Day 176 | Key Iranian trading partner China rejects Trump’s ‘economic D-Day’ threat

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Read more: Day 177 | Iran warns countries against joining US sanctions

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is expected to step down by the end of the year amid months of reported tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the discussions.

The departure, which could come sooner, would leave the Army without a Senate-confirmed civilian leader at a critical time.

The United States is engaged in a war it began alongside ‘Israel’ nearly six months ago, and the service already lacks a permanent chief of staff after Hegseth fired Gen. Randy George in April without public explanation.

Gen. Christopher LaNeve, previously Hegseth’s senior military aide, is serving in an acting capacity.

Driscoll, a former Army Ranger, Yale Law classmate and close ally of Vice President JD Vance, took office in February 2025 as the youngest Army secretary in history.

He and his family moved out of the official residence at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move the Journal described as one indication of the planned exit.

His family relocated to North Carolina while he shifted to a smaller on-base apartment.

Spokespersons for Driscoll and the Pentagon have not commented on the latest report.

Tensions between the two officials have simmered for more than a year.

Hegseth reportedly viewed Driscoll’s influence and ties to Vance with suspicion, and sources previously described the defense secretary as harboring “paranoia” that Driscoll could replace him.

Clashes extended to personnel decisions, including promotions and the abrupt removal of George, whom Driscoll later praised as “an amazing, transformational leader.”

“I, too, loved General George,” Driscoll told lawmakers, adding that he drove straight to the general’s house upon returning from North Carolina to offer support.

In April, as speculation about his future intensified, Driscoll issued a firm denial.

“Serving under President Trump has been the honor of a lifetime, and I remain laser focused on providing America with the strongest land fighting force the world has ever seen,” he said.

“I have no plans to depart or resign as the Secretary of the Army.” The White House at the time publicly backed both men.

President Donald Trump offered a characteristically colorful endorsement of Driscoll as recently as last month at a defense conference, describing him as someone “with that beautiful smile, but he’s actually a killer.”

“Look at that beautiful, nice face, everything so happy. He’s a killer. Would you believe it? Those are the best kinds, actually,” Trump said.

Driscoll’s expected exit adds to a broader pattern of leadership turnover at the Pentagon under Trump’s second term, which has included changes among the Joint Chiefs and service leaders.

Iran-linked hackers shut down a small UK power plant for four days in what is described as the first successful attack of its kind on British electricity generation, according to a report by The Telegraph.

The incident, disclosed exclusively by the newspaper, involved hackers affiliated with Iranians disabling a relatively small electricity producer.

Staff worked for four days to restore operations.

Officials have not named the site for security reasons, but the outage had no effect on the UK’s wider power grid or national energy supply.

The Telegraph reported that the attack coincided with a series of Iranian-linked cyber incidents against US water and wastewater infrastructure last month that affected facilities across 12 states.

Those breaches caused flooding, loss of water pressure and boil-water advisories in some areas.

US authorities initially referred to “malicious cyber actors,” with later confirmation pointing to Tehran.

British officials assessed that the UK incident was unlikely intended to inflict genuine harm on civilians and was not widely noticed by the public.

It may instead have been designed to demonstrate that hackers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could gain access to sensitive systems and shut down infrastructure.

A government source described the affected site as “a very small scale site, less than a rounding error compared to grid capacity.”

In response, the UK Government briefed the chief executives of power companies and issued written advice to businesses on protective measures.

The incident was reported to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the public-facing arm of GCHQ.

The NCSC declined to comment on the specific case, consistent with its usual practice of not acknowledging individual incidents.

A government spokesman stated: “The UK has a highly resilient energy system. We work closely with the energy sector to protect infrastructure and ensure the highest security standards. This story refers to an incident impacting a small-scale energy generator, and at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system.”

There are dozens of small-scale plants across Britain, many gas-fired and used only intermittently to support the grid.

Iran has intensified cyber operations against Western targets since the escalation of Middle East conflict and the start of US and ‘Israeli’ air strikes in February.

The NCSC previously urged organisations to strengthen defences in March, while its chief executive, Richard Horne, noted in June that the agency had handled more than 200 incidents affecting critical national infrastructure in the prior year.

Intelligence assessments have long highlighted Iran’s cyber capabilities as an area of asymmetric strength, even as the overall risk of a major successful attack on core UK infrastructure has been rated between 5 and 25 percent.

Iran on Saturday warned countries against participating in the United States’ “economic war” against the Islamic republic, saying they would be considered enemies.

Washington has pushed its allies to jump aboard Donald Trump’s new campaign to isolate the Iranian economy, as the US President’s unpopular war drags toward the six-month mark.

“We declare to all countries… do not join the economic war waged by the United States,” said Mohsen Rezai, the head of Iran’s supreme national security council, on state television.

“Any country participating in the imposition of economic restrictions against us is considered an enemy,” he added.

If the countries concerned refused to “distance themselves” from the United States, Iran would “harm” their interests, he added.

Rezai also insisted that the Islamic republic had more cards to play in the war, claiming that “we have not yet attacked any American economic interests”.

“So far, we have only targeted military bases, but if they want to impose economic sanctions on us, the United States has oil and economic companies around Iran and elsewhere, and we will strike them,” Rezai threatened.

Should Trump “take action, our confrontation will be like an earthquake”, he added.

Washington has also called on other governments to join its efforts to isolate the Iranian economy, notably Beijing, among Iran’s top strategic partners.

But China has criticised the initiative, arguing that American sanctions would not resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

One of Iran’s major trading partners, the United Arab Emirates, announced on Tuesday that it was suspending all trade and financial transactions with Tehran until further notice.

Iran on Saturday warned countries against participating in the United States' "economic war" against the Islamic republic, saying they would be considered enemies.

"We declare to all countries... do not join the economic war waged by the United States. Any country participating in the imposition of economic restrictions against us is considered an enemy," said Mohsen Rezai, the head of Iran's supreme national security council, on state television.

The United Arab Emirates has finished installing large grid-like metal cages, known as “cope cages,” around fuel storage tanks in Abu Dhabi and near Dubai International Airport.

The passive defenses, completed after roughly four months of work that began in May, aim to shield critical energy infrastructure from low-cost kamikaze drones.

Construction followed repeated Iranian attacks that damaged key sites, including the Port of Fujairah and the Habshan natural gas facility.

UAE air defenses reported engaging 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles, and 2,265 unmanned aerial vehicles during the US-‘Israel’ war with Iran.

The UAE has built large metal protective fences around fuel storage tanks in Abu Dhabi to safeguarding critical energy facilities from potential Iranian drone attacks. pic.twitter.com/hJvLxf5vVU

— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) August 22, 2026

One fuel tank at Dubai International Airport was directly hit by an explosive-laden Iranian drone on March 16, forcing temporary airspace closures and producing a large plume of smoke.

The cages consist of heavy steel frameworks and mesh erected overhead and around the tanks.

Their purpose is to intercept or force premature detonation of one-way attack drones, such as Iran’s Shahed-136, before they can strike the tanks directly.

Experts note the structures create distance that reduces the effectiveness of shaped charges or explosive payloads.

The UAE adopted the tactic from Russia, which has used similar metal cages and nets for years to protect oil storage facilities from Ukrainian drone strikes.

Images first circulated in May showed partial construction near Dubai International Airport; newer imagery confirm the work is now largely finished at both Dubai and Abu Dhabi sites.

Analysts describe the cages as a low-tech but practical last layer of defense when advanced air defenses are saturated by massed, inexpensive drones.

Similar measures have appeared on Russian and Ukrainian tanks and energy sites, proving effective at limiting damage from suicide drones even if they cannot stop every attack.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaee warned Saturday that they will harm the economic interests of any country joining the United States in what he called “economic war”

“If the countries surrounding Iran join the Americans in the economic war, we will harm their interests,” Rezaee said, in statements cited by Iranian media.

“If the countries surrounding Iran join the Americans in the economic war, not a drop of oil will leave the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and we will also target other oil export routes from the Persian Gulf,” he added.

• Iran seeks ICRC air ambulance for wounded pilot POWs.
• Tehran urges Qatar to transfer POWs to hospitals.
• Iran welcomes Kuwait access to four detained nationals.
• Tehran asks ICRC to arrange family video calls.

General Mohammad Baqerzadeh, Commander of the Search Committee for the Missing in the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to urgently dispatch an air ambulance to Qatar to transport severely injured and ill Iranian pilot prisoners of war (POWs) back to Iran, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.

While welcoming the Qatari government's decision to accept an Iranian technical expert delegation, Baqerzadeh stressed that holding wounded prisoners aboard offshore vessels or overwater locations is unsuited for their recovery.

He urged Qatari authorities to transfer the detainees to fully equipped onshore medical centers without delay.

Kuwait approves ambassadorial visit

Addressing developments in Kuwait, Baqerzadeh noted that Kuwaiti authorities gave initial consent for the Iranian Ambassador to visit four Iranian prisoners held in the country, describing the move as a positive step toward their eventual release.

He called on Kuwait to adhere to the four Geneva Conventions governing the rights of prisoners of war and to enable initial communication channels with their families.

Highlighting established international precedent, Baqerzadeh pointed to previous ICRC initiatives that provided video calling capabilities for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay to communicate with their relatives.

He called on the ICRC’s regional office in the Arab states to take a proactive leadership role in implementing a similar video-communication mechanism for Iranian POWs while pursuing their swift release.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said that Tehran has received multiple messages from neighboring countries regarding the establishment of new security arrangements and expanded economic cooperation across the region.

• Iran grants Iraqi tankers Hormuz transit permits.
• Tehran approves special passage after Iraqi requests.
• Ghalibaf visit secures waivers for Iraqi tankers.
• Hormuz shipping remains largely halted amid conflict.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has authorized several Iraqi oil tankers to transit through the Strait of Hormuz following formal diplomatic requests from Baghdad, official state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.

The decision comes as commercial shipping through the crucial maritime choke point remains virtually frozen due to ongoing hostilities involving US and 'Israeli' forces and security measures established by Iranian authorities to restrict hostile vessels, the report explains.

According to IRNA, securing special passage rights for state-owned Iraqi crude tankers formed a central topic during official discussions between Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf and senior leadership in Baghdad.

The closure of the waterway has created severe logistical bottlenecks for Persian Gulf oil exporters dependent on sea routes, leaving landlocked export routes or special state permissions as the sole remaining outlets.

IRNA noted that despite military pressure and maritime instability caused by hostile military actions, Tehran responded positively to Baghdad's repeated appeals to maintain vital energy flow for its neighboring ally.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had redirected 68 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two others as of August 21 as part of efforts to enforce a naval blockade against Iran.

In a post on X, CENTCOM said more than 20 warships were supporting the blockade.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran negotiated the memorandum of understanding from a position of strength, stressing that Iran will defend the rights of the Iranian people in nuclear talks.

Pezeshkian said Iran’s position in the negotiations reflects its determination to protect its national interests and rights as discussions over its nuclear program continue.

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Read more: Day 175 | US pushes allies, China to back Trump's economic war on Iran

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his belief that Iran wants to reach an agreement despite unresolved differences between Washington and Tehran.

“They would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal in my opinion,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before departing for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Trump claimed Iran is facing severe economic and military pressures, saying the country has “no money,” “no navy” and “no air force.” He also claimed Iran is not paying its soldiers or police and is facing 350 percent inflation.

“If you look at the blockade; we have total control of that entire region having to do with the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said, adding that US control extends to surrounding land areas.