LiveLive Updates August 31, 2026Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeAugust 31, 2026UpdatesSpain's Sanchez: Israel, Russia amplified disinformation over Ceuta migrant crisisSpanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Monday that Israel and Russia both spread and amplified disinformation surrounding last month's mass entry of migrants into Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta.Migrants are escorted from a makeshift beach camp to official shelters across the city after authorities cleared the site, following a mass crossing from Morocco, in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, two weeks ago. Credit: Violeta Santos Moura/REUTERSMigrants are escorted from a makeshift beach camp to official shelters across the city after authorities cleared the site, following a mass crossing from Morocco, in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, two weeks ago. Credit: Violeta Santos Moura/REUTERSSanchez cited research by the European Union's foreign service, the EEAS, saying it was "evident" that both countries had used the crisis to criticize his government.He said the disinformation campaign came amid tensions between Madrid and the two countries over Spain's positions on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.UAE adviser: ‘Neither war nor peace’ is not sustainable, calls for end to escalationUnited Arab Emirates presidential diplomatic adviser Anwar Gargash called for an end to the escalation in the region and the restoration of normal navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, warning that a "state of neither war nor peace" cannot be sustained.In a post on X, Gargash said the targeting of Arab Gulf states and Jordan "has proven to be a failure," and called for "realistic and sustainable political solutions" to address the crisis.حالة اللاحرب واللاسلم لا يمكن أن تكون حلاً مستداماً، كما أن سياسة استهداف دول الخليج العربي والأردن أثبتت فشلها. المطلوب اليوم حلول سياسية واقعية ومستدامة تعالج الأبعاد السياسية والاقتصادية للأزمة، تبدأ بتجاوز التصعيد وعودة الملاحة في مضيق هرمز إلى طبيعتها، وصولاً إلى مقاربة أكثرShow moreHe said the next step should be a more realistic approach that goes beyond the memorandum of understanding, which he said had failed to establish a practical and acceptable roadmap.Palestinian attacked by Israeli settlers freed after month of detention in rare releaseA young Palestinian man who was arrested last month after being repeatedly attacked by Jewish settlers living in West Bank outposts was released after nearly a month in detention without trial, in an unusual move by an Israeli military court.Thabet Masalem, a 25-year-old Palestinian shepherd from the village of Khirbet al-Marajim, south of Nablus, had been held in administrative detention for roughly three weeks of that period. The Israeli military said Moslem was involved in "violent friction incidents with settlers," even though he and his village have been repeatedly attacked and harassed by settlers.Thabet Masalem, a 25-year-old Palestinian shepherd from the village of Khirbet al-Marajim, who was jailed after being attacked by settlers. Credit: Jacob LazarusThabet Masalem, a 25-year-old Palestinian shepherd from the village of Khirbet al-Marajim, who was jailed after being attacked by settlers. Credit: Jacob LazarusAdministrative detention allows authorities to imprison a person without trial or indictment on the grounds that they pose a future security threat. The early release of an administrative detainee – involving the cancellation of an initial detention order just weeks after it was issued – is considered highly unusual.Masalem, who makes a living raising sheep, was released Wednesday following an appeal filed by his attorney, Afnan Khalifa. The appeal was heard by Lt. Col. Erez Hasson at the Ofer Military Court of Appeals.Read the full articleIran denies attack on Kharg Island, calls Trump's post 'laughable', Nournews reportsOil operations ‌at Iran's Kharg Island ‌have not stopped, Hamid Bovard, ⁠CEO of the National Iranian ⁠Oil Company, said on Monday, according to Nournews, which said he denied the key oil ‌hub was being destroyed, as U.S. ‌President Donald Trump's social media post had said."Trump's tweets are laughable and conditions in Kharg are calm and appropriate," Nournews cited him as saying, adding that the ⁠island, from which 90 percent of Iranian oil exports ‌originate, had been ⁠bombed repeatedly by ‌U.S. and Israeli forces in the past, but oil workers ⁠had not allowed operations to stop "even for a moment".Contractors were currently rebuilding and ‌modernising storage tanks and jetties, he added.Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say supertanker struck by mines in Strait of Hormuz A ⁠supertanker ‌caught fire and ‌was brought to a complete ⁠halt after being struck ⁠by two naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz, Iran state TV ‌reported on Monday, citing a ‌statement by the Revolutionary Guards.The Guards said the tanker had been attempting to pass through the waterway illegally. It did not identify ⁠the vessel or provide information about its crew.The ‌Guards ⁠warned that other ‌ships violating its security rules would face the same ⁠fate and said compliance with its regulations for passage through the ‌Strait of Hormuz was mandatory.4 hours agoTrump shares AI video showing Iran's Kharg Island ‘blown to smithereens’U.S. President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated video Monday purporting to show Iran's Kharg Island "being blown to smithereens," as tensions between Washington and Tehran escalate following the first U.S. strike on Iranian targets in roughly a month. It was not clear if ⁠Trump's post was a threat to Kharg Island or if an attack was taking place. Several hours after the post, there was no evidence Kharg had been attacked.The White House and the U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to Reuters ⁠requests for comment outside regular business hours. There was no immediate response to Trump's post on Iranian media.Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize Kharg Island, a key hub for Iran's oil exports, but has so far refrained from doing so. In recent weeks, his administration has focused on economic sanctions against Tehran rather than additional military action.The U.S. launched a strike hours earlier against Iranian military targets that Washington said were preparing to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by launching ballistic missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates' Al Minhad Air Base with drones. The army says the attack targeted locations where U.S. forces and helicopters were stationed.Less than a minute after posting the AI-generated video, Trump shared another video of himself playing golf.Read the full articlePresident Pezeshkian: Iran ‘not looking for war,’ will respond to aggressionIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that Tehran is "not looking for war" but would respond forcefully to any aggression, in his first comments since the United States struck Iran's Larak Island.Speaking before departing for Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, where he is due to attend a summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation leaders, Pezeshkian warned that further escalation could destabilize the region. "Tehran is not looking for war, but we will never sit still in the face of any aggression," he said, according to Iran's Fars news agency."Instability and unrest in the region are not in the interest of any country and will challenge everyone," Pezeshkian added.He further warned that Iran "will give a decisive response to the aggressors" if attacked. Iran’s army says it attacked UAE’s Al Minhad Air Base with drones, state TV reportsIran's army ⁠said it attacked the United Arab ⁠Emirates' Al Minhad Air Base with drones early on Monday, Iranian state TV reported, ‌citing a statement from ‌the army.The army said the attack targeted locations where U.S. forces and helicopters were stationed at the base.It said the attack was in response to the ⁠killing of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and Iranian civilians on ‌Larak Island.There ⁠was no ‌immediate comment from the UAE on Iran's claim that it ⁠attacked the Al Minhad Air Base and the UAE's defence ministry had not ‌issued a statement on the matter.Read the full articleRECAP: Iran's IRGC says it attacked two U.S. bases in Jordan with ballistic missilesHere are Monday's latest updates:■ U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News that "if I weren't president, Israel would be gone. There would be no Israel and there would probably be no Middle East." He called the Iranians "tough people and smart people" but "very evil."■ Iran's Revolutionary ‌Guards said ⁠⁠that it launched an attack on the King Hussein and al-Azraq U.S. bases in Jordan with ⁠ballistic missiles in response to ‌the ⁠U.S. ‌attack on Larak Island, ⁠Iranian media reported. Jordan's army said it intercepted eight missiles that entered its airspace, state television reported.■ U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island earlier Sunday after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was observed preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official said.■ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he would not tolerate Jewish violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, while concurrently saying he wants to "defend the settlements and strengthen them," during an interview on the Channel 14 News talk show The Patriots.■ The Palestine Red Crescent said that its teams, along with private ambulance crews, treated four Palestinians who were wounded by live fire in the town of al-Mughayyir, near Ramallah in the West Bank.■ The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said a tanker was struck by a projectile 12 nautical miles north of the Omani port city of Khasab. No casualties or environmental impact were reported, the UKMTO said.■ Gaza's education system remains largely dysfunctional, with hundreds of thousands of school-age children lacking meaningful access to education, according to data collected by the Humanitarian Forum on Gaza, an organization of Israeli civil society experts and NGOs, in August 2026. 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