US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was launching a major new campaign to target Iran's economy, threatening "tremendous" punishment on any country that helps or does business with the Islamic republic.
The intensified economic pressure campaign comes as the war nears its sixth month with no immediate diplomatic or military off-ramp in sight and the vital Strait of Hormuz still significantly choked-off.
By Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration has told Congress it is sending more than $206 million for a proposed Gaza peacekeeping force, the first significant funding for the stalled U.S. plan to rebuild the devastated enclave.
By Rami Ayyub and Nidal al-Mughrabi
JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Israel's military acknowledged on Wednesday that its troops had opened fire on a car carrying 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab and her family members in Gaza in 2024 and said it had opened a criminal investigation, though rights groups say such probes rarely lead to convictions.
Hind Rajab's killing was one of the most high-profile incidents involving civilian deaths during Israel's military assault in Gaza, launched following the 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.
After more than two years of ordering attacks on Israel's enemies across the Middle East, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing a tough re-election fight, is zeroing in on another perceived villain -- Turkey.
On Tuesday, warplanes bombed a base in northern Syria a short drive from the Turkish border.
Netanyahu said Turkey was looking to establish a military presence there and that, after it ignored Israel's warnings, "we made sure they understood it more clearly".
WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - With Iran diplomacy stalled, financial markets uneasy and his approval rating at another low point, President Donald Trump reverted to familiar territory on Wednesday, leading reporters on a tour of White House construction projects he hopes will cement his legacy.
The former real estate developer spent about 30 minutes guiding reporters across the South Lawn, touting a new granite helipad, a $400 million ballroom and other renovations he said would modernize the historic complex while preserving it for future generations.
By Timour Azhari and Rami Ayyub
DUBAI, Aug 19 - The United Arab Emirates' decision to suspend all financial and economic transactions with Iran until further notice, citing amilitary escalation by Tehran with a missile threat, has refocused the spotlight on fraught ties between the major Gulf Arab oil producer and Iran.
The UAE, a close U.S. ally and regional power, was the Gulf state most heavily hit by Tehran during the early stages of the Middle East war. However, the last reported attack on UAE soil was the May 4 strike on Fujairah port, a key oil export hub.
Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday stressed the importance of strengthening the "new order" in the region, on the first stop in a three-day visit to Iraq.
Ghalibaf's trip comes at a time when Iraq is facing American pressure to disarm factions close to Tehran, which wields significant political influence in Iraq.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who took office three months ago with US backing, has pledged to restrict weapons to the control of the state.
PARIS, Aug 19 (Reuters) - French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned on Wednesday violence in the West Bank by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, and added that this justified France's recent sanctions against Israel's far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
• "What is happening today in the West Bank is utterly disgraceful and should fill us all with revulsion," Barrot wrote on X.
• "This is why we have sanctioned Israeli minister Ben-Gvir, whose recent comments are unacceptable and inhuman," added Barrot.
