WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three Chinese nationals accused of trafficking synthetic opioids, stepping up efforts to curb the flow of fentanyl from China into the United States. The move comes just weeks after President Trump accused China of not doing enough to stop the drug from entering the United […]
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The Islamic State has gained ground in some areas, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Tuesday, despite President Trump’s proclamation that the extremist group had been vanquished. Mr. Pompeo also conceded, in a television interview, having some frustration in dealing with North Korea. But Mr. Pompeo said he believed the administration was finding success […]
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An Iranian oil tanker held for six weeks after being impounded left Gibraltar on Sunday, days after the authorities there rejected a request from American officials that it turn the vessel over to them. A marine traffic monitoring site showed the tanker, the Grace 1, leaving Gibraltar’s waters. Iranian and Gibraltar news organizations confirmed that […]
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WASHINGTON — The United States is participating in secret talks between the United Arab Emirates and Israel to confront threats posed by Iran, a shared adversary among the three countries. The talks aim to broaden cooperation for military and intelligence sharing between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, two cautiously allied Middle Eastern nations, a […]
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LONDON — The United States has applied to seize the Iranian oil tanker being held at Gibraltar, the government of the British territory revealed on Thursday, just as the authorities there were considering whether to release the ship they detained more than a month ago. The American action is the latest in a series of […]
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SEOUL, South Korea — Guess what country just issued stamps of Donald Trump? North Korea! Yes: An official postage stamp features grave-looking likenesses of President Trump and Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, standing side by side. It commemorates their pleasantry-laden chitchat earlier this summer at Panmunjom, in the Demilitarized Zone between the two […]
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LONDON — The British and Gibraltar authorities will soon release an Iranian oil tanker that has been held for more than a month, an Iranian official said on Tuesday, signaling a possible step toward de-escalating tensions between Tehran and the West that threaten world energy supplies. Officials in Gibraltar and London would not confirm or […]
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MUMBAI, India — Underscoring its desire for stronger ties to India and the country’s 1.3 billion people, Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant is buying 20 percent of the petroleum-related businesses of Reliance Industries, one of India’s biggest companies. The $15 billion investment, which Reliance announced on Monday, is a vote of confidence by the Saudis […]
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BEIJING — Earlier this week the Chinese government aggressively devalued its currency — the clearest sign yet that it is hunkering down for a protracted fight with the United States over trade. Currency devaluation is the mother of all retaliations. The move, designed to help offset the Trump administration’s tariffs against China, could goad America […]
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They change offices every few months and store documents only in hard copy. They scan their businesses for covert listening devices and divert all office calls to their cellphones. They know they are under surveillance, and assume their electronics are hacked. They are not spies or jewel thieves but Iran’s oil traders, and they are […]
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President Trump issued an executive order on Monday imposing a new round of economic sanctions on the Venezuelan government. The action sends a clear message to Venezuela’s top military brass — the regime’s chief pillar of support. The United States will not be satisfied until President Nicolás Maduro is ousted, and Venezuela is on a […]
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CARACAS, Venezuela — An international summit meeting on Tuesday that was meant to break the political stalemate in Venezuela became a one-sided showcase for the United States’ toughest sanctions yet on President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime. During the conference of more than 50 countries in Lima, Peru, the Trump administration rejected compromises proposed by international […]
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WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order on Monday imposing new economic sanctions on the government of Venezuela, escalating his campaign to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office. The White House announced the action, which freezes the property and assets of the Venezuelan government and those of any individuals who assist Venezuelan officials affected […]
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President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on Russia, responding to growing pressure from Congress to further punish Moscow after a nerve agent attack last year against a former Russian spy in Britain. It is the second round of sanctions by the administration after a botched attempt in March 2018 to […]
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BEIRUT, Lebanon — Iranian officials reacted with unified irritation on Thursday to the Trump administration’s decision to sanction Iran’s foreign minister, calling the move petty and provocative — further evidence, they said, of Washington’s insincerity when it talks of peace. The foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, an American-educated diplomat who negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal […]
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BRUSSELS — With tensions rising with Iran, the United States and Britain have been shopping for European support to bolster patrols in the Persian Gulf around the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage way for global oil supplies. But so far the American requests for help to escort shipping in the Gulf have been met […]
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BRUSSELS — Iran for the first time tied the British seizure of an Iranian oil tanker to the ailing nuclear deal on Sunday, calling it illegal and a violation of the agreement. By making that link, Iran appeared to be trying to press the Europeans to make good on the promised financial benefits of the […]
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JERUSALEM — In a matter of months, a campaign to boycott Israel has moved from the margins of politics — liberal college campuses and protest marches — to Congress, where the freshman representatives Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan have become its most vocal backers, drawing fire from the White House. On […]
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MEDELLÍN, Colombia — United States officials have accused President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela of a corruption scheme in which his officials, family members and business partners made off with large sums of money meant to feed the country’s starving population. The allegations appeared Thursday in a new round of sanctions targeting three stepsons of Mr. […]
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LONDON — President Hassan Rouhani of Iran suggested Wednesday that his country might release a British-flagged tanker in exchange for the return of an Iranian ship seized by the British military off the coast of Gibraltar. Iranian officials had previously implied such an offer might be forthcoming, describing the capture of the British tanker as […]
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