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Trump caps off a rough weekend for US-Iran relations with more sanctions; Istanbul voters hand the opposition party another big win.
Trump ratchets up economic pressure on Iran
Sobhan Farajvan/NurPhoto/Getty Images
President Donald Trump announced new sanctions against Iran on Monday, as tensions between the two countries heighten. [Vox / Alex Ward]
Trump’s executive order will add further pressure on Iran, which is already struggling after the US cut off a large portion of its oil revenue in the spring. Although the administration hasn’t released details of the sanctions, they are expected to further squeeze the country’s economy. [NYT / Edward Wong]
As Trump tweeted, the US’s message to Iran is clear: “No Nuclear Weapons and No Further Sponsoring of Terror!” [Twitter / Donald J. Trump]
Trump’s executive order comes just after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to Saudi Arabia, where he said he was ready to build a coalition of allies to fight back against Iran. [Washington Post / Erin Cunningham and William Branigin]
On Monday, Pompeo tweeted that he had a productive discussion with the king of Saudi Arabia about the “heightened tensions in the region and the need to promote maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz,” where the US says Iran shot down an American drone on Thursday. [AP / Aya Batrawy]
The mounting pressure is also evident in a new report that revealed the US staged a cyberattack on Iran on Friday. [Washington Post / Ellen Nakashima]
Iran, however, isn’t backing down. The country’s foreign ministry spokesperson said on Saturday that Iran is ready to confront any threats from the US. [Vox / Taly Krupkin]
The US has increasingly been relying on placing economic pressure on countries to bring them back to the bargaining table. So far, none of them have led to a deal — but the US is still hoping it can get Iran to negotiate. [Atlantic / Kathy Gilsinan]
Opposition party claims Istanbul — again
The opposition party in Turkey has won the Istanbul mayoral elections — again — a devastating development for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had pushed for the election to be redone. [Politico EU / Emma Anderson]
Ekrem Imamoglu from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) beat his opponent, Binali Yildirim, by 770,000 votes, a huge increase from his 13,000-vote lead during the first election. [Guardian / Bethan McKernan]
During the original vote in March, Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) challenged Imamoglu’s victory by claiming fraud. The High Electoral Council made the controversial decision to cancel the results and call for a redo. [CNN / Isil Sariyuce and Ivana Kottasová]
The reelection, however, backfired on AKP. The people, angered by what they saw as an attack on the democratic process, rallied behind Imamoglu to give him a landslide win. [Globe Post Turkey]
The loss of Istanbul, Turkey’s financial hub, is a major blow to AKP. The opposition party now rules five out of six of the country’s most populous cities. [NYT / Carlotta Gall]
All eyes are now on Erdogan, who has been criticized for the authoritarian bent of his government as the economy continues to weaken. Complaints against Erdogan are piling up within his own party. [Reuters / Ezgi Erkoyun and Ali Kucukgocmen]
The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Italy. And while the country may be struggling both politically and economically, the people are excited.[Washington Post / Cindy Boren and Chico Harlan]
A massive power failure caused the delay of 26 high-speed trains in Japan that served about 12,000 passengers. The culprit: a single slug that died after touching an electrical cable. [CNN / Junko Ogura and Ben Westcott]
An Air Canada passenger found herself locked in an empty airplane after having fallen asleep during her flight. When she woke up, she said she thought she was in a nightmare. [CNBC / Elijah Shama]
A British judge ordered a woman with mental disabilities to have an abortion, although both the woman and her mother wanted to keep the baby. While the judge acknowledged that the decision is an “immense intrusion,” she said it is in the pregnant woman’s best interest. [NYT / Yonette Joseph]
What do you do when you have too much marijuana? Oregon, which has more than enough for its 4 million residents, is trying to figure out how to legally set up an import and export trade deal between states. [Fox News / Andrew O’Reilly]
