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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
— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) August 8, 2026
Click here to view the full product ⤵️https://t.co/MqbE4EZLqo#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/GHKHzwj4KG
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.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said “journalists are considered the frontline commanders of the media battle against the enemy” and “commanders who stand firm against the organised onslaughts of the enemies using the tools of the pen, the image, and the narrative", Press TV reported.
Congratulating journalists on Journalists’ Day, he said the “children of this land will not allow the enemy to build its imagined victories in the minds of the public”.
“Through continuous enlightenment, journalists help nations distinguish truth from falsehood, laying the groundwork for strengthening public insight against waves of deception and cognitive operations,” he said, according to Press TV.
Good morning Middle East Eye readers,
Secretary-general of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissen Brahim Taha, has welcomed the joint defence agreement signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on Friday.
Bahrain, Yemen’s internationally recognised government and a former Qatari prime minister also welcomed the pact.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was open to the participation of “other friendly nations”.
Two civilians were, meanwhile, killed as Houthis struck the oil-rich city of Marib again on Friday. On Saturday, the armed forces said they responded to the attacks.
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran is prepared to pursue dialogue to protect its national interests but will not accept demands that undermine its sovereignty or defensive capabilities.
Here are the latest developments:
• A US official has said progress is being made between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz and "we expect a deal soon".
• United States Central Command said that it has redirected 51 commercial vessels, disabled two, and boarded two others since it reinstated a naval blockade of Iran on 14 July.
• Several Palestinians, including two officers of an ambulance, were injured in a series of attacks and raids carried out by Israeli forces and settlers across the West Bank.
• At least 300 children — an average of one child every day — have been killed in Gaza in the 300 days since a ceasefire was announced in October 2025, according to Unicef.
• Israeli artillery shelled the vicinity of the town of al-Mansouri early Saturday morning
• Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained subdued on 7 August, with eight confirmed crossings, down 33% from the previous day, according to maritime traffic tracking firm Kpler.
• A top United States general has said that the country needs “an off-ramp” from the war with Iran, fearing that the military options currently being considered by the Trump administration could backfire.
Three Palestinians, including a woman, have been injured by Israeli army gunfire north of Khan Younis in Gaza, Al Jazeera and Quds News Network reported.
On 3 July, the Gaza health ministry said a total of 1,250 people have been killed and 4,110 wounded in the territory since a ceasefire was declared on 11 October 2025.
Israeli artillery shelled the vicinity of the town of al-Mansouri early Saturday morning, the country's National News Agency reported.
The Israeli army continues to occupy swaths of land in southern Lebanon and has regularly been attacking villages despite ongoing diplomatic talks between Lebanon and Israel. Hezbollah is not part of the talks.
The Palestinian Prisoner's Society (PPS) has said that Israel’s decision to renew the ban on family visits to Palestinian detainees would provide the Israeli prison system cover to continue violations against incarcerated Palestinians, Wafa reported.
PPS said Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's decision to renew the ban was an extension of a systematic policy “aimed at enforcing the complete isolation of detainees and turning prisons into closed environments where torture, starvation, slow killing, and concealment from the outside world can continue without oversight or accountability”.
The PPS added that the renewed ban on family visits came shortly after the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the continued prevention of visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Palestinian detainees was unlawful, according to Wafa.
Yemen's Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones at displacement camps and residential neighbourhoods in the city of Marib on Friday, killing two people and wounding 14, Reuters reported, citing state news agency SABA.
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, meanwhile, said in a statement that the country "today faces a greater risk of renewed large-scale conflict than at any point since the UN-brokered truce of April 2022".
Yemen's army said early on Saturday it had responded against Houthi forces on several fronts along the lines of contact.
In a video broadcast by Yemen TV, a spokesperson for Yemen's armed forces said the operation achieved its objectives and warned that continued Houthi attacks would be met with a military response “without leniency.”
The army did not give details of the operations or say when they took place.
عاجل
— قناة اليمن الفضائية | YemenTv (@yementvyem) August 8, 2026
الناطق الرسمي للقوات المسلحة اليمنية العقيد ماجد النزيلي
القوات المسلحة نفذت عمل عسكري ضد العناصر الحوثية الارهابية وعتادها العسكري. pic.twitter.com/KvAhprLqn9
American senators have “introduced a resolution to put a stop to President Trump’s illegal war with Iran”, according to Senator John Hickenlooper.
“American lives have been lost. Gas and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed. Our military stockpiles drained,” Hickenlooper, who represents Colorado in the US Senate, wrote on X.
“End this war. NOW.”
We just introduced a resolution to put a stop to President Trump’s illegal war with Iran.
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) August 7, 2026
American lives have been lost. Gas and fertilizer prices have skyrocketed. Our military stockpiles drained.
End this war. NOW. pic.twitter.com/zi17ukdcZW
Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian has said Tehran is prepared to pursue dialogue to protect its national interests but will not accept demands that undermine its sovereignty or defensive capabilities, IRNA reported.
In an address to the Iranian public, Pezeshkian stressed improved relations with neighbouring countries and the need to prevent regional divisions, the report said.
The president rejected claims that his administration had pressured the country’s leadership into accepting negotiations.
Pezeshkian stressed that Iran regarded Muslim countries as brothers and questioned why Muslim states should become involved in conflict with one another, IRNA reported.
He warned that the US and Israel sought to bring Persian Gulf countries together against Iran, while Tehran worked to prevent it.
Tehran would not accept dismantling Iran’s military and defence capabilities, while pursuing dialogue when it protected national interests.
At least 300 children — an average of one child every day — have been killed in Gaza in the 300 days since a ceasefire was announced in October 2025, according to Unicef.
"A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children," Unicef Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, said in a statement.
"With hundreds more children injured, many severely, children in Gaza are still waiting for the end to the violence they were promised,” he said.
Across the Strip, children continue to face acute malnutrition, disease, unsafe water and damaged sanitation systems, the statement added.
"A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children.
— UNICEF MENA - يونيسف الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا (@UNICEFmena) August 6, 2026
Children have heard promises before. This time, agreements must translate into action."
— Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa
Read the full… pic.twitter.com/Df7VSI3hXh
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan was open to the participation of “other friendly nations”, Turkish media reported.
In a post on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal, Erdogan said: “The agreement does not target any country and is open to the participation of all brotherly countries seeking peace, prosperity and stability in our region.”
He added that the agreement reaffirms the right to self-defence as defined under Article 51 of the UN Charter, according to TRT World.
Several Palestinians, including two officers of an ambulance, were injured in a series of attacks and raids carried out by Israeli forces and settlers across the West Bank, Wafa reported.
• Three Palestinians were injured after being beaten by settlers in Beit Dajan, east of Nablus.
• In Abu Nujaym, southeast of Bethlehem, settlers opened fire, injuring a Palestinian, before attacking an ambulance that arrived to help him and spraying its crew with pepper spray.
Director of the Palestine Red Crescent Society’s ambulance service in Bethlehem, Abdul Halim Jaafreh, said that two ambulance officers were injured in the attack, rendering the vehicle inoperable.
• In Anza, south of Jenin, Israeli forces arrested a 13-year-old boy, Mohammed Imad Sadaqa, after raiding his family home.
• Another Palestinian was beaten and arrested during a raid on Beit Furik, east of Nablus.
• Settlers also attacked Palestinian homes and communities in the northern Jordan Valley and near Ramallah.
• Israeli forces set up checkpoints, closed roads and carried out raids in Bethlehem, Jenin, Qalqilya, Tubas and other areas.
