Death toll from Israeli attack in north Gaza rises to four An Israeli attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has killed four people so far, local media reported. The strike hit an area in the vicinity of the Abu Hussein school.
UK backs US efforts for diplomatic solution on Iran British Finance Minister John Healey said on Tuesday that the UK supports US efforts to secure a diplomatic solution on Iran and welcomed steps to increase pressure after the US announced expanded sanctions on Iran on Monday. Healey also called on Iran to cease its “de-stabilising activity” across the region, including in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump says Saudi Arabia must recognise Israel to move forward with nuclear pact US President Donald Trump sent an agreement to Congress on the civil nuclear energy deal with Saudi Arabia, maintaining that his position that the pact will only move forward if the kingdom joins the Abraham Accords and recognises Israel, a U. S. administration official told Reuters on Tuesday.
Israeli army conducts major blast in south Lebanon town Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) has reported that the Israeli military carried out a large-scale detonation in the southern Lebanese town of Khiam. This comes after earlier Israeli strikes targeted al-Mansouri and the town of Sarbin in southern Lebanon, according to NNA.
Rubio says US not expected to launch new strikes on Iran US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told several foreign ministers from allied countries in recent days that "for time being" the United States is not expected to launch new strikes against Iran, and will instead focus on other means of pressure, according to Axios, citing a US official and a source with knowledge of the matter. This comes after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a so-called "economic D-Day" of economic sanctions against Iran on Monday.
Iran's Ghalibaf tells Iraqi official 'new regional order' being created Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reportedly told Iraq’s chief justice Faiq Zaidan that Iraq can play a decisive role in shaping a new regional order, especially in the Gulf. “A new regional order is being created. The situation is sensitive and historic for Iran and Iraq.
Israel destroys Gaza warehouse supplies for malnourished children and pregnant women An Israeli military strike targeting a nearby building destroyed a warehouse storing nutritional supplies for malnourished children, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said in a statement on Tuesday. The warehouse belongs to Ard El Insan (AEI), a local humanitarian organisation working with MAP to support about 60 medical points serving up to 100 women and children daily. The overnight explosion collapsed large sections of the building, including the roof and walls, burying the supplies under rubble, damaging the entire stock and rendering it unfit for human consumption.
Trump's 'Board of Peace' warns Hamas against flying kites The US-led board supervising a Gaza peace plan on Tuesday warned Hamas against flying kites, after Israel threatened retaliatory strikes. "All militant activity in Gaza must stop, including the flying of kites. We have conveyed this message directly through the established mechanism," an official on President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" said on condition of anonymity.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister says Hormuz remains closed despite temporary Oman deal Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a televised interview on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed despite a temporary transit agreement with Oman. “America and other countries should know that the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened except through Iranian arrangements,” Gharibabadi said, adding that Iran remains “in a state of war”. Gharibabadi says Iran and Oman have held talks over the past 40 days on a transit arrangement through the waterway, agreeing on a temporary route seven miles (11 kilometres) wide, with the entry point and part of the exit route running through Iranian territorial waters.
Top Iranian officials mock US 'economic D-Day' on social media Several top Iranian officials have taken to social media to mock US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's "economic D-Day" of sanctions on Iran, including parliamentary speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghabilaf and Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei. Ghabilaf made fun of Bessent's apparent slip in Monday's press conference in which he appeared to imply that the sanctions risked collapsing the global economy, saying: "Sir this ain’t Normandy, this is improv night and you forgot your own script. " Meanwhile, Baghaei wrote: "Those who prefer to appear ‘as obedient as shadows’ say: ‘This is fine.
Bangladesh could join Mecca pact, official suggests Submitted by MEE staff on Tue, 08/25/2026 - 17:03 According to Reuters, the consideration follows an invitation from Saudi Arabia The military gathers as part of preparations for the election, at the National Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 5 February 2026 (AFP) Off Bangladesh may be joining the defence agreement signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan earlier this month. Bangladeshi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir told reporters on Monday that his country has been invited to participate in what has become known as the Mecca pact, but did not say who extended the invitation. Reuters news agency, however, cited an unnamed source saying Riyadh had reached out to Dhaka.
Turkey won’t abandon Syria or let Israel draw ‘red lines’, Erdogan says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded on Monday to Israeli strikes on a Syrian military base last week, saying Ankara would not abandon its friends in the region and that no outside power could set the boundaries of Turkish foreign policy. Israel carried out several strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northern Syria, approximately 70km from the Turkish border, claiming that Ankara was preparing to deploy air defence systems there. Israeli officials have repeatedly said that the Turkish military's use of airbases in Syria would constitute a "red line," arguing that such a presence could restrict Israel's freedom of action in Syrian airspace.
Arms trade watchdog says countries are failing in their obligations to report weapons trade ATT Monitor team, the body charged with overseeing the global Arms Trade Treaty, condemned on Tuesday a lack of transparency around states reporting the weapons they are buying and selling. Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013, the treaty aims to regulate the international flow of conventional weapons to stop their illicit trade. While its 118 member states are supposed to submit annual reports on their weapons imports and exports, just 46 countries - less than 40 percent - submitted their 2025 reports on time, Alexandra Marksteiner, a member of the monitoring team, told a press conference in Geneva.
Iran foreign minister holds talks with Pakistani, Qatari officials Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has held separate phone conversations with Pakistan army chief Asim Munir and Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. A statement issued by Araghchi on Tuesday said that, during his conversation with his Qatari counterpart, the two reviewed “the latest regional developments, emphasised the importance of utilising diplomatic capacities and continuing coordination to prevent the escalation of tensions in the region”. According to another statement, Araghchi pressed for further consultations and joint efforts to establish peace and security in the region in a call with Pakistan army chief Asim Munir.
Head of Kurdish forces in Syria announces their dissolution The head of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, announced on Tuesday the group's dissolution, as part of a deal struck with the new authorities in Damascus. "We announce today the end of the mission of the Syrian Democratic Forces and declare, with full responsibility, their dissolution as an independent military force," Abdi said in a televised speech at the presidential palace. The SDF was founded in 2015 and has spearheaded the fight against the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
OIC condemns Israeli raid of Unrwa headquarters Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha strongly condemned the Israeli raid and evacuation of the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) in the Qalandiya area, north of occupied Jerusalem, on Tuesday. In a statement, Taha said he considered the raid to be a new escalation in the targeting of the UN agency and its facilities and targeting Palestinian refugees. He emphasized that the agency plays an essential and irreplaceable role in providing educational, health, relief, and social services amid an ongoing refugee crisis, calling on the international community to respond and protect the agency.
Turkey won’t abandon Syria or let Israel draw ‘red lines’, Erdogan says Submitted by Ragip Soylu on Tue, 08/25/2026 - 18:14 Erdogan suggests "moribund" Netanyahu is stoking tensions with Turkey to shore up domestic support This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish Presidential Press Service in Istanbul, Turkey on May 24, 2025, shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) shaking hands during their meeting. (Handout / Turkish Presidency) Off Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded on Monday to Israeli strikes on a Syrian military base last week, saying Ankara would not abandon its friends in the region and that no outside power could set the boundaries of Turkish foreign policy. Israel carried out several strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northern Syria, approximately 70 kilometres from the Turkish border, claiming that Ankara was preparing to deploy air defence systems there.
Ending the war and preserving unity is our priority, says Iranian president Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that ending the war is the government's priority and the US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU) was not signed out of submission, but "out of logic and awareness". He added that Iran’s enemies realised they could not defeat the country militarily, so they focused on creating social problems and economic discontent, after the US announced what they described as "economic D-Day" of sanctions on Iran. Ending the war and preserving unity are priorities of my government, the Iranian president said in comments carried by Iranian media.
UN chief 'greatly alarmed' as Israeli forces raid Unwra United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned an incursion by Israeli forces on a training center run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) in an east Jerusalem suburb. "The Secretary-General is greatly alarmed at this development, as it will deprive young people of the vocational education they were receiving," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that the training center "and other Unrwa premises are premises of the United Nations" which make them "inviolable and immune from any form of interference".
Netanyahu says Unrwa raid carried out in accordance with law, Ben Gvir says UN agency 'in our hands' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the "evacuation" of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) facility in the occupied West Bank carried out by Israeli forces on Tuesday was "in accordance with my directive and following the law we passed". "The State of Israel will not allow an organization whose employees were complicit in terrorism and the October 7 massacre to operate within its territory, and will act against it by all means at its disposal," Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office on X. Meanwhile, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who accompanied troops as they stormed the facility, posted an image of the site with the words “UNRWA in our hands”.
