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Iran, Syria to Sign Agreements During Raisi's Visit to Damascus

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (Reuters)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (Reuters)
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Iran, Syria to Sign Agreements During Raisi's Visit to Damascus

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (Reuters)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (Reuters)

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit Damascus Wednesday at the head of a sizeable ministerial delegation, the first by an Iranian president to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since war broke out in Syria in 2011.

A local newspaper revealed an Iranian plan to invest in the electricity sector in Syria, which will be discussed during the President's visit.

Al-Watan quoted informed sources saying that the Syrian government is arranging to sign new agreements with Iran in energy and electricity and that negotiations will occur during the Iranian President's visit.

The talks will also address a new Iranian line of credit to be invested in electricity, aiming to help Syria improve the sector, which has been suffering for over a decade.

According to the newspaper's sources, the Iranian delegation will discuss assisting Syria in repairing and establishing new electric power plants.

The Iranian President's agenda includes talks with his Syrian counterpart, meetings with Syrian politicians and clerics, and a tour of several areas in Damascus and its countryside.

Meanwhile, the joint Syrian-Iraqi committee began meeting in Damascus less than a week after the joint Syrian-Iranian economic committee sessions in Damascus.

The meetings discussed establishing the railway line through Iran, Iraq, and Syria and constructing the Basra-Shalamcheh line, announced Iranian minister for roads and construction Mehrdad Bazerbash.

Bazerbash chaired the Iranian delegation in the meetings that focused on the electricity and priorities in the Iranian credit line.

They also addressed the railway corridor, increasing the number of trips between the two countries, assisting the Syrian fleet, and inaugurating the al-Hamidiyah Port in Tartus.

The Iranian side renewed its request for 5,000 hectares of Syrian agricultural land for agricultural experiments and transferred Iranian expertise to the Syrian side.

Iraqi Trade Minister, Atheer al-Ghurairy, headed the Iraqi delegation, and the Syrian Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade, Mohammad Samer al-Khalil, chaired the team to the meetings of the Syrian-Iraqi joint committee.

According to local media in Damascus, a number of joint memorandums of understanding are expected to be signed.

Meanwhile, Syrian authorities are removing the checkpoints in Damascus near the security square, including a barrier at the entrance to the al-Maliki neighborhood close to the presidential palace.

Earlier, Damascus governorate removed illegal stalls and kiosks on sidewalks and roads to facilitate traffic.

The services department warned all stalls and kiosks' owners and then began removing the illegal businesses, issuing tickets for their owners.

Notably, Damascus preceded the visit of the Saudi Foreign Minister to Damascus last April by removing three roadblocks leading to the Abu Rummaneh neighborhood, where most Arab embassies are located. It is close to the presidential palace and the Four Seasons Hotel, the residence of international delegations.

The streets surrounding religious shrines, such as Sitt Ruqayyah in Old Damascus and the shrine of Sayyida Zeinab in southern Damascus, are witnessing a cleaning campaign amid a security alert.

The Iranian President is expected to visit the areas and the shrines.

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World

US Expands Sanctions Targeting Iran Oil, Cryptocurrency Sectors

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio look on during a bilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio look on during a bilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Expands Sanctions Targeting Iran Oil, Cryptocurrency Sectors

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio look on during a bilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio look on during a bilateral meeting between US President Donald Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2026. (Reuters)

The United States on Tuesday expanded its sanctions targeting Iran's oil sector, taking further aim at the network of petroleum shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the Treasury Department said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department had also frozen $130 million held in digital wallets linked to Iran's central bank, hitting a sector that has seen increased activity since the start of the war.

The move came after US forces carried out a fourth straight day of strikes against Iran and reimposed a naval blockade, with Iran in turn hitting ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the International Maritime Organization.

Iran started blocking the strait -- a key waterway for energy transit -- after US-Israel attacks in February. Washington imposed an initial blockade on Tehran's ports from mid-April to mid-June.

"This action is part of Treasury's ongoing efforts to ramp up economic pressure on the Iranian regime after it resumed destabilizing attacks in the Strait of Hormuz," the Treasury Department said in a notice Tuesday.

It charged that the Shamkhani network remains a key force behind Iran's oil exports, and has expanded into global commodities trading.

The latest move took aim at more than 50 individuals, entities and vessels that it said enabled Iranian authorities to reap profit.

The Treasury Department added that it has now imposed sanctions on over 200 individuals, entities and vessels operating under Shamkhani's patronage.

Shamkhani is the son of security official Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Both were killed February 28, the first day of US-Israeli attacks and the start of the Middle East war.

Bessent said the department "sanctioned multiple wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran, resulting in the freeze of over $130 million."

"We will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its illicit revenue schemes," he said in a post on X.

Experts say digital asset platforms have been used to circumvent sanctions placed on Iran's Revolutionary Guards and as a financial safe haven for civilians hit by soaring inflation.

Iran has largely been cut off from the global financial system due to US and European sanctions in place for years before the war. Cryptocurrency has offered a path for citizens and businesses to transact with the rest of the world.

World

Historic Agreement Facilitates Border Crossing Between Spain and Gibraltar

Against the backdrop of the Rock of Gibraltar, workers dismantle a Spanish border checkpoint that separated the disputed British overseas territory from Spain in La Línea de la Concepción, Spain, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP)
Against the backdrop of the Rock of Gibraltar, workers dismantle a Spanish border checkpoint that separated the disputed British overseas territory from Spain in La Línea de la Concepción, Spain, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP)
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Historic Agreement Facilitates Border Crossing Between Spain and Gibraltar

Against the backdrop of the Rock of Gibraltar, workers dismantle a Spanish border checkpoint that separated the disputed British overseas territory from Spain in La Línea de la Concepción, Spain, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP)
Against the backdrop of the Rock of Gibraltar, workers dismantle a Spanish border checkpoint that separated the disputed British overseas territory from Spain in La Línea de la Concepción, Spain, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP)

Thousands of workers crossing daily between Spain and Gibraltar will enter a new era of easier travel on Wednesday, as border checks that have long been a source of tension are lifted, according to AFP.

The agreement, signed on Tuesday in Brussels, was reached six years after Britain's exit from the European Union. It is designed to facilitate the movement of people and goods between Gibraltar and Spain and avoid lengthy delays for workers who cross the border each day.

Home to only around 40,000 people, the tiny self-governing British territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula relies on about 15,000 daily cross-border workers from Spain, who make up nearly half of its workforce.

During rush hours, long lines can form at the land border and documents are checked -- especially during periods of tension between Britain and Spain, which claims sovereignty over Gibraltar.

A smoother border will make it easier for Gibraltar businesses to recruit and retain workers who live in Spain, as the “hassle” of crossing the frontier can be “significant,” said Owen Smith, head of the Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses.

“It's been a big factor in retention, and certainly a fluid border is going to make life much easier,” he told AFP, calling it “very, very positive.”

The agreement will align Gibraltar with the rules of Europe’s passport-free Schengen travel area.

It was reached after years of talks between Spain, Britain and the EU.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Cadena SER on Tuesday that the agreement “opens a new era” and “great prospects three centuries later.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is set to visit the frontier zone on Wednesday, where workers have in recent weeks taken down the old chain-link fencing between Gibraltar and Spain.

He has hailed the new arrangements as bringing down “the last wall” inside the EU. “We have managed, after hundreds of years to bring down the last wall in the European Union,” he said.

The border was closed by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in 1969 after Gibraltar, which relies on London for defense and foreign policy, voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to remain British.

The closure, which lasted 13 years, cut off the daily movement of workers from Spain into Gibraltar and separated families.

Since then, long queues have repeatedly formed at the Gibraltar-Spain border when diplomatic tensions over the territory's sovereignty have led to tighter controls by Spain.

“It is important that this sword of Damocles disappears,” said Manuel Triano Paulete, secretary general of the CCOO trade union in Spain's Campo de Gibraltar region which surrounds the British territory, saying cross-border workers often did not know how long it would take them to get to work.

Gibraltar -- which covers just under seven square kilometers -- has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.

It has long been a lifeline for people who live in Campo de Gibraltar, which has historically had one of Spain's highest jobless rates.

London and Madrid have disputed control of Gibraltar since the tiny territory was ceded to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

World

Police: Muslim Man Stabbed Multiple Times in Utah over his Religion

(FILES) Cedar trees, sandstone formations and mountains are shown here in the Bears Ears National Monument on May 12, 2017 outside Blanding, Utah. (Photo by GEORGE FREY / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Cedar trees, sandstone formations and mountains are shown here in the Bears Ears National Monument on May 12, 2017 outside Blanding, Utah. (Photo by GEORGE FREY / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
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Police: Muslim Man Stabbed Multiple Times in Utah over his Religion

(FILES) Cedar trees, sandstone formations and mountains are shown here in the Bears Ears National Monument on May 12, 2017 outside Blanding, Utah. (Photo by GEORGE FREY / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(FILES) Cedar trees, sandstone formations and mountains are shown here in the Bears Ears National Monument on May 12, 2017 outside Blanding, Utah. (Photo by GEORGE FREY / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

A man was arrested in Utah for stabbing a Muslim man multiple times and stated that he targeted the victim because of the victim's religion, police said in court records on Tuesday.

Police said the suspect told them he "intends to kill Muslims" and that he constituted "a substantial danger to the public if released based on his violent actions ... ideologies and pre-planned mass casualty events."

The incident took place inside the Valley Fair Mall in Utah's West Valley City on Monday. The male victim had "multiple stab wounds ⁠all over his ⁠body and was bleeding profusely," police said in an affidavit.

According to Reuters, authorities said the suspect was pinned to the ground by bystanders before officers arrived on the scene.

The suspect, Peter Michael Larsen, 48, was booked into the Salt Lake County jail for a probe over attempted murder and prohibited dangerous weapon conduct, jail records showed on Tuesday. The victim was a male Muslim kiosk ⁠worker.

The suspect said "he had targeted the victim with intent to kill him because of his religion (Muslim)," according to the police booking affidavit.

The suspect approached the Muslim man, asked for his name, asked about his religion and indicated he wanted a bottle of water, the Salt Lake Tribune reported, citing comments from Imam Shuaib Din, who leads the Utah Islamic Center and had been in contact with the victim's family.

As the victim turned to get the water, the attacker began stabbing him, according to Din.

The victim was hospitalized and in critical condition. A friend set up a GoFundMe page for him, ⁠which said ⁠the Muslim man was stabbed 15 times and needed surgeries. The attacker was also hospitalized because of wounds sustained while he was subdued by bystanders, before being booked into the Salt Lake County jail.

Muslim rights groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, condemned the incident. US rights advocates have noted rising Islamophobia over the last two-plus decades following the September 11, 2001, attacks, and more recently because of anti-immigration policies, white supremacy and the fallout of Israel's war in Gaza.

Deadly violent attacks in recent years include a 2023 stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim child in Illinois whose killer was sentenced to 53 years in prison and died in custody, and a 2026 shooting at a San Diego mosque that left five dead, including two teenage suspects.