live Turkey Insists New Pact Not Targeting Iran, Says Egypt Could Eventually Join

Turkey's foreign minister claimed a defense agreement signed by Turkey, ‌Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia is not targeting Iran, although he said it is technically ⁠the same as NATO's Article 5 mutual defense pact that means an attack on one is an attack on all.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan ⁠on August 8 added that the pact -- signed a day earlier by leaders of the three nations -- could eventually be joined by Egypt and other countries once a number of technical matters were resolved.

"NATO is a giant military alliance where there are 32 countries. We have started here as three countries and we have to take very humble but concrete steps," he said.

Fidan told state-run Anadolu news agency that a committee ‌of ministers similar to that within the NATO alliance would be established, as well as a general secretariat based ‌in Saudi Arabia.

Fidan did not immediately disclose the issues that needed to be resolved to clear the way for Egypt to joint the accord, led by mostly Sunni Muslim nations. Iran is majority Shi'ite Muslim.

On August 7, the leaders of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan came together in the Saudi city of Mecca to sign the joint defense pact aimed at strengthening "collective deterrence against any act of aggression."

In the initial announcement, the Turkish government said the "agreement is not in contradiction with the commitments of Turkey's existing international alliances, including those at the heart of NATO." Turkey is a member of the Western military alliance.

“The agreement is of particular importance in light of the escalating challenges and threats facing the region, foremost among them terrorist attacks, arms smuggling, and threats targeting neighboring countries and international maritime routes,” the ministry added.

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Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey Sign Joint Defense Pact Amid US-Iran Tensions

The development came amid growing uncertainty in the Middle East, with no immediate end in sight to the confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

Separately, Saudi Arabia last year signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement with Pakistan that included a clause along the lines of NATO's Article 5, which states "any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.

Saudi Arabia, a US ally and long a bitter rival of Iran for regional influence in political, military, and religious matters, has often been a target of Iranian missile and drone launches after the US and Israel struck Iran beginning on February 28.

Oman condemned the latest attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz -- suspected to have been carried out by Iran -- even as it said talks were “positive” and "constructive" with Tehran aimed at reaching agreement on a new route through the crucial waterway.

The Omani Foreign Ministry on August 8 expressed its” condemnation of the repeated attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which constitute a violation of international law and the sovereignty of territorial waters, and pose a threat to the safety of maritime navigation and the security and stability of the region.”

It added in the X posting that “the ongoing negotiations regarding arrangements for navigation in the Strait of Hormuz are proceeding in a positive and constructive atmosphere.”

It also stressed “the importance of avoiding any actions that could affect these negotiations and the progress achieved, which takes into account the interests of all parties.”

The United Arab Emirates said Iran had targeted a tanker belonging to the state-owned oil company as it was transiting the strait on August 8.

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it called a "hostile Iranian attack that targeted a tanker,” adding that a missile caused damages but no casualties on the vessel.

Hours earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran and Muscat were "very close" to reaching an agreement on a new route through the strait.

However, Araqchi also said that Tehran would set conditions for the deal, including compensation for what he called US violations of the agreement between Iran and the United States mediated by Pakistan earlier this year.

There was no immediate comment from US officials.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said he believed Iran could not sustain the conflict much longer and that negotiations with Tehran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz were ongoing.

Iranian officials denied that talks with Washington were taking place, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei saying Tehran and Muscat had nearly finalized a joint announcement, "provided that certain third parties do not obstruct the process."

The effective closure of the strait has long been one of the central issues in the war between the United States and Iran and one of the main obstacles to a negotiated settlement aimed at ending the broader conflict in the Middle East.

Turkey said on August 7 that its new defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan did not contradict the country's commitments to the NATO alliance.

"The agreement is not in contradiction with the commitments of Turkey's existing international alliances, including those at the heart of NATO," the Turkish government's anti-disinformation service wrote on X.

The service said it was responding to "baseless claims and manipulative posts" criticizing the new agreement. It added that the agreement served as an additional mechanism to support regional security and was "not an alternative to its NATO membership."

Earlier in the day, the leaders of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan came together in the Saudi city of Mecca to sign a joint defense pact aimed at strengthening "collective deterrence against any act of aggression."

The development came amid growing uncertainty in the Middle East, with no immediate end in sight to the confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

With reporting by AFP.

The US State Department announced on August 7 that the Treasury Department had targeted three Iranian foreign currency exchange houses and their associated front companies.

The announcement emphasized that the United States was taking decisive steps to cut off the financial arteries that sustain the Iranian regime.

"Today, the US Department of the Treasury took steps to dismantle a web of currency exchange houses and shell companies that helped Iran secretly move hundreds of millions of dollars through the international financial system," spokesman Thomas Pigott said in a statement on the State Department's website.

"Through these networks, Tehran accessed oil revenue and evaded sanctions designed to curb its destabilizing activities, laundering funds using front companies," he added.

According to the State Department, the sanctions target banks, currency exchange businesses, and individuals involved in the network to demonstrate that financial institutions and other parties that assist Iran in operating or using such channels expose themselves to serious penalties.

The department said the latest Treasury measures are consistent with the White House's "maximum pressure" policy toward Iran, which aims to deprive Tehran of the financial resources Washington says it uses to undermine regional stability, back terrorist groups, and bolster its military capabilities.

The statement also said the measures came as Iran faced growing public scrutiny over government corruption and economic mismanagement. It added that the sanctions were intended to deepen the country's isolation from the international financial system while signaling that continued Iranian support for terrorism and other aggressive regional activities would result in substantial and enduring costs.

The United Arab Emirates’ energy giant, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), said attacks on its employees and vessels in the Persian Gulf have significantly impacted its operations.

ADNOC said in an August 7 statement that 15 of its vessels, including three in the past week, have been targeted by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global oil and gas supplies, since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran in late February.

The company, one of the world's largest energy producers, added that the attacks have left one of its employees dead and 20 others injured.

In retaliation for US and Israeli air strikes, Iran has effectively closed the strait and fired thousands of ballistic missiles and combat drones at American allies in the Persian Gulf, including the UAE.

ADNOC’s statement came amid diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran and Oman in talks to establish new safe routes through the strategic waterway.

The effective closure of the strait has rattled international energy markets and sent global oil prices soaring.

With reporting by Reuters.

WASHINGTON -- This wasn't the first time during Russia's full-scale invasion that Ukrainian officials came to Washington seeking weapons, ammunition, and financial support. But the message was markedly different.

According to lawmakers, organizers, and participants interviewed by RFE/RL, two frontline Ukrainian drone commanders visited Capitol Hill on July 29 not to ask for more aid but to explain what the United States can learn from nearly five years of fighting the world's first large-scale drone war.

The closed-door Senate Republican Steering Committee luncheon, chaired by Senator Rick Scott of Florida, brought together almost every Republican senator for an unusually candid briefing on the changing nature of warfare seen in the more than four years of combat in Ukraine.

The meeting coincided with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Washington and came as Kyiv and Washington negotiate a broader drone cooperation agreement after signing an initial framework earlier this summer.

To read the full news analysis, click here.

As regional security tensions continue to mount amid the protracted conflict between Iran and the United States, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey came together on August 7 to sign a joint defense agreement in order to "strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression."

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement stipulates that "any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all," said Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on August 7.

Signed by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Saudi city of Mecca, the trilateral pact comes at a time of growing uncertainty in the Middle East, with no immediate end in sight to the confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

The agreement reflects the shared commitment of the three states to further strengthen their collective security and to "promote peace, security and stability in the region and beyond in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future," the ministry said in a statement.

To read the full report, click here.

Despite the halt in reciprocal attacks by the United States and Iran, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted, business intelligence firm Kpler announced.

According to data released by Kpler on August 7, only eight ships passed through the strait on August 6.

Last week, an average of about 13 ships a day passed through the strait between the coasts of Iran and Oman. Before the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28, that figure was more than 100 per day.

The temporary framework agreement between Iran and the United States signed on June 17 brought a period of relative calm to the region. But since the collapse of that agreement and the resumption of blockades, dry cargo ship traffic has almost halved.

The new US naval blockade has also had a severe impact on Iran. Shipping data analytics firm Windward reported, based on satellite imagery, that it has been a while stankers have docked at Kharg Island, the main hub for Iranian oil exports.

Iran and the United States have recently spoken of being close to reaching an agreement on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has announced that it is in direct talks with neighboring Oman.

The Federation of German Industries (BDI) says the war in Iran has dealt a blow to the global economic outlook, triggering what it described as a stagflationary shock.

In its latest global growth outlook, published on August 7, the BDI forecasts global economic growth of 3 percent this year.

BDI says the US economy is expected to grow by 2 percent, supported by the boom in artificial intelligence, while China's economy was forecast to expand by 4.6 percent.

Growth in the euro area is expected to slow to 0.8 percent, while Germany's economy is forecast to grow by 0.6 percent, according to the BDI.

The BDI warned that the war and its impact on energy prices and global trade were weighing on the economic outlook. Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have added to pressure on the global economy.

The United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28. The conflict has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil and gas shipments.

The BDI's outlook comes as Iran and the United States seek arrangements to restore shipping through the strait, with Oman playing a role in the process.

For Germany, Europe's largest economy, the BDI forecasts growth of 0.6 percent this year, while the euro-area economy is expected to expand by 0.8 percent.

US President Donald Trump said on August 6 that he believed the war with Iran would end soon, while saying negotiations were continuing over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he believed Iran could not sustain the conflict much longer.

“I think it’s going to end pretty soon. I don’t think they can go much longer,” Trump said, referring to Iran.

Trump's comments came as Iran and Oman were working on a proposed agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although key details remained unresolved. Reuters reported on August 5 that the proposed arrangement could give Iran control over inbound maritime traffic through the strait, while issues including fees and the management of outbound traffic remained under discussion.

The United States has promoted a southern shipping route through Omani waters as an alternative route through the strait. The route was established after the central channel was considered unsafe because of reported naval mines.

The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, and the conflict has continued for more than five months. Iran has repeatedly attacked commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including vessels using the southern route through Omani waters.

Trump also acknowledged that the US military was experiencing shortages of some types of ammunition.

Asked about the status of US munitions stockpiles, Trump said some weapons were available in almost unlimited quantities but that supplies of others were more constrained.

“We have certain types of munitions that are very powerful, that we have unlimited, virtual unlimited supply. We have others where it’s a little bit tighter,” Trump said.

Trump said US defense companies were building additional production facilities, including plants for Patriot and Tomahawk missiles.

His comments followed a Reuters report published on August 4 that the US Army had used up much of its global stockpile of highly accurate, long-range missiles during war with Iran. The missiles include Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, and Precision Strike Missiles, or PrSMs. Two sources told Reuters the military had used “virtually all” of those weapons.