Iran Says US Sanctions ‘Will Not Change’ Policy after Trump Warnings

An Iranian man rides a bicycle next to an anti-US mural near the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran, 01 May 2025. (EPA)
An Iranian man rides a bicycle next to an anti-US mural near the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran, 01 May 2025. (EPA)
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Iran Says US Sanctions ‘Will Not Change’ Policy after Trump Warnings

An Iranian man rides a bicycle next to an anti-US mural near the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran, 01 May 2025. (EPA)
An Iranian man rides a bicycle next to an anti-US mural near the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran, 01 May 2025. (EPA)

Iran said Friday that continued US sanctions on its trade partners will not alter its policy, after President Donald Trump threatened to penalize countries or individuals dealing in Iranian oil.

"The continuation of these illegal behaviors will not change Iran's logical, legitimate and international law-based positions," a foreign ministry statement said, condemning what it called "pressure on Iran's trade and economic partners".

It added that such sanctions have created "deep suspicion and mistrust about the seriousness of America on the path of diplomacy".

On Thursday, Trump vowed to enforce sanctions and called for a global boycott of "any amount" of Iranian oil or petrochemicals.

"All purchases of Iranian Oil, or Petrochemical products, must stop, NOW!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"Any Country or person who buys ANY AMOUNT of OIL or PETROCHEMICALS from Iran will be subject to, immediately, Secondary Sanctions," he added.

His remarks came after Iran confirmed that the next round of nuclear talks with the United States, which had been expected to be held on Saturday, has been postponed, with mediator Oman citing "logistical reasons".

Oman said the date for a new round "will be announced when mutually agreed".

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who headed the Iranian delegation in the three rounds of talks held so far, said Iran was ready for a "just and balanced deal".

"There is no change in our determination to secure a negotiated solution," Araghchi said on X, adding that any deal should guarantee "an end to sanctions."

The talks mark the highest-level contact on Iran's nuclear program since Trump abandoned a landmark accord between Tehran and major powers in 2018.

The US president had written to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei in March urging negotiations but warning of potential military action if they failed.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived the "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions against Iran, with the latest announced on Wednesday and targeting seven companies accused of transporting Iranian-origin petroleum products.

Tensions over Iran's nuclear program soared after Washington withdrew from the 2015 deal with major powers which offered Tehran sanctions relief in return for restrictions on its nuclear activities.

Iran adhered to the agreement for a year afterwards before beginning to roll back its compliance.

Western governments have since accused Tehran of seeking a nuclear weapons capability, an ambition it has consistently denied, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.



South Korea Sees High Chance of US-North Korea Summit After March Next Year 

In this June 30, 2019, file photo, US President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea. (AP)
In this June 30, 2019, file photo, US President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea. (AP)
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South Korea Sees High Chance of US-North Korea Summit After March Next Year 

In this June 30, 2019, file photo, US President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea. (AP)
In this June 30, 2019, file photo, US President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone, South Korea. (AP)

South Korea's spy agency sees a high possibility that North Korea and the United States will hold a summit after joint US-South Korea military drills in March next year, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

"The NIS believes that Kim Jong Un is willing to engage in dialogue with the United States and will have contact with the United States in the future when conditions are met," lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters, after a parliamentary audit on the National Intelligence Service, according to the report.

North Korean leader Kim has said he would be willing to talk to the US if Washington dropped demands for denuclearization, but he did not publicly respond when US President Donald Trump offered to hold talks during his visit to South Korea last week.


Report: Russia Says It Is Tightening Its Encirclement of Ukrainian Forces in Pokrovsk 

Pilots from the Predator Brigade's unmanned vehicle unit of the Ukrainian Patrol Police in Donetsk assemble a GARA bomber drone on a nighttime strike mission against Russian forces on the Pokrovsk front line, Ukraine, 02 November 2025. (EPA)
Pilots from the Predator Brigade's unmanned vehicle unit of the Ukrainian Patrol Police in Donetsk assemble a GARA bomber drone on a nighttime strike mission against Russian forces on the Pokrovsk front line, Ukraine, 02 November 2025. (EPA)
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Report: Russia Says It Is Tightening Its Encirclement of Ukrainian Forces in Pokrovsk 

Pilots from the Predator Brigade's unmanned vehicle unit of the Ukrainian Patrol Police in Donetsk assemble a GARA bomber drone on a nighttime strike mission against Russian forces on the Pokrovsk front line, Ukraine, 02 November 2025. (EPA)
Pilots from the Predator Brigade's unmanned vehicle unit of the Ukrainian Patrol Police in Donetsk assemble a GARA bomber drone on a nighttime strike mission against Russian forces on the Pokrovsk front line, Ukraine, 02 November 2025. (EPA)

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that its forces were tightening their encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the city of Pokrovsk, a transport and logistics hub they have been trying to capture for over a year.

In a statement carried by the state TASS news agency, the ministry said its forces had cleared 35 buildings in Pokrovsk of Ukrainian troops.

It said Russian forces were also tightening their encirclement of Ukrainian troops near the Kharkiv region town of Kupiansk.

Reuters was unavailable to verify the battlefield reports.

Ukraine has denied that its troops are surrounded in either location.


Afghans Begin Clean-up After Powerful Earthquake That Killed 20 

People stand on the debris of damaged buildings, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Samangan province, Afghanistan November 3, 2025. (Reuters)
People stand on the debris of damaged buildings, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Samangan province, Afghanistan November 3, 2025. (Reuters)
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Afghans Begin Clean-up After Powerful Earthquake That Killed 20 

People stand on the debris of damaged buildings, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Samangan province, Afghanistan November 3, 2025. (Reuters)
People stand on the debris of damaged buildings, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Samangan province, Afghanistan November 3, 2025. (Reuters)

Residents of northern Afghanistan began a clean-up operation on Tuesday after a powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake left at least 20 dead and almost 1,000 injured.

The quake struck near the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif early on Monday, killing at least 20 people and damaging the city's historic Blue Mosque, authorities said.

Some 945 people have been injured, according to the latest figures from United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan.

Hundreds of houses were either completely or partially destroyed, according to the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, a figure that aid groups said was concerning just ahead of the Afghan winter, where temperatures drop below freezing.

On Tuesday, residents in Tangi Tashqurgan, an area close to the quake epicenter, were digging out rubble and reinforcing affected buildings.

Mohammad Yasin, a local shopkeeper, said dozens of structures had been damaged or destroyed in the quake.

"If you go inside the shops, you feel afraid they might collapse any moment, maybe now or in 10 minutes," he said.

The disaster is the latest challenge for Afghanistan's Taliban administration, already grappling with crises including an earthquake in August that killed thousands in the east of the country, a sharp drop in foreign aid and mass deportations of Afghan refugees by neighboring countries.

The United Nations has pledged assistance, along with India, which is seeking to thaw ties with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, which is still under sanctions from many Western nations. China said on Tuesday it would also offer aid.

Hemmed in by rugged mountains, Afghanistan is prone to a range of natural disasters, but its earthquakes cause the most fatalities, killing about 560 people on average each year and causing annual damage estimated at $80 million.

Rudimentary building quality also contributes to the casualty figures, with experts recommending new structures be built in an earthquake-resistant way and existing buildings be retrofitted to reduce the chances of collapse.