Iran says new sanctions threatened by U.S. will fail Iran's foreign minister dismissed the threat of new U.S. sanctions as a sign of desperation on Aug. 23 and said the expected new measures would fail to defeat Tehran. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is due to hold a press conference at 2 p.

m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Aug. 24, has threatened to impose "the toughest sanctions in history" on Iran. Iran's economy is already under huge pressure from international sanctions, its infrastructure has been hit repeatedly and thousands of people have been killed in airstrikes on the Islamic Republic since the U.

S. and Israel launched attacks on Feb. 28. But Tehran remains defiant after nearly six months of war and has brought shipping to a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, refusing to allow unauthorized oil tankers to transit a waterway that is vital for global oil shipments.

The effective blockade of the strait has pushed up global oil prices. Describing what he said were "repetitive scenarios," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a video posted on Telegram: "The fact that they (U.S. leaders) have moved on from military operations … to bring up the same old plans shows that they are desperate.

" He said Washington must speak to Iran respectfully to find "a solution based on justice and honour." "We have never been afraid. All of their actions — whether blockades or other military moves they have made — have failed, and this new issue of theirs will fail as well," he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of economic consequences against any country that provides "any type of lifeline to Iran" and Bessent has urged cooperation with Washington by China, which buys more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler.

China has urged diplomacy. Pakistan's Army chief to visit Tehran Iran said Pakistan's army chief, Asim Munir, would visit Tehran on Monday as part of efforts to restore peace and security in the region, but gave few details. Pakistan has been mediating in the conflict and a Pakistani government source said Munir would touch on recent developments including the U.

S. threat of new sanctions. Trump 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. 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.

Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on Saturday that Tehran had received "numerous messages" from neighbouring countries about establishing new regional security arrangements and economic cooperation. Qalibaf did not say which countries he was referring to.

He accused the U.S. of endangering the security of its allies in the region for the sake of Israel, adding that an independent, "homegrown" regional order would deliver peace and security. Trump has yet to achieve objectives he set at the start of the war such as dismantling Iran's nuclear program — 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. While Iran remains defiant, President Masoud Pezeshkian has also 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," the ISNA news agency quoted him as saying on Friday.

Hackers linked to Iran shut down a British power plant for four days in what is believed to be the first successful Iranian cyberattack to force a UK electricity-generating facility offline, The Telegraph reported. The attack did not disrupt Britain's broader electricity supply because the facility was relatively small, according to the report.

But its apparent success has raised concern among British officials because it demonstrated that hackers affiliated with Tehran may be capable of penetrating and disabling sensitive energy infrastructure. British authorities have declined to identify the plant, citing security concerns.

The Telegraph reported that staff spent four days working to restore the facility after the breach. The incident occurred around the same time as a wave of cyberattacks against U.S. water infrastructure that affected facilities in 12 states last month and prompted concern at the White House, the newspaper reported.

Following the British breach, the government briefed energy company executives and sent businesses guidance on cybersecurity precautions and their next steps, according to The Telegraph. The incident was also reported to Britain's National Cyber Security Centre, or NCSC, the public-facing arm of the GCHQ intelligence agency responsible for helping organizations defend critical infrastructure against cyber threats.

While cyberattacks against British institutions are frequent, The Telegraph said no previous hacking operation is believed to have successfully brought a UK power plant to a standstill. The plant targeted in the attack was small enough that losing it for several days had no meaningful effect on national generating capacity.

Britain has dozens of smaller power stations connected to the grid, including gas-fired facilities that may operate only intermittently when additional electricity is needed. A British government source sought to play down the effect on the grid while acknowledging the incident.

“We have thresholds for important generators to legally notify us of cyber activity, and this site is nowhere near,” the source told The Telegraph. “It’s a very small scale site, less than a rounding error compared to grid capacity.” The purpose of the attack remains unclear.

The Telegraph reported that it was unlikely to have been designed to cause significant harm to civilians and appears to have attracted little public attention at the time. One possibility, according to the report, is that the operation was intended as a demonstration of capability, showing that hackers linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could penetrate British systems and shut down sensitive infrastructure.

Attacks on US water systems The British incident coincided with cyberattacks on dozens of wastewater treatment facilities across the United States. Those attacks caused flooding and drops in water pressure in some locations, while some authorities told residents to boil water before drinking it.

The first known incident was reported in Minnesota on July 26, followed by breaches in states including Michigan, Georgia, South Dakota and New Jersey, according to The Telegraph. The FBI initially attributed the incidents to “malicious cyber actors.

” U.S. government sources subsequently told media outlets that the activity was believed to have originated in Tehran. Iran has intensified cyber operations against Western targets since the escalation of the Middle East conflict and particularly since U.

S. and Israeli airstrikes began in February, The Telegraph reported. Suspected Iranian attacks have since been reported in several European countries, including Germany, Poland, Finland, Belgium and Albania, although Israel and other countries in the Middle East remain among the most frequent targets.

British authorities had already been warning organizations to prepare for such activity. In March, the NCSC urged companies to reassess their cybersecurity measures because of the conflict. Richard Horne, the agency's chief executive, said in June that the NCSC had handled more than 200 attacks against critical national infrastructure during the previous year.

The agency declined to comment specifically on the power plant attack, in keeping with its policy of generally not discussing individual incidents. Growing threat to critical infrastructure Britain and the United States have repeatedly warned that state-linked hackers from Iran, Russia, China and North Korea target government networks and critical infrastructure on a regular basis.

Previous major cyber incidents in Britain have disrupted NHS systems, schools and manufacturing operations. Hackers have also targeted retailers and government-related databases, including an attack that compromised Electoral Commission voter records.

But successfully disabling an electricity-generating facility represents a potentially more serious threshold because of the implications for critical national infrastructure. An assessment by Britain's parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee last year described Iranian cyber warfare as a “significant area of asymmetric strength,” according to The Telegraph.

Iran is believed to spend tens of millions of dollars supporting hacking groups involving hundreds of personnel. A separate Cabinet Office risk assessment published last month put the likelihood of a serious and successful cyberattack on domestic infrastructure at between 5% and 25%.

The assessment also warned that artificial intelligence could increase the scale and accessibility of such operations by automating attacks and allowing them to be carried out more rapidly and efficiently. Despite the breach, the British government stressed that the country's electricity network had not been endangered.

“The UK has a highly resilient energy system,” a government spokesman told The Telegraph. “We work closely with the energy sector to protect infrastructure and ensure the highest security standards.” “This story refers to an incident impacting a small-scale energy generator, and at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system.

UK power plant 'shut down for four days' after major Iran-linked cyber attack The incident took place in July, at the same time as a series of attacks on US water infrastructure which sparked worry in the White House and affected 12 states A power plant in Great Britain was forced to close for four days after a cyber attack by Iran-linked hackers, it has been revealed.

According to reports, the facility was disabled "while staff fought to bring it back online" after the attack last month - the exact location of the site has not been revealed due to security reasons. It is, however, understood that the plant affected was not one of the biggest sites in the country, according to the Telegraph.

Due to the relatively small nature of the plant, the outage had no impact on the UK’s wider power supply or energy generation. This has been confirmed by the Government, which has described the UK's energy system as 'highly resilient. The incident took place in July, at the same time as a series of attacks on US water infrastructure - those attacks affected 12 states and caused concern in the White House.

In response, the Government briefed the chief executives of power companies and wrote to businesses with advice, direction and next steps. A Government source told the Telegraph: “We have thresholds for important generators to legally notify us of cyber activity, and this site is nowhere near.

It’s a very small scale site, less than a rounding error compared to grid capacity.” A Government spokesman said: “The UK has a highly resilient energy system. We work closely with the energy sector to protect infrastructure and ensure the highest security standards.

“This story refers to an incident impacting a small-scale energy generator, and at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system.

Iran condemns US plans to announce new sanctions Warning that nations joining the US ‘economic war’ would be deemed enemies, Iran said the move could impact trading partners including China Iran on Saturday denounced US plans to announce new sanctions that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic’s economy and have an impact on its most important trading partners including China.

Iran on Saturday warned countries against taking part in the United States’ “economic war” against the Islamic Republic, saying they would be considered enemies. “We declare to all countries … do not join the economic war waged by the United States.

Any country participating in the imposition of economic restrictions against us is considered an enemy,” said Mohsen Rezai, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, on state television. After nearly six months of war since the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran on February 28, the sides are not firing at each other but also showing no sign of pursuing peace talks.

Oil shipments are at a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening to strike any unauthorised oil tankers that try to transit the vital waterway, and Iran’s economy is already under immense pressure from sanctions. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to hold a press conference on Monday after threatening “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran.

Bessent has also urged cooperation with Washington from China, which buys more than 80 per cent of Iran’s shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler. Beijing has urged diplomacy.