Iran Resumes Commercial Flights to Afghanistan

Passengers get off a Mahan Air aircraft at Kabul airport on Sept. 15, 2021. (AFP)
Passengers get off a Mahan Air aircraft at Kabul airport on Sept. 15, 2021. (AFP)
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Iran Resumes Commercial Flights to Afghanistan

Passengers get off a Mahan Air aircraft at Kabul airport on Sept. 15, 2021. (AFP)
Passengers get off a Mahan Air aircraft at Kabul airport on Sept. 15, 2021. (AFP)

Iran Wednesday resumed commercial flights to Afghanistan that had been halted after the Taliban assumed power, news agencies reported.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported that a charter return flight transported passengers from Tehran to Kabul. It said a second flight from northeastern city of Mashhad left for Kabul, too.

The flights were from the Mahan Air Airbus fleet. Iran stopped flights to Afghanistan in mid-August.

Tehran has remained a critic of the Taliban and has routinely urged the formation of a government representing all Afghan groups.

Iran and Afghanistan share some 945 kilometers, (580 miles) of borders. Reportedly, Iran hosts some 800,000 registered Afghan refugees and more than two million undocumented Afghans live in the country over the past four decades.



Iran's Qalibaf Says Tehran Must Plan to Overcome 'Unjust Sanctions', Following US Threats

Iran's parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf speaks during a news conference in Beirut on Oct. 12, 2024. (AP)
Iran's parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf speaks during a news conference in Beirut on Oct. 12, 2024. (AP)
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Iran's Qalibaf Says Tehran Must Plan to Overcome 'Unjust Sanctions', Following US Threats

Iran's parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf speaks during a news conference in Beirut on Oct. 12, 2024. (AP)
Iran's parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf speaks during a news conference in Beirut on Oct. 12, 2024. (AP)

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said ‌Iran ‌must plan ‌to ⁠overcome the "unjust sanctions", ⁠after US Treasury Secretary ⁠Scott ‌Bessent announced ‌what he described ‌as ‌the toughest sanctions ‌ever imposed on Iran, according ⁠to ⁠Qalibaf's channel on Telegram.

Bessent said the United States will impose "the toughest sanctions in history" on Iran, a move he suggested would lessen the need for new major military operations, reported Reuters.

Bessent's comments on Thursday followed President Donald Trump's threat a day earlier of "Economic Warfare" and warning of economic consequences against any country that provided "any type ‌of lifeline to Iran." Bessent promised details next week.

Iran has weathered near-continuous, punishing economic sanctions for nearly 50 years, since the Iranian Revolution of 1979.

Before Bessent spoke, Iran's foreign ministry said it condemned US economic and trade sanctions, calling them "economic terrorism" that would not "create even the slightest hesitation in Iranians’ determination to safeguard Iran’s independence, dignity and national sovereignty."

Bessent told CNBC he would share more details on the latest package and "talk about exactly what we're going to do" on Iran at a press conference on Monday.


China Says US ‘Sanctions and Pressure’ on Iran Not a Solution

 Women walk past a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US and Israel strike on Feb. 28, and images of the Iranian flag, on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP)
Women walk past a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US and Israel strike on Feb. 28, and images of the Iranian flag, on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP)
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China Says US ‘Sanctions and Pressure’ on Iran Not a Solution

 Women walk past a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US and Israel strike on Feb. 28, and images of the Iranian flag, on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP)
Women walk past a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US and Israel strike on Feb. 28, and images of the Iranian flag, on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP)

China said on Friday that US "sanctions and pressure" would not resolve the Middle East conflict, after Washington urged governments including Beijing to join efforts to isolate the Iranian economy.

The United States has vowed it would "collapse" the Iranian regime with its threatened campaign, which Tehran has branded as "economic terrorism" doomed to fail, nearly six months since their war began.

Asked about US President Donald Trump's threats, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Friday that "sanctions and pressure will not help resolve the issue".

"China calls on all relevant parties to take responsible measures and resolve the problem through political and diplomatic means," he said.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has defended Trump's push for economic pressure on Tehran.

When asked whether the United States would pressure China to join the campaign, Bessent told CNBC that "many conversations are best to have in private", but called on Beijing "to get with the program".

Spokesman Lin reiterated the need for all parties to take "responsible measures" in resolving the war, when he was asked about Bessent's comments.

"China opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorized by the UN Security Council," Lin said.


Poland ‘Very Disappointed’ After Israel Drops Probe into Killing of Polish Citizen

People stand at a site destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)
People stand at a site destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)
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Poland ‘Very Disappointed’ After Israel Drops Probe into Killing of Polish Citizen

People stand at a site destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)
People stand at a site destroyed during the Israeli offensive, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)

Poland's foreign ministry ‌said it was "very disappointed" and had summoned Israel's ambassador in Warsaw after Israel decided not to pursue criminal proceedings over an attack on a volunteer convoy in Gaza in 2024 in which a Polish citizen was killed.

Damian Sobol, a volunteer from Przemysl in southeastern Poland, was among seven people working for celebrity chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen who were killed in the airstrike in central Gaza in April 2024, ‌which caused ‌an international outcry.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ‌of ⁠the Republic of ⁠Poland is very disappointed to receive the information provided on August 19, 2026, about the discontinuation of the proceedings," the ministry said in a statement late on Thursday.

It said the Israeli Ambassador in Warsaw had been summoned to the ministry.

"The Polish side provided ⁠a critical assessment of the actions taken ‌to date to clarify ‌the causes and course of the tragedy, informed that a ‌parallel investigation is being conducted by the District ‌Prosecutor's Office in Przemysl," it said.

It also "expressed its expectation that the Israeli side will provide the relevant Polish authorities with all necessary explanations and materials requested by Polish investigators."

Deputy Foreign ‌Minister Ignacy Niemczycki told public radio PR1 on Friday that "we consider this a ⁠surprising ⁠decision."

"We believe that the use of force must be proportionate, and that inappropriate use of force should have consequences, so we expect clarification on this matter," he said.

Australia also summoned Israel's ambassador in Canberra on Thursday after an Australian citizen was killed in the airstrike.

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.

Israel's military says its attacks target Hamas fighters. It has said it opens investigations into some attacks involving civilian deaths.