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

A British couple detained in Iran accused of spying have ended their latest months-long hunger strikes protesting their treatment in prison, their family said Monday.

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both aged in their early 50s, were seized in January 2025 as they passed through Iran while on a round-the-world motorbike trip.

They were sentenced in February to a decade in prison on espionage charges that they deny, with two years subsequently added to Craig Foreman's term for talking to the media.

They launched their latest hunger strikes in May, protesting the "serious physical toll" their detentions were taking, with Craig Foreman lasting 93 days and his wife 84 days, according to their relatives.

The couple has consistently complained about overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in the prison they are detained in.

The Israeli military has caused a "major explosion" in the municipality of Zaoutar el-Charkiya in south Lebanon, state media agency NNA reported.

It also said Israel had shot machine gun rounds towards Wadi Slouki at dawn on Monday.

NNA says the Israeli military attacked the village of Mansouri with artillery strikes during the night, as well as the settlement of Bani Hayyan.

تفجير كبير في زوطر الشرقية https://t.co/27BGP2uyPM

— National News Agency (@NNALeb) August 10, 2026

The US military said on Monday it had rerouted 55 commercial vessels sailing towards Iran as part of its operations to enforce restrictions on Iranian ports.

The US Central Command, which coordinates US operations in the Middle East, said in a statement published on X that it had rerouted the vessels, disabled two others and inspected two additional ships to ensure compliance with the restrictions.

U.S. Sailors stand watch on the bridge of USS Ross (DDG 71). Ross is one of over 20 U.S. warships deployed to the Middle East supporting military missions, including strict enforcement of the U.S. blockade against Iran. As of Aug. 9, CENTCOM has redirected 55 commercial vessels,… pic.twitter.com/B5NCpX7Nxw

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 9, 2026

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

Baghaei said the pact showed a "change in perception" towards US, as well as a shift in regional countries' approach to security, with greater reliance on their own capabilities rather than outside powers.

"Any plan that is based on the geopolitical and historical realities of the region, is comprehensive and inclusive, and correctly identifies the enemy and the threat, has a chance of helping to strengthen security and prevent instability and abuses by the Zionist enemy and its allies," he added.

A former head of Israel’s National Security Council has called for Gaza to remain devastated for decades, openly presenting Palestinian despair and destruction as desirable outcomes after Israel’s genocide in the enclave.

Retired Major General Giora Eiland told Israel’s 103FM radio station on Sunday that rebuilding Gaza would run against Israeli interests.

“Israel has no interest in Gaza being rebuilt, it is better for us that it be destroyed for generations to come,” Eiland said.

“The greater the despair in Gaza and the greater the destruction, and the greater the monument to what they did on October 7, years to come, that is good" he added.

Read more: Israeli general says Gaza should remain ‘destroyed for generations’

Good morning Middle East Eye readers,

Here are the latest developments from across the region: 

• Israel will not have to withdraw its forces from Gaza until Palestinian groups surrender their weapons under the Board of Peace’s plan, its senior envoy has said contradicting his earlier position stating that it did. Speaking to Israel’s Channel 12, Nickolay Mladenov said any withdrawal would follow the verified decommissioning of weapons.

• Israel has rejected US President Donald Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza and will not withdraw until Hamas fully disarms, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. During a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu vowed that there will be no military withdrawal until Hamas "genuinely" disarms.

• Lebanon will not take part in the next round of talks with Israel that are scheduled for early September unless its conditions are met, L’Orient-Le Jour reported, citing a source close to the Lebanese delegation's leadership.

• The Yemeni military said early on Monday that a Houthi attack on the Red Sea port city of Mocha killed seven people, including military personnel and civilians, and wounded 30 others. The military added that air defences intercepted and shot down 11 Houthi drones that participated in the attack. 

• Tensions between Israel and the US is growing amid Washington's efforts to wind down fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, according to Israeli Channel 13. That US Central Command (Centcom) chief Brad Cooper conveyed the message of Washington wanting to shift toward "closing the three fronts" during a visit to Israel over the weekend, the broadcaster indicated citing a military source. 

 The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate documented 108 attacks by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian journalists and media workers in July.

The attacks include detentions, beatings, interrogations, targeting them with stun grenades and tear gas, cases of settler violence, raids on their home and workplaces, seizure of journalistic equipment and obstruction of journalists’ work.

These various instances of violence has rendered Palestinian journalists and media personelle unable to carry out their work or cover ongoing human rights violations. 

During a press conference in Tehran, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi stated that negotiations with Oman over a "temporary route" for the Strait of Hormuz are "very close to reaching a conclusion".

During the same presser, Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian made remarks on the management of the Hormuz crisis, underlining that "violations occur in every memorandum of understanding," and thus "a team should have been formed to address violations rather than to fight".

During a press conference in Tehran, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi stated that negotiations with Oman over a "temporary route" for the Strait of Hormuz are "very close to reaching a conclusion". pic.twitter.com/nKI0N5XIcg

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) August 9, 2026

The US Central Command said late on Sunday that its forces redirected 55 commercial vessels as part of its "strict enforcement" of the blockade against Iran. 

It also added that two more were disabled and another two were boarded to "ensure compliance".

The Yemeni military said early on Monday that a Houthi attack on the Red Sea port city of Mocha killed seven people, including military personnel and civilians, and wounded 30 others.

 The military added that air defences intercepted and shot down 11 Houthi drones that participated in the attack. 

Tensions between Israel and the US is growing amid Washington's efforts to wind down fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, according to the Israeli Channel 13 reported.

That US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Brad Cooper conveyed the message of Washington wanting to shift toward "closing the three fronts" during a visit to Israel over the weekend, the broadcaster indicated citing a military source. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a Gaza plan hailed by US President Donald Trump, vowing no military withdrawal until Hamas "genuinely" disarms.

"Israel rejects the 15-point document," Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting. "The [Israeli military] will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed and will continue to thwart threats against our forces and our citizens."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel rejects a Gaza plan hailed by US President Donald Trump, vowing no military pullout until Hamas "genuinely" disarms.
"Israel rejects the 15-point document. pic.twitter.com/fEX9IWcoRl

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) August 9, 2026

Lebanon will not take part in the next round of talks with Israel that are scheduled for early September unless its conditions are met, L’Orient-Le Jour reported citing a source close to the Lebanese delegation's leadership.

According to the report, the specific date of the discussions have not been finalised as Beirut has its participation conditional on Israel accepting its demands.

"There will be no new negotiations unless Israel accepts Lebanon's conditions, which also include a full cease-fire and an end to the destruction and earthworks being carried out by the Israeli army," the source told the daily.

The Israeli army has continued to launch attacks in southern Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency (NNA)reported. 

This includes artillery shelling in the town of Mansouri and Nabatieh al-Fawqa as well as a "large bombing" in the town of Kfar Tebnit.

Israel's military operations in the country come amid ongoing negotiations between the two states. 

At least 4,333 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon since early March, with 12,250 others wounded in the same period.

Israel has rejected US President Donald Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza and will not withdraw until Hamas fully disarms, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

The Board of Peace, spearheaded by Trump, announced last month that it had made a breakthrough in a plan to end the war.

Israel and Hamas agreed to the plan last year, beginning with a ceasefire. Israel has continued to carry out near-daily strikes on Gaza since agreeing to the ceasefire last October.

Trump said that Hamas had agreed to lay down its weapons.

“Israel rejects the 15-point document,” Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

Read more: Israel rejects Trump's 15-point plan for Gaza, says Netanyahu