The leadership of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and the Army praised the continuous public mobilization, describing it as the ultimate deterrent against the United States and Israel.

They commended the historic turning point that has shattered Western calculations for “regime change” and societal fracture.

Major General Mohsen Rezaei, the SNSC secretary, framed the 200-night mobilization not merely as a security response, but as a definitive break from Iran’s tragic history of foreign subjugation over the past two centuries and before the Islamic Revolution. 

“In the last 200 years, Iran was repeatedly targeted by invasions, occupations, and foreign interventions, where a lack of national cohesion led to defeats, unequal treaties, and the loss of territory,” the SNSC statement read.

“But today, we can say with certainty that history did not repeat itself. In these 200 days, the people of Iran showed that their entire existence is dedicated to their country.”

The top security official said the Iranian public has become the most vital pillar of national deterrence, successfully dismantling the “false dichotomies” of internal division that Western intelligence agencies hoped to exploit.

“The enemy, which sought to break the nation’s will through military pressure, is now on its knees before your resolve,” General Rezaei noted, calling the nighttime vigils an immortal epic that has effectively healed the historical wounds of foreign humiliation.

A renewed oath

Echoing these sentiments, IRGC Commander-in-Chief Major General Ahmad Vahidi described the rallies as a “national awakening” and a profound spiritual manifestation.

General Vahidi highlighted that the massive street presence served as a renewed oath of allegiance to the new Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, following the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the recent 40-day war of aggression.

General Vahidi warned that having failed on the battlefield, the U.S.-Israeli coalition is now pivoting to cognitive warfare, economic strangulation, and attempts to induce public fatigue.

He urged the public to counter this hybrid war by embracing a resistance economy and advancing domestic scientific production.

“The IRGC stands ready to avenge the pure blood of our martyred Leader and will decisively crush any miscalculation by the enemy.”

‘Iran’s internal structural strength’

Army Commander-in-Chief Major General Amir Hatami also praised the demonstrations for showing the “internal structural strength” of the Islamic Republic.

He said the continuous public backing has completely upended hostile military planning and psychological operations.

“This historic presence proved that Iran’s true power, alongside the deterrence of our armed forces, is rooted in the faith and unity of the nation.”

The Iranian general reaffirmed the Army’s unwavering commitment to defending the territorial integrity and national honor under the command of the new Leader.

The nightly demonstrations first began in the immediate aftermath of February 28, when the United States and Israel launched a full-scale war of aggression against Iran.

What began as spontaneous outpourings of grief and outrage following the bombardment of Iranian cities and civilian infrastructure quickly crystallized into a synchronized, nationwide movement.

By early March, citizens across Iran’s major metropolitan centers and rural provinces alike had established a routine of gathering in public squares every night after sunset.

These nightly vigils serve a dual purpose on the Iranian home front. On one level, they act as a massive morale-boosting mechanism for the armed forces, with crowds frequently directing their chants and solidarity toward the frontline soldiers of the Army and the IRGC.

On another level, they function as a rejection of Western psychological warfare. Participants routinely light candles for the martyrs, wave national flags, and chant anti-oppression slogans, signaling an unwavering refusal to capitulate to foreign coercion or economic strangulation.

(PressTV.co.uk)

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Individuals or businesses discovered engaging in trade with Israeli settlements may be subject to a prison sentence of up to three years, according to the proposed Norwegian trade restrictions bill.

Norway’s Foreign Minister, Espen Barth Eide, expressed optimism that the law would be passed by parliament this coming autumn.

Eide told the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that “Lawmakers are facing increasing pressure to respond to the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories.”

He added that numerous other nations are adopting measures similar to those which the Oslo government has already proposed with the bill. Eide said he believed that Israel has grown excessively accustomed to intimidating Western nations by accusing them of anti-Semitism whenever they criticize Israel for its abuses and breaches of international law.

On September 8, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden announced plans to implement trade restrictions on products sourced from Israeli settlements.

About 750,000 Israeli settlers live in 156 illegal settlements and 360 settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, including East al-Quds. They routinely carry out attacks aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians, according to Palestinian figures.

The UN regards these settlements as illegal under international law and the Geneva Conventions because they are built on occupied land. The UN Security Council has banned Israel’s settlement activity in several resolutions.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of historical Palestine illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds. Those rulings, like so many before them, have remained mere words.

(PressTV.co.uk)

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British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said on Sept. 8 that France and Canada will join the UK in banning or limiting trade involving the illegal settlements. 

The three countries issued a joint statement with eight other governments on Sept. 8 warning that Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territory threaten the possibility of reaching a so-called two-state solution. 

In all, 11 countries have made commitments to imposing sanctions on Israel. 

Miliband told members of the British parliament that Israel has all too often “turned a blind eye” to “ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank.” 

He said Britain will ban the import of goods from illegal settlements, while specific companies and individuals who provide services such as construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate for settlement expansion will also come under new UK sanctions on the Israeli regime. 

Canada and France will follow suit, Miliband said, adding that the actions were in line with efforts by a “broad international coalition” seeking to pressure the Israeli regime over settlement expansions. 

France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a post on his X account that France will end trade with Israeli settlements. Paris, he said, “cannot, through its trade, support a situation that threatens the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.” 

The planned sanctions have caused a major rift with Israel and its great benefactor, the United States. U.S. ambassador to the Israeli-occupied territories said on Sept. 8 that Washington could retaliate if the sanctions are approved.

Mike Huckabee suggested that individual U.S. states, specifically Florida, might take trade action against Britain. 

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar has also threatened London with counteraction. He said in a podcast interview with Israeli media outlet Ynet that the sanctions “will be making a big mistake” and that the Israeli regime has tools to retaliate against the policy. (PressTV.co.uk)

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The Guardian, citing information gathered from the database of the Nautilus Institute, reported that the U.S. military or U.S. defense corporations have access to more than half of Australia’s military facilities.

According to the database, the United States controls 17 military facilities on mainland Australia, has access to 75 more Australian-run military installations elsewhere, while U.S. defense corporations have access to an additional 18 facilities.

“This is not a matter of penetration; it’s a matter of saturation,” said Prof. Richard Tanter, the database’s author. “Over half of the defense facilities that we have looked at have some level of American access: that means American personnel, it means American corporations, some of the biggest armaments companies in the world.”

The U.S. military in Australia engages in gathering intelligence, accessing satellite data for targeting information, and communications intercepts. Other military activities include training for some 2,500 marines on dry-season rotation in the Northern Territory, as well as the pre-positioning of warfighting assets, weapons, munitions, and fuel, stored in case of a regional war in the Pacific.

The U.S. now practically owns Australia’s human, soil, and mineral resources through its control of the nation’s military, according to critics. The U.S. military presence will continue to expand. From next year up to 1,200 uniformed military personnel will operate from the HMAS Stirling submarine base just off Fremantle.

The government insists that technically this will not be a U.S. base—rather a “rotation”—but there is little contestation of its actual implication.

The Aukus nuclear submarine agreement, described by former defense minister Christopher Pyne as “a lot more than the submarine procurement,” effectively establishes a new United States submarine base in the Indian Ocean. “For the Americans, being able to have a submarine base in the Indian Ocean is a massive strategic advantage,” Pyne told a public inquiry.

Dr. Vince Scappatura, author of The U.S. Lobby and Australian Defense Policy, described U.S. base access across Australia as a kind of “second wave of colonization.”

“Today we are shaping up to be the ‘tip of the spear’ for U.S. power projection into the region—that’s what the sprawling U.S. base access represents,” he said. “Each one of those dots on the map represents a point of leverage Washington has over Canberra when it comes to matters of defense and foreign policy.”

Scappatura noted that the phrase “empire by invitation” was originally coined to describe U.S. hegemony over western Europe “but it is applicable equally here. I sometimes describe it as ‘voluntary subordination’.”

The United States has been escalating militarization in the Pacific by resetting ties with regional countries in an attempt to form a coalition against China. 

Beyond Australia, U.S. bases and military access points are expanding across Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and other regional nations, effectively drawing them into Washington’s orbit.

Critics say this is a desperate bid by Washington to arrest the rise of China, with Australia and other regional countries being used as forward operating bases in what could become a larger confrontation.

Tanter says that the acceptance of the U.S. military presence has become so ingrained within the government and defense that unwinding Australia’s enmeshment within the world’s most powerful military is increasingly difficult.

“This is a massive institutional failure in Australia, a kind of learned incapacity at a political, parliamentary and bureaucratic level,” he said. “We’ve learned how not to ask those questions.”

Dr. Emma Shortis, director of international and security affairs at the Australia Institute, says Australia’s increasing integration with the U.S. military has resulted in “an accelerating erosion of Australia’s independent, sovereign, decision-making power.”

“Instead of having the option of saying ‘no’ to involvement in United States wars, involvement becomes the default position,” she said.

She cited the March attack by a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine on an Iranian frigate, sinking it and killing more than 100 people. Three Australian naval personnel were onboard, part of the submarine’s crew: the U.S. did not forewarn Australia of the attack. “Australia might maintain the pretense of sovereign decision-making power, but that’s not the reality,” Shortis said.

Dr. Albert Palazzo, an adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales Canberra and formerly the director of war studies for the Australian army, told the Guardian, the U.S. military’s accelerating buildup carries danger for Australian security.

“The Australian government seems to be waltzing its way into a war between the United States and China, by allowing this country to become an outpost or bastion of the U.S. military, and as a platform from which they will launch military force against China,” he said.

Australians’ faith in the U.S. is fragile and fracturing. A Lowy Institute poll showed Australians’ “trust in the United States to act responsibly in the world” has fallen to 31%, the lowest level in its polling history.

Just 21% of Australians have confidence in Donald Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, the lowest level of confidence in a U.S. president yet.

More than twice as many Australians (59%) now believe Australia’s interests are best served by a more independent foreign policy rather than a closer alliance with the U.S. (23%). Just 13% of Australians believe the U.S. is a “very reliable” security ally.

This represents, Shortis says, a “seismic shift” in Australia’s perception of its once great and powerful friend.

“After following the U.S. into nearly every war since World War II, Australians have had enough. They see tangible risks in being so close to President Trump’s bleak and violent version of America.” (PressTV.co.uk)

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In a statement on Sept. 1, the Gaza-based resistance movement said the Israeli bombardment of the Katiba area, west of Gaza City, and the resulting loss of civilian lives constituted a grave offense and a willful disregard for the lives of civilians. It said the attacks were a continuation of the horrific genocide being perpetrated against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

It added that the bloody onslaught has continued despite the Gaza ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The statement said the mounting violations of the ceasefire, continued systematic attacks on civilians, tightening of the siege, and worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza demonstrate the defiant and arrogant policy pursued by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration in the face of mediation efforts. It said the policy also represents a blatant disregard for international law and humanitarian principles.

Hamas called on the U.S. administration, as well as Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye in their role as mediators, to take a clear position by condemning Israeli crimes against civilians and pressuring Israel to honor its commitments under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

“We also urge the international community and global agencies, above all the UN Security Council, to take immediate measures to stop Israeli atrocities against civilians in Gaza, and to work to hold those responsible accountable before international judicial bodies,” the statement read.

In a separate statement on Sept. 1, Hamas said it had held talks with mediators and Nikolay Mladenov, Director-General of the Board of Peace, following the latest Israeli attacks.

During the phone calls, the group condemned “the latest criminal operation carried out by the Israeli occupation army in the Gaza Strip, as well as subsequent attacks and bombardment that resulted in the killing and injury of a number of Palestinians.”

Zaher al-Wahidi, Director of the Information Center at Gaza’s Health Ministry, said the bodies of three Palestinians killed Sept. 1 Israeli airstrikes, along with some of the wounded, were taken to al-Shifa Medical Complex. He said the dead included two children and a woman.

Local sources and eyewitnesses said Israeli drones carried out the strikes.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an armed group had arrived in the al-Katiba area before Israeli unmanned aircraft targeted civilian vehicles.

Palestinian media reported that an undercover Israeli special forces unit attempted an infiltration operation in the area, but was detected by the resistance and met with direct armed clashes.

Following the exposure and entrapment of the infiltration unit, the Israeli army launched intense strikes and a heavy fire belt consisting of over 10 airstrikes on the area to cover the withdrawal of the trapped force, killing and injuring civilians. 

Israeli authorities later alleged that they kidnapped a senior official in Hamas’s internal security apparatus in the operation. Hamas has not commented on that claim so far. 

Since the so-called ceasefire agreement took effect last October, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,320 Palestinians and wounded more than 4,385 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, according to the ministry.

(PressTV.co.uk)

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In an assessment released on August 18, FAO and the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) found that just 448 hectares (1,107 acres) of the besieged Palestinian region’s cropland remained accessible and undamaged as of June 24, 2026.

Although 4,091 hectares (10,109 acres)—about a quarter of Gaza’s total cropland—were technically accessible, the remaining 3,643 hectares (9,002 acres) were severely damaged to be cultivated without extensive rehabilitation.

Since October 2025, accessible and undamaged cropland has fallen from 601 hectares (1,482 acres) to 448 hectares (1,107 acres), a loss of 153 hectares (378 acres), or 25.5%. Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis recorded the largest reductions.

FAO attributed the deterioration primarily to Palestinians being prevented by occupying Israeli forces from reaching their fields, including amid the westward expansion of the so-called “Yellow Line,” which separates the declared ceasefire zone from areas under Israeli military control.

Rafah has been particularly affected, with 97.2% of its cropland and 98.4% of its greenhouse area inaccessible to Palestinian farmers. The most extensive physical damage is concentrated in North Gaza and Gaza governorates.

The assessment found that 224 hectares (553.5 acres), or 16.6 percent of greenhouse area, remained accessible and undamaged down from 226 hectares (558 acres), or 17.3 percent, in October 2025. Deir al-Balah recorded the largest decrease.

Meanwhile, farmers who can still reach their land face severe shortages of seeds, fertilizer, irrigation equipment and fuel. Livestock owners are struggling to obtain feed, veterinary supplies and animal-health services, while available supplies are often poor in quality and prohibitively expensive.

“Without urgent action to restore safe access and provide farmers with the support they need, opportunities to restore local food production will continue to diminish,” said Rein Paulsen, director of FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience.

The agricultural crisis is unfolding alongside continued restrictions on humanitarian aid. Palestinian rights group Al Mezan recently reported that Israel continues to restrict aid entering the besieged territory, with only a fraction of the 600 trucks per day stipulated under the ceasefire agreement reaching Gaza.

Many of the trucks that do enter carry commercial goods rather than humanitarian supplies, while Israeli inspection procedures have delayed or blocked relief shipments.

Before Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, agriculture accounted for roughly 10% of the territory’s economy and supported the livelihoods of more than 560,000 people through farming, livestock and fishing.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor recently warned that Gaza’s aid network is nearing collapse as Israeli restrictions continue to disrupt deliveries of food and medicine, heightening the risk of famine.

The rights group said Gaza’s already severe food crisis could rapidly worsen, pushing vulnerable communities back towards famine.

Israel’s genocidal war has already killed more than 73,399 Palestinians and wounded over 174,310, while destroying around 90 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure, according to authorities.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health has recorded 1,266 Palestinians killed and 4,200 wounded since the so-called ceasefire took effect in Gaza on October 11, 2025. 

Gaza’s Government Media Office estimates that around 9,500 Palestinians have been reported missing since the war began on October 7, 2023, many of whom are believed to remain buried beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings. (PressTV.co.uk)

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The Zionist regime carried out eight airstrikes on Aug. 18 against the Abu al-Duhur military air base in eastern Idlib, around 70 kilometers (43.4 miles) from Turkiye, damaging its runway and storage facilities.

The strikes have heightened tensions between Ankara and Tel Aviv, with Turkish news outlets portraying the attack as a message aimed at preventing Ankara from establishing a stronger presence in Syria.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the strikes were intended to prevent a possible deployment of Turkish forces at the base, arguing that such a move would threaten the regime’s security.

Turkiye rejected the justification as “untenable,” saying Netanyahu was pursuing expansionist and destabilizing policies and using security arguments to legitimize attacks on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Turkish outlet Milli Gazete had previously warned that continued Israeli aggression against Syria could eventually bring the regime to Turkiye’s borders, while other outlets have described its growing presence as an emerging strategic challenge for Ankara.

Ankara is working with the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime on military, and security matters, making the possibility of Turkish forces operating from strategic Syrian facilities a major point of tension.

U.S. Ambassador to Turkiye and Syria, Thomas Joseph Barrack, described the Israeli strikes as an “unnecessary escalation” and called for mechanisms to prevent misunderstandings and accidental clashes between Turkiye, Israel and Syria.

Barrack said Turkiye had not been warned about the strikes beforehand, highlighting the danger of an Israeli attack on facilities linked to Turkish military plans and could trigger a direct confrontation.

The strikes have reinforced growing concerns in Turkiye that Israel’s military expansionism is no longer a distant regional issue but an increasingly direct security threat to Ankara.

(PressTV.co.uk)

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A lawsuit was submitted to the New York State Supreme Court this week, claiming that Columbia University has subjected Palestinian students, faculty, and staff to discriminatory treatment after the anti-Israel Operation al-Aqsa Flood was carried out by Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups on October 7, 2023, and the Israeli military’s subsequent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

The complaint states that Columbia “actively engaged in and enhanced” racially, ethnically, and politically driven targeting of Palestinians.

Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former student at Columbia University, brought attention to the lawsuit on the social media platform X, noting that Palestinian students are taking legal action against the university for purported discrimination in its handling of protests advocating for Palestinians and Gaza.

The plaintiffs assert that the university did not sufficiently safeguard Palestinian members of its community from harassment, while also exposing pro-Palestinian activists to “unjust and prejudiced disciplinary proceedings.”

Among the claims made is that Columbia hired private investigators to monitor students participating in the “Resistance 101” event in March 2024. As stated in the lawsuit, six students were later suspended and removed from university housing.

The complaint highlights that the university did not sufficiently address reported physical assaults on Palestinians, which include instances where students had their keffiyehs forcibly taken away and the January 2024 incident involving the spraying of a foul-smelling substance at a pro-Palestinian protest.

The lawsuit also disputes Columbia’s decision to invite New York City police onto campus to dismantle encampments of pro-Palestinian protesters and arrest those demonstrating in 2024.

The plaintiffs consist of lecturer and former anthropology student Hadeel Assali; former lecturer Bahia Munem; Ph.D. candidate Mahdi Sabbagh; 2025 graduate and past student organizer Maryam Alwan; and Layla Saliba, who completed her studies at Columbia’s School of Social Work in 2025.

Saliba was part of a group of Palestinian students who had previously lodged a federal civil rights complaint against Columbia for discrimination in 2024. At that time, she expressed that Palestinian students were experiencing unfair treatment and called upon the university to recognize the existence of anti-Palestinian racism.

The case comes following years of controversy surrounding Columbia’s response to protests against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

Palestinian activists and organizations advocating for free speech have consistently claimed that Columbia University imposes excessive penalties on those opposing Israel.

Students have reportedly encountered arrests, suspensions, expulsions, and revocation of degrees amid the university’s efforts to suppress pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

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In an open letter to the PM run by the media on Aug. 7, leaders of 10 British trade unions, representing more than 2.3 million workers, urged Burnham to stop rendering support to the illegal U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, and instead focus on the nation’s cost of living crisis.

“[T]he U.S. and Israel’s devastating, illegal war on Iran is deepening the cost-of-living crisis faced by our members and the British public,” the open letter to Burnham stated, pointing out in continuation that the disruption caused by the war is worsening the cost of living crisis in the UK.    

“Disruption to the world’s food and energy supplies is hurting communities here in Britain and having a catastrophic impact in the global south,” it said.

British trade union leaders said they were encouraged by the new Labor government’s focus on the cost of living crisis, but voiced deep concern over any authorization granted to the U.S. to use its bases against Iran.

“We are encouraged by the new government’s focus on the cost of living and the measures it is taking to make life more affordable. However, we are deeply concerned that the same government has authorized U.S. air strikes to be conducted from bases on British territories as part of the war against Iran,” the representative of the large group of British laborers said in the letter to the UK Labor Party prime minister.

They called on Burnham to put pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump to bring the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran to a quick end.

Burnham, right after he took office last month, allowed the use of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and the Indian Ocean territory of Diego Garcia to assist the U.S. in the illegal war of aggression against Iran.

On July 21, Burnham approved the continued use of British military bases by the United States for military aggression against Iran, maintaining a policy established under his predecessor, Keir Starmer.

Burnham’s approval of ongoing contribution to American aggression against the Islamic Republic came after another hostile decision by the British government to designate the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) under Britain’s so-called “State Threats legislation.”

Late last month, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the UK against contributing support to the aggressors waging war against the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s top diplomat issued the warning in a direct telephone call to his British counterpart Ed Miliband on July 31. (PressTV.co.uk)

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An investigation published by the Financial Times on July 22 estimated that Washington has collected more than $13 billion from Venezuelan oil exports since taking control of the country’s oil sales in January, following the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro Moros.

The report said the revenues were expected to provide a major boost to Venezuela’s economy, where oil accounts for roughly one-quarter of national output.

However, despite the sharp rise in oil income, Venezuela’s economic recovery has remained weak, raising questions over Washington’s control of the revenues and whether the funds have reached the Venezuelan economy.

The report highlighted that only one transfer of $300 million has been publicly recorded on a Venezuelan government website created to monitor the U.S.-controlled oil revenues.

It also highlighted conflicting statements from Washington regarding who controls the funds and how they are being managed.

A January executive order described the U.S. role as merely holding the money in a custodial capacity, yet Trump later boasted that Washington was “making a lot of money” from Venezuelan oil.

He cited oil revenues as one of the benefits of the U.S. aggression against Venezuela, saying, “48 minutes to win that war,” and claiming, “We brought millions of barrels of oil out,” after taking control of the country’s oil exports.

A senior State Department official, Michael Kozak told Congress in April that roughly $3 billion had been transferred to Venezuela. However, lawmakers later said they had received no further disclosures regarding the funds.

The lack of transparency has prompted lawmakers from Republican and Democratic party to demand answers, with Republican Representative Maria Elvira Salazar calling on the administration to publicly disclose how the funds are being used and ensure greater financial accountability.

Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro said “Trump’s invasion of Venezuela has been about oil, power and graft from the very beginning, with billions of dollars in Venezuelan oil revenue being controlled by the Trump administration without transparency or safeguards.”

The report said questions over the management of the revenues have become even more urgent following the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24.

The United Nations estimated that damage to buildings and infrastructure alone amounted to approximately $37 billion.

Despite the country’s extensive reconstruction needs, the report found no public evidence that the overwhelming majority of the oil revenues collected by Washington have reached Caracas.

Economist Francisco Rodríguez told the newspaper that Venezuela’s first-quarter growth of only 2.5 percent, the weakest rate in nearly five years, suggested that the United States was retaining control of the oil revenues.

Former opposition lawmaker and economist José Guerra raised similar concerns, saying that Venezuelan oil revenues should have been substantially higher and asking: “Where is the money? There is no transparency and the U.S. government does not inform us.”

The report added that the estimated $13 billion figure covers only oil exports and does not include revenues from Venezuelan mining exports, some of which U.S. officials have acknowledged are also being collected by the Trump administration. (Presstv.co.uk)

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