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Trump reimposes sanctions to levy economic pressure on Iran

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday reimposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, saying the U.S. policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country.

In a statement, Trump said the 2015 international accord to freeze Iran’s nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions was a “horrible, one-sided deal” that left the Iranian government flush with cash to use to fuel conflict in the Middle East.

Trump warned that those who don’t wind down their economic ties to Iran “risk severe consequences” under the reimposed sanctions.

Sen. Rand Paul invites Russian lawmakers to Washington

A U.S. senator who met with Russian lawmakers in Moscow said he invited them to visit Washington, and they accepted Monday. Sen. Rand Paul said during a trip to Russia that American and Russian legislators need closer contact, noting that “our biggest problem right now is no dialogue.”

The Kentucky Republican said after meeting with members of Russia’s upper house of parliament that lawmakers from the two countries also could meet in a neutral third nation.

Pilot’s emergency call before crash didn’t specify problem

An investigator says the pilot declared an emergency but didn’t state the nature of his problem before a Cessna nosedived into a Southern California parking lot, killing all five people on board. The National Transportation Safety Board’s Albert Nixon said he didn’t know Monday how much time elapsed between the distress call and the crash.

Nixon says the Cessna 414 struck four vehicles when it came down Sunday in a Santa Ana parking lot.

Zimbabwean opposition readies legal challenge to election

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party will make a statement Tuesday about its plans to challenge the country’s election results in court, though it believes the judicial system is biased against it, a party spokesman said.

Nkululeko Sibanda, an official in the Movement for Democratic Change party, also charged Monday that security forces are acting with a “sense of impunity” in alleged raids on the homes of opposition supporters.

Tanker truck blast in Italy kills two, injures up to 70

A tanker truck carrying flammable material exploded Monday after rearending a stopped truck on a crowded highway near Bologna, killing at least two people, injuring up to 70 and causing part of the expressway to collapse.

The Carabinieri police said some officers were injured by flying glass.