even as some pushed for continued negotiations to ease the economic pain squeezing the country. The sanctions imposed before dawn Sunday again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with Tehran and penalise any development of Iran’s ballistic missile programme, among other measures. It came via a mechanism known as “snapback,” included in Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Iran’s parliament briefly denounced the sanctions before going into a closed-door session likely to discuss the country’s response, which could include abandoning the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and rushing for the bomb. People worry about a new round of fighting between Iran and Israel, as well as potentially the United States, as missile sites struck during the 12-day war in June now appear to be being rebuilt. Meanwhile, Iran’s rial currency fell to a new record low of 1.1 million to $1, sending food prices even higher and making daily life that much more challenging. “The government must negotiate. This is a world of business,” said Mohsen Rahaei, a 49-year-old Tehran resident. “One must get along with everyone, with all countries. Until when we want to fight? We won’t gain anything.” (Jamaica Gleaner)