Iraq’s Kurdistan region has faced significant repercussions from the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran over the past five months, despite efforts by the regional government to remain neutral and prevent attacks on Iran from its territory.

Hundreds of missiles and drones have struck the Kurdish region since the war began in February.

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told Al Jazeera that the region has “paid a heavy price” in the conflict.

Iran plans to restore 95 million cubic metres of natural gas production by late September as repair work continues on energy infrastructure damaged during the US-Israel war, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said.

The announcement follows a July statement by a senior government official that Tehran aimed to recover around 100 million cubic metres per day of capacity in the coming months.

Strikes on key facilities have disrupted an estimated 230 million cubic metres of daily gas output since the conflict began in late February.

The Middle East cannot remain indefinitely in a state of “neither war nor peace”, Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said, stressing that regional stability and the future of its people require a clear direction.

In a post on X, Gargash said any future phase must be based on international law, peaceful coexistence, respect for sovereignty and a shared commitment to peace.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels renewed attacks on government-controlled areas in Yemen on Tuesday, raising fears that the violence could reignite the country’s civil war and pose new threats to shipping lanes. The developments came as Iran’s foreign minister reiterated Tehran’s stance against reopening the Strait of Hormuz until the US meets its conditions, following President Donald Trump’s demand that Iran compensate for people he said it had killed. (AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his German counterpart Johann Wadephul held a phone conversation on Monday, discussing bilateral relations and regional and international developments. Araghchi briefed Wadephul on ongoing consultations with Oman aimed at establishing a safe route for maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Araghchi said insecurity in the strategic waterway was solely the result of military aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran. He called on the international community to hold the US administration accountable for the security and economic consequences of the Strait of Hormuz’s closure, and said restoring security required an end to US “aggressive actions and unlawful interference”, including a maritime blockade and other violations of its commitments under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.

The two ministers also stressed the importance of continuing diplomatic consultations at various levels. (IRNA)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he met with the Supreme Leader and discussed a wide range of issues. Pezeshkian said the Supreme Leader was in “excellent physical health”, adding that he offered guidance while Pezeshkian shared his concerns and the problems facing the country. He said the Supreme Leader listened to him “openly and attentively.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the United States “begged for negotiations” with Tehran about 20 days after President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” at the beginning of the war.

Speaking at a televised news conference broadcast by Iranian state television, Araghchi recalled Trump’s social media post demanding “unconditional surrender”.

“That was what they wanted from us and, 20 days later, the same enemy was begging for negotiations,” the Iranian foreign minister said. (Al Jazeera)

Crude leaking from the Caroline Bezengi, a tanker carrying nearly one million barrels of Russian oil to Asia, has formed a slick covering almost 400 square kilometres near Oman’s Hallaniyat Islands, Reuters reported.

The islands are part of a protected nature reserve and support wildlife including Arabian Sea humpback whales and Socotra cormorants. The tanker first reported trouble off Yemen on June 8, with initial assessments indicating an onboard blast, though no group has claimed responsibility.

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to six vessels on Monday, compared with a 10-day average of about 11, amid fading hopes of a US-Iran peace deal, Reuters reported, citing Kpler data.

Of these, four were commodity vessels while two vessels carried liquefied petroleum gas and residual fuels.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has “strongly condemned the brutal attacks” by Israel on southern Lebanon, which he said had killed and injured civilians and damaged infrastructure and homes, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul discussed the Strait of Hormuz and efforts to end the conflict with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, during a telephone call on Monday.

“The Strait of Hormuz needs to be opened unconditionally, ensuring free and safe navigation for all,” Wadephul said on X, urging Iran to engage constructively in negotiations with regional countries and the US.

Iran has appointed prominent hardliner and former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohsen Rezaei as secretary of its Supreme National Security Council.

Rezaei, a close ally of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, led the IRGC for 16 years, including during most of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

He replaces Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr as second-in-command of the council, which coordinates Iran’s security and foreign policy. Zolqadr has been appointed Khamenei’s political adviser.

Iran cannot afford to adapt to the US maritime blockade and must bring it to an end, Majid Reza Hariri, head of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, has said.

“Whether through negotiations, requests, threats, or even using force and starting a war again, this maritime blockade must end,” Hariri told KhabarOnline.

Trump said he was using the older Boeing 747 so US military personnel at a British airbase could tour the Qatar-donated aircraft he had used to fly into Turkey. However, several US media outlets reported that security concerns prompted the switch.

The White House did not directly address the reported operation but defended the Qatar-gifted jet’s safety.

“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,” Communications Director Steven Cheung said.

Yes, according to The Washington Post report.

US President Donald Trump secretly left Turkey aboard a smaller aircraft last month after US officials received intelligence about a possible Iranian assassination threat.

Trump boarded an older Air Force One jet in Ankara on July 8 before being moved inside a catering container to a smaller C-32A aircraft, according to the report. The smaller plane then flew him to Britain, while journalists and some officials were led to believe he remained aboard the larger jet.

US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that Iran’s request for compensation over damage from the recent conflict was “an interesting idea,” since he was “likewise demanding compensation from Iran” for those killed by roadside bombs, attacks including the USS Cole bombing, and what he called Iran’s killing of “hundreds of thousands” of protesters over 50 years, along with 52,000 people he said had been killed in the past five months. He said he had “instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations.” Trump further said that Iran should be deemed responsible Also, with respect to the Iran negotiations, Iran should be responsible for the “damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza.”

Abbas Jabalbarzi, a member of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce delegation, told Tejarat News that war damage to Mobarakeh Steel, Khuzestan Steel and petrochemical facilities had disrupted production chains, with effects now becoming apparent, according to Iran International. He warned that difficulties sourcing raw materials and rising prices could force plant closures and a “wave of unemployment,” saying it would take at least six months for factories to normalise, and called for easing banking, tax and social security burdens on manufacturers. He added that trade previously routed through the UAE to circumvent sanctions was no longer usable, with countries like Turkey emerging as an alternative.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on X that President Trump “got us into an illegal war, is losing his illegal war, and has no way out of his illegal war,” accusing him of lacking strategy and negotiating discipline in ways that endanger US troops and raise prices for Americans. “Trump’s leadership is a complete and total failure. We must end this war and begin to repair the damage he has wrought,” Schumer said.

Donald Trump got us into an illegal war, is losing his illegal war, and has no way out of his illegal war.

His lack of strategy, discipline, and any ability to seriously negotiate is endangering our troops and raising prices for everyday Americans.

Trump’s leadership is a… https://t.co/yn41W4KQmO

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 10, 2026

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on X that in a call with Abbas Araghchi, he urged Iran to enter constructively into negotiations with regional neighbours and the US to end the conflict, stressing that the Strait of Hormuz must be opened “without any conditions” to ensure free and safe navigation for all.

⬇️ https://t.co/XN96kpgz1h

— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) August 10, 2026

Majid Reza Hariri, head of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, told Khabar Online that the US naval blockade of Iran’s southern ports must end, saying “the consequences of the blockade are greater than war,” according to Iran International. He said Iran suffered less economic damage during the 40-day war than under the blockade, and warned against trying to bypass it as the country did with sanctions, which he said weakened the economy and fuelled corruption. Hariri said shipping a container from China costs $3,000 by sea versus $12,000 by land, and with roughly two million containers imported annually through southern ports, continued blockade could add $18bn in trade costs — more than Iran’s entire annual import needs for basic goods and medicine, which he put at under $15bn.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei appointed six senior commanders across the armed forces, IRGC and Basij, formalising a wartime leadership structure after several top commanders were killed. Ali Abdollahi was named armed forces chief of staff, replacing Abdolrahim Mousavi, with Kioumars Heydari as his deputy. Ahmad Vahidi was confirmed as IRGC commander-in-chief, succeeding Mohammad Pakpour, with instructions to strengthen readiness for “powerful offensive operations,” while Mostafa Izadi became his deputy. Ali Ozmaei was named IRGC Navy commander, and Hossein Taeb took over the Basij. The appointments came a day after former IRGC chief Mohsen Rezaei was named secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, pointing to a broader consolidation of IRGC figures across Iran’s wartime security apparatus.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell as investors grew less confident about reaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, with Intel shares down 4.1% and Nvidia down 2.9%. Intel has announced plans to raise $15bn through a stock offering, while a group of financial firms including Apollo Global and Blackstone are working with Nvidia on a $500bn AI infrastructure financing package, a source told Reuters. US crude rose about 5% to $82.13 a barrel as optimism over a West Asia resolution declined, with Reuters noting that reopening the strait could ease inflation and interest rate concerns.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton told Fox News that the Iranian people are “the first and worst victims” of the country’s revolutionary hardline rulers, saying they deserve a much better future and that achieving it would make America safer and the world more peaceful.

• Crude oil prices surged for the third straight day on Monday and are holding on to those advances in early Asia trading on Tuesday, August 11, after US President Donald Trump made sweeping demands against Iran, thereby clouding hopes of any potential deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
• Both Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) surged 5% each overnight, with WTI holding on to the $82 a barrel level this morning.
• Brent moved towards the $90 a barrel mark, having closed above $87 a barrel.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he held a “very substantive conversation” with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on X, during which MBS outlined Saudi Arabia’s recent agreements with Turkiye and Pakistan. Zelenskyy said the two also discussed next steps in the bilateral “Drone Deal,” which Ukraine and Saudi Arabia signed in March.

US President Donald Trump has claimed that the US Navy has complete control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying Washington is determining which vessels can pass through the strategic waterway and preventing ships from travelling to Iran.

“The only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy. We have a blockade that’s been infallible. It’s a steel wall. And we let people in that we want to let in,” Trump told reporters.

“We do not let them go into Iran. They’re not admitted into the Strait to go to Iran… We control the Strait of Hormuz 100%,” he added.

Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage of the war in West Asia.