Emergency rescue underway after mudslide in southwest China's Xizang

Rescue operations continued on Friday at the mudslide-stricken border port of Gyirong in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region neighboring Nepal, where the disaster has caused significant casualties along the China-Nepal border.

The mudslide struck the Gyirong Port on Wednesday morning. As of 8:00 on Thursday, three people had been killed, 558 others remained missing, while two local villagers had been rescued, local authorities said.

The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief and the Ministry of Emergency Management have activated a Level 2 national emergency response, while the Xizang Autonomous Region has launched its highest‑level emergency response for natural disasters.

A total of 499 people affected by the mudslide have been evacuated and 555 stranded tourists moved to safety, thanks to ongoing rescue efforts. The National Health Commission has mobilized medical teams, and psychological support and and health services personnel, with senior officials heading to Xizang to coordinate the medical response and emergency relief work.

A total of 681 firefighters, 113 vehicles, 13 search dogs, and 47 drones dispatched by the national comprehensive fire and rescue force had arrived at the mudslide‑stricken area in Gyirong by 16:00 on Thursday, before being deployed in rescue and relief operations.

Meanwhile, the Xizang immigration authorities mobilized 346 police officers from Lhasa and Xigaze as reinforcements.

Among them, 190 officers and 27 rescue vehicles, carrying more than 300 sets of equipment, including life detectors, manual break‑in tools, and rescue throwers, arrived in Gyirong Town by 23:00 on Wednesday.

They then moved to evacuate residents from villages within 14 kilometers of the Gyirong Port and rushed the injured to hospital.

Currently, roads and communications at the Gyirong Port remain cut off, and there is still a risk of secondary disasters. As of 18:00 on Thursday, about 800 meters of the damaged section of the G216 highway leading to the port had been restored.

In addition, communication signals had been restored by 16:00 on Thursday at a location about three kilometers from the Gyirong Port's border gate.

Emergency supplies have been shipped to Gyirong Town, including barley, rice, flour, cooking oil, drinking water, instant noodles, milk, sausages, tents, folding beds, quilts, stoves and generators, local authorities said on Thursday.

A shipment of rescue supplies in 13 categories, including protective gear and rescue equipment, is on its way and due to arrive in Gyirong Town on Friday, the National Fire and Rescue Administration said.

Armed police troops in Xigaze worked through Thursday night loading and moving relief supplies, delivering more than 450 tents and other essentials to help house those displaced by the mudslide.

The disaster was triggered by the collapse of a high‑altitude glacier on the Nepalese side, experts from the Ministry of Natural Resources said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Water Resources has warned of a barrier lake upstream of the Gyirong Port, which could burst in the coming days.

Engineering rescue teams from China Aneng and PowerChina are now monitoring the lake closely and working to eliminate the danger.

Emergency rescue underway after mudslide in southwest China's Xizang

Emergency rescue underway after mudslide in southwest China's Xizang

Iran on Friday condemned a new U.S. sanctions campaign as "state terrorism" and said pressure tactics must end for diplomacy to resume, while a senior Iranian security official vowed to retaliate against any further economic escalation.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said the sanctions amounted to a new round of "economic terrorism," accusing the United States of exploiting its influence over the dollar-based financial system to pressure other countries into adopting its policies toward Iran.

The ministry said the measures violated the sovereignty of other states and the rights of all United Nations member states, and described them as a serious breach of the UN Charter.

The statement came as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Tehran.

Araghchi described the talks as constructive and said diplomacy could return to the right track if the United States recognized that pressure would not work. It must build trust, engage respectfully, recognize Iran's rights and meet its obligations, he said.

Separately, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said in an interview aired on Lebanon's Al-Manar television that the U.S. shift toward economic pressure showed that its military strikes against Iran had not achieved their intended results.

Rezaei said Iran did not seek war but would respond decisively if hostilities resumed. He said Iran was preparing for a new phase of confrontation and that any future conflict would differ from previous ones.

He said any agreement between Iran and the United States would need to form part of a wider regional settlement, including a ceasefire across the Middle East, an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and an end to the war in Gaza.

Iran would take countermeasures against any further escalation of U.S. sanctions and target U.S. economic interests in the region, Rezaei said.

Iran condemns US sanctions, urges return to diplomacy