Iran warns of a harsh response to anticipated US sanctions and other Middle East news

Iran warned that U.S. sanctions set to be announced would not bring peace to the region.Meanwhile, Israeli and Syrian officials met less than a week after Israeli strikes in Syria.The Palestinian American whose home in the West Bank was besieged by Israeli settlers earlier this month said he still worried they could attack his home after Israel's military withdraws.Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Monday. Full coverage can be found here. Iran threatens response ahead of US sanctions announcement Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday warned that Tehran would respond harshly to expanded U.S. sanctions, including measures against countries it sees as cooperating with Washington.“Any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences,” Esmail Baghaei said. “Our hands are not tied.”The prospect of expanded sanctions and Iran’s threat to respond come after weeks of impasse, with the United States having not yet dislodged Iran’s grip on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian attacks and threats have severely hampered traffic through the waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passed before the war started nearly six months ago.Iran has maintained its demands for reopening the strait — including lifting the U.S. naval blockade, withdrawing U.S. forces from the region and reparations for damages it sustained throughout the war. It has held separate talks with neighboring Oman on jointly managing the waterway regardless of whether a new deal is brokered with the U.S.Sanctions have historically raised the prices of basic goods in Iran, but after years withstanding them, Iran’s economy has adapted through finding new trading partners and building domestic industries. Ahead of the expected announcement, the country's currency hit a record low on Monday, with traders anticipating higher prices if tighter sanctions further restrict Iran’s export capacity. Israeli and Syrian officials meet following an Israeli airstrike Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met over the weekend with a high-level Israeli delegation in Jordan to try to defuse tensions after Israel last week struck an air base in northern Syria, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Monday.The U.S.-mediated discussions on Sunday focused on restarting negotiations for a future security agreement between the two countries, SANA said.Israel struck the Abu Duhur air base in Idlib province last week, saying that it aimed to stop Turkey — which has been supporting the new Syrian government’s efforts to rebuild its armed forces after 14 years of civil war — from establishing a presence there.Syrian officials asserted during the talks the right to develop an army and freely forge alliances with any country, the agency said. They also called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from a buffer zone in southern Syria that they have occupied since December 2024 and reiterated Syria’s stance that the Golan Heights — which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed — is Syrian territory.Israeli officials didn't immediately comment on the meeting as of Monday. Palestinian American says he can't freely leave his home in the West Bank The Palestinian American homeowner whose residence was besieged earlier this month by Israeli settlers said on Monday that he remained unable to move freely in the West Bank village of Qusra. Loui Ridi traveled from Ohio to the Israeli-occupied West Bank to join his relatives defending his home from Israeli settlers a week ago.Palestinians whose homes have been besieged can only now move about following prior authorization from the Israeli military, which declared the area a closed zone to restore order in Qusra and converted a nearby home into a makeshift drone base. Ridi said settlers returned throughout the week to the hill above his house, while he and his relatives had spent hours coordinating movement to purchase essential supplies like food and water.Since Israeli settlers surrounded Ridi’s home more than two weeks ago, preventing occupants from leaving, Israeli soldiers have encouraged them to leave, but Israel’s police have not announced any arrests.The siege — and Israel’s response — has sparked condemnation from Israeli rights groups and foreign officials, including U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who called the violence terrorism.Palestinians consider the Israeli-occupied West Bank, home to some 3 million Palestinians and 560,000 Israeli settlers, the heart of any future state and have condemned Israel's expansion in the territory. It has seen a dramatic spike in violence carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinians this year.