An Iranian official dismissed as “laughable” ‌on Monday (August 31, 2026) a post by Donald Trump of an AI-generated video clip that the U.S. President said showed Iran’s oil hub Kharg ​Island being “blown to smithereens”.

Hours after Sunday’s (August 30) post, there was no evidence Kharg had been attacked. The White House and the U.S. Defence Department did ⁠not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular business hours.

Mr. Trump’s post came shortly after the U.S. and Iran resumed hostilities for the first time since late July, further denting hopes for any early resolution of a conflict now in its sixth month and driving oil prices nearly 2% higher on Monday (August 31).

U.S. forces on Sunday (August 30) struck two Iranian launchers on ‌Iran’s Larak Island, some 660 km (410 miles) east of Kharg, a U.S. official said, prompting Iran to retaliate by attacking two U.S. bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media.

Also read | West Asia LIVE- August 31, 2026

“Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT,” Mr. Trump had said on his Truth Social platform on Sunday (August 30), with no further details.

Reuters ‌confirmed that an accompanying video clip showing dramatic explosions was most likely synthetically generated, using software that detects AI-manipulated imagery.

“Mr. Trump’s tweets are laughable, and conditions in ‌Kharg are calm and appropriate,” Hamid Bovard, chief executive of government-run National Iranian Oil Co, said on Monday (August 31).

Oil operations have not stopped, and workers ⁠were busy repairing previous damage and modernising facilities, he added in comments cited by Nournews, a semi-official outlet close to Iran’s top security body.

Iran vows to respond to any attacks

Kharg handled 90% of Iran’s oil exports before the war launched by U.S. and Israeli attacks on February 28, and attacking it would severely disrupt energy trade and put huge pressure on the economy.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country ​was not seeking war but would respond decisively to any aggression.

“We will ‌never remain silent in the face of any aggression…,” state media quoted him as saying on Monday (August 30) ahead of a visit to Kyrgyzstan.

It was not clear if he was speaking before or after Mr. Trump’s post on Kharg Island.

A U.S. official said forces had attacked the Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday (August 30) after “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz”.

Larak is a small island in the strait near ‌the strategic Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The strait, which normally handles a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, has been effectively ​blocked since the start of the war.

In a statement, the U.S. Central Command said it took “limited, precise” action against minelaying forces of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that posed an “imminent threat” in the strait. It gave no details.

In retaliation, as well as attacking the U.S. ⁠bases in Jordan, Iran’s army said it had also struck the Al Minhad air base in the United Arab Emirates early on Monday. However, the UAE’s Defence Ministry dismissed that report as false.

The UAE Defence Ministry later said its air force engaged a drone that had come from Iran over its territorial waters. It provided no further details, including ‌whether it was shot down.

The Jordan strikes targeted U.S. bases used to launch and support the attack on Larak, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said.

The Revolutionary Guards used air defence missiles to shoot down a U.S. drone that crashed in Gulf waters, the Mehr news agency said on Monday (August 31), citing a statement from the elite force.

A supertanker caught fire and was brought to a complete halt after being struck by two naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz, Iran state TV said, citing a Guards’ statement.

UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said Iran’s policy of targeting Gulf Arab states and Jordan had failed.

“A state of neither war nor peace cannot be a sustainable solution,” Mr. Gargash said in a post on X, adding that realistic political solutions should begin with de-escalation and the restoration of normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Piling economic pressure on Iran

Mr. Trump has yet to achieve the objectives he set out at the start of the war: dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme, curbing its ability to attack regional rivals and creating conditions for Iranians ​to overthrow their clerical rulers.

Sunday’s (August 39) return to hostilities followed weeks in which his administration has stepped up efforts to punish Tehran and its business partners with costly economic sanctions, shifting away from military options.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Sunday (August 31) that new secondary sanctions were likely ⁠to be unveiled weekly in the effort to pressure Iran, with an initial focus on banks.

Amid threats to shipping, the number of visible commodity vessels transiting the Strait of ⁠Hormuz dropped to five a day over the weekend, shipping data showed.

The actual number could be higher as some vessels have switched off automatic identification systems to evade attacks.

The Guards said the supertanker on fire after being hit by mines had been attempting to pass through the waterway illegally, but ‌gave no details of the vessel or crew, according to a statement cited by state television.

Last week, Mr. Trump said all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the strait, and Iran had been warned that any vessel placing new mines would be destroyed. Iran denied Mr. assertion.

Published – August 31, 2026 06:05 pm IST

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

President Donald Trump departs after speaking at the David Mack Center for Training and Intelligence on August 14, 2026, in New York.
| Photo Credit: AP

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

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Military helicopters and personnel operate in a location given as the Arabian Sea in this screengrab obtained from a video released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on July 25, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

The U.S. military has paused its airstrikes on Iran after nearly two weeks of intensifying bombing, while diplomatic efforts have pushed forward to try to avert a return to all-out war. Regional officials involved in the mediation efforts said that concerted diplomacy was under way and that a pause in U.S. strikes and Iranian counterstrikes on neighbouring countries hosting American forces was a “positive signal that helps their efforts to de-escalate.” 

The U.S. naval blockade against Iran remains in full effect, the U.S. Central Command said early Sunday (July 26, 2026).

Also Read | Pickaxe Mountain | Iran’s natural fortress

Despite the lull in fighting, tensions are high in the region. Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Saturday (July 25, 2026) that they fired missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi airstrikes on the strategic Red Sea city of Hodeida. The Iran-backed rebels say they have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which has become even more vital for Saudi oil exports since the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.

Watch | Iran is prepared for U.S. ground invasion: Mohammad Marandi

U.S. President Donald Trump both has threatened more strikes and said talks are pressing on, all while brushing off concerns that rising gas prices tied to the fighting could hurt Republicans in November’s midterm elections. Adding to the uncertainty is the impact of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned visit with Mr. Trump next week in Washington. 

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The United States and Iran exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets on Saturday (July 18, 2026) as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified.

The region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the strait. The collapse of an interim ceasefire leaves no clear end in sight for the war that the U.S. and Israel began more than four months ago.

The U.S. Central Command said late Friday (July 17, 2026) it had launched its seventh straight night of attacks aimed at degrading Iran’s military. Early Saturday (July 18, 2026), it said the strikes had hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.” Kuwait said on Saturday (July 18, 2026) it was intercepting Iranian missiles and drones, and air sirens sounded in Bahrain, according to the government there.

Iranian officials say recent U.S. strikes have killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds, with new casualties reported Friday, when the US military also acknowledged more injured service members.

Iran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic after the war started on February 28. That sent the price of oil soaring and gave Iran significant leverage in negotiations. The price of oil rose on Friday (July 18, 2026) above $86 a barrel, close to its highest level in a month, as crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low, according to an international shipping tracker.

In an address to the American public on Thursday (July 16, 2026) evening, Mr. Trump insisted the war was going well. “We are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labour very, very shortly,” he said.

Before the war began, the U.S. had been in talks with Iran over its nuclear program. Mr. Trump now faces political pressure to bring the war to a close and avoid the kind of prolonged West Asian conflict he had campaigned against.

Bridges and ‘electrical infrastructure’ were hit in Iran

The U.S. airstrikes had hit bridges in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, Iranian state television reported. The attacks hit Bandar Khamir, a city on Iran’s coast on the Strait of Hormuz.

The highway and railway bridge strikes appeared aimed at cutting off Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port, from roads leading into the Islamic Republic’s central region onward to Tehran, the capital.

Iran acknowledged “attacks on power infrastructure” during the U.S. airstrike campaign for the first time on Friday (July 17, 2026) when its Energy Ministry issued a call for people to use less power in southern provinces “experiencing extreme heat.” The ministry did not specify what was hit.

Iranian authorities said at least 46 people have been killed and more than 400 wounded in recent U.S. strikes, including eight killed in a strike on a bridge on Friday (July 17, 2026).

U.S. officials acknowledged 13 additional U.S. service members — 10 Army soldiers and three Navy sailors — had been injured since Monday (July 13, 2026), but offered no further details. Since the war began, 14 U.S. service members have been killed and 427 wounded.

The tower at a key port collapses in a U.S. strike

U.S. strikes conducted overnight into Friday (July 17, 2026) collapsed a tower at Iran’s Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman, a key trade route for landlocked, neighbouring Afghanistan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported, and the U.S. military later confirmed.

Chabahar port, which Iran has been running with support from India, has been a repeated target of American airstrikes.

Iran said the tower oversees commercial traffic into the port. But Central Command said it was part of a maritime surveillance network used by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to “track and target” commercial vessels in the strait.

On Friday (July 17, 2026) evening, Iranian state media reported explosions around Iran, including in the central and southern parts of the country. Local authorities said the U.S. attacked around Ahvaz city without elaborating. IRNA also reported the sound of explosions in Lar, Yazd and Sirik.

Iran retaliates by targeting Qatar, a mediator in the war

On Friday (July 17, 2026), Qatar warned the public to take shelter as a barrage of Iranian missiles targeted the nation. People heard explosions overhead as air defences fired to intercept the missiles. Qatar’s Interior Ministry said falling debris wounded a child.

Iran also targeted Bahrain and Kuwait early Friday (July 17, 2026).

In Kuwait, authorities said Iran attacked a power and water desalination plant, causing widespread damage to the station. Kuwait said it extinguished the blaze and was working to assess the damage and get the station working again. About 90 per cent of the country’s drinking water comes from desalination.

A spokesman for Kuwait’s defence ministry said Iranian drone attacks on its army’s “facilities and camps” injured an unspecified number of personnel.

Jordan’s military said it intercepted three incoming missiles Friday morning, launched by Iran.

Explosions also could be heard on Friday (July 17, 2026) morning in Irbil and Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region as air defences targeted incoming fire. The attack apparently targeted the Iranian Kurdish dissident group Komala, killing at least nine people and wounding others, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

Iran did not immediately claim the attack, but it has targeted Komala in the past.

Also on Friday (July 17, 2026), a tanker came under attack while travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, taking the route closest to Oman, the British military said. The report from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the ship sustained minor damage without any of its crew being injured.

Iran did not immediately acknowledge any attack. In recent days, it has openly targeted ships using the route, which is overseen by the U.S. military and intended to be outside of Tehran’s control.

Strikes come as Iran and the U.S. vie for the Strait of Hormuz

Iran has said the strait must be under its sole control and that vessels should pay fees to Tehran — even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway.

Mr. Trump has returned in recent days to his threats to target Iranian power stations and bridges to try to compel Iran to loosen its hold on the strait, through which about a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime. The US also reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to halt its shipments of crude oil.

Crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low of just eight vessels on Thursday (July 16, 2026), according to MarineTraffic.com.

A growing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped through pipelines, but not nearly enough to offset the decline in shipping through the strait.

Published – July 18, 2026 10:54 am IST

Iran’s army said it struck U.S. military targets in Kuwait and Jordan in response to American attacks, according to a statement carried by the Iranian state broadcaster on Saturday (July 18).

In Kuwait, Iranian forces targeted an ammunition depot at the Al-Adiri camp, the headquarters buildings and ammunition depots at the Ali Al-Salem base and several communication bridges.

In Jordan, fuel tanks at the Al-Azraq base were also targeted, the state broadcaster said on Telegram.

Kuwait’s army wrote on X on Saturday (July 18) that explosions may be heard as a result of “air defence systems intercepting hostile targets”.

Air raid sirens were also sounded in Bahrain, which hosts a major U.S. naval base, according to the country’s interior ministry.- AFP