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Britain Hints at Putin Sanctions, Drawing Warning from Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, Russia January 19, 2022. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, Russia January 19, 2022. (Reuters)
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Britain Hints at Putin Sanctions, Drawing Warning from Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, Russia January 19, 2022. (Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, Russia January 19, 2022. (Reuters)

Britain said on Wednesday it was not ruling out personal sanctions against President Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine, drawing a warning from the Kremlin that such a move would be destructive.

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he would consider personal sanctions on Putin if Russia invades Ukraine, as Western leaders stepped up military preparations and made plans to shield Europe from a potential energy supply shock.

Russia has massed more than 100,000 troops around Ukraine and the West fears it may invade in an attempt to annex its former Soviet republic. Russia has dismissed such speculation as a symptom of Russophobia which it says is gripping the West.

Asked about possible sanctions on Putin, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told Sky: "We're not ruling anything out."

"We'll be bringing forward new legislation to make our sanctions regime tougher so we are able to target more companies and individuals in Russia. We will be bringing that forward in the next few days. I'm not ruling that out."

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said such a move would be "destructive" for relations but not at all painful for Putin, who rose to the top Kremlin job on the last day of 1999 when Boris Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned.

Truss said Britain was supplying defensive weapons to Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly said it has no intention of invading Ukraine and that it can deploy troops wherever it wants on its own territory.

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Iran Reportedly Informed that US Plans to Resume Action

A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard salutes while riding on a float displaying drones during the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard salutes while riding on a float displaying drones during the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iran Reportedly Informed that US Plans to Resume Action

A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard salutes while riding on a float displaying drones during the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard salutes while riding on a float displaying drones during the state-organized "Janfada," or "Sacrifice for Iran," military-style parade in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran received information that the United States, with the backing of some regional countries, was preparing to resume actions against ⁠Iran, the country's central military ⁠command said in a statement on Sunday, according to ⁠state media.

The military said that any US attack would trigger sustained strikes on US bases and interests in the region, the report ⁠added, ⁠warning that regional countries supporting US aggression against Iran would be considered parties to the conflict.

This came after US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David to return unexpectedly to the White House on Saturday.

Iranian parliament speaker ⁠Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that Tehran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are met and US commitments are ⁠implemented.

World

Iran Says Strait of Hormuz will Remain Closed Until its Conditions Are Met

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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Iran Says Strait of Hormuz will Remain Closed Until its Conditions Are Met

FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, August 31, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Iran will not ​reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are ‌met ‌and ​US ‌commitments are ⁠implemented, ​parliament speaker ⁠Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday according to ⁠the semi-official ‌Fars ‌news ​agency.

Iran ‌must ‌both fight and negotiate, Ghalibaf said, ‌adding that Tehran would use military ⁠force ⁠to push back its enemies and diplomacy to consolidate battlefield gains when ​the ​time is right.

His comments came as US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David to return unexpectedly to the White House on Saturday.

There was no explanation from the administration why Trump was no longer returning on Sunday from Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, as had been previously announced.

World

Seoul: NKorea Fires 2 Projectiles Into East Sea

People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
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Seoul: NKorea Fires 2 Projectiles Into East Sea

People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

North Korea fired two projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, including at least one ballistic missile, South Korea's defense ministry said.

The incidents came days after Pyongyang reasserted its status as a nuclear-armed state and rejected a United Nations resolution demanding it halt its nuclear activities.

South Korea's military said the first launch at around 3:00 pm (0600 GMT) was a ballistic missile fired from near the city of Wonsan that flew around 450 kilometers (280 miles) into the East Sea, a body of water also called the Sea of Japan.

There were no immediate details on the second launch, which Seoul's defense ministry confirmed soon after 6:00 pm.

"Our military detected a ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area of North Korea towards the East Sea," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said after the initial launch.

"South Korean and US authorities are conducting a detailed analysis to determine... exact specifications," it said, according to AFP.

The office of the Japanese prime minister said on X that both projectiles were suspected to be ballistic missiles.
Tokyo lodged a "stern protest" with North Korea over the launch and condemned it as a threat to regional peace and security, Japan's Kyodo news agency cited the government as saying.

South Korea's presidential National Security Office convened an emergency security meeting following the first launch and assessed its impact on national security, the presidential office said.

The government called on Pyongyang to "immediately cease" its ballistic missile launches, describing Sunday's firing as a "grave act" that violated UN Security Council resolutions.

The incidents came eight days after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea as part of what it later described as a joint firepower drill.

That exercise involved long-range artillery and missiles, with the weapons "hitting the targets with 100 percent hit accuracy", state media reported.

North Korea accused "hostile forces" of seeking to end the country's nuclear program during this week's General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A foreign ministry spokesperson said the IAEA resolution "has no effect on the DPRK's position as a nuclear weapons state", using the acronym for North Korea's official name.

The North's status as a nuclear power is "guaranteed by the actual nuclear deterrent and irreversibly and permanently fixed by the supreme law of the state", the spokesperson said.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, recently said the country's nuclear-armed status was "absolute", and called those hoping for its denuclearization "idiots".

US President Donald Trump said in August that North Korea possessed 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons, while South Korea has put the figure at between 80 and 120.