Israel struck an air base in northwest Syria early yesterday, saying it aimed to prevent Turkish troops from deploying there.

Turkey, which has close ties with the Syrian government and has been providing assistance to Syria’s military, has tense relations with Israel. The rival countries have sought to curb each other’s influence in neighboring Syria.

Eight strikes hit the runway of the Abu Duhur air base in the northwestern province of Idlib, causing damage but no casualties, state TV said. Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani told reporters in Damascus that Syria condemns the “Israeli aggression,” adding that the strikes were “an unjustified provocation, a violation of Syria’s sovereignty, and a direct threat to regional and global stability.”

-AP

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call to pursue talks with Iran to de-escalate ‌tensions between the two countries, and offered Ankara’s support for peace efforts, the Turkish presidency said today.

Turkiye, which has NATO’s second-largest army and borders Iran, has repeatedly called for an end to the war. It has maintained close ‌contact with the United States, Iran and mediators such as Pakistan and Qatar, while also ‌acting as an intermediary between the parties.

“Erdogan stated that ‌it ⁠is of great importance to make the utmost ⁠of diplomacy regarding the tensions between Iran and the United States, that we hope the talks will continue, and that Turkey will continue to support peace efforts,” the ‌presidency said in a statement.

– Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday he was pleased by the recent signing of a defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.

“Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“It shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way,” he wrote, calling it a “BIG, BOLD, IMPORTANT FIRST STEP.”

The three-way agreement, signed August 7, comes amid a U.S.-Iran war that has extended violence to the region, including Iran-backed Houthi rebel attacks.

– AFP

Iran yesterday demanded that Qatar release three of Tehran’s pilots whose aircraft went down early in the West Asia war, though the Gulf state denied it was detaining them.

Iran had previously reported one pilot killed and others missing after a sortie to Qatar in March, but news of their alleged capture was not publicised at the time.

“Three Iranian pilots were captured alive by Qatari forces after their Su-24 fighter jets crashed during the war,” said General Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the Iranian armed forces, Fars news agency reported.

“Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian have been held by Qatari forces for six months,” he said in a letter addressed to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

– AFP

Iran called on the U.S. to accept defeat while President Donald Trump blasted Iran as “evil” and urged Americans ‌to brace for continued high fuel prices. The comments suggested the warring parties remained far apart, with progress toward peace talks and oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway both halted.

“This strait will be opened and ⁠closed only under Iran’s command, and so long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X early Saturday, showing little urgency toward restoring prewar trade.

“The Strait of Hormuz ‌cannot be seized by a tweet or an aircraft carrier, by issuing an order or by delivering an election speech,” he said. 

– Reuters

The United Arab Emirates on Friday condemned an Iranian attack it said targeted two vessels linked to state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) as they passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait and wants to charge users for passage, which the U.S. fiercely opposes. Iran is in talks with Oman over arrangements for the strait’s future management.

The UAE Foreign Ministry in a statement denounced what it called “the hostile Iranian attack that targeted two vessels affiliated with ADNOC as they transited the Strait of Hormuz, with no injuries reported”.

ADNOC confirmed “two of its vessels were attacked while transiting” the waterway on Thursday evening, adding the situation was “brought under control”, the official WAM news agency reported.

-AFP

More than 25 nations, including France, the U.K. and Canada, yesterday condemned the use of capital punishment by Iranian authorities, saying in a joint statement the Islamic republic was executing protesters to “silence dissent”.

The countries, joined by the European Union’s top diplomat, “condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty” by Iran.

“The use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified,” the statement said.

– AFP

The U.S. military yesterday said it had used ⁠missiles to disable the steering ‌gear of a Panama-flagged cargo ‌ship which ‌ignored ⁠repeated warnings ⁠to stop violating a naval blockade on Iranian ‌ports.

A U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two ‌Hellfire missiles into the Vela Nova’s engine ⁠room, the Central Command ‌added.

“As of Aug. 11, CENTCOM has redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting ‌to run the blockade, disabled 3 non-compliant vessels, ⁠and boarded 2,” ⁠it said in ‌a statement.

– Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump said yesterday that he would seek conflict compensation from Iran as part of any peace negotiations, citing attacks and killings stretching back decades allegedly backed or perpetrated by Tehran.

Negotiations on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz have stalled, and his new demands risk putting a quick agreement further out of reach.

Mr. Trump’s announcement was a direct response to Iran’s insistence that U.S. payment of war reparations is a pre-condition to any resolution of the ongoing hostilities.

“I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran,” he said, noting that his demand included not only damages arising from the current war, but also Iranian attacks on US targets going back more than two decades as well as payments to the families of Iranian protestors killed by authorities over the past 50 years.

– AFP

The administration said it is requesting $67 billion for the Department of Defence for what it said were urgent needs related to the war against Iran. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters