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

U.S. President Donald Trump likes to say that he started his war with Iran after 50 years of economic pressure had failed to stop its nuclear weapons ambitions — but he’s now betting that another financial squeeze can bring an end to that war.

The Trump administration is hoping that months of bombing have pushed Iran’s economy to a breaking point that will force its leadership to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.

Editorial| Far from over: On the U.S.-Iran conflict

The President on Monday (August 10, 2026) said that since Iran is seeking compensation as part of any peace talks, he now intends to demand the same for the U.S. side. It’s part of a larger pivot this weekend by Mr. Trump to argue that Iran is now on the cusp of financially collapsing, even though it has already endured decades of financial sanctions, which are often a longer-term strategy rather than an immediate tool of warfare that can halt a conflict.

The shift comes as U.S. stockpiles of key weapons have dwindled and as stop-start talks seem again to have stalled. But Mr. Trump insists the pressure can lead to a breakthrough.

“Yeah, they can make trouble, but they’re broke,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “They have no money. You know, Iran is broke, totally broke. And they’re not paying their soldiers. They have inflation of 300%.” Inflation is running high in Iran, although Mr. Trump’s estimates were higher than what administration officials have been citing to reporters. But the prospect of a longer war also carries inflation risks for other nations, including the U.S. — where the war and higher gasoline prices are unpopular.

Crude oil prices climbed on Monday (August 10, 2026) as investors interpreted Mr. Trump’s comments as a sign that fewer ships would be traversing the Strait of Hormuz, continuing to limit global supplies of gasoline, jet fuel, natural gas and other forms of energy. The Iran war largely closed the waterway involved in shipping roughly 20% of global oil supplies before the conflict — and attempts to reopen the strait have been short-lived as it has become a source of leverage for the Iranians in negotiations.

Iran does not appear to be publicly intimidated by the prospect of more financial sanctions.

“Whenever Washington proves itself incapable of pursuing diplomacy, it retreats into sanctions; and whenever those sanctions fail to produce results, it simply increases the dose,” said Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, on social media. “The real risk is that American politicians, clinging to this bad habit, will instead strangle their own remaining chances of a less humiliating exit from a crisis of their own making.”

Also read: West Asia LIVE updates

The White House has called this Operation Economic Fury’

The President didn’t say what additional financial pressure would be applied, but the administration has since April 16 been engaged in what it calls “ Operation Economic Fury ” against Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called this component the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign, as the countries that buy oil from Iran or bank with it could be sanctioned.

But one problem with this pivot is that the sanctions are unable to bite as quickly as the impact of the largely shuttered strait, said Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University who helped direct Iran sanctions strategy in the Obama administration.

Nephew stressed that the value of sanctions as a tool is limited because Mr. Trump has not articulated clear strategic goals for the war, at times stressing that it can’t have a nuclear weapon, then emphasising the Strait, and then talking about ballistic missiles. Instead, Trump has engaged in a massive series of aerial assaults and a level of destruction that has not produced the quick end that he initially promised.

“Economic pressure is a possible element in his strategy, but he’s yet to explain the purpose,” Mr. Nephew said. “Trump has systematically weakened his own hand through his inadequate use of force, inarticulate elucidation of an objective, and vacillation on negotiations.” Still, the sanctions and the ongoing U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports give the U.S. economic and financial leverage, said Juan Zarate, a deputy national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration. Mr. Zarate said the U.S. sanctions threatening third-party countries doing business with Iran also have an impact. But these things take time, he noted.

“The ultimate question will be how far the United States is willing to go to constrict Iran’s oil trade and threaten third countries with severe sanctions — and whether it has the patience to test whether the economic pain will change the regime’s behavior,” Mr. Zarate said.

Trump says sanctions didn’t go far enough

Mr. Trump’s latest pivot to economic issues with Iran is something of a flip-flop. Mr. Trump has long derided past Presidents who used sanctions to limit Iran’s economic ability to pay for its military and nuclear development. In a speech last week in Las Vegas, he defended the bombing, missiles and drone attacks that began on February 28 by indicating that the sanctions from previous administrations that date back to November 1979 had failed to succeed.

“It’s been 47 years, but really, it’s been 50 years because they’ve been saying 47 for three years; it’s been 50 years,” Mr. Trump said. “And no other President has done what you should have done a long time ago, because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, can’t have it.” The Iranian economy has suffered gravely because of the war, with the International Monetary Fund estimating the overall economy shrinks by 5.4% and the Iranian government recently reporting an annual inflation rate of 88.6%. The U.S. Treasury Department said average loadings of Iranian oil have decreased from 1.8 million barrels per day before the war to less than 500,000 barrels per day over the past month.

The U.S. economy — the world’s largest — has continued to grow, but inflation is elevated, and borrowing costs have risen in ways that have hurt Mr. Trump’s popularity and led to disapproval of the Iran war.

A senior U.S. official, insisting on anonymity to discuss strategy, said the U.S. military has set back Iran’s ability to produce, sell and ship oil and other energy resources. The administration sees the naval blockade of the strait and sanctions as effective and views Mr. Trump as having additional options that can be cranked harder in the weeks and months ahead.

Mr. Trump is essentially arguing that U.S. voters are better able to tolerate any economic inconveniences than Iranians, who have been in a state of economic hardship for years.

“It’s not just what the military can do — we’ve got the most powerful economy in the world as well,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday (August 10, 2026) in a joint appearance with Mr. Bessent. “And when you’ve got a motivated Treasury secretary who can pull a lot of levers because he knows how to do it, you can put a lot of pressure on adversaries.”

Published – August 11, 2026 01:10 pm IST

A U.S. official yesterday reported progress between Iran and Oman that could soon reopen the Strait of Hormuz, potentially ‌restoring oil exports that have been disrupted by the five-month-old U.S. war with Iran.

The U.S. official, who declined to be identified, said Washington anticipated an agreement soon between the two countries, which sit on either side of ⁠the strait, so that normal oil traffic could resume.

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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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Iran-backed Houthi rebels vowed to retaliate against Saudi Arabia on Saturday (July 25, 2026) after they accused the kingdom of targeting civilian infrastructure, as the West Asia war widens across the region.

Riyadh struck Houthi military targets in Hodeida on Friday (July 24), with rebel media reporting two wounded after the Yemeni group announced a maritime blockade of the top oil producer and hit its ships.

The flare-up marks a new front of the war that has engulfed the region following US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in February, and comes on top of Iran’s parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh’s only other maritime route.

“The Saudi enemy’s targeting of civilian facilities in Hodeida and Kamaran island constitutes a dangerous escalation,” the Houthis’ Ansarollah media posted on Telegram.

“We affirm that these recent crimes will not go unanswered.”

AFP

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on July 12, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday “until further notice” after firing on a vessel it said was taking an unauthorised route, prompting U.S. retaliatory strikes that further undermine an already shaky ceasefire.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Sunday they struck and stopped a vessel ignoring repeated instructions to use an approved shipping corridor, according to a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.

“Following this incident… the Strait of Hormuz will be closed until further notice and until the end of American interventions in this region and no vessels will be allowed to pass through,” the Guards said.

Although Iran called the strike on the ship “warning shots”, the US military said Tehran “blatantly attacked” a Cyprus-flagged container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

A crew member was missing, and the vessel had been disabled by fire and damage to its engine room, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

“In response, the United States is imposing a heavy cost by continuing to degrade Iran’s ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait,” it said on X.

-AFP

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said that the Strait of Hormuz will be administered by Tehran, state media reported today, following talks pushing to end the US-Israeli war on the Islamic republic.

Iran and the United States agreed on yesterday to set up communication lines to keep the vital shipping route open and end fighting in Lebanon, mediators said, after their first round of talks in Switzerland toward ending the conflict that has engulfed the West Asia.

“The Strait of Hormuz will never return to its pre-war conditions and will be administered by the Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with international law,” Ghalibaf said on his return from the talks, according to IRNA.

In a video posted to Ghalibaf’s Telegram account, he said the talks at the luxury Swiss resort of Burgenstock produced “good achievements”.

-AFP

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi in New Delhi on May 13, 2026.
| Photo Credit: ANI