Live: Trump says he views Hormuz as 'American territory right now'

Iran will bring back 95 million cubic metres of gas to its production cycle by the end of September, oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Tuesday, according to the oil ministry's news outlet, as Tehran conducts repairs on energy infrastructure targeted by Israel and the US.

In July, a senior government official said Iran expects to restore around 100 million cubic metres per day of natural gas production capacity "within the coming months", after air strikes removed about 230 million cubic metres from output since the war started on 28 February.

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest updates: 

• A drone fell near a key oil tank and pipeline network at the Zawiya Oil Refining Company's oil blending plant, Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said. This is the third such attack in two days, with no casualties or damage reported in the latest incident. NOC indicated that it would declare a possible refinery shutdown if the attacks continue.

• Yemen’s government-aligned military indicated that Houthi forces launched ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port city of Mocha. The attack is one of several launched by the Houthis in recent days, amid renewed hostilities between them and the government's troops.

• US President Donald Trump said on Monday he would seek compensation from Iran for the deaths of US soldiers as part of any peace negotiations in a tit-for-tat demand after Tehran requested war reparations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

• Trump has also refused to provide information on what could come next for Washington's talks with Tehran, but suggested an escalation remains a possibility. When asked if a "massive escalation" is an option, he said: "Well, we have that certain ability if we want to do that... Yeah, you’ll find out."

• The head of the military intelligence department for Libya's eastern-based forces led by Khalifa Haftar was killed in a targeted assassination on Monday, Anadolu Agency reported citing a Libyan security official. An explosive device planted under Fawzi al-Mansouri's vehicle exploded in al-Sayyida Aisha residential neighborhood in eastern Benghazi.

Israel is withholding the bodies of about 1,700 Palestinians for potential use in future exchange deals, despite no Israeli captive being held by Hamas, according to Haaretz.

The daily indicated that the figure of Palestinian bodies held by Israel was increased during recent discussions between top Israeli leaders.

Israel has long maintained a policy of withholding the bodies of Palestinians. Israeli forces routinely kill Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip and seize their bodies.

Several human rights groups have repeatedly condemned Israel’s long-standing policy of withholding Palestinian bodies, calling for their immediate release and return to families.

Under Israeli law, the retention of Palestinian bodies is permitted and has been implemented across the occupied Palestinian territory.

However, international humanitarian law explicitly prohibits the withholding of bodies. It states that the dead must be treated with dignity, "honourably buried" and "if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged".

US President Donald Trump secretly left Turkey on a military aircraft last month amid an alleged Iranian assassination threat, The Washington Post reported citing several sources.

According to the report,  Trump boarded the an Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras in Ankara, and was later transferred to a smaller Air Force C-32A. 

The head of the military intelligence department for Libya's eastern-based forces led by Khalifa Haftar was killed in a targeted assassination on Monday, Anadolu Agency reported citing a Libyan security official.

An explosive device planted under Fawzi al-Mansouri's vehicle exploded in al-Sayyida Aisha residential neighborhood in eastern Benghazi.

According to the report, the official described the incident as a "terrorist attack," however, no official statement has been issued so far on the assassination.

Iran has played down the mutual security agreement signed between the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey in the Muslim holy city of Mecca on Friday.

Esmaeil Baghaei, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, said on Monday that Tehran saw no reason to be concerned that a new security pact is directed against Iran.

Baghaei said the pact showed a "change in perception" towards the US, as well as a shift in the regional approach to security.

He added that the agreement represented a shift towards greater reliance on the states' own capabilities rather than outside powers.

Read more: Iran says it is not concerned by new 'Mecca Joint Defence Agreement'

Yemen’s government-aligned military indicated that Houthi forces launched ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port city of Mocha. 

The attack is one of several launched by the Houthis in recent days, amid renewed hostilities between them and the government's troops.

Syrian authorities imposed a temporary curfew in Ayn al-Arab following attacks against government buildings, according to state media.

Citing a security source, Alikhbaria TV said a group of people launched assaults against government facilities, with Internal security forces reinforcing their presence across the area to impose order and pursue suspects. 

US President Donald Trump has refused to provide information on what could come next for Washington's talks with Tehran, but suggested an escalation remains a possibility. 

"You’ll find out," Trump told reporters at the White house.

When asked if a "massive escalation" is an option, he said: "Well, we have that certain ability if we want to do that... Yeah, you’ll find out."

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he would seek compensation from Iran for the deaths of US soldiers as part of any peace negotiations in a tit-for-tat demand after Tehran requested war reparations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 

“I see that Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five-month Military Conflict (started because, THEY WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON), even though it was never mentioned in any of our negotiations or meetings!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran," he added.

Trump said he wanted reparations not only from damages arising from the current war, but also attacks Iran is widely believed to have facilitated through allied militias on US soldiers going back more than two decades after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

Read more: Trump asks Iran for war reparations in new tit-for-tat demand

A drone fell near a key oil tank and pipeline network at the Zawiya Oil Refining Company's oil blending plant, Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) said.

This is the third such attack in two days, with no casualties or damage reported in the latest incident. 

NOC indicated that it would declare a possible refinery shutdown if the attacks continue.

It will be three years in October since Israel started its genocide in Gaza, a war crime it has repeated in the Occupied West Bank, South Lebanon, and Iran. 

For much of that time, Turkey and the Arab world held up their hands in horror but did nothing. "What can we do? Start a war with Israel?" the collective cry of the impotent went.

This line was frequently heard in Ankara which continued, despite a trade embargo, to allow Azerbaijani oil to flow through one of its ports and into the eager hands of the Israeli military.

Turkey did stop an Israeli and US armed ground incursion of Iran by Iranian Kurdish militias. And Saudi Arabia has honourably refused to normalise with Israel, absent a credible path to a Palestinian state.

Read more: Why the Mecca Agreement is a necessary show of force Opinion by David Hearst

Two Israeli air strikes have targeted areas near the southern Lebanese town of Mansouri, Al Jazeera reported, citing sources.

Here are some of the latest developments in the occupied West Bank, as reported by the Wafa news agency:

• Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians near al-Ram, north of occupied Jerusalem, as military vehicles raided the area. No casualties were immediately reported.

• In a separate raid, Israeli forces deployed in central Tubas and fired stun grenades at young men.

• Israeli forces destroyed water pipelines in Atouf and Ras al-Ahmar, southeast of Tubas, to build a military road, causing significant losses to the agricultural sector, according to a local activist.

• Israeli settlers set fire to agricultural land east of Jiljilyya, north of Ramallah, before civil defence crews brought the blaze under control.

• Israeli settlers besieged a Palestinian family’s home on the outskirts of Qusra, south of Nablus, for a second consecutive day, blocking access, food deliveries and visitors, and preventing the family from leaving. Israeli soldiers joined the settlers in prayer and took selfies with them before leaving without ending the siege.

• Israeli forces raided Balata refugee camp near Nablus, shooting and injuring a young man and detaining five Palestinians.

• Israeli authorities issued a military order to seize land in Marda, Salfit, to build a communications tower.

US-brokered talks between Lebanon and Israel will resume in Rome early next month, Al Jazeera reported, citing a US State Department official.

The official said initial implementation of the pilot zones within the trilateral framework has begun, and the military coordination group on Lebanon is working to ensure their successful rollout.

“Both sides face political constraints, and we are working to address them systematically,” the official said.

“The process remains positive, and no one is slowing down the implementation of the agreement."

The official also noted that the framework is being implemented, the first zones are operational and working groups have standardised terminology, maps and procedures.