Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian defended a memorandum of understanding with the United States as the best way out of a stalled war.
Meanwhile, the new head of the Islamic Republic’s top security body warned, in a more forceful tone, of retaliation if neighbouring countries support U.S. threats to further sanction Tehran.
A Palestinian man was beaten by an Israeli settler outside his home, and Israel’s military said they were pursuing a stabbing suspect in a separate attack, the latest violence in the occupied West Bank. An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed a child, according to a local hospital.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider West Asia on Sunday (August 23, 2026). Full coverage can be found here.
Iran seeks to get past this stalled phase
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended a recent memorandum of understanding as the best way for the country to move beyond what he described as a situation of “neither war nor peace.” “There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to capitulation,” Mr. Pezeshkian said in a speech published by state-run IRNA early on Sunday (August 23). “The supreme leader sets the policies, and we will follow that path.” The deal known as the Memorandum of Understanding that U.S. President Donald Trump signed in June set a 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear program. That period ended last week, but no signs of compromise have emerged, especially on the crucial issue of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, vital to global shipping.
Mr. Pezeshkian also linked the agreement to Iran’s economic prospects, saying the country couldn’t attract investment in this stalled phase.
Nearly six months into the war with the United States and Israel, Iran’s economy is suffering under sanctions and a naval blockade.
Iran executes man arrested during January’s protests
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported on Sunday (August 23) the latest execution connected to the protests, identifying the man as Majid Adineh and saying he was arrested on January 9 in Mohammadshahr, near Karaj, west of Tehran. Authorities said that he was carrying a handgun with 30 rounds of ammunition, two stun guns, two cans of tear gas and a battery-powered chainsaw.
The judiciary said that forensic examinations indicated the handgun had been fired on January 8 and 9. Mizan said Adineh had joined the unrest following calls by groups opposed to Iran’s government and alleged that he had received training from groups outside the country.
A Revolutionary Court in Karaj later convicted Adineh under Iran’s law imposing harsher penalties for espionage and cooperation with hostile states. Mizan said that the verdict accused him of carrying out operations on behalf of Israel, the United States and other groups Iran considers hostile.
Airstrike in Gaza kills a 4-year-old child
Four-year-old Mohammed Taha died after an Israeli airstrike hit a house in central Gaza on Sunday (August 23), hospital authorities said. The strike in the town of Zawaida also wounded at least five other people, including a child, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, which received the casualties.
The strike came minutes after residents said they received a warning from the Israeli military to evacuate the area where the house is located. Israel’s military didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement released on Sunday (August 23), Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the military to “act immediately and forcefully” to prevent the launches of balloons, kites or drones from Gaza toward Israeli communities bordering it.
“We view every launch as an act of war in every respect,” he said.
Before the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants on Israel — when 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage — burning kites and balloons were sent from Gaza into southern Israel, causing fires and other damage.
While the heaviest fighting has subsided since a fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war took hold in October, Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes, killing more than 1,280 Palestinians, according to health officials in Gaza.
The overall war death toll in Gaza has passed 73,400 Palestinians, Gaza’s Health Ministry said. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. But it doesn’t give a breakdown of civilians and militants.
Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.
Published – August 23, 2026 07:39 pm IST
