Vance says war in "new phase" of economic pressure as Iran dismisses Trump threat

Updated on: August 21, 2026 / 3:52 AM EDT / CBS News Follow updates on the war in the Middle East for Friday, Aug. See earlier developments below. China said on Friday that U.S. "sanctions and pressure" wouldn't resolve the Middle East conflict, after Washington urged governments including Beijing to join efforts to isolate Iran's economy. "Sanctions and pressure will not help resolve the issue," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters at a news briefing, calling on "all relevant parties to take responsible measures and resolve the problem through political and diplomatic means." President Trump threatened Iran with "economic D-Day" on Wednesday, vowing to wield " Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale ." Iran quickly dismissed the threat as a distraction and said it would backfire. And we are going to them and saying you are either with us or against us," he added in a message to allies. Egypt and Jordan also condemned Israel's move.

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Scoop News DeskIran · Published Friday, August 21, 2026 at 7:52 AM UTCUpdated Friday, August 21, 2026 at 2:29 PM UTC

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The joint statement from the leaders of the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada said international law is clear the settlement is illegal and noted "unprecedented levels of violence by settlers against civilians." "We urge the government of Israel to retract these plans immediately and end its expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Behnam Shahriyari, however, he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in western Iran in June.

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