Wednesday, August 5, 2026

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The Israeli army launched new attacks in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, 14 Mordad, citing what it called a “blatant violation of the ceasefire” by Hezbollah. The attacks, which included the first evacuation warning in weeks for residents of the town of Mansouri, left at least one person dead and 11 injured. The new clashes came as Lebanese and Israeli representatives, with U.S. mediation, were meeting in Rome to discuss ending the fighting and Israel’s phased withdrawal from southern Lebanon. A source familiar with the negotiations told Agence France-Presse that the Israeli delegation asked to end the meeting three hours ahead of schedule. According to the source, Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States and head of its negotiating delegation, cited the Lebanese side’s leaking of “misleading information” as the reason for the decision. The talks are nevertheless expected to continue on Thursday, their third and final day. @ VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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On Wednesday, 14 Mordad, the United States lifted sanctions on the Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad, which had previously been placed on the sanctions list on charges of cooperating with the IRGC’s Quds Force. However, sanctions on Bashir Abdul-Kazim Alwan al-Shaibani, identified as the company’s owner, remain in force. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a video message on Wednesday, 14 Mordad, that Israel does not agree with the U.S.-proposed plan to disarm Hamas and govern Gaza. Netanyahu said in the message: “President Trump and his team think they can force Hamas to disarm and demilitarize Gaza. We are looking into it. They sent us a draft; we did not agree. This is not our draft; we sent them our comments.” Last week, Hamas said it would disarm on the condition that Israel withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Despite Trump’s positive response, Israel continues to oppose Hamas’s proposal, and several ministers in the coalition government have already stressed that the country’s army will not withdraw from Gaza. @ VahidOOnLine In a speech at the official burial ceremony for Theodore Herzl’s grandparents, Israel’s prime minister said that, amid ongoing developments, the country was facing pivotal military and political events. Praising the U.S. president, Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I want to make this clear: President Trump is our greatest friend and the greatest friend we have ever had in the White House, and the United States is our greatest ally.” However, stressing the need to protect Tel Aviv’s fundamental interests, the Israeli prime minister added: “But Israel’s existence—whether there is an agreement or not—is not negotiable. I am determined to do whatever is necessary to ensure our security and future.” Israel is currently in the midst of talks on two agreements: an agreement with Lebanon for the gradual withdrawal of its forces from the country’s south, and a Gaza peace agreement to transfer governance of these areas to a peace council under Trump’s plan. @ VahidOOnLine Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, 14 Mordad, during a visit to a new-recruit intake center that, in the wake of the events of 7 October, Israel remained united. He stressed that Tel Aviv would not allow an independent Palestinian state to be established. Netanyahu said: “We will not establish a Palestinian terrorist state here—a state that we know intends to destroy the Jewish nation-state.” The Israeli prime minister went on to say that the other side seeks to destroy Israel because the country promotes the values of progress, democracy, and freedom—values he said are hated by its “barbaric enemies.” @ VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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The UK Maritime Trade Operations says it has received a delayed report from a vessel 9 nautical miles (about 16 kilometers) from the port of Mokha in Yemen. According to the report, an unmanned surface vessel struck the ship in the Red Sea, causing a fire, but all crew members and staff are safe and have been rescued. The organization says the ship has now sunk. No further details have been released. Hours earlier, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they had attacked a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea with a ballistic missile. It was the eighth vessel targeted since the start of the naval blockade against Saudi Arabia. The Houthi military spokesperson did not say when the attack took place. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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Mohammad-Bagher Kharazi, secretary-general of the “Hezbollah of Iran” party, responded ambiguously to a denial issued by Mojtaba Khamenei’s office. He said he accepted the denial, but expressed hope that the office would still be standing after “important changes in the future.” The response was posted Tuesday evening, 13 Mordad 1405, on the Instagram page of Kharazi’s office. His office’s statement read: “Although, out of respect for the martyred Leader and the current Supreme Leader, we accept the denial issued by the public relations office and the Office for the Preservation and Publication of Works, we hope that after important changes in the future concerning the aforementioned offices, this denial will remain in effect.” The statement continued: “God will help us if we remain steadfast and patient on the path of the Ahl al-Bayt and the supreme guardianship of the Islamic jurist.” …has sent. Hours before Kharazi’s response was published, Mojtaba Khamenei’s office had denied his claim that the leader of the Islamic Republic warned Masoud Pezeshkian against resigning. The office’s statement, without naming Kharazi, said: “The item circulated on social media, in which an individual made a claim about the reaction of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to a letter from the honorable president, is entirely false and untrue.” Mojtaba Khamenei’s office described the publication of the claim as “a cause of public anxiety and division and discord in society.” A day before the denial was issued, a video of Kharazi speaking had been posted on social media. In it, he claimed that Masoud Pezeshkian had resigned or threatened to step down 28 times so far. Kharazi also said that Mojtaba Khamenei had written in response: “If Pezeshkian resigns one more time, we’ll accept his resignation.” He claimed that after this warning, Pezeshkian and other government officials backed away from bringing up resignation again. @VahidHeadline about 📡 @VahidOnline

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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that since 29 Esfand 1404, at least 56 people in Iran have been executed on security-related charges. In a statement, Volker Türk noted that 27 of them were protesters arrested at demonstrations. He said that the issuance and carrying out of death sentences in Iran had increased during this period. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Islamic Republic officials to halt all executions and take steps toward abolishing the death penalty. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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Mustafa Ghasemi Hasanvand, a poet, former political prisoner, and resident of Alashtar County, died on Sunday, 11 Mordad 1405, after attempting to take his own life outside the United Nations office in Erbil. Informed sources tell IranWire that after his release from prison, he had been struggling with psychological problems and pressures stemming from his legal case. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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Trump: ▪️ The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened soon. ▪️ Negotiations with Iran are going very well, but Tehran is reluctant to confirm it. ▪️ If they back down again, they’ll be hit hard. Trump: If you look at the economy, if you look at what’s happening... For example, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. It can’t have one now, either, but that’s going to be made official. The Strait [of Hormuz] will be reopened very soon; otherwise, they’ll be hit very hard, and after that, the Strait will be reopened. We were ready to carry out a massive attack—the biggest attack since World War II. Then they called me and said very politely, “Please, can we talk? Can we have a conversation?” They didn’t want to... [sentence is unfinished]. And I said, “Yes, we can talk. Let’s finally get this done. Let’s do it.” This is something other presidents should have done over the past 50 years. You know, you keep hearing the number 47 years, but people have been saying that same number for three years; now it’s been more than 50 years. Other presidents or other countries should have been able to do this. I did what I had to do, because if they had nuclear weapons, this whole world would be a very different place. Fox News reporter: If they back down again and renege on the agreement, are they finished? Trump: If they renege on the agreement again, they’ll be hit really hard. They know it and understand it. I have no choice. They cannot have nuclear weapons. It’s very simple. It’s not a matter of saying, “Well, let’s think of something else.” No. Many presidents should have done this over the years, but they didn’t. Now I’m doing it. Obama was completely taken to the cleaners. He thought he could pay his way out of this. He gave them billions, tens of billions of dollars, in a very stupid way. $1.7 billion in cash—green bills—on a Boeing 757, a plane full of cash. They probably saw it and said, “You’ve got to be kidding!” No, you can’t pay your way out of something like this; the only way is to fight your way out. If we hadn’t done these things, they wouldn’t be negotiating. We hit them very, very hard. But an even harder hit is still coming, and I hope we don’t have to use it. I hope we don’t. We’re having very good discussions. They don’t like to admit it, but that’s a little annoying. We tell people like you that we’re having fantastic discussions, and then someone from Iran comes out and says, “We haven’t met, we...” [sentence is unfinished in the subtitles]. They tell lies like that all day. You understand? It’s unbelievable. They say, “We didn’t do that.” They say we haven’t talked about the nuclear issue. Well, then what are we talking about? Are we just sitting there twiddling our thumbs? But it doesn’t matter. It’s all just talk. The only thing that matters is action. They want to make a deal. We’ll see what happens. If they don’t make a deal, it’ll be very bad for them. 📡 @VahidOnline

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“U.S. close to a deal on Hormuz and seeking to announce it on Wednesday” Axios, machine translation: The U.S., Iran and Oman are close to reaching a temporary agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to two regional sources and a U.S. official. The U.S. wants the deal to be announced on Wednesday. 🔻 Why it matters: The deal, which has been under negotiation for several weeks, aims to restore the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran and restart negotiations on a nuclear agreement. ▪️ President Trump decided on Saturday not to follow through on his threats to launch a massive bombing campaign, giving diplomacy more time. However, if no deal is reached soon, Trump may approve major attacks. ▪️ The emerging deal would meet some of Iran’s demands for greater control over traffic in the Strait of Hormuz—a level of control Iran did not have before the war. 🔻 The details: The deal under discussion would establish a temporary 60-day arrangement between Oman and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, with the option to extend it, according to two regional sources. ▪️ All ships entering the Persian Gulf through the strait would travel along a northern route in Iranian waters. ▪️ All ships leaving the strait for the Arabian Sea would travel along a southern route in Omani waters, in coordination with Iran. ▪️ No tolls or fees would be charged during the 60-day period. ▪️ The parties would work to clear naval mines from the central route through the strait within 30 days. ▪️ Once the central route has been cleared, it would be used for ship traffic in both directions under the terms of a permanent arrangement that Oman and Iran are expected to negotiate. 🔻 Yes, but: Three weeks ago, the White House, Oman and regional mediators thought they had reached a deal with Iran, but Iran resumed attacks on ships. This led to two weeks of fighting and a situation close to all-out war. 🔻 Behind the scenes: In addition to the negotiations between Oman and Iran, officials from Qatar, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia also took part in mediation efforts, according to regional sources. ▪️ Regional sources said the White House was actively involved in the negotiations. In recent days, several calls took place between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi. ▪️ Two regional sources said Araghchi agreed in principle to the deal late last week, but it still needed approval from Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, and the Supreme National Security Council. ▪️ A U.S. official and a regional source said Iran’s leadership completed the approval process on Tuesday. Axios 📡 @VahidOnline

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CENTCOM post, machine translation: The southern route through the Strait of Hormuz remains free and open to all commercial vessels seeking to transit this international waterway. Over the past three months, U.S. forces have helped more than 1,000 vessels successfully transit the strait despite Iran’s unprovoked aggression, and this traffic continues today. CENTCOM 📡 @VahidOnline

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The story of Amirali Heydari and Soroush Karami, two teenagers killed during the Dey 1404 protests who were laid to rest for the second time last week. One family discovered after seven months that they had been given the wrong body, while the other learned that their child was not in detention, but had been killed. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline