France To Expel 2 Iranian Diplomats After Tehran Bars French Officials
France will expel two Iranian diplomats in retaliation for Tehran's decision to bar two French diplomats from returning to Iran, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on August 18.
"Two Iranian diplomats in France will be expelled in the coming days," Barrot said in an X post, describing the move as a response to Iran's "intolerable" treatment of the French diplomats.
Iran said on August 17 that the two French officials would not be allowed to return after accusing them of interfering in the country's internal affairs.
Barrot said the diplomats, one of them France's cultural attache, were detained and questioned for several hours by Iranian officials on July 19 in "flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity." He said one was physically abused and described the incident as "an extremely serious act of intimidation."
Iran has denied mistreating the diplomats, saying they were briefly questioned because they had "interfered in Iran's internal affairs under the pretext of engaging with civil society."
Two prominent Iranian graphic designers, Aria Kasaei and Elaheh Naghilou, were also detained on July 19 after a meeting with the two French Embassy officials. The Hambood Collective, an independent group of artists and activists, said the pair were arrested at the same time as the diplomats.
With reporting by AFP
UAE Says Iran Fired Two Ballistic Missiles Toward Its Territory
The United Arab Emirates accused Iran on August 18 of firing two ballistic missiles toward the country, the first such barrage detected by its Defense Ministry in months.
UAE air defenses "detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran," with one falling outside the country's territorial waters and the other landing within them, the ministry said on X.
The statement came nearly two hours after authorities issued a phone alert warning residents of a "potential missile threat" and urging them to seek shelter. The alert was lifted shortly afterward.
It was the first such warning since July, when an attack did not ultimately enter UAE territory. A warning issued in June was later determined to be a false alarm.
Tankers belonging to state-owned oil company ADNOC have also been repeatedly targeted in recent weeks.
The UAE was heavily targeted after the war began in the Middle East in late February, with nearly 3,000 Iranian missiles and drones directed at the country.
The UAE reported no attacks after the United States and Iran reached an interim agreement in June aimed at ending the war, though that subsequently unraveled.
With reporting by AFP
Trump Says No Iran Talks Under Way, Claims Strait Of Hormuz Is Open
US President Donald Trump has said there are no negotiations under way or scheduled with Iran, a day after his son-in-law Jared Kushner said contacts between Washington and Tehran remained robust.
"There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump wrote on Truth Social on August 18, after a 60-day deadline for the two sides to reach a final peace agreement expired the previous day.
Trump also said the Strait of Hormuz was "open and operating" and that mines had been cleared, while Tehran said the strategic waterway would remain closed until Washington met conditions set out in an interim June agreement.
Iran said its conditions include lifting a US naval blockade and oil sanctions, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and ending military operations.
Trump separately posted a map on Truth Social showing the Strait of Hormuz labelled "NEW U.S. Territory," further pushing an idea he first floated on August 14, when he said he would soon declare the waterway US territory. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi responded the following day, saying that the strait "will remain Iranian."
Trump returned to the idea on August 17, telling reporters at the Oval Office that it would be a good idea, before posting the map the following day. Gharibabadi reposted the map on X, dismissing Trump's claim as a "delusion" that would be corrected.
The strait, through which about a fifth of global oil supplies passed before the war, has been disrupted since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28.
With reporting by Reuters
Iran Insists Hormuz Will Remain Closed
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has reiterated Tehran's position that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States "fulfills its commitments" under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran.
In remarks that came a day after the pact's 60-day deadline expired without a breakthrough, Qalibaf, who serves as Iran's chief negotiator, said Iran would deliver a clear message to what he called "the deluded America."
He listed conditions he said Washington had committed to under the MOU, including lifting the blockade of Iranian ports, releasing Iran's frozen assets, ending oil sanctions, and halting military threats and operations "on all fronts."
Until those obligations are implemented, Qalibaf said, "the Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened."
Iran Denies Role In Kurdistan Drone Attacks
Iran has denied involvement in a drone attack targeting the office of Iraqi Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and the home of the region's intelligence chief, as Iraqi and US officials condemned the incident and called for an investigation.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei rejected allegations that Tehran was responsible for the attacks, describing the incident as suspicious and urging all parties to exercise greater vigilance.
Iranian media also reported that Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein, that there was no information indicating the drones had been launched from Iranian territory.
The Kurdistan Region's Counterterrorism Department said two drones launched from Iranian territory struck targets in Erbil on the evening of August 16. One reportedly targeted Barzani's office, while another struck the residence of the head of the autonomous region's intelligence service.
Officials said no casualties were reported.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into the attack.
The US special envoy for Iraq and Syria, Tom Barrack, strongly condemned the incident, calling it an aggression against a Kurdish partner and a direct threat to regional stability.
Vessel Targeted In Omani Waters Leaving Strait Of Hormuz, Says Monitor
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announced that a ship was targeted by an "unidentified projectile" while leaving the Strait of Hormuz, damaging the ship's engine room and injuring one of the crew members.
The UKMTO also announced on August 18 that the rest of the ship's crew are receiving assistance with the help of the Omani Coast Guard, adding that authorities are investigating its details.
The incident comes as shipping traffic through the vital waterway remains severely disrupted. According to shipping data, the number of cargo ships that passed through the waterway on August 17 rose to six, up from just two the day before.
However, the volume of ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains far below the war began in late February. Before that point, more than 130 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz daily.
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.
Trump Says Tehran 'Not Going To Make The Kind Of Deal I Think Is Necessary'
US President Donald Trump said Washington is not seeking an extension of the expiring framework agreement with Tehran, voicing pessimism about the prospects for a satisfactory deal.
The Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed on June 17, included a 60-day period for talks aimed at resolving the key issues of opening the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
However, the deadline passed with no sign of progress in negotiations.
"They're not going to make the kind of deal that I think is necessary," Trump told reporters on August 17, referring to Iranian officials.
Speaking to Fox News earlier in the day in a phone interview, he said that Iran should just "surrender."
"They should put up the white flag of surrender," Trump said.
He also issued a profane warning to US ally Oman, which has been working with Iran on a plan to restore commercial shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that lies between the two countries and has been effectively closed for most of the time since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28.
"If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the s**t out of them," Trump told Fox.
Gas Production At Iran's South Pars Facilities Decreased By A Third
Gas production capacity at Iran's South Pars facility is down by roughly a third due to damage sustained in strikes during the war against the United States and Israel earlier this year, according to the head of the Iranian Petroleum Industry Federation.
Erfan Afazeli, speaking in an interview with Entebbe News Agency, said that "in the recent war, four of our refineries were affected by the enemy's attack, and this factor has [reduced South Pars' production capacity by] almost one-third due to the lack of processing facilities."
He announced that the reconstruction and repair of these refineries will take at least "one and a half to two years," adding that the resources needed for this purpose "are not fully available domestically, or at least are not a priority in the current circumstances."
Afazeli emphasized that the country will face a gas shortage in the fall and winter.
Israel targeted South Pars facilities in late March. US President Donald Trump said the United States and Qatar had no role in it.
However, in retaliation for these attacks, Iran targeted energy infrastructure in Qatar and Saudi Arabia with missile and drone attacks.
Trump Repeats Main Goal: 'Iran Cannot Have A Nuclear Weapon'
US President Donald Trump has again said the primary US aim in dealings with Iran is that Tehran must not develop or acquire nuclear weapons.
"The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon," Trump wrote in a short post on his Truth Social platform on August 17.
The comment coincides with the expiration of the memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Iran on June 17, which gave a 60-day deadline for further talks to reach an agreement to end the war, now in its sixth month.
Iran and the United States have not negotiated an agreement on Tehran's nuclear program within the 60 days agreed by the two parties for a broader deal, and the initial stated goal of the memorandum -- to open the Strait of Hormuz -- has not been achieved.