Russian President Vladimir Putin has decreed that the state can temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners fail to protect them from Ukrainian drone attacks or rebuild them after the strikes.

The move came Monday amid growing economic pressure and public frustration being felt in Russia after months of escalating Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries and e-commerce hubs that have caused nationwide disruptions.

Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh predicted "another defeat" for the United States, saying the Islamic republic had a "two-year plan" to counter Washington's new sanctions.

"They have done everything they could to test the determination of the Iranian people and the country's officials, but they have failed every time. It seems they wished to suffer yet another defeat," Madanizadeh told state television.

China said on Tuesday it would safeguard its interests after Washington laid out plans for the "economic asphyxiation" of Beijing's economic partner Iran.

Almost six months into its war with Iran, the United States issued new penalties on some entities including in China and expanded secondary sanctions threats, urging governments worldwide to join its economic campaign.

Thailand 's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, already facing a flood crisis in the country's north, held an urgent meeting on Sunday with high-level security officials in response to coordinated violence overnight in three southern provinces where a small-scale Muslim insurgency is active.

The meeting, held shortly before Anutin flew north to inspect the badly flooded province of Nan, followed 51 incidents on Saturday night in the southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.

When U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted a "piece of ice, cold and poorly located," the people of Iceland had every reason to worry even if he was referring to Greenland.

Their concern was not only that the object of Trump's desire was their nearest big neighbor, but that he repeatedly called it Iceland — four times.

European leaders joined President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday for official celebrations marking Ukraine's Independence Day as Russia pushes on with its 4-year-old invasion of the country.

One of President Vladimir Putin's key goals in starting a war with Russia's neighbor in February 2022 was to place Kyiv in Moscow's orbit. Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence in 1991.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday that France's move to expel two Iranian diplomats in response to Tehran's ban on two French diplomats was "illegal".

"The action that France took is an illegal action in response to Iran's legal action, and is in no way helpful to bilateral relations," said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press conference.

Iran has warned countries against participating in the United States' "economic war" against the Islamic republic, saying they would be considered enemies.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged on Sunday that his country's citizens face "many problems", after the United States launched a new wave of sanctions seeking to further isolate its economy.

Russian drones slammed into a busy shopping center in eastern Ukraine Friday, killing 16 people in an attack condemned as "cynical and despicable" by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The attack on Kryvyi Rig, Zelensky's hometown, comes as Russia has intensified its bombardments of Ukrainian cities in recent months.