Tehran said the US must withdraw troops from the region, lift all sanctions, and pay compensation Iran's Supreme National Security Council has laid out new conditions for the US to meet before the Strait of Hormuz can be reopened, amid continuing attacks on shipping.
Riyadh [Saudi Arabia], August 9 (ANI): A fire that broke out at dawn on Sunday at a Saudi Aramco facility in the country's southwestern region of Jazan was extinguished by the company's industrial security firefighting teams, with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy reporting no injuries in the incident.
Saudi Arabia, Yemen condemn attack on UAE oil tanker Saudi Arabia has condemned the attack on an oil tanker operated by the UAE’s ADNOC while transiting the Strait of Hormuz as “an assault on global energy security”. The UAE had blamed Iran for the attack, condemned also by Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar and Syria. In a statement, the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs said: “These reprehensible attacks constitute an assault on the security and safety of maritime navigation, as well as on the security of global energy supplies.
Fire doused at Saudi Aramco facility in Jizan, Saudi ministry says Firefighters have “extinguished a fire that broke out at dawn” in a facility belonging to the Saudi Aramco Refinery in Jizan, the kingdom's ministry of energy said, without specifying what caused fire. No casualties were reported by the ministry. Oil facilities in Jizan have been the target of Yemen's Houthis during the ongoing Iran-US war.
Israeli troops enter Lebanese village, erect earthen barrier overnight Israeli troops infiltrated a Lebanese village placed under the control of Lebanon's army as part of a June agreement, building an earthen barrier there overnight. An AFP correspondent saw the barrier, situated at the village's eastern entrance and blocking the road. The local authorities said it was unclear if any Israeli forces remained in the area.
Vance says talks 'make progress' but Iran must make long-term changes US vice president JD Vance has said the US has made progress in negotiations with Iran, but Washington remains focused on determining whether Tehran “is willing to make longer-term changes that could lead to an improved relationship with Washington”. “The question is whether they're able, their system is able to give the things that are necessary for us to be happy, for us to feel like we've gotten what we need out of this particular engagement. That is still to be determined, but I do think that we've made some progress over the last few days,” Vance told Fox News.
New posts 14:06 Iranian Official Says Images Of New Supreme Leader To Be Released A top Iranian official has said images of Mojtaba Khamenei --the man who became Irans supreme leader following the death of his father in an Israeli air strike -- will be released in the future. Khamenei has not been seen in publicly since March when he was announced to be Irans next supreme leader.
New posts 22:21 Trump Says US Has Mineswept Hormuz, Bars Ships From Entering Iran Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz. US President Donald Trump says Washington has effectively taken control of the Strait of Hormuz, claiming the strategic waterway has been cleared of mines and that a US blockade of Iranian ports is holding firm.
Fleet of 56 tankers shipping oil through Hormuz 'covertly', tracking firm says A fleet of at least 56 is currently conducting "covert ship-to-ship transfer" of oil from Gulf countries, according to TankerTrackers. com, which tracks oil shipments. The firm said the fleet of "visually identified tankers is currently operating in digital darkness to support oil exports from Arab nations neighbouring Iran" “These vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz to conduct covert ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in the Gulf of Oman,” it said, adding that this helps “ensure that you can still afford to enjoy your summer holiday, even if it is only a day trip”.
Abu Dhabi [UAE], August 9 (ANI/WAM): Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, received a telephone call from Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait, during which they discussed the overall regional developments and the situation in the region.
Girl and her father wounded as Israeli drone crashes in southern Lebanon A girl and her father were wounded when an Israeli drone crashed in the town of Kfar Rumman in southern Lebanon, Lebanese media reported. The “hostile drone” was flying over the Ali al-Taher–Al-Dabsha heights before crashing near a house belonging to the Qansou family after suffering a technical malfunction, according to the National News Agency.
Tel Aviv [Israel], August 9 (ANI): Days after Israeli media claimed that Iran's Supreme Leader was in critical condition and had been rushed to a hospital, Iran's semi-official Mehr News agency released an undated video showing Mojtaba Khamenei appearing to be in good health.
Washington, DC [US], August 9 (ANI): The US Defence Department has asked American defence contractors to urgently increase weapons production and speed up deliveries amid concerns over a shortage of critical munitions linked to the war with Iran, The Washington Post reported while citing a memo.
Israel issues tender for 627 housing units in West Bank settlement Israeli authorities have issued a tender for the construction of 627 settler housing units in the Kochav Yaakov settlement in the occupied West Bank, Wafa reported. Citing the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Wafa said the tender, published on 6 August 2026, has set 30 November 2026 as the deadline for development and construction companies to submit their bids. The Kochav Yaakov settlement is built on the lands of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate.
Israel is planning large-scale land expropriations in historic, Palestinian areas of the West Bank.
Israeli forces shell Gaza areas, raid several West Bank towns and villages Israeli forces have attacked central Gaza’s Bureij camp with artillery shelling and the al-Shakush area with intense tank fire, according to the Palinfo news agency. Despite agreeing to a ceasefire in October 2025, Israeli attacks on the territory have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, including 300 children. In the West Bank, where Israeli settlers have been carrying out attacks regularly on Palestinians and their properties, several Palestinian residents of Dheisheh Camp, south of Bethlehem, suffered suffocation when Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters during a raid, Wafa reported.
'Used as human bait': Leaked image shows elderly Palestinian men before execution by Israeli forces A newly leaked photograph shows two blindfolded elderly Palestinian men from Beit Lahia in Gaza, hours before Israeli forces killed them in November 2024, according to Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi, who published the image. The photograph shows Israeli military personnel standing between two blindfolded men, whom Tirawi identified in a post on X as Nadi Marouf and Ali Marouf. He said the photograph was taken hours before their deaths and that the two men were "used as human bait and then executed".
Tehran [Iran], August 9 (ANI): The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Saturday said the Strait of Hormuz will reopen only after the US 'fully' accepts Iran's conditions, even as Tehran and Oman said they are 'very close' to a new shipping protocol for the key waterway, Al Jazeera reported.
Pentagon orders arms production surge as Israeli-US war on Iran depletes missiles The Pentagon has ordered US arms manufacturers to accelerate weapons production as the Israeli-US war on Iran depletes American munition stockpiles. In a memo obtained by The Washington Post, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg gave defence companies 21 days to explain how they would “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities”. “Years-long development cycles are not acceptable,” Feinberg wrote.
Washington, DC [US], August 9 (ANI): US Central Command (US CENTCOM) on Saturday (local time) said it has redirected 53 commercial vessels, disabled and boarded two each as part of the 'blockade against Iran'. The central command added that over 30 ships were allowed passage for humanitarian aid, while sailors maintain F/A-18E Super Hornets aboard USS Abraham Lincoln to keep the strike group mission ready.
