U.S. State Department data from 2004 to 2023 indicates that non-state militant groups, rather than the designated state sponsor Iran, accounted for the majority of international terrorist incidents. While the U.S. maintains Iran’s state sponsor designation based on long-standing policy, the statistical annexes to annual terrorism reports show that the most active and lethal perpetrators during this period were non-state organizations.

WORLD Iran warned of a devastating response to new US threats after Trump vowed toughest-ever sanctions. Treasury Sec Scott Bessent to announce details Monday. Iran has warned that any fresh US threats will draw a "devastating" response after the Trump administration vowed to impose the toughest financial sanctions in history to pressure Tehran and topple its leadership.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would announce details on Monday, calling it a "one-two punch" with the ongoing blockade. "We are going to have the toughest sanctions in history. We are going to collapse this regime," he said. President Donald Trump warned that countries providing "any type of lifeline to Iran" could face economic consequences.

The escalation comes as the nearly six-month-old US-Israel war with Iran disrupts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and pushes oil prices higher. Iran's Armed Forces chief of staff, Major General Ali Abdollahi, said Tehran was ready across land, sea, air, air defence and cyberspace to deliver "crushing, punishing and devastating responses.

" Despite damage to its economy and conventional forces, Iran retains missile and drone capabilities that could threaten tanker traffic through Hormuz. Trump said on Friday Iran was not ready for the "right deal" and made an extraordinary claim about the waterway.

"We have total control of that entire region having to do with the Strait of Hormuz. I view the Strait of Hormuz as an American territory right now," Trump said. He added Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. China, Iran's largest oil buyer, rejected the US approach.

Beijing said, "Sanctions and pressure do not help resolve the problem." Over 80% of Iran's shipped oil went to China in 2025. Iranian leaders admitted severe strain. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said, "We must make plans to deal with the unjust sanctions.

No matter how much military power we have, we won't survive if people are hungry." Oil rose after the threat. Brent settled at $94.39 and WTI at $87.06 on Friday. Only seven commodity ships passed through Hormuz on Thursday, as per Kpler data.

As the war neared six months old, the two sides were not exchanging fire but also not pursuing peace talks. All the while, oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have virtually halted as Tehran clings to its leverage by threatening to strike any unauthorized oil tankers that attempt to transit the narrow waterway.

Also Read: Iran vows 'devastating' response as US threatens toughest ever economic hit U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Monday amid promises to reveal "the toughest sanctions in history" on Iran while also urging China to cooperate with Washington.

China buys more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler. Beijing urged diplomacy. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Saturday that the imminent U.S. announcement of new economic sanctions on Iran was an "assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent member state of the United Nations.

" "Such secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law," he said in a post on X. U.S. President Donald Trump, who has warned of economic consequences against any country that provides "any type of lifeline to Iran," said on Friday that Washington was observing "what happens" in the conflict.

"They would love to make a deal, but they're not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion," Trump said of Iran. HORMUZ TRAFFIC HALTEDWhile the U.S. has effectively blockaded Iranian vessels in their ports, the Strait of Hormuz remained bottled up with thousands of seafarers stranded on hundreds of vessels.

Only four commodity ships sailed along the strait on Thursday, none of them large crude carriers or liquefied natural gas tankers, ship-tracking data showed. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the U.S. military helped move a seven-day average of 8 million barrels a day of oil through the strait.

That's down from more than 20 million per day before the war or about one of every five barrels consumed worldwide. Also Read: Iran says it has built ‘solid defensive shield’ amid US tensions U.S. attacks have severely diminished Iran's economy and devastated its navy and air force, but Tehran maintains enough missile and drone capability to impede oil tanker traffic and attack regional rivals.

Trump, meanwhile, has yet to achieve objectives he set at the start of the war such as dismantling Iran's nuclear programme - the state of which remains uncertain given that U.N. inspectors have been shut out since 2025 - and creating conditions for Iranians to overthrow their clerical rulers.

Thousands have been killed, including 168 Iranian school children on the first day of the war. The U.S. has reported more than 750 military personnel wounded and 18 killed. IRANIAN ECONOMY DAMAGEDThe chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, Major General Ali Abdollahi, promised on Friday that Iran would respond to enemy threats militarily with "crushing, punishing and devastating responses.

" Still, President Masoud Pezeshkian called for a diplomatic solution. "It would be better to end the war today, when we are powerful and have dignity, and the whole world acknowledges our victory and emphasizes that America, contrary to all regulations, attacked our schools, hospitals, and infrastructure and is hated in the world," Pezeshkian said, according to the ISNA news agency.

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the country's main negotiator in mediated talks with the U.S., acknowledged the strain on Iran's economy in comments to Iranian and Iraqi businesspeople late on Thursday. "No matter how much military power we have, we won't survive if people are hungry and we don't have financial turnover, economic growth and national production," Qalibaf said, according to official news agency IRNA.

Mass Casualties As Russian Drones Slam Into Mall In Zelensky's Hometown

At least 14 have been killed and 121 injured after a Friday afternoon Russian drone strikes on a busy shopping call in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, regional officials say. Casualty numbers could grow amid ongoing search and rescue efforts at the scene. Some of the injured are in serious condition.

President Zelensky quickly issued a statement on the attack which was carried out on his own hometown, calling it "cynical and despicable" and underscoring that it was "an ordinary shopping center". Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration via AFP

Zelensky described that the strikes came in two waves, with the second drone hitting "half an hour after the first hit and the ensuing fire, there was a second strike on the emergency services. He urged for the "the world" to respond "accordingly - with real pressure on the aggressor."

"Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts," Zelensky wrote further, and pledged a strong response to the aggression.

According to The Associated Press, the same city has suffered immensely from prior attack waves stretching throughout the war:

Local administration head Oleksandr Vilkul put the death toll at 14, adding that 121 people were injured, including 22 children. He said the rescue operation was ongoing as "the rubble is being cleared."

Kryvyi Rih has been hit multiple times during the more than 4-year-old war, with one of the deadliest occurring in April 2025, when 20 people, including nine children, were killed.

Multiple videos have emerged from the scene, showing what appear to be a Geran-4 (jet-powered) drone attack...

Kryvyi Rih right now ‼️ This is the largest shopping mall in the city, Russia keeps attacking it on busy Friday afternoon. At least 2 people reported killed, at least 12 injured. Continues strikes prevent resquers from helping the victims! pic.twitter.com/s4VJwtrktF — Kate from Kharkiv (@BohuslavskaKate) August 21, 2026 The Ukrainians have all the while pressured Western backers to give more anti-air missiles, especially Patriot batteries, which have been in short supply worldwide, also amid the Iran war in the Middle East.

Ukraine's own deadly long-range attacks deep inside Russian territory have continued, meanwhile.

"A Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and wounded four others when a car was struck Friday in Russia’s Belgorod region near the village of Razumnoye, local officials said, adding that two of the injured were in serious condition," AP also notes.

The death toll in Kryvyi Rih has climbed since initial reports began circulating:

🇷🇺⚡️🇺🇦 ⚠️ Russian Geran-4 jet-powered drones struck the Sun Gallery Mall in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, killing at least 5 civilians and injuring more than 90 others. pic.twitter.com/ayIWIt5meT — #Inside_News (@insider_der) August 21, 2026 "Earlier, Zelenskyy said a separate Ukrainian drone attack hit an oil refinery in Perm, more than 1,600 kilometers (about 995 miles) from his country’s border. Also struck was the Marinovka military airfield in Russia’s Volgograd region, he said," the report adds.

Washington is lately calling for renewed efforts to get the warring sides to the negotiating table to finally end the war. The Kremlin on Friday said it is open to 'new ideas' - though any final settlement must be in line with Putin's demands as well as "realities on the ground".

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/21/2026 - 15:05