Latest war news. ‘Oil slicks from damaged ships’: environmental alarm in Hormuz

“The United States has long made errors of judgement due to intelligence failures. A striking example: the war against Iran. Now, an even more serious error of judgement regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Disinformation is worse than fake news. Be careful.” This was written by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on X.

The situation is becoming increasingly worrying for the more than 5,000 sailors on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea for nine months, five of which have been spent at war with Iran. The Guardian, citing the Navy Times and other industry outlets, reports at least two attempted suicides.

In one case, a sailor’s wife recounted that her husband had tried to throw himself into the sea after his period of service at sea kept being extended. ‘He’s scared. He thinks he’ll be discharged in disgrace and that, just because he was exhausted, his 13-year career will be ruined, just like that.’

Israeli forces have carried out operations to blow up and set fire to homes in the southern Lebanese towns of Majdal Zoun and Al-Mansouri , as well as in the surrounding valleys. This was reported by the Lebanese National News Agency, which added that Israeli warplanes struck the town of Al-Mansouri in two successive waves during the night, and that the sound of the explosions was heard in Tyre. Last week, the Israeli army issued a forced evacuation order for the town of Al-Mansouri, the first such directive in several weeks.

“The actions of those who carried out this horrific act of terrorism, aimed at intimidating and harassing this family, are repugnant”: wrote the US Ambassador to Israel on X, referring to the Israeli settlers who are besieging the home of two Palestinian families in Qusra, in the West Bank. “There is no excuse for such violent behaviour,” Mike Huckabee wrote on X. Among the homes targeted is one owned by a US citizen.

Iran is battling an oil spill off the coast of Qeshm Island. Satellite images, reports Bloomberg on its website, show a dark, elongated trail in the waters off the coastal village of Shib Deraz – a breeding ground for the endangered hawksbill sea turtle – as well as black deposits on the beaches. The Iranian news agency ISNA reported that clean-up operations are underway, but did not specify the source of the pollution. It did, however, state that rescue workers are using absorbent mats to contain and collect the oil.

TankerTrackers.com commented on the spill in a post on X, suggesting that it was the result of an Iranian attack on a bulk carrier earlier this month. The reported oil spill comes just as Oman, south of Iran, is dealing with another oil slick near its south-eastern coast, following an oil tanker running aground. The affected area is also home to a rich variety of marine life, including turtles, dolphins and whales.

War in the Middle East – 13 August 2026

Tehran is seeking compensation for the oil spill that has damaged the waters of the Persian Gulf and surrounding areas. This was stated by Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry. “Any entity that benefits from commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz,” he writes in X, “has both a legal and a moral obligation to remedy the environmental damage caused to the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.”

According to a CNN video yesterday, a thick slick of oil washed up on a beach near the Iranian island of Qeshm, close to the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused France of ‘hypocrisy’ on human rights, after Paris and 26 other countries condemned Tehran for the alleged execution of demonstrators involved in the protests that broke out at the end of last December.

“Countries such as France should stop lecturing the world on ‘human rights’ and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and shameful,” Araghchi wrote on X.

US intelligence officials were sceptical about the alleged Iranian threat to assassinate Donald Trump reported by Israel, which contributed to the decision to organise the complex covert operation to have the president leave Turkey on a military aircraft other than Air Force One. This is reported by the Washington Post, citing current and former US officials with knowledge of the matter.

According to the newspaper, the Israeli government passed the warning on to the CIA, but the agency’s analysts did not consider the information particularly convincing and conveyed their doubts to the administration. One official described it as information ‘of Israeli origin, not generated by the United States, and assessed as having low credibility’.

The gap between the Israeli-Lebanese negotiating table in Rome and the reality on the ground in southern Lebanon is widening by the day, as the Israeli army lays waste to southern Lebanon with air strikes, artillery fire and the use of white phosphorus bombs, whilst Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has denounced Israel’s violence as a violation of international law. The Israeli army, for its part, claims it is engaged in the destruction of the infrastructure of Hezbollah, the Lebanese party allied with Iran.

The battle has been raging for days in the Nabatiye district, on Ali Taher Hill. For the first time, details are emerging from the front line, via regional media, regarding the combined use of reconnaissance drones and toxic gases injected into the tunnels dug beneath the hill. White phosphorus, a weapon banned under international law but repeatedly used by Israel in areas inhabited by civilians, was used this morning on the Ali Taher heights. According to the Israeli army, the site houses a ‘Party of God’ facility, with command tunnels and an arms depot. Israeli forces have so far attempted unsuccessfully to capture it.

The Donald Trump administration has criticised Israel’s plans to maintain its occupation of southern Lebanon, stating that they violate the commitments made in the agreement between the United States, Lebanon and Israel. A State Department official, as reported by Barak Ravid of Axios, stated that ‘a permanent military presence in southern Lebanon is not compatible with the commitments made in the framework agreement’.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has stated that the country will not withdraw from the occupied territories in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza ‘under any circumstances’. This is reported by Al-Jazeera, citing the Israeli news outlet i24. During a visit to frontline army positions in southern Lebanon, Katz stated that the forces will remain indefinitely in what Israel describes as ‘security zones’ in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.

Al-Jazeera points out that Israel occupies territories in southern Lebanon, more than half of the Gaza Strip and several strategic positions in Syria, including part of Jabal al-Sheikh, the country’s highest mountain.

Further reading

Latest war news. Sources: Italia and the UK are among the countries being considered to monitor Hezbollah’s disarmament

12 August 2026