D-Day for Iran, Meta on trial, Russia takes on the UK: RT stories that shaped the week

RT’s essential stories of the past seven days also included a new threat to Vladimir Zelensky’s power and a looming food crisis in Europe Escalation was the name of the game this week, as the full extent of British involvement in Ukraine’s long-range strikes on Russia was revealed, and as US President Donald Trump laid claim to the Strait of Hormuz and shifted to a policy of subjecting Iran to long-term economic strangulation. Trump declares ‘D-Day’ for Iran Read more Iran mocks Trump’s Hormuz ambitions as ‘fanciful delusions’ The 60-day window for the US and Iran to negotiate a lasting ceasefire and peace deal expired on Monday, with Trump telling reporters that he had no interest in extending a truce when he felt Tehran was “not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary.” Instead, the US president took to social media to declare the Strait of Hormuz “new US territory,” before promising to inflict “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale” on Iran by punishing any country doing business with the Islamic Republic. However, despite Trump’s declaration of “ ECONOMIC D-DAY ,” the balance of power in the Persian Gulf has not changed. Iran retains its veto on shipping in the vital waterway; a mere six ships transited the strait on Tuesday, despite the Pentagon leaking information about a ‘secret shipping corridor’ via the Israeli military’s favorite reporter, Barak Ravid. Iran also maintains a formidable arsenal of missiles and drones, and has threatened to “escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region” if diplomacy fails and Trump refuses to lift his blockade on Iranian ports. pic.twitter.com/FSYX32KR8d — The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 19, 2026 Iran and Oman are the only players in the region making diplomatic progress right now, with the two reaching an “understanding” on a future shipping regime in the strait, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.

Trump’s response? If Oman strikes a deal that doesn’t satisfy Washington, “ we’ll bomb the sh*t out of them .” Russia warns Britain of ‘consequences’ As the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence approaches on Monday, the country is in the most perilous position it’s been in since the fall of the USSR. Vladimir Zelensky spent the week continuing to beg for non-existent air defense missiles from his Western backers; this was to no avail as Russia continued to pound military, industrial, and energy targets across Ukraine with impunity. We need missiles for Patriots, and only our partners can provide them. We ain’t talking about gifts. Ukraine is ready to buy the weapons we need. What matters is that decisions be made, first and foremost in the U.S. I am grateful to everyone who is helping Ukraine save lives. pic.twitter.com/OImT18CGwM — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 20, 2026 For as long as Kiev keeps up its campaign of terror-bombing Russian cities , Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned on Thursday, “the Russian Armed Forces will respond proportionately.” For Ukraine, this means more ballistic missiles, more blackouts, and more burning weapons factories in Kiev and beyond. Zelensky wasn’t the only participant in the conflict to receive a stark warning from Moscow . After the Sunday Times revealed that Ukrainian forces have used British-made drones for long-range attacks inside Russia for the past six months, Moscow’s embassy in London stated that “London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the point even more directly : [Russian President Vladimir Putin] has warne