Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to fully sever Iran from the global economy and threatened countries that continue to do business with Iran with secondary sanctions. It was part of the US campaign to use economic pressure to try and wring concessions from Iran.
Finland to stop providing UN agency aid for Palestine
Finland said it will not extend an agreement to provide humanitarian aid with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which has accused the UN agency of being a “hotbed of terrorism,” welcomed the news.
UNRWA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Finland provided UNRWA with 5 million euros (USD 5.8 million) annually under a multi-year deal set to expire later this year. Ville Tavio, the country’s foreign trade minister, said in a post on X that aid to Palestinian territories would instead be provided through other channels, such as the UN’s World Food Programme.
UK warns Israel against removing British officials
The United Kingdom warned against any attempt by Israel to remove British officials from the Gaza ceasefire coordination centre on Friday, after reports that Israel was considering expelling UK officials.
The UK government said any move to remove its officials would “undermine shared efforts” to implement the 20-point Gaza peace plan. The comments came in response to reports that Israel is considering expelling officials from Britain and other European nations from the monitoring centre.
Israel has already removed two Dutch diplomats from the ceasefire centre. The country said Thursday that the decision was in response to a Dutch ban on the trade of Israeli products from the occupied West Bank and other “anti-Israel measures.” (PTI)
