Iran-US war latest: Qatar denies detaining Iranian fighter pilots after downing jets

Hegseth says US can keep up naval blockade ‘indefinitely’ after Tehran vows to prolong warQatar has denied accusations from Iran that they are holding Iranian pilots.Tehran was accused of violating Qatari airspace in March and failing to ⁠respond to attempts to contact them.A Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said on social media on Saturday that search and rescue teams later found the remains of one of ⁠the pilots and that it ​had ⁠contacted Iran to coordinate a handover.The spokesperson said Tehran had yet to respond ⁠to an invitation to review details of its operations.The ​statement ⁠came after Iranian ‌state news agency IRNA cited a senior military official as saying three Iranian pilots had been captured ‌alive by Qatari forces after ejecting ‌from fighter jets during a combat mission targeting a military base in Qatar.An Iranian ​military official said on Sunday that Qatar should let an Iranian ⁠team in to investigate the fate of Iranian pilots who Tehran says are ⁠being ​held there, Iranian ⁠media said on Sunday.It comes after Iran told Donald Trump to “accept the reality of defeat” as it declared that it will not resume talks with the US with the Strait of Hormuz set to remain closedWatch: USS Lincoln sailor’s wife blasts Trump over ‘appalling’ ship conditionsUSS Lincoln sailor’s wife blasts Trump over ‘appalling’ ship conditionsBryony Gooch16 August 2026 11:30Iran points finger at Kuwait for withholding information about four IraniansMohammad ‌Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for ‌the Search for Missing Persons of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, has also pointed fingers at Kuwait for similarly withholding information about the ​fate of four Iranians held in Kuwait. In ‌May, Iran said the ⁠four were affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards and had ⁠been on a maritime patrol before entering Kuwaiti territorial waters because ‌of a navigation disruption. ​Kuwait has said the ‌four were suspected of ​planning hostile actions against the country.Bryony Gooch16 August 2026 11:00Iran accuses two French diplomats of 'infiltration and interference'Iran has accused two French diplomats of conducting an "infiltration and interference" operation inside the country.Iran's intelligence ministry said the two diplomats were seen at a "secret meeting place" with documents pointing to efforts to establish contacts and build networks.They were handed over to the Iranian ambassador to France in the presence of diplomatic police, the intelligence ministry said in a statement.“Given the infiltration and overt interference in Iran’s internal affairs, particularly during wartime, and the blatant violation of the country’s laws and departure from diplomatic frameworks that have been conclusively established in this project, the intelligence ministry warns that it will not allow its diplomatic guests to engage in illegal and interventionist behaviour,” the ministry said.Vishwam Sankaran16 August 2026 10:29Yemen's Mocha port halts operations after Houthi attacksYemen's Mocha port has temporarily stopped operations after being hit by over 25 missiles in recent days in Houthi attacks, the port's director said.At least seven people have been killed and $16 million in losses incurred from the attacks, the director said.The port is near the Bab el-Mandab strait, another key ​route ⁠for international shipping.Vishwam Sankaran16 August 2026 10:00Iran calls on Qatar to allow Iranian team in to investigate fate of two missing pilotsTehran has called on Qatar to let an Iranian team into the country to investigate the fate of Iranian pilots who Tehran says are being held there, Iranian media said on Sunday.Qatar denies holding any pilots.Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff, said the air force and fact-finding team had been waiting for months to enter Qatar, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.Baqerzadeh accused Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying the investigation and preventing the pilots' return to Iran. He called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently follow up on the case.Alex Croft16 August 2026 09:31Iran says Qatar delaying probe into fate of Iranian pilots, Tasnim news agencyIranian ​military official said on Sunday that Qatar should let an Iranian ⁠team in to investigate the fate of Iranian pilots who Tehran says are ⁠being ​held there, Iranian ⁠media said on Sunday.Qatar denies holding ⁠any pilots.Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander ​of ⁠the Committee ‌for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran's Armed ‌Forces General Staff, said ‌the air force and fact-finding team had been ⁠waiting for months to enter Qatar, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.Baqerzadeh accused Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying the investigation and ‌preventing the pilots' ​return to Iran. ‌He called for ⁠the International Committee of ⁠the Red Cross to urgently follow ‌up ​on the ‌case.Bryony Gooch16 August 2026 09:15US oil reserves are so low amid Trump’s Iran war the caverns holding them could be damagedAmerica’s emergency oil stockpile has dropped to its lowest level in 40 years, with experts warning that ongoing withdrawals for the war with Iran could permanently damage the underground caverns holding the crude.The warnings arrive as American drivers face unprecedented gas prices for late summer. Today’s AAA National Average for a gallon of regular gasoline sits at $4.07, marking the highest levels on record for mid-August.Concerns over the physical limits of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve center on the unique geology of its storage network. The crude is held within 60 salt caverns thousands of feet below ground at four sites across Texas and Louisiana.To extract crude, operators pump fresh water into the bottom of a cavern to force oil up to pipeline intakes. However, petroleum engineering professor Siddharth Misra of Texas A&M University told CNBC that repeated rapid drawdowns wash away salt walls.Read more here:Alex Croft16 August 2026 08:59Iran MP wants Gulf royals added to Tehran's 'revenge targets'Iranian member of parliament Amirhossein Sabeti called for the ruling families of Gulf states hosting US military bases, including those of Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, to be added to Iran's “revenge targets".The MP alleged the ruling families of these Gulf states played a role in the killing of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during the war with the US and Israel.He specifically named Bahrain’s Al Khalifa, the UAE’s Al Nahyan and Saudi Arabia’s Al Saud families to be added to Iran's “revenge targets".Vishwam Sankaran16 August 2026 08:30Iran condemns Israeli strikes on LebanonIran condemned Israel’s recent attacks on southern Lebanon, which killed 11 people, including children.Iran “regrets” the international community’s “continued silence and inaction of the United Nations Security Council in the face of blatant violations of international law and international human rights law”, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.He added that Tehran stood in solidarity with Lebanon “in its efforts to defend the country’s national sovereignty, independence, and dignity".Vishwam Sankaran16 August 2026 08:00In pictures: Israeli airstrike on southern LebanonPeople and rescue workers gather on a destroyed house that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon (AP)First aid responders and residents gather as they search the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighbourhood in the southern Lebanese village of Deir al-Zahrani (AFP/Getty)Heavy machinery, first aid responders and residents search the site of an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon (AFP/Getty)First aid responders and residents rush to the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Deir al-Zahrani (AFP/Getty)Vishwam Sankaran16 August 2026 07:30