By Adam Hancock and Zsombor Peter
US President Donald Trump says Washington is only “semi-negotiating” with Tehran and will wait for economic pressure on Iran to mount.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says there are no direct talks with the US and insists the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until Washington meets Tehran’s demands, including lifting the naval blockade.
Where does Iran stand on Saudi-Pakistan-Turkiye defence pact
By Maziar Motamedi
Reporting from Tehran, Iran
The reaction has largely been subdued in Tehran, with officials mostly focusing on aspects of regional and Muslim cooperation, and what they perceive as a declining role for the US.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that when Muslims stand together, “we can face every challenge by malicious outsiders head-on”.
“Time to rely only on ourselves and embrace true brotherhood,” he wrote on X, without directly mentioning the trilateral agreement signed hours earlier.
But Iran certainly sees some reasons to be concerned in the long run, according to Hamidreza Azizi, a researcher and analyst on Iran and Middle Eastern geopolitical dynamics.
The associate at Clingendael Institute told Al Jazeera that the timing is important, since the agreement comes after months of a war in which Saudi Arabia has faced attacks from the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen and armed groups in neighbouring Iraq.
“From Tehran’s perspective, the concern is therefore not only that the pact could strengthen Saudi deterrence, but that it could eventually facilitate coordinated pressure on Iran in Yemen, Iraq, and even economically through Turkiye and Pakistan,” he said.
US pressure on Israel ‘simply in the arena of words’
Phyllis Bennis, a Middle East specialist and fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, says Netanyahu’s rejection of the plan for Hamas’s disarmament and Israel’s withdrawal in Gaza undermines the framework that Trump himself laid out.
She noted that Trump, in a Truth Social post, said the agreement was going to be carried out in “carefully structured phases”, under which the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli forces would proceed simultaneously. But now, Netanyahu has said he would not follow the plan.
Bennis said the leader’s stance is driven by domestic politics in Israel, “where Netanyahu is under enormous pressure, both from his electoral coalition in the Knesset and public opinion, which is very much in support of his very hardline position”.
But the other factor is that US pressure on Israel remains largely rhetorical.
“The so-called pressure from the United States is simply in the arena of words. It’s only statements, and we’ve seen this from the beginning of the genocide in Gaza back in 2023,” Bennis said.
She argued concrete pressure would mean ending arms transfers and aid to Israel.
“This is what makes the genocide, which is still going on in Gaza, possible. It’s also the diplomatic support from the United States, [including] in the United Nations and protection from the International Criminal Court.”
How will Trump react to Netanyahu’s rejection of the Gaza peace plan
By Patty Culhane
Reporting from Washington, DC, US
I don’t think you’ll be able to remember a time when US President Donald Trump liked to be told no by pretty much anyone, including members of his own party, members of Congress, members of his cabinet, and definitely not foreign leaders.
This is a potentially dangerous move for Netanyahu and for Israel, because right now, they’re losing support among the Democratic Party, and American support for Israel has been completely held together by the Republican Party, and this is something that Trump often boasts about.
In a couple of recent interviews, he has said things like, “The Israelis respect me and do what I say”, “I call the shots, Netanyahu doesn’t call the shots”.
So, what Trump could do is act and tell his supporters that they no longer need to support Israel. He has maintained almost complete control over that MAGA base and the Republicans in Congress.
That said, we have seen Netanyahu defy the president in the past. For example, in Lebanon and during the MoU with Iran. And there were no repercussions.
Yemeni forces say 3 civilians among 7 killed in Houthi attacks
We have more on the Houthi attack on the port of al-Makha.
Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili, the spokesman for Yemeni government forces, said in a statement on X that the seven victims of the attacks included four soldiers and three civilians.
He said 30 others were wounded.
The Houthis fired drones and missiles in the attacks, targeting both military and civilian sites, including power-generating stations, he said.
Yemeni government forces shot down 11 of the drones, he added.
Yemen’s Saba news agency, meanwhile, reported that the intercepted drones were targeting a solar power station supplying the port city, citing a military source.
The Houthis say they were targeting Saudi Arabian troops and weapons depots at the port.
The plan called for Hamas to disarm and for Israeli forces to withdraw from Gaza in stages. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there will be no Israeli pull-out until Hamas is fully disarmed.
Houthi attacks on al-Makha port seen as a bid to regain strategic control
By Yousef Mawry
Reporting from Sanaa, Yemen
This port that holds strategic weight. It was under the control of the Ansar Allah Houthi movement from 2015 to 2017.
After that, Saudi Arabia and the internationally recognised Yemeni government launched a military operation to regain control of the port, and it has remained under their control ever since.
Experts believe that this latest attack is an indication that the Houthis are attempting to regain control of the port of al-Makha, which would give them control of two ports and a strategic advantage, including the ability to monitor shipping coming in from the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
Experts also believe that these latest attacks are in direct defiance against the new Mecca defence pact signed between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye.
On Saturday, after the agreement was signed, the Houthi spokesperson, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, said that Pakistan and Turkiye will be dealt with severely and will pay the price if they engage with Saudi Arabia in any military operations or in any military hostile actions against Yemen.
The Yemeni group has been attacking in Saudi Arabia, including Aramco oil facilities in Najran and in Jazan. And they continue to threaten to escalate their military operations not just against Yemeni government forces scattered around the country but also against Saudi Arabia, and according to this agreement, an attack on Saudi Arabia would be an attack on Pakistan and Turkiye.
Oil rises as Strait of Hormuz reopening remains uncertain
Oil prices have climbed as markets reopened in Asia after the weekend amid continued uncertainty over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Reuters.
Brent crude futures rose 91 cents or 1.09 percent, to $84.46 a barrel by 00:56 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 61 cents, or 0.78 percent, to $78.79 a barrel.
Both benchmarks had fallen more than 7 percent last week on hopes that Iran and Oman were close to reaching a deal that would result in a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil transited before the war.
Tehran says a deal with Oman is in its final stages, but insisted the US must still meet several conditions.
Iran’s crude export pipeline at ‘complete halt’ under US blockade, tracking firm says
Windward says Iran’s crude export pipeline on Kharg Island remains at a “complete halt” amid the US military’s blockade of Iranian ports.
In a post on X, the maritime intelligence firm said all three of the island’s terminals are currently empty, and that 17 “dark” tankers, which have their transponders turned off, have remained stationary around it.
“The pattern is consistent with a blockade-driven export halt: no loadings, no departures, and a dark queue that isn’t moving,” it said.
Located 15 nautical miles (about 28km) from the Iranian mainland, Kharg Island is the economic backbone of Iran and typically processes about 90 percent of Iran’s crude exports.
Who is Mohsen Rezaei
As we’ve been reporting, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei has appointed Mohsen Rezaei as his representative to the country’s Supreme National Security Council.
Rezaei, 71, is a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a role he held for 16 years. That period included the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, referred to in Iran as the “Sacred Defence”.
He went on to serve on Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, which advises the supreme leader and resolves differences between parliament and the Guardian Council, a body that reviews all legislation and vets candidates for office.
Rezaei has placed high importance on Iran maintaining control of the Strait of Hormuz. In July, he said control of the waterway was worth more than “dozens of atomic bombs”. Last week, he warned the US it will “face serious risks and casualties” if its blockade of Iranian ports continues.
Iran not immediately threatened by pact, analysts say, with officials focusing on aspect of diminishing US role.
Published On 9 Aug 20269 Aug 2026
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz will remain restricted unless the US meets a series of demands.
Published On 9 Aug 20269 Aug 2026
US defence industry pressed to boost output as munitions shortages raise security concerns amid Middle East tensions.
Published On 9 Aug 20269 Aug 2026
As Netanyahu demands ‘genuine’ Hamas disarmament before considering pull-out from Gaza, a look at what happens next.
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Mr.BadGuy
Publisher
Mr.BadGuy
Publisher
These soldiers are from a country whose president is a Jew Zelensky. Orthodox churches are also being destroyed in this country. Synagogues are not touched. Surprisingly, it turns out that Jews get along well with the Bandera Nazis.