Iran's FM says messages exchanged with U.S. through intermediaries, but no talks held

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that different messages have been exchanged between Iran and the United States through intermediaries over the past few days, while Tehran has held no talks with Washington since the beginning of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on the country late last month.

He made the remarks in an interview with state-run IRIB TV.

"Since a few days ago, the American side has started sending different messages through different intermediaries. When messages are relayed to us through friendly countries and we, in response, declare our positions or issue the necessary warnings, it is called neither negotiation nor dialogue. There has merely been an exchange of messages through our friends, and we have repeated our principled positions," Araghchi said.

White House threatens to "unleash hell" on Iran

U.S. President Donald Trump will "unleash hell" if Iran refuses to make a deal over the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

"President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell," she said at a White House press briefing. "Any violence beyond this point," she said, will be because Iran "refused to understand they have already been defeated and refused to come to a deal."

Chinese FM calls on world to promote dialogue among parties to Mideast conflict

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday called on the international community to actively promote dialogue among the parties involved in the conflict in the Middle East.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a phone conversation with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the latter's request.

Asia still the locomotive of global growth

Asia remains the world's primary growth engine, as the region's share of global GDP continues to expand, according to a report released by the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on Tuesday.

The Asian economy is expected to expand by 4.5 percent in 2026, with its share of global GDP rising to 49.7 percent from 49.2 percent in 2025 on a purchasing power parity basis, noted the report titled "Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report 2026."