Middle East updates: Trump warns 'economic consequences' for nations helping Iran
Deutsche Welle · LC · trust 35/100
US President Donald Trump has threatened Iran with an "economic warfare". Meanwhile, Australia summoned Israel's envoy over the 2024 death of an aid worker in an Israeli strike in Gaza. DW has the latest.
https://p.dw.com/p/5J7Jw Trump said that Washington needed the support of all its allies to isolate Iran Image: CNP/AdMedia/picture alliance Advertisement Skip next section What you need to know What you need to know US President Donald Trump announced the "most crushing economic operation" ever against Iran Trump said any country providing “any type of lifeline to Iran” will face "tremendous" economic repercussions Iran's media dismissed Trump's threat Here are the latest developments from the Iran war and the Middle East on Thursday, August 20:
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08/20/2026 August 20, 2026 Iran calls Trump's 'economic warfare' announcement 'diversion' from US domestic issues Iran has slammed US President Donald Trump's "Economic D-Day" punishment plan against Tehran as a diversion from his country’s economic problems.
"The so-called ‘Economic D-Day’ is a diversion from America's own crisis: unprecedented debt and surging interest costs," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X as he shared snippets of US media outlets reporting on the US gross national debt reaching $40 trillion.
He said Trump's latest announcement was a continuation of "failed policies".
"Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat — and enmity of Iranians," Araghchi said.
The Iranian foreign minister added that "global economy and sovereignty worldwide" was threatened by what he called "US economic terrorism."
08/20/2026 August 20, 2026 Britain denounces tender launch for Israeli E1 settlement in West Bank The United Kingdom has summoned Israel's charge d'affaires in London as it condemned Israel’s move to launch a tender for a controversial West Bank settlement project .
The plan would build 3,500 new apartments in an area known as E1, which lies between East Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim. The new development would effectively split the West Bank into two parts.
Late on Tuesday, Israel's Land Authority published a tender for the building of the first 1,234 housing units in the project.
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Wednesday called the move "an unacceptable and destructive act," saying that it would "endanger the viability of a two-state solution".
"I made clear to the Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar that the Israeli government must halt E1 plans immediately, retract the tender and stop all settlement expansion," Miliband said.
The UK, Germany , France and Italy had earlier cautioned companies against taking part in tenders for construction projects in the E1 and thereby engaging in "serious violations of international law."
08/20/2026 August 20, 2026 Australia 'outraged' over Israel declining to open criminal probe in World Central Kitchen deaths Australia on Thursday summoned Israel's ambassador to protest a decision by its military to not launch criminal investigations into the death of an Australian aid worker during a 2024 Israeli air strike on Gaza.
Australian national Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom was among a group of seven World Central Kitchen employees killed on April 1, 2024 when their aid convoy was hit in an Israeli strike.
The attack had drawn widespread international condemnation .
On Wednesday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it had found no basis to probe the deaths of the charity's staff after a fact-finding and assessment procedure.
The IDF said in its report that it had mistakenly identified several individuals in the vehicles as Hamas militants and that the convoy deviated from its planned route. It concluded that "the decisions of the commanders did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct."
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who summoned Israeli ambassador Hillel Newman, said relations with Israel were "difficult" after the decision.
"This decision falls far short of the accountability we expect," Wong said, adding that Canberra was outraged.
Wong deemed Israel's move to not launch criminal proceedings into Frankcom and her colleagues' death as "especially insulting and hurtful" as it was announced on World Humanitarian Day.
"We do not have confidence" in Israel's investigation into the killings, she said. "The Australian government will continue to keep pressing Israel for justice."
Meanwhile, Newman after meeting Wong expressed "deep sorrow and grief" to Frankcom's family as he spoke to the media.
"Israel had no intention to attack or injure in any way the aid workers that were on the convoy," he stressed.
He said that Israel's decision was that there was no "criminal liability" and went on to say: "We must respect that conclusion."
08/20/2026 August 20, 2026 Trump threatens Iran partners with economic punishment US President Donald Trump has warned any country that supports Iran of economic consequences as war soon approaches its sixth month with no resolution in sight.
Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday that "ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS economic consequences."
The US leader described his move as "economic warfare" and "isolation" on an unprecedented scale as he stepped up an economic pressure campaign on Iran.
"Today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY!" he said, referring to the Islamic Republic in the superlatives-embellished post.
Trump said that nobody other than him had given Tehran what he called "a greater opportunity to make a deal".
"TRAGICALLY, for them, they have failed to take it," he said.
Trump said that…
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