US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday (Aug 28) welcomed the decision by E3 nations to initiate “snapback” of sanctions on Iran. He further added that Washington is open to direct talks with Iran on ending its nuclear program. This comes after France, Germany, and the United Kingdom initiated a process to reimpose the United Nations sanctions on Tehran.In a statement, Rubio said, “The United States remains available for direct engagement with Iran – in furtherance of a peaceful, enduring resolution to the Iran nuclear issue.” He added that the “snapback does not contradict our earnest readiness for diplomacy, it only enhances it.”Rubio further urged Iranian leaders to take necessary measures to ensure their nation never obtains a nuclear weapon for the peace and prosperity of the Iranian people.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The E3 – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – initiated a process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran. Snapback sanctions are a direct response to Iran’s continuing defiance of its nuclear commitments. The United States supports the E3’s decision and urges Iran to engage in…&mdash; Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio/status/1961081155605697008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“I urge Iranian leaders to take the immediate steps necessary to ensure that their nation will never obtain a nuclear weapon; to walk the path of peace; and to, by extension, advance prosperity for the Iranian people,” he said.In a post on X, Rubio said, “The E3 – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom – initiated a process to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran. Snapback sanctions are a direct response to Iran’s continuing defiance of its nuclear commitments. The United States supports the E3’s decision and urges Iran to engage in serious diplomatic negotiations to resolve the nuclear issue.”Earlier on Thursday, France, Britain, and Germany started the process to reimpose the UN sanctions on Iran. The move was taken after Tehran failed to comply with commitments over its nuclear program.US President Donald Trump has pushed for stopping Iran’s nuclear program. In the first term of Trump, this has resulted in major tensions between the United States and Europe. In his second term, Trump first insisted that he sought a nuclear deal with Iran but then joined Israel in its military campaign, targetting Tehran’s nuclear sites in air strikes.

Rubio further urged Iranian leaders to take necessary measures to ensure their nation never obtains a nuclear weapon for the peace and prosperity of the Iranian people.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday (Aug 28) welcomed the decision by E3 nations to initiate “snapback” of sanctions on Iran. He further added that Washington is open to direct talks with Iran on ending its nuclear program. This comes after France, Germany, and the United Kingdom initiated a process to reimpose the United Nations sanctions on Tehran. In a statement, Rubio said, “The United States remains available for direct engagement with Iran – in furtherance of a peaceful, enduring resolution to the Iran nuclear issue.” He added that the “snapback does not contradict our earnest readiness for diplomacy, it only enhances it.” Rubio further urged Iranian leaders to take necessary measures to ensure their nation never obtains a nuclear weapon for the peace and prosperity of the Iranian people.

Rubio further urged Iranian leaders to take necessary measures to ensure their nation never obtains a nuclear weapon for the peace and prosperity of the Iranian people.

‘Direct response to Iran’s defiance’: Rubio backs Europeans to restore UN sanctions on Tehran, says US open for talks

While for many the big news at E3 was all about consoles, there was major news but on a smaller scale. 
 
So although the games on mobiles may be simpler in technology and graphics, their place in the gaming industry is solid. 
 
&quot;I think it&#39;s just that everyone has a phone at the ready,&quot; explained Eric Brummel, of independent developer Loot Interactive. &quot;They have it in their pocket and so it&#39;s just a real convenient way to game and people love to game and it&#39;s right there and it&#39;s super easy to pull out your phone and kill some time.&quot; 
 
Tencent Holdings Ltd, one of the China&#39;s leading social network and online entertainment company,&nbsp;is nearing a $6.6 billion deal to buy a majority stake in Finland&#39;s Supercell Oy, a person familiar with the matter said, in what would be the biggest-ever purchase of a mobile games maker. 
 
Tencent&#39;s purchase of Supercell would surpass the previous record gaming acquisition in November 2015, when Blizzard paid $5.9 billion for &#39;Candy Crush Saga&#39; creator King Digital Entertainment. 
 
Tong Xu, CEO of Locojoy Ltd, a renowned mobile game developer, displayed Locojoy&#39;s latest game &#39;Dragon Raja&#39; at E3. That game has only been released in South Korea where it grossed $2 million dollars in the first month of its release. 
 
&quot;The mobile gaming industry will never die, it will just keep growing and growing everywhere and will become part of your life,&quot; Xu said. 
 
According to private equity investment firm Digi-Capital, the mobile games industry was worth $29 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow to $45 billion by 2018. 
 
The games on release are not all new, but sometimes recoded or rebooted popular games of the past. 
 
Brummel, who was at E3 showing a reboot of the 1982 classic arcade game Q*bert explained &quot;You know how fashion is very cyclical, a lot of video games are like that as well. People, once they get to the point of playing a lot of modern games, they kind of have a yearning to sort of go back and play some of the games they played during their childhood and sort of go back to the more simple clean game mechanics that games like Q*bert will provide.&quot; 
 
&#39;Dragon Raja&#39; was just one of the mobile games on show with graphics that rivalled those on the larger consoles. According to Xu, the power of the mobile shouldn&#39;t be underestimated. 
 
&quot;The capacity of the mobile is just becoming bigger and bigger and a lot of things can be streamed so that&#39;s why that although the device is small the experience doesn&#39;t have to be small so that&#39;s why our team in Korea are bringing PC games to your mobile so that you can enjoy it everywhere you go,&quot; she said. 
 
She added &quot;The market in some of the developed countries has pretty much stabilised because everyone has got enough smartphones but in some developing countries like India, we talk to them and they have 300 million smartphones and they are still developing rapidly so this industry keeps growing.&quot; 
 
Bethesda Softworks, who are behind numerous console blockbusters including &#39;The Elder Scrolls&#39;, &#39;Doom&#39; and &#39;Dishonored&#39; were also showing off some of their content which was also available on mobiles including &#39;Fallout Shelter&#39; and &#39;The Elder Scrolls: Legends&#39;. 
 
&quot;&#39;Fallout Shelter&#39; was on nobody&#39;s radar but literally a year ago today nobody knew it even existed and we announced it and launched it that night and a year later 50 million people have played it so you can approach it any number of ways but there&#39;s no one platform that&#39;s going to dominate like &#39;Oh everything&#39;s going to this&#39;. I think they all have a place and role in making the industry grow and making it that much more viable,&quot; said&nbsp;Pete Hines, Bethesda&#39;s Vice President of PR and Marketing. 
 
Many mobile games are free to download but make their revenue by selling extra functions or options within the games. According to recent research of US based mobile gamers by Newzoo, there is an almost even split between male and female consumers although men are significantly more likely to spend more on the games.

Easy access hike up mobile games demand though the majority of them are basic in technology and graphics

While for many the big news at E3 was all about consoles, there was major news but on a smaller scale. So although the games on mobiles may be simpler in technology and graphics, their place in the gaming industry is solid. "I think it's just that everyone has a phone at the ready," explained Eric Brummel, of independent developer Loot Interactive. "They have it in their pocket and so it's just a real convenient way to game and people love to game and it's right there and it's super easy to pull out your phone and kill some time." Tencent Holdings Ltd, one of the China's leading social network and online entertainment company, is nearing a $6.6 billion deal to buy a majority stake in Finland's Supercell Oy, a person familiar with the matter said, in what would be the biggest-ever purchase of a mobile games maker. Tencent's purchase of Supercell would surpass the previous record gaming acquisition in November 2015, when Blizzard paid $5.9 billion for 'Candy Crush Saga' creator King Digital Entertainment. Tong Xu, CEO of Locojoy Ltd, a renowned mobile game developer, displayed Locojoy's latest game 'Dragon Raja' at E3. That game has only been released in South Korea where it grossed $2 million dollars in the first month of its release. "The mobile gaming industry will never die, it will just keep growing and growing everywhere and will become part of your life," Xu said. According to private equity investment firm Digi-Capital, the mobile games industry was worth $29 billion in 2015 and is expected to grow to $45 billion by 2018. The games on release are not all new, but sometimes recoded or rebooted popular games of the past. Brummel, who was at E3 showing a reboot of the 1982 classic arcade game Q*bert explained "You know how fashion is very cyclical, a lot of video games are like that as well. People, once they get to the point of playing a lot of modern games, they kind of have a yearning to sort of go back and play some of the games they played during their childhood and sort of go back to the more simple clean game mechanics that games like Q*bert will provide." 'Dragon Raja' was just one of the mobile games on show with graphics that rivalled those on the larger consoles. According to Xu, the power of the mobile shouldn't be underestimated. "The capacity of the mobile is just becoming bigger and bigger and a lot of things can be streamed so that's why that although the device is small the experience doesn't have to be small so that's why our team in Korea are bringing PC games to your mobile so that you can enjoy it everywhere you go," she said. She added "The market in some of the developed countries has pretty much stabilised because everyone has got enough smartphones but in some developing countries like India, we talk to them and they have 300 million smartphones and they are still developing rapidly so this industry keeps growing." Bethesda Softworks, who are behind numerous console blockbusters including 'The Elder Scrolls', 'Doom' and 'Dishonored' were also showing off some of their content which was also available on mobiles including 'Fallout Shelter' and 'The Elder Scrolls: Legends'. "'Fallout Shelter' was on nobody's radar but literally a year ago today nobody knew it even existed and we announced it and launched it that night and a year later 50 million people have played it so you can approach it any number of ways but there's no one platform that's going to dominate like 'Oh everything's going to this'. I think they all have a place and role in making the industry grow and making it that much more viable," said Pete Hines, Bethesda's Vice President of PR and Marketing. Many mobile games are free to download but make their revenue by selling extra functions or options within the games. According to recent research of US based mobile gamers by Newzoo, there is an almost even split between male and female consumers although men are significantly more likely to spend more on the games.

Mobile games market bullish despite competition from consoles

Virtual reality has yet to take off with the bulk of video gamers, but the industry is doubling down on its bet that one day it will. 
 
At the annual E3 video game showcase in Los Angeles this week, attendees strapped on Virtual Reality (VR) headsets to peer into fantasy worlds, battle robotic creatures and command starships. Meanwhile, game publishers announced investments that showed they believe VR is ready to go mainstream. 
 
&quot;This is clearly the coming-out party for VR,&quot; said P.J. McNealy, chief executive officer and founder of Digital World Research. &quot;The interest is there, the hardware is coming to market, and the content developers are figuring out how to take advantage of it.&quot; 
 
E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is an annual spectacle devoted to serious gaming. Sales of games played on consoles or PCs still lead the $99.6 billion global gaming industry, according to data from research firm Newzoo. But an explosion in mobile games, plus a shift toward virtual reality hardware and software, could change that. 
 
Sony Corp unveiled a $399 PlayStation VR headset at E3 that will hit stores in October. Fifty games will be available by year&#39;s end, including VR versions of blockbuster franchises &quot;Resident Evil&quot; and &quot;Batman.&quot; 
 
Some games will be exclusive to PlayStation VR, including &quot;Star Wars: Battlefront X-Wing VR Mission.&quot; Star Trek fans can command a Starfleet vessel &quot;Star Trek: Bridge Crew,&quot; which will be playable on PlayStation VR, Facebook&#39;s Oculus Rift headset, and the HTC Vive VR device. 
 
Microsoft will have a new version of its Xbox, dubbed Project Scorpio, that will support VR in time for the 2017 holiday season. The company is also is developing its HoloLens augmented reality glasses, which overlay images as holograms onto a user&#39;s real-life field of vision. 
 
Many in the industry are still skeptical about VR&#39;s potential. They question how many gamers will shell out hundreds of dollars for a headset after investing in a gaming console. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re going to find out what&#39;s good and bad about virtual reality in the months and years to come,&quot; said Steve Boxer, a gaming journalist from Britain who tried out games at E3. 
 
&quot;Personally I don&#39;t want to have to sit there wearing a virtual reality helmet for more than 20 minutes.&quot; Sony is working with developers to adapt console games to a VR environment, said John Koller, vice president, Sony Interactive Entertainment America. 
 
&quot;VR is going to be shorter, very intense bursts,&quot; Koller said. &quot;We see it chopped up into these experiences that are very exciting and emotionally driven.&quot; 
 
The industry isn&#39;t abandoning traditional games. 
 
While companies are trying to build a new market in VR, &quot;even more time and more money is being spent to maintain the cash cow of the business with new titles,&quot; said Mark Goodman, an analyst with Strategy Analytics. 
 
Among the games generating buzz at E3 was Horizon Zero Dawn, a role-playing game featuring a female hunter, and a new installment in the God of War franchise, analysts said. 
 
Companies staged over-the-top booths with pulsating music, flashing lights, and giant video screens. Organisers limited decibel levels to keep the noise in check. 
 
Developer 2K Czech set up a two-story, New Orleans-style bar and sent a live jazz band marching through the convention halls to promote its game, &quot;Mafia.&quot; 
 
Nintendo erected a makeshift cave to mimic the world of the new Legend of Zelda game, attracting a line of hundreds of people and earning positive reviews. 
 
Zelda could be a big enough hit to entice people to buy Nintendo&#39;s next-generation console called NX when it comes out next year, McNealy said. 
 
&quot;Anybody who&#39;s going to buy a console may buy one for that,&quot; he said. &quot;It&#39;s a new version of a huge franchise for them.&quot; 
(Reuters)

Major gaming players like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are set to launch virtual reality-based games involving Resident Evil, Batman, others

Virtual reality has yet to take off with the bulk of video gamers, but the industry is doubling down on its bet that one day it will. At the annual E3 video game showcase in Los Angeles this week, attendees strapped on Virtual Reality (VR) headsets to peer into fantasy worlds, battle robotic creatures and command starships. Meanwhile, game publishers announced investments that showed they believe VR is ready to go mainstream. "This is clearly the coming-out party for VR," said P.J. McNealy, chief executive officer and founder of Digital World Research. "The interest is there, the hardware is coming to market, and the content developers are figuring out how to take advantage of it." E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is an annual spectacle devoted to serious gaming. Sales of games played on consoles or PCs still lead the $99.6 billion global gaming industry, according to data from research firm Newzoo. But an explosion in mobile games, plus a shift toward virtual reality hardware and software, could change that. Sony Corp unveiled a $399 PlayStation VR headset at E3 that will hit stores in October. Fifty games will be available by year's end, including VR versions of blockbuster franchises "Resident Evil" and "Batman." Some games will be exclusive to PlayStation VR, including "Star Wars: Battlefront X-Wing VR Mission." Star Trek fans can command a Starfleet vessel "Star Trek: Bridge Crew," which will be playable on PlayStation VR, Facebook's Oculus Rift headset, and the HTC Vive VR device. Microsoft will have a new version of its Xbox, dubbed Project Scorpio, that will support VR in time for the 2017 holiday season. The company is also is developing its HoloLens augmented reality glasses, which overlay images as holograms onto a user's real-life field of vision. Many in the industry are still skeptical about VR's potential. They question how many gamers will shell out hundreds of dollars for a headset after investing in a gaming console. "We're going to find out what's good and bad about virtual reality in the months and years to come," said Steve Boxer, a gaming journalist from Britain who tried out games at E3. "Personally I don't want to have to sit there wearing a virtual reality helmet for more than 20 minutes." Sony is working with developers to adapt console games to a VR environment, said John Koller, vice president, Sony Interactive Entertainment America. "VR is going to be shorter, very intense bursts," Koller said. "We see it chopped up into these experiences that are very exciting and emotionally driven." The industry isn't abandoning traditional games. While companies are trying to build a new market in VR, "even more time and more money is being spent to maintain the cash cow of the business with new titles," said Mark Goodman, an analyst with Strategy Analytics. Among the games generating buzz at E3 was Horizon Zero Dawn, a role-playing game featuring a female hunter, and a new installment in the God of War franchise, analysts said. Companies staged over-the-top booths with pulsating music, flashing lights, and giant video screens. Organisers limited decibel levels to keep the noise in check. Developer 2K Czech set up a two-story, New Orleans-style bar and sent a live jazz band marching through the convention halls to promote its game, "Mafia." Nintendo erected a makeshift cave to mimic the world of the new Legend of Zelda game, attracting a line of hundreds of people and earning positive reviews. Zelda could be a big enough hit to entice people to buy Nintendo's next-generation console called NX when it comes out next year, McNealy said. "Anybody who's going to buy a console may buy one for that," he said. "It's a new version of a huge franchise for them." (Reuters)

Video game makers plunge deeper into virtual reality

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‘Direct response to Iran’s defiance’: Rubio backs Europeans to restore UN sanctions on Tehran, says US open for talks

Mobile games market bullish despite competition from consoles

Video game makers plunge deeper into virtual reality