Press TV's news headslines

Iran in control of Hormuz

A senior advisor to he Leader of the Islamic Revolution has taken the US to task for violating its commitments under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding. Major General Mohsen Rezaei said the US had accepted the MOU’s provisions regarding the Strait of Hormuz, but violated its commitments later and renewed the aggression against Iran. Speaking in a televised interview, General Rezaei said the US must change its behavior, and proving its commitment to the MOU could be a good indicator of that change. He stressed that Iran will never let any transit route be opened in the Hormuz Strait, except the one approved by Tehran. Rezaei said even if the US opens an unauthorized route and brings an aircraft carrier there, Iranian forces will target the carrier. The general noted that Iran does not seek war, but its Armed Forces are ready to defend the country until the last drop of their blood. Rezaei said Iran behaves responsibly with regard to the Hormuz Strait and cares for both its own security and global security. He also touched on the US naval blockade of Iran. Rezaei said if the blockade continues, the enemy’s warships will be in grave danger. He stressed that the Iranian Armed Forces will not stand idly by and allow Iran's naval blockade to continue.

Challenging Trump tariffs

A group of 25 Democratic states have sued Donald Trump's administration, saying the president’s latest round of tariffs on goods from 60 countries exceeds his legal authority to tax imports. The states' legal action followed another lawsuit by small businesses, which sued to block the tariffs on the day they went into effect last month. In late July, the Trump administration imposed new tariffs on 60 trading partners, including the European Union, alleging that they were not doing enough to stop the export of goods produced with forced labor. The states' argued that the new tariffs used "forced labor" as a pretext to re-impose the tariffs that had already been ruled illegal in court. They said a sweeping tax on imports would do nothing to address the real problems of forced labor around the world. Since taking office for his second term, Trump has upended global trade by imposing wide-ranging tariffs against friends and foes alike. His first round of tariffs was struck down by the US Supreme Court in February, and he replaced those with a 10-percent global levy, which expired in July.

Gaza humanitarian crisis

The UN humanitarian office has issued a stark warning about the catastrophic deterioration in living conditions in Gaza, saying famine is threatening hundreds of thousands of people across the war-torn territory. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 67 percent of the Gaza Strip's population faces acute food insecurity, and is struggling daily to secure even a single basic meal. It added that about 10 percent of the territory’s population has already reached the brink of famine. The office attributed the sharp deterioration in the humanitarian situation to the disruption of the regular flow of humanitarian aid, the collapse of local supply chains, and the severe funding shortfall affecting international relief operations. It noted that humanitarian needs in Gaza are not limited to food, as more than four-thousand children require urgent care, along with breastfeeding women, who need additional nutritional and health support.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir