Washington, August 17, 2026: US President Donald Trump has reiterated that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon remains his administration’s top priority, as tensions continue to escalate across the Middle East.
“The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The statement came amid continuing disputes between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear programme, the Strait of Hormuz and the broader regional conflict.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday accused the United States of contributing to pollution in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman through its military operations and conflicts in the region.
“This environmental damage stems from the US military presence and the wars it has waged in the region over the past five decades,” Baghaei told a news briefing.
He called for the United States to be held accountable for environmental damage, estimating the potential cost at trillions of dollars.
Iran has recently called for compensation following an oil spill that reached Qeshm Island and affected beaches and a sensitive mangrove ecosystem. Iranian officials later said the spill had been cleaned up.
Baghaei also disputed reports concerning a 60-day deadline under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, saying the period was intended for discussions on sanctions relief and the nuclear issue and could have been extended if necessary.
He accused Washington of violating the memorandum and said the breach had halted discussions.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared that Tehran had achieved both a military and political victory in its conflict with the United States and Israel.
Ghalibaf said Iran had not destroyed the US or Israeli militaries but argued that Washington and Tel Aviv had failed to achieve the objectives they had publicly announced before the conflict.
He described this as a major failure for the United States and Israel.
Meanwhile, the head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, Ebrahim Azizi, criticised Trump’s statements concerning the Strait of Hormuz and said the US president should focus on domestic security rather than making what he called threats against the strategic waterway.
Baghaei also addressed the fate of three Iranian military pilots reported missing following an operation in Qatar in March.
He said that, until their status was clarified, Iran would assume that they had been taken captive.
“Diplomatic exchanges with Qatar do not conflict with the serious pursuit of the pilots’ fate,” he said.
Qatar has previously denied holding Iranian pilots and said its search and rescue teams had recovered the remains of one pilot after Iranian aircraft entered Qatari airspace.
Baghaei also rejected reports of a secret meeting between Iranian and US officials in Erbil, calling the reports fabricated and accusing their authors of attempting to create divisions within Iran’s decision-making institutions.
The Yemeni army said on Monday that the Houthi movement had launched two ballistic missiles towards the southwestern city of Mocha and the Red Sea.
According to the Taiz Military Axis, the missiles were launched from an area under Houthi control east of Taiz. No casualties or damage were immediately reported.
The development came a day after forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government said the Houthis had targeted Mocha with seven drones.
The latest escalation has raised renewed concerns about the fragile security situation in Yemen and the Red Sea, where Houthi attacks on commercial shipping have previously disrupted international maritime trade.
US President Donald Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday as Washington sought to advance its Gaza peace initiative.
The meeting followed discussions between US representatives and Hamas officials in Cairo.
Kushner and Trump’s Gaza envoy Nickolay Mladenov held talks with Hamas representatives, including senior figure Khalil Al-Hayya, according to diplomatic sources.
The discussions are part of efforts to advance Trump’s proposed framework involving the disarmament of armed groups in Gaza, an Israeli military withdrawal and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.
Hamas has expressed agreement with the framework but has maintained that implementation would depend on Israel fulfilling its commitments, including ending attacks and withdrawing its forces.
Netanyahu, however, has publicly expressed reservations about elements of Trump’s proposal.
Trump also welcomed the signing of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
Calling the agreement a “big, bold, and important first step”, Trump said it demonstrated that countries in the Middle East were moving towards greater cooperation in defending themselves.
The pact, signed on August 7, provides for stronger collective defence cooperation among the three countries and treats an armed attack against one signatory as an attack against all three.
Iran also criticised Canada over its participation in US-led military operations in the region.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei accused Ottawa of aligning itself with Washington despite what he described as US pressure on Canadian sovereignty.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had previously indicated that Canada was prepared to support efforts aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Israeli military operations continued in southern Lebanon despite an ongoing ceasefire.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that Israeli forces opened fire in Hadatha in the Bint Jbeil district, while Israeli military vehicles were also reported to have moved into the area.
Additional Israeli strikes were reported around Al-Qantara, Al-Mansouri, Kafra and other areas in southern Lebanon. Local reports said an explosive-laden drone struck a house in Kafra, injuring two civilians.
Israeli media also reported that the Israeli military was preparing for the possibility of several days of fighting in Lebanon and planning further attacks against Hezbollah infrastructure.
The developments have raised concerns that the fragile ceasefire could deteriorate further amid continuing US-mediated efforts to reach a broader understanding between Israel and Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities say thousands of people have been killed or wounded since the latest escalation began, while more than one million people have been displaced.
