Live: Israel shells towns and razes homes in southern Lebanon

US vice president JD Vance has said the US has made progress in negotiations with Iran, but Washington remains focused on determining whether Tehran “is willing to make longer-term changes that could lead to an improved relationship with Washington”. 

“The question is whether they're able, their system is able to give the things that are necessary for us to be happy, for us to feel like we've gotten what we need out of this particular engagement. That is still to be determined, but I do think that we've made some progress over the last few days,” Vance told Fox News.

Vance reiterated that the US has “destroyed Iran’s nuclear programme, their conventional military and radically reduced their asymmetric military abilities”. 

“And right now we’re trying to see if they’re willing to make the kind of long-term changes that would be necessary to have a better relationship with the United States,” he said.

“And if not, that’s fine too. We’re just going to keep on applying the pressure that we can apply and getting as much oil and gas out of the Middle East so that Americans can enjoy lower gas and energy prices,” he added.
 

A fleet of at least 56 is currently conducting "covert ship-to-ship transfer" of oil from Gulf countries, according to TankerTrackers.com, which tracks oil shipments.

The firm said the fleet of "visually identified tankers is currently operating in digital darkness to support oil exports from Arab nations neighbouring Iran" 

“These vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz to conduct covert ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in the Gulf of Oman,” it said, adding that this helps “ensure that you can still afford to enjoy your summer holiday, even if it is only a day trip”.

A fleet of at least 56 visually identified tankers is currently operating in digital darkness to support oil exports from Arab nations neighboring Iran. These vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz to conduct covert ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in the Gulf of Oman; helping ensure… pic.twitter.com/4OjL8qXtpq

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) August 8, 2026

A girl and her father were wounded when an Israeli drone crashed in the town of Kfar Rumman in southern Lebanon, Lebanese media reported.

The “hostile drone” was flying over the Ali al-Taher–Al-Dabsha heights before crashing near a house belonging to the Qansou family after suffering a technical malfunction, according to the National News Agency.

Israeli authorities have issued a tender for the construction of 627 settler housing units in the Kochav Yaakov settlement in the occupied West Bank, Wafa reported.

Citing the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Wafa said the tender, published on 6 August 2026, has set 30 November 2026 as the deadline for development and construction companies to submit their bids.

The Kochav Yaakov settlement is built on the lands of the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate.

The Commission said the housing project, covering 253.7 dunums (62.69 acres), has moved from planning to tendering stage in only 15 months.

During the first half of 2026, the Commission monitored the publication of 12 tenders by Israeli authorities, including 1,138 housing units in five main settlements, according to Wafa.

Some of these tenders, rather than focusing solely on residential expansion, are aimed at developing industrial and commercial zones, offices, nursing homes, and tourism and recreational facilities.

Israeli forces have attacked central Gaza’s Bureij camp with artillery shelling and the al-Shakush area with intense tank fire, according to the Palinfo news agency.

Despite agreeing to a ceasefire in October 2025, Israeli attacks on the territory have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, including 300 children.

In the West Bank, where Israeli settlers have been carrying out attacks regularly on Palestinians and their properties, several Palestinian residents of Dheisheh Camp, south of Bethlehem, suffered suffocation when Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters during a raid, Wafa reported.

Wafa said the forces also raided the towns and villages of Za'atara, Ash Shawawra, Dar Salah, and Al 'Ubeidiya, east of Bethlehem.

A newly leaked photograph shows two blindfolded elderly Palestinian men from Beit Lahia in Gaza, hours before Israeli forces killed them in November 2024, according to Palestinian journalist Younis Tirawi, who published the image.

The photograph shows Israeli military personnel standing between two blindfolded men, whom Tirawi identified in a post on X as Nadi Marouf and Ali Marouf.

He said the photograph was taken hours before their deaths and that the two men were "used as human bait and then executed".

In an earlier post in October 2025, Tirawi had said that troops from the 92nd Battalion of the Kfir Brigade abducted the men from Beit Lahia and held them as human shields for several days. 

"Israeli troops from the 92nd Battalion of the Kfir Brigade abducted two elderly Palestinians from Beit Lahia and used them as human shields for days before killing them," Tirawi wrote.

Read more: 'Used as human bait': Leaked image shows elderly Palestinian men before execution by Israeli forces

The Pentagon has ordered US arms manufacturers to accelerate weapons production as the Israeli-US war on Iran depletes American munition stockpiles.

In a memo obtained by The Washington Post, Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg gave defence companies 21 days to explain how they would “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities”.

“Years-long development cycles are not acceptable,” Feinberg wrote. “We must dramatically accelerate our program schedules and expand our production capacity now.”

The order exposes the mounting strain the war has placed on US weapons reserves and follows tensions between President Donald Trump and Pentagon officials over dwindling missile supplies.

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has outlined Tehran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB, Zolghadr said Washington must “correct its behaviour” by:

• Ending threats against Iran and its “sacred values”

• Permanently halting military action against Iran and its regional allies

• Withdrawing US naval and air forces involved in the blockade of Iran

• Compensating Iran for damage inflicted during the recent conflict

• Lifting US sanctions

• Releasing frozen Iranian assets

“The Supreme National Security Council will not retreat from these demands, whether in war or in negotiations,” Zolghadr said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says the new defence agreement between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is technically equivalent to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence clause and does not target Iran.

Fidan told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency that the three countries would establish a ministerial committee resembling NATO’s decision-making structure. The pact will also have a general secretariat based in Saudi Arabia.

Egypt could join the alliance once the parties resolve outstanding technical issues, Fidan added.

Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the agreement on Friday.

Iranian army spokesman Amir Akraminia says Tehran’s new order in the Strait of Hormuz cannot be reversed, regardless of Washington’s objections.

“The United States has no choice but to accept the existing situation; otherwise, it will incur costs far greater than those it has faced in the past,” Akraminia said in remarks reported by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have condemned an Iranian attack on an Emirati tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, with Riyadh calling it a “grave violation” of international law and an assault on maritime security and global energy supplies. 

Saudi Arabia said Iran must immediately cease what it called continued aggression and reaffirmed its support for the United Arab Emirates. 

Qatar also described the attack as a “flagrant violation” of international law and freedom of navigation. 

Doha rejected Iran’s use of the Strait of Hormuz as a “bargaining chip” and called for the waterway to be reopened without conditions, warning that its continued closure threatens regional economies and global trade. 

A vessel was struck by an unknown projectile about 33km off the coast of Khasab, Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said, citing a verified source.

The projectile caused a fire on board, which was later extinguished, UKMTO said.

The vessel and all crew members were reported safe, while authorities continue to assess the incident.

UKMTO WARNING 108-26

Click here to view the full product ⤵️https://t.co/MqbE4EZLqo#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/GHKHzwj4KG

— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) August 8, 2026

Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, has called for foreign forces to leave the region, saying their presence is the “main factor of insecurity”.

In a post on X, Velayati praised Iran’s armed forces, the steadfastness of the Iranian people and the “axis of resistance”.

He said regional countries could ensure their own security through greater cooperation and that the “defeat of America” and Israel had reinforced the case for foreign forces to withdraw.

جاءت التطورات الأخيرة نتيجة صمود القوات المسلحةوثبات الشعب الإيراني وشجاعة محور المقاومة أدت هزيمة أمريكا والكيان الصهيوني إلى ترسيخ الاعتقاد بأن القوات الأجنبية وهي العامل الرئيسي لانعدام الأمن يجب أن تغادرالمنطقة ويمكن لدول المنطقة عبر التعاون المتزايد بينها أن تضمن أمن المنطقة

— Aliakbar Velayati (@Drvelayati_ir) August 8, 2026

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says the Strait of Hormuz will reopen only if the United States accepts Tehran’s conditions, adding that the decision is separate from ongoing talks with Oman, state news agency Tasnim reported.

IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebbi said the waterway was a key part of Iran’s “geographical and strategic power” and that its reopening was subject to “specific mechanisms and conditions”.

“Whenever the US accepts Iran’s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely open,” he said.