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Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

In this picture obtained from the Iranian Mizan News Agency on June 25, 2025, excavator is used to clear the rubble outside the Evin prison complex in Tehran that was hit days ago by an Israeli strike. (AFP)
In this picture obtained from the Iranian Mizan News Agency on June 25, 2025, excavator is used to clear the rubble outside the Evin prison complex in Tehran that was hit days ago by an Israeli strike. (AFP)
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Trump Signals US May Ease Iran Oil Sanction Enforcement to Help Rebuild Country

In this picture obtained from the Iranian Mizan News Agency on June 25, 2025, excavator is used to clear the rubble outside the Evin prison complex in Tehran that was hit days ago by an Israeli strike. (AFP)
In this picture obtained from the Iranian Mizan News Agency on June 25, 2025, excavator is used to clear the rubble outside the Evin prison complex in Tehran that was hit days ago by an Israeli strike. (AFP)

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US has not given up its maximum pressure on Iran - including restrictions on sales of Iranian oil - but signaled a potential easing in enforcement to help the country rebuild.

"They're going to need money to put that country back into shape. We want to see that happen," Trump said at a news conference at the NATO Summit when asked if he was easing oil sanctions on Iran.

Trump said a day earlier that China can continue to purchase Iranian oil after Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, but the White House later clarified that his comments did not indicate a relaxation of US sanctions.

Trump imposed waves of Iran-related sanctions on several of China's independent "teapot" refineries and port terminal operators for purchases of Iranian oil.

Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy, told CNBC that Trump's comment on China's ability to buy Iranian oil "was a signal to the Chinese that we want to work with you, that we're not interested in hurting your economy."

China is the top buyer of Iranian crude and has long opposed Trump's sanctions on the oil.

"We're interested in working together with you in unison, and hopefully that becomes a signal to the Iranians," Witkoff said.

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Netanyahu Says No Diplomatic Deal Possible with Iran ‘Savages’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, votes in Likud party primary elections ahead of Israel’s general election in October, in Jerusalem, Monday, August. 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, votes in Likud party primary elections ahead of Israel’s general election in October, in Jerusalem, Monday, August. 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Netanyahu Says No Diplomatic Deal Possible with Iran ‘Savages’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, votes in Likud party primary elections ahead of Israel’s general election in October, in Jerusalem, Monday, August. 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, votes in Likud party primary elections ahead of Israel’s general election in October, in Jerusalem, Monday, August. 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a diplomatic deal was not possible with the "savages" who rule Iran as he hailed US President Donald Trump's new campaign of economic pressure.

Recounting a recent meeting with Trump, Netanyahu said they had discussed the possibility of diplomacy with the Islamic republic and added: "I doubt, however, that an agreement can be reached with that group there, with those savages.

"I tell you -- an agreement cannot be reached," Netanyahu told an event late Tuesday at an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu has long been skeptical of diplomacy with Iran, openly campaigning against a 2015 nuclear deal brokered by then US president Barack Obama, but he has been publicly careful not to criticize Trump while he sought a negotiated settlement.

Trump joined Netanyahu in a US-Israeli joint attack on Iran in late February, but agreed to a ceasefire in April in the face of widespread US public opposition to the war, which had sent oil prices spiraling.

Trump on Monday declared "economic D-Day" aimed at destroying Iran's economy, which has already endured years of sanctions, but he has shown reluctance to resume a full-scale war even as he grows frustrated that Tehran will not accept his demands.

Netanyahu voiced support for Trump's economic pressure campaign and said he had told Trump of this "third option", while praising the US president for pursuing it in "a very, very, very strong way".

Trump had chosen to target not just Iran itself but decided on "tightening the siege on those who assist this regime, this terrible dictatorship. This is very important," Netanyahu said.

The Israeli leader had pushed for years for a US attack on Iran, whose cleric-run state supports anti-Israel armed groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, which led the devastating October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

World

Two Women Die in Spain After Being Injured in Flash Floods

A firefighting truck is seen along a flooded road after heavy rainfall in the town of Roda de Bera, Tarragona, Catalonia, northeastern Spain, 22 August 2026. (EPA)
A firefighting truck is seen along a flooded road after heavy rainfall in the town of Roda de Bera, Tarragona, Catalonia, northeastern Spain, 22 August 2026. (EPA)
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Two Women Die in Spain After Being Injured in Flash Floods

A firefighting truck is seen along a flooded road after heavy rainfall in the town of Roda de Bera, Tarragona, Catalonia, northeastern Spain, 22 August 2026. (EPA)
A firefighting truck is seen along a flooded road after heavy rainfall in the town of Roda de Bera, Tarragona, Catalonia, northeastern Spain, 22 August 2026. (EPA)

A mother and her daughter who were seriously injured when a wall collapsed during flash flooding over the weekend in northeast Spain have died, authorities said Wednesday.

The pair were among three people who were injured Saturday when the wall collapsed near the seafront at the port of Roda de Bera, about 75 kilometers (45 miles) southwest of Barcelona.

The mother and her 18-year-old daughter had been sheltering at a stall at a market when the force of the water caused a wall separating a street from a private property to collapse on them, according to Spanish media reports.

Roda de Bera town hall said in an Instagram post that the two women, who had been in critical condition, had died and declared two days of official mourning.

Catalan regional president Salvador Illa expressed his condolences to the women's family on X, saying the news had "hit us deeply" and offering his full support during the "painful moments".

A total of 11 people were injured in the storm, which forced the evacuation of a campsite and a nightclub, flooded streets and left people trapped in cars.

World

Fire Destroys Drone-Hit Wildberries Warehouse in Russia’s Tambov Region, Governor Says

Burning Wildberries warehouses following a Ukrainian drone attack, according to the regional governor, in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Koledino, Moscow Region, Russia August 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Burning Wildberries warehouses following a Ukrainian drone attack, according to the regional governor, in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Koledino, Moscow Region, Russia August 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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Fire Destroys Drone-Hit Wildberries Warehouse in Russia’s Tambov Region, Governor Says

Burning Wildberries warehouses following a Ukrainian drone attack, according to the regional governor, in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Koledino, Moscow Region, Russia August 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Burning Wildberries warehouses following a Ukrainian drone attack, according to the regional governor, in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, in Koledino, Moscow Region, Russia August 16, 2026. (Reuters)

A drone attack caused a massive fire that destroyed a warehouse run by Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries, officials said early on Wednesday, as Ukraine pushes ahead with its campaign to hurt Moscow's economy by targeting online retailers.

Two people were wounded in ‌the overnight strike ‌in Russia's Tambov region, its ‌governor ⁠Evgeniy Pervyshov wrote ⁠on the MAX messaging app.

The logistics center was "completely destroyed by fire," he said. Earlier he said about 100,000 square meters (1.1 million square feet) of the facility was burning, the ⁠equivalent of 14 soccer pitches.

Ukraine has ‌been hitting ‌Wildberries facilities since mid-July and broadened its ‌strategy in recent days to include the ‌retailer's main rival, Ozon.

The pair dominate one of the fastest-growing parts of the Russian economy, which is otherwise close ‌to stagnation after 4-1/2 years of war in Ukraine.

In neighboring ⁠Lipetsk ⁠region, a man and a 14-year-old were killed in a fire lit by a falling drone, while a woman was killed in a drone attack in Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, local authorities said on Telegram.

Both Ukraine and Russia have repeatedly denied targeting civilians since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.