Iran on Friday dismissed threats by US President Donald Trump of economic pain and isolation for the country, while the UK and other nations condemned Israel over a settlement project.
Doctors Without Borders criticised the decision by Israel's military not to investigate two fatal attacks on the medical humanitarian organisation's staff, and in Gaza City, a mass funeral was held for 50 people killed in Israeli airstrikes nearly three years ago but whose remains were just recovered.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East.
Iran denounces Trump's economic threat
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected the economic threats made against his country, saying that such "failed policies" will stir more hostility among Iranians and "bring more failures".
Araghchi's comments came a few hours after Trump threatened "crushing economic measures" against Iran. The US president promised "Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale", but provided few details.
In a social media post, Araghchi maintained that the threats aim to divert the attention of the US public from domestic financial problems, saying that US "economic terrorism threatens the global economy and the national sovereignty of countries around the world".
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Iran will face the "greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world".
In a CNBC interview, Bessent threatened secondary sanctions on nations and companies that conduct business with Iran, saying it's time for US allies to make a decision on where they stand.
China's government and India are major buyers of Iranian oil, though Bessent didn't call them out by name.
Doctors Without Borders condemns Israel's military
Doctors Without Borders said that the decision by Israel's military not to open a criminal investigation into two strikes that killed four people shows the country won't take responsibility for attacking civilians.
The international aid group now wants an impartial investigation into the deaths, but didn't specify who should lead the effort.
Doctors Without Borders asked Israel's military to investigate an attack on a Gaza City convoy in November 2023 and a strike on the organisation's shelter in Khan Younis in February 2024. Israel’s announcement on Wednesday said that it wouldn't launch criminal investigations into two cases, in which troops killed the organisation's employees.
The decision by Israel's military shows "there is no prospect of accountability within the Israeli legal system for the killing of our staff, just as there has been no accountability for Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians", Doctors Without Borders said in a statement that cited 15 staff and 1700 healthcare workers killed in Gaza since October 2023.
Israel denies accusations of genocide and war crimes and says it's targeting Hamas after the militant group's attack on southern Israel that killed 1200 people and took 251 hostage on October 7, 2023. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas, because it operates in populated areas in the tiny, overcrowded Gaza Strip.
UK and others rebuke planned West Bank settlement project
Several countries condemned the latest development in a contentious Israeli settlement project near Jerusalem that would effectively cut the occupied West Bank in two.
Israel’s Ministry of Construction and Housing issued a tender for constructing several compounds with more than 1200 homes in total in an open tract of land east of Jerusalem. It’s the latest step in a project under consideration for more than two decades, which critics say would prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state in the territory.
Retired heart surgeon Alan Kerr wife Hazel tour the country urging support for children caught up in what they fear is a forgotten conflict. (Source: 1News)
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband called the publication of the tender "an unacceptable and destructive act" and denounced "settler violence and terrorism". In a statement released on Wednesday, he said that the British government "demanded an immediate reversal" and had summoned the Israeli chargé d'affaires.
Egypt and Jordan also condemned Israel’s move.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded on Thursday by defending "the historic right of the Jewish people to reestablish their national home in the Land of Israel — including in the area in question". Saar criticised the UK government for "blaming only Israel while ignoring Palestinian extremism".
Türkiye denies delegation had visited air base in Syria
Türkiye has denied that a Turkish military delegation had visited an air base in northern Syria that was hit by Israeli airstrikes, and vowed to continue supporting Syria in its efforts to rebuild its military.
The Israeli strikes targeted the Abu Duhur base early on Tuesday, causing damage but no casualties. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that Israel had attacked the base because Syria was "on the verge of breaching" an agreed-upon "status quo in security matters" by allowing Turkish troops to deploy there.
Syrian officials have said that a Turkish delegation visited the base before the Israeli strike to review rehabilitation work underway there.
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