Floods Kill at Least 53 in Iran

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Red Crescent (RCS) shows members of a rescue team working at the site of a flash flood in Emamzadeh Davoud, in the northwestern part of the capital Tehran, on July 29, 2022. (Photo by Iranian Red Crescent / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the Iranian Red Crescent (RCS) shows members of a rescue team working at the site of a flash flood in Emamzadeh Davoud, in the northwestern part of the capital Tehran, on July 29, 2022. (Photo by Iranian Red Crescent / AFP)
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Floods Kill at Least 53 in Iran

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Red Crescent (RCS) shows members of a rescue team working at the site of a flash flood in Emamzadeh Davoud, in the northwestern part of the capital Tehran, on July 29, 2022. (Photo by Iranian Red Crescent / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the Iranian Red Crescent (RCS) shows members of a rescue team working at the site of a flash flood in Emamzadeh Davoud, in the northwestern part of the capital Tehran, on July 29, 2022. (Photo by Iranian Red Crescent / AFP)

Rescuers searched for the missing in Iran on Friday after landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains killed at least 53 people, officials said.

Mehdi Valipour, head of emergency operations at the Red Crescent Society, told state TV that 16 people were still missing after two days of floods that have affected 400 towns and villages in 18 of Iran’s 31 provinces. Many highways were closed.

Friday’s worst hit area was Firouz Kooh, in the foothills of Alborz Mountains northeast of the capital Tehran, where at least 10 people died, Tehran governor Mohsen Mansouri told state TV.

He was later quoted by local news agencies as saying around six people were also missing.

Floods were still ravaging northern areas of Tehran province on Friday, he said, adding that despite repeated warnings, trekkers were still heading toward Firouz Kooh.

The town of Firouz Kooh, about 140 km (90 miles) from Tehran, is a favorite retreat for vacationers because of its cool summer temperatures. The area's lush trails are also popular with trekkers, Reuters reported.

State media said at least eight people died on Thursday in a landslide caused by floods in the village of Imamzadeh Davood northwest of Tehran, that also damaged a religious shrine there.

As many as 14 people were reported missing.

Last Saturday, flash floods in the southern Fars province killed 22 people.



Rubio to Meet China's Wang on Sidelines of ASEAN Talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a media briefing during the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 10, 2025. Mandel NGAN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a media briefing during the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 10, 2025. Mandel NGAN / POOL/AFP
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Rubio to Meet China's Wang on Sidelines of ASEAN Talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a media briefing during the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 10, 2025. Mandel NGAN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a media briefing during the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur on July 10, 2025. Mandel NGAN / POOL/AFP

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Friday on the sidelines of ASEAN talks in Malaysia where Washington's tariffs are in sharp focus.

Rubio and Wang's first face-to-face meeting since US President Donald Trump returned to office comes as Washington and Beijing are locked in disputes on everything from trade and fentanyl to Taiwan and technology.

Rubio, a longtime China hawk, and Wang are in Kuala Lumpur for a gathering of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which Japan, South Korea and Australia are also attending.

US officials said ahead of Rubio's first trip to the region as secretary of state that Washington was "prioritizing" its commitment to East and Southeast Asia.

Rubio said Thursday the United States has "no intention of abandoning" the Asia-Pacific region.

But US tariffs have overshadowed the conference and Rubio has sought to placate Asian trade partners, saying talks were ongoing and might result in "better" rates than for the rest of the world.

Trump has threatened punitive tariffs ranging from 20 to 50 percent against more than 20 countries, many of them in Asia, if they do not strike deals with Washington by August 1.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said this week that tariffs were being used as "sharpened instruments of geopolitical rivalry".

Wang on Thursday called for a "fairer and more reasonable" international order.

"At the same time, we are also confronted with challenges such as the impact of unilateral protectionism and the abuse of tariffs by a certain major country," Wang said.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing have ratcheted up since Trump took office in January, with both countries engaging in a tariff war that briefly sent duties on each other's exports sky-high.

At one point the United States hit China with additional levies of 145 percent on its goods as both sides engaged in tit-for-tat escalation. China's countermeasures on US goods reached 125 percent.

Beijing and Washington agreed in May to temporarily slash their staggeringly high tariffs -- an outcome Trump dubbed a "total reset".

- Taiwan, South China Sea -

Before becoming Secretary of State in January, Rubio had already been one of the most vocal critics of China on the American political stage for many years.

Rubio and Wang are also likely to discuss US concerns over China's expansionary behavior in the South China Sea and Beijing's growing military pressure on Taiwan.

China claims the democratic self-ruled island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

Like most countries, Washington has no formal diplomatic relations with the island.

However, the United States is Taiwan's biggest arms supplier and has shown increasing support for Taipei in the face of Beijing's growing military pressure on the island in recent years.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accused China in late May of "credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power" in the Asia-Pacific region.

He also claimed that Beijing "trains every day" to invade Taiwan.

In response, Chinese diplomats accused the United States of using the Taiwan issue to "contain China" and called on Washington to stop "playing with fire".