Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at China’s role in U.S. sanctions on Iran, the killing of a former Zambian cabinet member, and a controversial medical exam for imprisoned Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
‘Economic D-Day’
Senior Iranian leadership warned the United States on Friday that any new U.S. threats would be met with “crushing, punishing, and devastating responses,” just days after the White House announced that it would start targeting Tehran with its “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN.”
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at China’s role in U.S. sanctions on Iran, the killing of a former Zambian cabinet member, and a controversial medical exam for imprisoned Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
‘Economic D-Day’
Senior Iranian leadership warned the United States on Friday that any new U.S. threats would be met with “crushing, punishing, and devastating responses,” just days after the White House announced that it would start targeting Tehran with its “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN.”
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that any country that “allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences.” This would include cash transfers, oil smuggling operations, and other corporate fronts, Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time, calling it “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has doubled down on Trump’s threats. “You are either with us or against us,” Bessent told CNBC on Thursday. “It is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision. We are going to squash the economy of this murderous regime.”
The United States has repeatedly criticized its allies, particularly those in NATO, for failing to adequately help the U.S. military defeat Iran. But now, the White House appears to be changing its messaging, warning other countries that they could fall into a similar trap as Iran if they do not comply with Washington’s demands.
“Any remaining tie to Tehran will hasten a nation’s economic oblivion, whether that tie be purposefully constructed or willfully ignored,” Bessent wrote on X. The treasury secretary is expected to detail the new sanctions package on Monday.
Bessent called on China specifically to reduce its business ties with Iran. Tehran’s ability to weather international sanctions has been partly thanks to its relationship with Beijing, which purchased more than 80 percent of Iran’s shipped oil in 2025, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
“We are confident that everyone wants the Strait [of Hormuz] reopened, and for energy prices to come back down,” Bessent said on Thursday. “Keep in mind that the Chinese get 50 percent [of their] energy from inside the Gulf, so it would do them a big service to get with the program.”
But China appears unwilling to heed the call. “Regarding the Iran issue, sanctions and pressure do not help resolve the problem,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said in response to Bessent’s comments. “China calls on the relevant parties to take responsible actions and resolve the issue through political and diplomatic means.”
Meanwhile, chief Iranian negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stressed on Friday that Tehran “must plan for the unjust sanctions so that we can overcome them.” His comments came the same day that Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, said that the country’s retaliation could take the form of land, sea, air, or cyberattacks.
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What We’re Following
Post-election crackdown. Zambian police summoned opposition party leader Brian Mundubile and his running mate for questioning late Thursday over alleged national security threats in the wake of Zambia’s disputed presidential election.
Last week, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema won a second five-year term, securing 60 percent of the vote over Mundubile’s 38 percent. While votes were still being counted on election night, security forces launched a raid on Mundubile’s residence, arresting 11 people that authorities claim were “in possession of high-grade military weapons, ammunition and other materials for use in armed insurrection.”
In an exchange of gunfire during the operation, opposition party member and former Transportation Minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was fatally shot. Mundubile, who was present during the raid but has since gone into hiding, accused Zambian forces of firing shots in his home in what he described as an attack on his life. Maambo Hamaundu, the permanent secretary of the Zambian Defense Ministry, called these claims a “total fabrication.”
Rights groups have denounced the incident and called for a transparent, independent investigation. “While the full circumstances surrounding his [Kafwaya’s] shooting remain unclear, his death follows reports of arbitrary arrests and detentions of opposition members during the electoral period,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s regional director for East and Southern Africa.
Mundubile’s party planned to file a court challenge to the election results, but one expert told Reuters that the arrests of senior party members and the police summons may complicate that effort.
Wrong hospital. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was briefly taken to a hospital on Friday before being declared medically fit and returned to prison. The visit was aimed at appeasing concerns that Khan was being tortured “repeatedly” while in prison, a claim that Khan reportedly told his sister during the examination. However, a last-minute change in the appointment’s location sparked allegations that the government had violated a Supreme Court order.
Since being imprisoned in 2023, Khan has reported several health concerns but has struggled to be assessed by doctors of his choosing. On Tuesday, Pakistan’s highest court ruled that Khan must be taken to a private hospital in Islamabad for a comprehensive medical examination by several specialists, including one of his personal physicians. Instead, government authorities brought Khan to a public hospital in the capital on Friday, citing a “security situation” caused by the presence of his supporters near the private facility.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party vowed on Friday to file a contempt petition against the government for its alleged failure to follow the court’s ruling. The party is also expected to argue that the Supreme Court mandated that Khan be kept under medical supervision until at least mid-September, not immediately returned to prison.
Ulchi ends early. U.S. and South Korean forces wrapped up joint Ulchi Freedom Shield drills on Friday, a full six days before they were originally scheduled to conclude. Ending early means that the two nations’ militaries only completed part one of the two-phase exercise; the first half of Ulchi focused on defensive operations while the second half would have prioritized counteroffensive actions. North Korea had expressed particular concern over the latter portion of the drills.
The annual 11-day exercise has long been an opportunity to demonstrate Washington and Seoul’s close military ties and shared agenda regarding security on the Korean Peninsula. However, mere hours into the start of the event on Monday, Trump ordered the Defense Department to scale back U.S. involvement, citing his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Experts have argued that Trump’s actions may have been an effort to convince Kim to rejoin nuclear disarmament talks that broke down in 2019; U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that Trump is pushing for a meeting with Kim as soon as this fall. However, Pyongyang remains unappeased, with Kim’s influential sister Kim Yo Jong warning on Wednesday that “the provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced.”
What in the World?
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said Latin American countries should demonstrate “autonomy” during a meeting with which Latin American leader?
A. Argentine President Javier Milei
B. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa
C. Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez
D. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum
Odds and Ends
A 26-year-old car salesman has officially joined the Belgian royal family. Local media reported on Wednesday that Prince Laurent has established legal ties with Clément Vandenkerckhove, his adult son, who was born before Laurent’s marriage to Princess Claire and who was not acknowledged as related to him until last year. Vandenkerckhove will hold the title of prince but will not be in the line of succession or have royal duties.
And the Answer Is…
B. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa
Although Noboa is a close Trump ally, his weeklong trip to China shows that Ecuador is still reliant on economic cooperation with Beijing, FP’s Catherine Osborn writes in Latin America Brief.
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