Iran lawmaker says US will be forced to leave the region

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The head of Iran's parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Ebrahim Azizi, said the United States would be compelled to leave the region and apologize to the Iranian people in the face of what he called "the language of force." In a social media post, Azizi argued that Americans do not understand the language of diplomacy and would not lift sanctions or release Iran's funds and assets, nor halt what he described as acts of "piracy." Azizi wrote that history would show the United States would be forced not only to take such steps but also to apologize to the Iranian people and withdraw from the region. Separately, US President Donald Trump said he had not ruled out the possibility of bombing Iran again, adding that Washington had shifted away from military options toward an economic-strategy approach. The US Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Thursday targeting 21 individuals, 16 companies and 10 vessels linked to Iran, while noting the measures did not constitute the broader restrictions Trump had referenced. CNN, citing US officials, reported that Washington had moved from military operations against Iran to a gradual economic "strangulation" strategy.