Iran's neighboring countries announce being attacked

Several countries neighboring Iran announced being attacked in recent days amid heightened regional hostilities following joint strikes launched since Saturday by Israel and the United States on Tehran and other Iranian cities.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Qatari Ministry of Defense said that the country was hit by several missile attacks including 14 ballistic missiles and four drones coming from Iran.

Qatar's air defense system successfully intercepted 13 missiles, while the last one fell in the territorial waters of Qatar. The four drones were intercepted successfully without any human causalities.

Qatar's Ministry of Interior then issued a national security alert, stating that security threat level of the country was elevated, and everyone is required to remain indoor and stay away from windows and exposed areas in order to ensure public safety.

Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry on Thursday accused Iran of launching drone attacks on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic from Iranian territory.

The ministry said the strikes, which occurred around midday, hit the terminal building of Nakhchivan International Airport, injuring two civilians and causing structural damage. Another drone reportedly fell near a school in the village of Shakarabad.

Azerbaijan strongly condemned the attacks as "in violation of the norms and principles of international law", warning that the actions could escalate regional tensions. The ministry also summoned the Iranian envoy in Baku to lodge a "strong protest" over the incident.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said it is "preparing the necessary retaliatory measures", adding that the attacks "will not go unanswered".

Iran on Thursday rejected accusations from Azerbaijan that it had launched drone strikes targeting its territory, while suggesting that Israel may be behind the attacks.

The General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces said that Iranian forces had not launched any drones toward Azerbaijan, emphasizing that Iran respects the sovereignty of all nations, particularly neighboring and Muslim countries, the official news agency IRNA reported.

It added that Israel has a history of carrying out such operations to sow discord among Muslim nations, asserting that investigations indicate the strikes were carried out by Israel to frame Iran.

Blasts were heard in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Thursday evening as residents received mobile phone alerts warning of potential missile threats.

Similar alerts were issued across other emirates, including Dubai and Fujairah, by the UAE Ministry of Interior, urging residents and visitors to seek immediate shelter in the nearest secure building and to stay away from windows, doors, and open areas.

Bahrain on Thursday announced that a Bapco Energies refinery in Maameer was targeted in an Iranian missile strike.

Bahrain's National Communication Center stated that the fire has been fully contained, with no reported injuries, and refinery operations are continuing.

It added that an assessment of the damage is currently underway.

Earlier that day, the British Embassy in Bahrain issued a notice, announcing that in light of the current regional situation, some of its staff would be temporarily withdrawn from Bahrain.

In response to a query about rising regional tensions following military strikes against Iran by the United States and Israel, Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said on Thursday at a daily press briefing that the protraction and escalation of the conflict serves no one's interest.

China believes that war and force cannot solve issues once and for all, dialogue and negotiation are the right solutions, and political and diplomatic settlement of disputes and differences should be upheld, she said.

China will continue working with all sides, including those involved in relevant conflicts in the Middle East, to maintain communication, step up mediation efforts and pool consensus, said the spokeswoman.

Iran's neighboring countries announce being attacked

Iran's neighboring countries announce being attacked

China’s fiscal policy in 2026 maintains strong spending to stabilize growth while strategically shifting focus towards both consumption stimulus and technological innovation, said an economist on Friday.

Luo Zhiheng, chief economist at Yuekai Securities, made the comments following the release of the 2026 central and local draft budget, which sets the deficit-to-GDP ratio at approximately 4 percent and projects general public budget expenditures to reach 30 trillion yuan (about 4.14 trillion U.S. dollars) for the first time.

The 4 percent deficit target remains the same as that of last year. The national deficit is projected at 5.89 trillion yuan, an increase of 230 billion yuan from 2025. This includes a central government deficit of 5.09 trillion yuan and a local government deficit of 800 billion yuan, with the entire increase allocated to the central level. General public budget expenditures are expected to reach 30 trillion yuan, rising by approximately 1.27 trillion yuan year on year.

"This year's fiscal policy maintains a relatively strong intensity in terms of spending, laying a solid foundation for achieving our economic growth target of 4.5 to 5 percent this year. Whether fiscal expenditures are used for investment in people, addressing residents' concerns and boosting consumption, or for investment in infrastructure projects, they can all help stabilize our economic growth," said Luo.

According to the draft budget, the central government has allocated 1.25 trillion yuan in transfer payments for basic pensions to ensure timely and full payments. Spending on science and technology at the central level is set at 426.4 billion yuan, marking a 10 percent increase.

The more proactive fiscal policy for 2026 is not only reflected in the expanded scale of funds but also in the improvement of the efficiency of fund utilization, the economist noted. This involves enlarging the overall fiscal expenditure package to maintain necessary spending intensity while persistently optimizing the expenditure structure to enhance support for key areas, Luo added.

"Fiscal spending is increasingly focused on guaranteeing livelihoods, boosting consumption, and technological innovation. Guaranteeing livelihoods and boosting consumption represent efforts on the demand side, while technological innovation represents efforts on the supply side. This dual approach aims to achieve technological self-reliance and make our development more secure," said Luo.

China's fiscal policy focuses on demand-side stimulus, supply-side innovation: economist