Iran-US war latest: Tehran hits back at Trump’s claim of ‘complete control’ over Hormuz and says it will stay closed

Catch up: Trump secretly switched planes to leave Turkey due to Iran threat President Donald Trump was secretly transported away from Turkey in an extraordinary plan triggered by an assassination threat from Iran, according to a report. Air Force One, a catering truck and a secondary military plane were all part of an elaborate “deception operation” to safeguard the commander-in-chief when he departed last month’s Nato summit in Ankara, The Washington Post has revealed. Several White House staffers and journalists remained on Air Force One as unwitting decoys to the threat while Trump was quietly smuggled off the plane and boarded onto a different flight, according to the Post. James Reynolds11 August 2026 20:00How the Iran war is affected Ukraine's ability to resist Putin Ukraine is urgently seeking more Patriot interceptors to defend against a nightly barrage of Russian ballistic missile strikes. But the Iran war has drained arsenals in the US and the Gulf, and some European countries are holding onto missiles they may need for their own defense. So what are the Patriot interceptor missiles? Patriot, short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a mobile surface-to-air missile defense system built by US weapons maker Raytheon Technologies that can be used in all kinds of weather and at long range. A typical battery includes radar and control systems, a power unit, launchers, and support vehicles. The system can intercept aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, depending on the interceptor used. Why do they matter? Kyiv has repeatedly asked Western allies for more air defences to protect critical infrastructure and civilian areas from frequent Russian missile and drone attacks. While effective at intercepting missiles and aircraft, Patriots are a costly way to shoot down low-budget drones. Patriot interceptors are estimated at around $4 million per missile, CSIS says, while Russia can send hundreds of cheap drones a day. Although not originally designed to intercept hypersonic weapons, in May 2023 the US confirmed Ukraine had used the Patriot system to shoot down a Russian Kinzhal missile, which Moscow claims is hypersonic. What are the obstacles? Russia has long said that giving Ukraine interceptors would amount to a direct escalation. They said it would delay the chance of peace. But Donald Trump’s main line of argument is that the US needs its weapons and cannot afford to give them away to Ukraine. Indeed, the Patriots have been in short supply since the US went to war with Iran in February. Trump in July offered Ukraine the right to make its own Patriot interceptors, but later reneged, saying the US has “not agreed” to such an arrangement. James Reynolds11 August 2026 19:00US helicopter 'fires on Panama-flagged ship' - report A US military helicopter fired at the rudder of a Panama-flagged ship after its crew ignored warnings from personnel working to enforce a naval blockade on Iranian ports, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing a US official. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the incident, the report said, adding that the ship appeared to be trying to transfer its crew to another civilian vessel after the attack. British maritime risk management group Vanguard and a maritime security source said earlier that according to initial assessments, the Panama-flagged container ship Vela Nova was believed to have been hit by a missile when sailing through the Gulf of Oman. James Reynolds11 August 2026 18:30Head of Iran's top security body doubles down on demands for compensation from US Mohsen Rezaee, the new secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, doubles down on demands for US to pay compensation for the war before the Strait of Hormuz is reopened. “IRAN’s message is clear: the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the U.S. ends the war and blockade, releases Iran’s frozen assets, and agrees to a region-wide ceasefire, including in Lebanon and Gaza,” he writes on social media. “Until all conditions are met, the Strait will remain closed.” Rezaee, the former commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was appointed as the head of Iran’s top security body this week. James Reynolds11 August 2026 18:15 Daniel Keane11 August 2026 17:50Full story: Trump hid in catering cart in secret Air Force One swap to fend off Iran assassination threat President Donald Trump was secretly transported away from Turkey in an extraordinary plan triggered by an assassination threat from Iran, according to a report. Air Force One, a catering truck and a secondary military plane were all part of an elaborate “deception operation” to safeguard the commander-in-chief when he departed last month’s Nato summit in Ankara, The Washington Post has revealed. Several White House staffers and journalists remained on Air Force One as unwitting decoys to the threat while Trump was quietly smuggled off the plane and boarded onto a different flight, according to the Post. Maira Butt11 August 2026 17:20US and Iran close to 'some sort of deal', says Pakistan In an interview with Bloomberg News, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said "things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal” between the US and Iran. "The signals in the last two three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement." Maira Butt11 August 2026 16:50Hackers launch defense network for public water systems after attacks on US infrastructure DEF CON Franklin, a project from the Cyber Policy Initiative at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, has teamed up with the nonprofit group National Rural Water Association to open the Water Watch Center, which aims to provide direct support to water systems that routinely monitor and adjust safe drinking water across the country. In recent weeks, water systems in at least 12 states — including more than 30 community water systems in Minnesota alone — were compromised by cyberattacks potentially stemming from Iran. Cybersecurity experts told The Independent last week that the new wave of attacks could open a new, asymmetrical front in the U.S. war with Iran that cash-strapped and under-resourced public utilities are not prepared to face. Maira Butt11 August 2026 16:21Gold prices rise again as Middle East conflict and interest rate fears ease The price of gold has been on the rise once more, reversing a months-long downward trend which saw the precious metal’s value fall by more than a quarter. Investors have had a tough time predicting what markets will do this year, with uncertainty from the Iran war hitting inflation, currency markets remaining volatile and and growing concerns over the amounts the largest firms are spending on artificial intelligence. In such times, previously investors might have turned to gold, seen as a safe haven in troubled times - but instead, the precious metal appeared to mirror some of those other markets with a steep decline in the first half of 2026. Maira Butt11 August 2026 15:19Pakistan's interior minister arrives in Tehran to meet Iranian officials Pakistani’s interior minister Sayed Mohsin Naqvi has arrived in Iran’s capital Tehran in order to hold discussions with Iranian officials, according to Iran’s SNN. Maira Butt11 August 2026 14:45