in the long term."
🔶 The most important step, in his assessment, will be the export of fully processed products rather than just raw seafood. To achieve this, Pakistan needs to invest in modern fish harbors, cold storage, refrigerated transport, ice plants, and processing facilities. Export-oriented seafood processing units in coastal areas would also boost exports. Both the government and the private sector must explore new markets. The government should introduce investment- and export-friendly policies.
🔶 Saud also identified key obstacles: limited access to international markets due to underdeveloped supply chains and the need to comply with international quality standards.
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🚨 Blood of Russian children on Ukraine’s hands—Russian MFA spox
🗣 “This is how the Zelensky regime, and Zelensky himself, treats children,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on social media, referencing a deadly Ukrainian drone strike on a private children's center in the Russian city of Krasnodar on August 24.
💬 “All talk about how precious these little ones are to them is dashed by the facts of the Kiev regime's sophisticated murders of children of all ages, from infants to students.”
🇩🇪 Germany probes possible Ukrainian link to Leipzig airport drone incident – Russian foreign intel
The possibility of a Ukrainian link is being seriously considered behind the scenes, but will the authorities have the political will to draw impartial conclusions and officially make them public? Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, said in a statement.
💬 “The Kiev regime hoped that media coverage of the Leipzig drone incident would point to the so-called Moscow hand.”
🇷🇺⚓️ The long voyage home: Russian frigate returns after 130 days at sea
The frigate "Admiral Kasatonov" has returned to its base in Severomorsk after a 130-day deployment, completing strategic deterrence missions, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
🟠 The ship is a multi-role frigate of Project 22350, armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles
🟠 It covered over 50,000 km, operating in multiple areas including the North, Baltic, and Mediterranean Seas, as well as the Atlantic Ocean
🟠 The frigate escorted cargo vessels to Russia's logistics hub in Tartus, Syria, and practiced weapons use
The deployment demonstrated Russia's ability to maintain a naval presence in strategically important regions far from its home bases.
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🇷🇺🇮🇳 Putin meets India's Foreign Minister Jaishankar
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🇨🇳🇵🇸 Xi lays out four principles for resolving Palestinian question
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the Palestinian question lies at the heart of the Middle East issue and outlined four principles for resolving it during talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Beijing, Xinhua reported.
Xi said the two-state solution remains the right direction and called for efforts to restart peace talks aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state as soon as possible.
He also stressed:
🔸 “Palestinians governing Palestine” in the West Bank and post-war reconstruction of Gaza
🔸 Protection of civilians and steady humanitarian assistance
🔸 Ending humanitarian disasters
🔸 Upholding international law, fairness and justice
Xi said China supports a comprehensive ceasefire, an end to hostilities and the settlement of disputes through political and diplomatic means.
King Abdullah II praised China’s impartial position on Middle East affairs and its support for the just cause of Arab countries.
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🇺🇸 US preparing largest mass visa revocation in history — reports
The Trump administration is preparing to revoke business and tourism visas for up to 200,000 foreigners who have applied for or are seeking asylum in the United States, PBS News reported.
The move would reportedly target B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 and could become the largest single mass visa revocation in US history.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the US is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to identify people who entered as short-term visitors and later filed for asylum.
💬 “The number of revocations remains dynamic and will be done on a rolling basis,” Pigott said.
🇷🇺⚛️ Why Russia is on the cutting edge of nuclear fusion tech
As governments and private investors worldwide pour billions into nuclear fusion, it’s worth remembering that Russia has been a pioneer in this field going back to the 1950s, and continues to act as a key tech incubator, AtomInfo Center head Alexander Uvarov told Sputnik.
Fusion “is a completely different type of nuclear reaction. Unlike fission, which involves splitting uranium nuclei, fusion involves the fusing of the nuclei of light elements. Fusion reactors can essentially run on water,” the expert explained.
💬 “If realized,” the technology could revolutionize “the entire global energy landscape.”
🗣 US not ruling out more strikes on Iran — Hegseth
💬 “By no means are we foreclosing using kinetic strikes anywhere in the Strait of Hormuz or around Iran,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said.
💬 “If we need to use kinetic strikes, we'll use them,” Hegseth said.
🇸🇾 Syria welcomes removal from US State Sponsor of Terrorism list
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani welcomed the US decision to remove Syria from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list after 47 years.
💬 “We congratulate the Syrian people on this historic milestone,” al-Shaibani wrote on X.
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Trump threatens Canada with “far worse” consequences as trade row deepens
💬 “Someone should get these clowns to ‘fall in line’ or, the consequences for Canada will be far WORSE!” US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
💬 “Remember, much of the Electricity, Oil, and Gas that Canada gets is transported through the U.S.A.,” he claimed.
🇷🇺💥 Russian strikes on Odessa paralyze Ukraine’s war machine and undermine its fighting spirit
Concentrated Russian attacks on Yuzhny Port outside Odessa “means the destruction of warehouses containing stockpiled fuels and lubricants used by the Ukrainian military, and, in fact, the country itself,” military expert Anatoliy Matviychuk told Sputnik.
💬 “Ukraine is currently experiencing a huge shortage of fuels and lubricants based on oil and its derivatives. With winter approaching, this not only undermines the army’s combat power, but also creates social tensions in Ukraine, and lack of heat and electricity.”
💬 “Ukraine is experiencing a massive electricity shortage, a massive gas shortage, and a massive shortage of petroleum products, particularly gasoline and diesel fuel. We’ve destroyed virtually every gas station in the southern region. Today, Ukraine’s military can’t refuel their tanks or vehicles,” to the point where spotting them on or near the battlefield has become a rare sight, Matviychuk says.
🇨🇳🧠 China's brainwave breakthrough: controlling machines without moving a muscle
A team at Yanshan University has developed a wearable brain-computer interface that translates brainwaves into commands for wheelchairs and robotic limbs, showcased at the World Robot Conference in Beijing, CGTN reports.
🟠 This non-invasive system uses EEG technology to decode neural signals in real-time, allowing users to move assistive devices without speech or physical movement
🟠 It is designed to give people with limited mobility more independence in daily life
Researchers are now studying ways to connect directly to the brain. This could help people move again, let those with locked-in syndrome communicate, and even boost thinking skills. As these tools develop, they may greatly improve life for millions with disabilities, while also pushing brain-computer technology forward.
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Before the war, the Strait of Hormuz was one of the world's busiest waterways. Then the war began — and with it, mines, Iranian fees, US naval blockades, and the risky passages with transponders off.
Now, after the ceasefire and the US-Iran memorandum, traffic is slowly returning — but it's still just 20% of pre-war levels.
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💥 Russian strike hits cargo ship in Odessa port
Russian forces struck a cargo ship in Odessa port that had delivered military cargo to Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
In Yuzhny port, three fuel storage tanks and four warehouses containing military equipment for Ukrainian forces were also hit.
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🇷🇺🛰 Russian Space Forces send new military satellite into orbit
The Russian Space Forces successfully launched a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome carrying a spacecraft for the Russian Defense Ministry.
🟠 The launch occurred at 02:40 GMT on August 24 from Plesetsk, located in Russia’s Arkhangelsk Region
🟠 The medium-class Soyuz-2.1b rocket successfully placed the satellite into its designated orbit
🟠 Ground-based tracking stations of the Russian Aerospace Forces established communication and control over the spacecraft as scheduled
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🚨🇺🇸🇨🇦 Trump announces 50% tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, and steel
US President Trump has announced that from January 1, 2027, tariffs on all cars, trucks, automotive parts, and steel from Canada will be increased to 50%, accusing Ottawa of "ripping off" the United States for years.
💬 "Build in the US and there are zero tariffs," Trump declared. "Canada will be treated like a state no longer. They feel entitled, and yet, we don't need Canada — they need us."
🚨 Ukraine persists with hybrid operations against civilians
Drones launched by Ukraine dropped poisoned propaganda leaflets overnight on a medical facility in Energodar, according to the city's mayor, Maksim Pukhov.
The leaflets were treated with a chemical solution that causes burns on contact with skin, Pukhov added, urging residents not to pick them up.
Russian forces have recorded repeated instances of Ukraine using toxic and poisonous agents against both soldiers and civilians. These chemical attacks are part of a broader hybrid warfare campaign that includes booby-trapping everyday items disguised as children's toys, household garbage, and animal hides, among other objects, to target unsuspecting civilians.
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🇷🇺🇮🇳 Putin: Russia ready to ramp up fertilizer supplies to India
President Putin met with India's Foreign Minister Jaishankar, pledging to boost fertilizer exports to support India's agricultural sector.
Key points:
🔶 Trade turnover between Russia and India is growing in 2026
🔶 Cooperation is expanding across nearly all sectors
🔶 Putin expects to meet PM Modi at the SCO summit
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🇷🇺💥 RUSSIAN MOD UPDATE: HUGE GAINS AND DEVASTATING UKRAINIAN LOSSES
⚡️ DOLINKA IN THE ZAPOROZHYE REGION LIBERATED
📍 Liberating the settlement of Dolinka bolsters the Russian army's position and enables it to keep advancing deeper into the region.
⚡️ KUCHEROV YAR IN THE DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC LIBERATED
📍 With Kucherov Yar now liberated, Russian forces have a direct route toward Dobropolye—a key enemy stronghold along the region's defensive line
⚡️ PERSHE TRAVNYA IN THE SUMY REGION LIBERATED
📍 By taking this settlement, the Russian army gains further ground to establish a buffer zone along the state border.
◻️ The Russian army pounded Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities, energy and port infrastructure
◻️ Air defense superiority: 17 guided aerial bombs and 988 drones were shot down
◻️ Ukrainian loses: around 1,400 troops killed or wounded
Read about the origins of Russia's special military op HERE
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