Latest war news. Jerusalem: Israeli settlers storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has described the notion that Iran is “defenceless” in the face of attacks as a “myth”. “Hundreds of US military sites razed to the ground; dozens of aircraft destroyed. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. We will reveal everything in due course. For those who have spread lies about Iran, it will not end well,” he wrote on X.

Senior military commanders from the United States, Israel and several Arab countries met last week in Germany to discuss the war with Iran and the wider tensions in the region. This was reported by Axios, citing two Israeli officials and emphasising that the closed-door meeting, organised by the commander of Centcom, US Admiral Brad Cooper, was not officially announced by any of the participating countries. In addition to Cooper, the meeting was attended by the chiefs of staff of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt. According to the sources, Admiral Cooper reassured the allies by stating that the US would not withdraw from the region, despite Iranian attacks on American bases. Cooper also outlined to his counterparts the US plan to increase naval traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The meeting was confirmed by CENTCOM, which stated that it had “hosted senior military leaders from eight nations during a scheduled conference in Germany. The leaders discussed opportunities to strengthen security cooperation in the Middle East”.

US forces and the Gulf states have started to allow oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz during the day, rather than only at night as had been the case in recent months. This is according to Axios, citing a US official.

British intelligence announced today that it had uncovered a plan for cyber-attacks attributed to Iran, involving the distribution of ‘spyware’ capable of stealing sensitive data on the identity and location of dissidents, activists and journalists around the world who are unwelcome in Tehran. The investigation was carried out by the National Cyber Security Centre of GCHQ, the UK’s digital espionage and counter-espionage agency, in cooperation with intelligence services from allied countries such as the US and the Netherlands, as reported by the British media.

The hackers pretended to be contacts known to the victim, operating via WhatsApp and Telegram, and then built up a relationship of trust with the targeted users before installing the spyware known as “Chosen Brick”. The programme allows attackers to steal a range of information, including emails, social media messages and contacts, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) explained. The spyware also enables attackers to capture the screen’s contents and activate the microphone on the compromised device.

Further reading

Thus, America finds itself vulnerable to asymmetric warfare with Iran

21 August 2026

The oil podium is creaking. The world’s second and third largest producers, Saudi Arabia and Russia, have seen a dramatic slump in crude oil production, which has fallen to its lowest level in decades – a drop of over 5 million barrels a day compared with a year ago. Meanwhile, the number one producer – the United States – continues to break records, but is no longer able to keep up as it once did.

Although the price per barrel has soared above the $100 mark, US production is set to rise by just 170,000 barrels a day this year (albeit to a new all-time high of 13.83 million) and by 430,000 next year, according to the latest US government forecasts. In 2023, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and international sanctions against Moscow, it had risen by 1.1 million barrels a day.

Israel is reportedly providing intelligence support to Saudi Arabia in the context of the escalation with the Yemeni Houthis. This is reported by the Israeli news site Ynet, which cites diplomatic sources in the region. According to these sources, the assistance is being channelled to Riyadh via the US Central Command (Centcom) and does not involve operational support or direct Israeli involvement in the fighting. The issue was also addressed during talks held in recent days in Saudi Arabia by Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of Centcom. On Monday, in Jeddah, Cooper met with the Crown Prince and de facto leader of the country, Mohammed bin Salman; the two discussed security developments in the region, against the backdrop of a sharp escalation with the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels. Washington aims to support Riyadh without becoming directly involved on another military front. Last week, Bin Salman asked Trump to attack the Houthis. Trump rejected the request, but US officials made it clear that Washington would provide Saudi Arabia with intelligence on the Houthis and assistance in identifying targets.

The semi-official Iranian news agency Fars has reported that the Revolutionary Guards have shot down another US-made MQ-1 drone in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the agency, this is the third drone of this type to be shot down today in the area.

During his hearing before the House Finance Committee, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reported having held private talks “very positive” with Chinese representatives regarding the severing of Beijing’s economic ties with Iran. Bessent also reported that he will hold further talks this weekend with his Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, ahead of President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United States, scheduled for the end of the month.

A group of over 100 MEPs has written a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to make an “urgent appeal for a Commission legislative proposal to ban EU trade with illegal Israeli settlements”. The letter was initiated by the Irish MEP from Renew Europe, Barry Andrews, and signed by members mainly from S&D, The Left, the Greens and Renew, as well as a few from the EPP. “We are writing to you ahead of your State of the European Union address and following the Joint Declaration by Foreign Ministers on the two-state solution of 8 September. We urge you to finally put forward a legislative proposal to ban EU trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories”, the MEPs write.

“Anyone who acts against the State of Israel during a war cannot continue to hold Israeli citizenship,” said the Israeli Minister of Culture Miki Zohar. The criticism is directed at Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the two directors who won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival for their film “Naza”.

The Israeli Defence Forces have stated that they have killed two Hamas commanders in separate attacks in the Gaza Strip. Among them is a man who, according to the army, had helped train Hamas forces in the run-up to the attack on 7 October.

The army – according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz – has announced that it killed Rafat Abu Zamar during an attack yesterday. According to the information available, the man held the position of company commander at Hamas’s operations headquarters. According to the IDF, Abu Zamar ‘had promoted and directed the training of Hamas militants prior to the 7 October massacre and, more recently, had continued to train fighters and develop the organisation’s military capabilities’.

A group of 169 Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which is guarded by Israeli forces. This was reported by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing the Jerusalem Governorate. After entering via Bab al-Maghariba, the settlers performed Talmudic prayer rituals in the courtyards of the mosque. Non-Muslims are permitted to visit the Al-Aqsa compound, but prayer at Islam’s third holiest site is not allowed under a 1967 agreement governing the status quo of the site. Radical settler groups have called on their supporters to take part en masse in incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque under the pretext of celebrating the Jewish New Year. Israeli authorities are using Jewish holidays as a pretext to close roads and impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, according to reports by Wafa.

Israeli forces have carried out heavy bombardments in the town of Qounine, in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon. This was reported by the Lebanese National News Agency, which added that there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Un soldato cammina mentre alcuni veicoli della Forza provvisoria delle Nazioni Unite in Libano (UNIFIL) sono parcheggiati in una base a Naqoura, un villaggio di confine a maggioranza cristiana nel sud del Libano che è rimasto abitato per tutta la durata del conflitto, vicino alle zone occupate dalle forze israeliane, il 12 settembre 2026. REUTERS/Raghed Waked

The spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces announced the elimination of two Hamas terrorists: Rafat Abu Zmar, a company commander at the operational headquarters of the Islamist party’s military wing; and Hamad Hadar Fahmi Agur, a militant from the same wing. Abu Zmar, who had been responsible for training the group since before 7 October, was killed yesterday in the Khan Younis area. In a separate operation in Gaza City, the IDF killed Agur, who was involved in the production of military equipment.

Palestinesi partecipano al funerale di Mohammed al-Yazouri presso la moschea Al-Shafi'i nella zona occidentale di Khan Yunis, nella Striscia di Gaza meridionale, l'11 settembre 2026. Al-Yazouri, identificato come il comandante della Brigata di Khan Yunis di Hamas, è stato ucciso durante un attacco aereo israeliano nel sud di Gaza il 10 settembre. EPA/HAITHAM IMAD

It is difficult to use adjectives other than ‘amateur’ or ‘impulsive’ when judging Donald Trump views the world. Especially the Middle East. Even more so in the Gulf, where, with each passing day, it is the Iranians who are dictating the pace and terms of the conflict. Now they are using the Houthis without any qualms: the Yemeni Shia militia, their ally, is conquering the rest of the country, has taken control of Bab el-Mandeb and is now bombing Saudi Arabia.

President Trump’s refusal to grant the request for assistance is a decisive blow to America’s role and credibility in the Gulf. Unable to defeat the Iranians, he is now abandoning the Saudis, who, according to the original plans, were to be – alongside Israel – the cornerstone of US strategy in the region: the trip to Riyadh had been Trump’s first overseas visit in both his first and second presidential terms.

New air strikes by Yemeni government forces have taken place in the Taiz area, in south-western Yemen, targeting positions held by Houthi rebels, according to Al Jazeera. The news outlet adds that among the targets struck was a missile launch pad. The air strikes are also continuing on positions held by the Houthis (a pro-Iranian armed group) south of Taiz. For its part, the rebel group is concentrating its forces on a section of the front line east of the city, which is considered a corridor providing access to it, according to Al Jazeera.

For 11 years now, Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been grappling with an awkward dilemma: is it possible to defeat a mountain-based militia through an intensive campaign of aerial bombardment without a ground invasion? The answer, so far, has always been the same. The Houthis have remained, regrouped and consistently resumed their attacks. The US, the UK and Israel have all asked themselves the same question. With similar results. Ansar Allah, the Yemeni Zaydi (Shia) movement allied with Iran, has been fighting for over 20 years and none of its opponents has managed to defeat it militarily. Originating in the province of Sa’ada, one of the most inaccessible and impoverished areas of Yemen, it now controls Sana’a and much of the north, where the majority of the population lives.

They had threatened to attack Saudi infrastructure. They kept their word, taking the oil pipeline linking the east and west of the Kingdom out of action at the weekend.

More than 1,000 filmmakers in Israel have signed a petition in support of directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor following the controversy sparked by the film ‘Naza’, which has been accused of defaming Israel on the international stage. This is according to Ynet. The petition has been signed by figures from the worlds of cinema and culture. Signatories include filmmaker Liran Atzmor (one of the initiative’s organisers), director Nadav Lapid, director Orna Ben Dor, Netalie Braun, Rani Blair, Hagai Levi, Shai Carmeli-Pollak, Shlomi Elkabetz and others. The text of the petition reads: “We, filmmakers and creative professionals, call on all those who still fight for freedom of expression and artistic freedom to join us in expressing support and solidarity with Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham, the filmmakers behind ‘Naza’. In recent days, we have witnessed an unprecedented campaign of vilification and incitement against the film’s creators, a campaign that is dangerously close to legitimising violence and posing a physical threat to their safety.”

The United States has never offered to exchange Russia’s aid to Iran for its assistance on Ukraine. This was stated today by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “I have read these speculations… that the United States would help Ukraine if Russia were to help Iran. As we say, there is no room for bargaining here,” Lavrov said during a round-table discussion at the embassy on the situation in Ukraine. Russia is explaining its position on Ukraine to the United States in detail, but it is difficult to say how this will influence Washington’s concrete actions, the Russian minister added.

Il ministro degli Esteri russo Sergei Lavrov partecipa a un incontro tra il presidente Vladimir Putin e il presidente sudafricano Cyril Ramaphosa a margine del vertice BRICS a Nuova Delhi, in India, l’11 settembre 2026. Sputnik/Kristina Solovyova/Pool via REUTERS ATTENZIONE REDATTORI - QUESTA IMMAGINE È STATA FORNITA DA UNA TERZA PARTE.

China is closely monitoring the situation in the Gulf region and hopes for a political and diplomatic resolution to the disputes. This was reiterated today by the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun, in response to a question regarding statements made by a US military official alleging that the United States is facing an ammunition shortage due to the conflict with Iran. “China is closely monitoring the current situation in the Gulf region of the Middle East and hopes that the parties concerned will adhere to political and diplomatic channels to resolve their disputes,” said Guo.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have released a video which reportedly shows attacks on Houthi targets and positions. The footage includes several aerial shots of what are described as members and vehicles belonging to the group. The video shows explosions and plumes of smoke rising from the areas hit. No further details have been provided about the operation, nor has the extent of the damage been specified.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will be visiting Beijing this week, where he will meet his counterpart, Wang Yi, tomorrow and hold a series of talks. This was announced by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The two ministers had met in July. Beijing points out that the talks are taking place at a time when the Chinese government is attempting to mediate in the war between Iran and the United States, which has been ongoing since February.

Israel has deployed drones over Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, and its southern outskirts, according to the NNA. The Jewish state also dropped a stun grenade on a shepherd in Arid, in the Marjayoun district, according to the NNA.

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - A meeting of the United Nations Security Council is scheduled for today to discuss the situation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which is the target of offensives by the Yemeni Houthis. This is according to the AFP news agency, which reports that the meeting will take place this evening at 3.00 pm New York time, at the request of France, which holds the Council’s presidency for September.

According to the diplomatic sources cited, representatives from Yemen and Saudi Arabia are expected to speak at today’s meeting.

The head of Iran’s highest security authority has ruled out, under the current circumstances, any dialogue with the United States to end the war, after Donald Trump had said he was “open” to talks.

“Do not be distracted by the contradictory signals from the US President, who alternates between ‘no negotiations’ and ‘we are ready to discuss’ with Iran,” wrote Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, on X.

The head of Iran’s highest security body today ruled out any dialogue with the US to end the war, after Donald Trump had stated that he was “open” to talks. “Do not be distracted by the mixed signals from the American president, who alternates between ‘no negotiations’ and ‘we are ready to talk’ with Iran,” wrote Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, on X. “No talks until Iran’s conditions are met. Full stop!”, he added in a message in English that appears to be a direct response to the statements made by Trump on Monday.

The US President had reiterated his “openness” to dialogue with Tehran. “The Iranian nation, now in decline, wants to reach an agreement, quickly and urgently. It will be up to me to decide whether or not the United States chooses to engage – an idea to which we remain open,” Trump had written on his Truth Social platform. Tehran is calling on Washington to put a definitive end to the war and to all aggression against Iran and its allies in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Iranian regime is also demanding the lifting of the blockade imposed on its ports, full compensation for war damages, the lifting of sanctions against its economy and the unconditional release of its assets frozen abroad.

The Pentagon has acknowledged a “shortage” of ammunition caused by the war against Iran, after the Trump administration had largely dismissed reports of difficulties with US stockpiles in recent months. This is according to a report by the Inspector General of the Department of Defence published yesterday, as reported by the France Presse news agency.

According to the document, between 28 February and 30 June, Operation ‘Epic Fury’ against Iran cost around 33.4 billion dollars, of which 22.3 billion was spent on ammunition alone.

The United Arab Emirates has delivered 819 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip over the past week. This was reported by the Emirati news agency WAM.

Five convoys, comprising a total of 63 lorries, entered the Gaza Strip as part of Operation ‘Chivalrous Knight 3’, carrying 819 tonnes of humanitarian aid from the United Arab Emirates.

The US military command has denied reports in the Iranian media claiming that an oil tanker, the Panamanian-flagged El Gaia, had exploded after striking a mine in the Strait of Hormuz. According to Centcom, the tanker in question had already been struck by an Iranian missile last month and was today the target of another Iranian attack, this time by a drone.

The claims made by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and reported by the Fars news agency “are false”, Centcom states in a social media post.

A series of attacks carried out yesterday by Yemen’s Houthis using ballistic missiles and drones left 13 civilians injured in southern Saudi Arabia, the Riyadh-led military coalition against the pro-Iranian rebels announced today. “On Monday 14 September 2026, the militia launched attacks against civilian targets in the towns of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif using various ballistic missiles and drones, causing minor to moderate injuries to thirteen civilians, as well as damage to seven homes and two vehicles,” a coalition spokesperson wrote on X.