• Iran’s foreign minister says the Iranian armed forces are ready to “immediately and powerfully” respond to any possible attack by the United States.
  • The warning came hours after US President Donald Trump reiterated a threat to take military action against the country.
  • The USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is one of several military assets the US has deployed to the Arabian Sea in recent days.
  • European Union foreign ministers have imposed new sanctions on Iran, which involve travel bans and asset freezes on Iranian officials whom they think are responsible for killing thousands of antigovernment protesters since late December last year.