For Ankara, the Mecca pact is a way to turn military weight, Gulf money and regional reach into leverage On August 7, in the Al-Safa Palace in Mecca, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in signing an agreement whose consequences may prove far greater than its deliberately restrained language suggests.
Why Egypt held back from joining Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan's defence pact When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travelled to Mecca on Friday to sign a security pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia , Turkish officials chose to keep the trip secret. The visit did not appear on Erdogan's official schedule. Instead, the three countries decided abruptly on Tuesday that the signing ceremony would take place on Friday.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appointed veteran intelligence official Hossein Taeb to lead the Basij, giving the former protest crackdown figure a mandate to expand the paramilitary force’s grassroots intelligence network and use of new technologies.
UAE's Adnoc announces $8bn gas expansion, as it mulls Hormuz bypass Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 08/10/2026 - 18:39 The UAE could be the first country to plan a gas pipeline bypassing the Strait of Hormuz Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, the UAE's minister of industry and advanced technology, Adnoc managing director and group CEO, and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company 'Masdar', attends the fifth edition of the 'Make it in the Emirates' conference in Abu Dhabi, on 4 May 4 2026 (Fadel Senna/AFP) Off The UAE’s state-owned energy giant, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), said on Monday it will invest $8bn to expand its gas business, doubling down on increasing capacity after the Gulf state pulled out of the Saudi Arabian- led energy alliance, Opec. Adnoc said it plans to build a new domestic natural gas processing unit at the country’s largest natural gas processing facility, Habshan, in addition to a new gas export facility at Ruwais. Separately, Adnoc Gas’s CFO, Peter van Driel, told Bloomberg on Monday that the company was also weighing plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility outside the Strait of Hormuz.
DUBAI/WASHINGTON/CAIRO: Iran has said it is close to finalizing an agreement with Oman to set new shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. However, it repeated that the United States must meet several conditions before the important waterway can fully reopen. These conditions include paying compensation, lifting sanctions and ending military threats.
Trump says Iran must pay compensation for those it has killed and wounded US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will demand that Iran pay compensation for "all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded," in response to Iran seeking compensation for the damages it has incurred from US and Israeli attacks. Trump's social media post came after Iran said over the weekend it was nearing a deal with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the US must meet conditions including compensation and an end to sanctions and military threats, before the strategic waterway is reopened. "It is an interesting idea because now I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts," he wrote on Truth Social.
Iran’s Supreme Leader on Monday ordered the completion of a process to integrate the Armed Forces General Staff with the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Iran’s top operational military command, as he appointed Ali Abdollahi chief of staff.
Iran supreme leader names IRGC General Abdollahi military chief Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei named Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps General Ali Abdollahi head of the country's armed forces on Monday, while also confirming a new commander of the Guard, putting his imprimatur on the country's military. Abdollahi had previously led the Khatam al-Anbiya, Iran's inter-branch central military command tasked with coordinating operations. A statement on Khamenei's website announced that "Major General Ali Abdollahi has been appointed chief of staff of the armed forces.
The Caspian gamble: Iran-Ukraine tensions widen the 'geography of instability' Nima Moradi was a 23-year-old sailor on his maiden voyage aboard Anna, a commercial ship in the Caspian Sea, carrying iron from Russia to Iran . He was from the port city of Bandar Anzali in northern Iran and had dreamed of becoming a mariner since he was a child. The boat he was travelling on was hit by a Ukrainian long-range drone on 25 July - Moradi was killed in the attack, and another crew member was wounded.
Tehran [Iran], August 10 (ANI): Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated on Monday that fees should be charged for maritime services provided in the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington must cease its strong-arm tactics before shipping can resume through the key waterway, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran has said The Strait of Hormuz cannot be reopened through diplomacy while Washington continues to use military pressure against Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has said.
Washington must cease its strong-arm tactics before shipping can resume through the key waterway, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran has said The Strait of Hormuz cannot be reopened through diplomacy while Washington continues to use military pressure against Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has said.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei appointed six high-ranking commanders in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces.
It is amazing how much the conflict has depleted US weaponry stocks, the political scientist from the University of Chicago says US President Donald Trump knows he can neither sustain nor win a protracted war against Iran, political scientist and University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer has said.
It is "amazing" how much the conflict has depleted US weaponry stocks, the political scientist from the University of Chicago says US President Donald Trump knows he can neither sustain nor win a protracted war against Iran, political scientist and University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer has said.
Iran says it is not concerned by new 'Mecca Joint Defence Agreement' Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 08/10/2026 - 16:14 Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a pact in the Muslim holy city, vowing to combat mutual threats Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Mecca on 7 August 2026 (AFP) Off Iran has played down the mutual security agreement signed between the leaders of Saudi Arabia , Pakistan and Turkey in the Muslim holy city of Mecca on Friday. Esmaeil Baghaei, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Monday that Tehran saw no reason to be concerned that a new security pact is directed against Iran. Baghaei said the pact showed a "change in perception" towards the US, as well as a shift in the regional approach to security.
Why Egypt held back from joining Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan's defence pact Submitted by Ragip Soylu on Mon, 08/10/2026 - 15:21 Despite sustained Turkish efforts, Cairo declined to join as it sought to balance its security ties with Israel and the UAE Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi greets India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi next to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a group photo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 18 November 2024 (Ludovic Marin/AFP) Off When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travelled to Mecca on Friday to sign a security pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia , Turkish officials chose to keep the trip secret. The visit did not appear on Erdogan's official schedule. Instead, the three countries decided abruptly on Tuesday that the signing ceremony would take place on Friday.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appointed six senior military commanders on Monday, formalizing parts of a wartime leadership structure that had operated for months without decrees while leaving several of most sensitive intelligence posts without publicly named permanent chiefs.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran plans to announce names of newly-appointed high-ranking military commanders in coming hours.
Dubai ruler confronted in London over UAE involvement in Sudan war Submitted by Oscar Rickett on Mon, 08/10/2026 - 14:22 Member of Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum's entourage calls Sudanese man a 'Black bitch' UAE Vice President and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum attends the Dubai World Cup horse race in Dubai on 28 March 2026 (AFP) Off The ruler of Dubai and prime minister of the UAE has been confronted on the streets of central London over his country's involvement in the Sudan war . A video posted on Sunday shows a Sudanese man shouting at Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and his entourage as they walk through the affluent Knightsbridge area. “Emiratis and UAE, they’re killing Sudanese people,” the man shouts from across the road at the ruler of Dubai and the group he is with.
