Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia sign a mutual defence agreement
Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have signed a mutual defense agreement, at a time the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have stepped up attacks on Saudi-linked targets.
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia, nuclear power Pakistan and Turkey, which has Nato’s second-largest army and a rapidly growing defence industry, signed a mutual defense agreement on Friday.
The deal stipulates that an armed attack on either of the three countries will be regarded as an attack against them all.
It was signed during a meeting in Saudi Arabia between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.
“The Agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression,” the ministry said in a statement.
The deal comes at a time when Saudi Arabia, whose critical infrastructure and oil facilities have come under attack as part of the war in Iran, has been looking to diversify its defense partnerships.
Arpan Rai8 August 2026 08:35
Watch: Trump meets mining CEOs as US pushes critical-minerals agenda
Donald Trump attends a roundtable on the American mining industry at the US Department of State in Washington DC (Getty)
US secretary of state Marco Rubio arrives to a roundtable on the American mining industry at the US Department of State (Getty)
President Donald Trump admires the decor in the room during a roundtable on the American mining industry at the US Department of State in Washington, DC (Getty)
Trump attended the event as his administration aims to secure additional supplies of critical minerals in an effort to replenish weapons stockpiles that have been depleted during the US conflict with Iran (Getty)
Arpan Rai8 August 2026 08:11
Iran feels time is on its side as negotiations with US continue
To borrow a phrase from Donald Trump’s own theory of geopolitics, Iran believes it holds the cards.
“They started the war, but its end was never with them. We always decide for ourselves when it ends,” Mahdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran’s chief negotiator, posted on social media. “Iran is going after the enemy’s defeat — not an agreement.”
He said a surprise Iranian attack on Jordan in July “compensated” for a drop in oil prices. That contributed to the collapse of an interim agreement reached in June that had offered significant concessions to Iran, including a US waiver to sell oil internationally and the promise of broader sanctions relief.
Iran has repeatedly said the Strait of Hormuz will not go back to being an open waterway, and that it will keep attacking ships trying to transit without its permission. Iran’s joint military command has called it an “unbreakable red line.”
“For Iran, the Strait of Hormuz has become a strategic lever for deterrence, maintaining the regional balance of power, and reshaping the security rules in the Persian Gulf,” said Mostafa Najafi, a Tehran-based security analyst.
That poses a major obstacle to ending the war, much less resolving the even more complex, long-standing dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.
“The atomic issue, because of the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, has been pushed to the side, and in reality, that is in Iran’s interests,” said Rahman Ghahremanpour, an Iran-based analyst. Control of the strait would give Iran leverage if the nuclear talks resume, he added.
Arpan Rai8 August 2026 07:30
Abu Dhabi oil company says it is impacted by unprovoked attacks
An oil company in Abu Dhabi has hit out at what it called unprovoked attacks on its vessels.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Friday it continued to be significantly impacted by the attacks, but was taking measures to protect its people, assets and operations while meeting customer requirements as much as possible.
ADNOC said in a statement that 15 of its vessels had been attacked by missiles and drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the conflict, including three this week, leaving one crew member dead and 20 injured.
Arpan Rai8 August 2026 06:52
Trump hosts mining CEOs amid worries over depleting weapons stockpiles
US president Donald Trump yesterday convened executives from leading mining companies at the State Department to strengthen domestic and allied supplies of critical minerals, a key component of the nation’s security and industrial strategy.
The administration seeks to replenish weapons stockpiles, depleted during the Iran conflict, and reduce US dependence on Chinese supply chains for essential minerals like rare earths, tungsten, and germanium, which are vital for advanced military systems.
The White House needs critical minerals to replenish weapons stockpiles depleted during the Iran conflict and reduce US dependence on Chinese supply chains.
The gathering included approximately 200 participants, featuring executives from companies such as Resolution Copper, MP Materials, and Century Aluminum, alongside high-ranking officials including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Several executives came with gifts for Trump. Tom Albanese, chairman of deep-sea mining firm American Ocean Minerals, gave Trump a gold replica of a nodule that the company hopes to mine from the Pacific seabed. Trump last year said he may bypass the UN-backed International Seabed Authority and issue international seabed mining licenses.
Jim Litinsky, CEO of rare earths firm MP Materials, which is financially supported by the Pentagon, gave Trump magnets that had been produced for General Motors in the company’s Texas plant.
Arpan Rai8 August 2026 06:25
Watch: Trump says Strait of Hormuz is ‘sort of open’Strait of Hormuz is ‘sort of open’ – Trump
Arpan Rai8 August 2026 06:06
How does Oman-Iran deal give Tehran an upper hand
Iran says it is close to reaching a deal with Oman to manage the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the two countries.
But it would be conditional on the US lifting its blockade on the crucial waterway.
It would formalise its control over what had been an open international waterway before the war, one that carried a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas.
Abdolreza Davari, an analyst who once advised former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Iran’s effective control of the strait has given it leverage with the US and regional countries that can help guarantee its security.
“More than revenue from the strait, Iran wants to confirm its management and sovereignty over the strait,” he said by phone from Tehran.
Formal control over even part of the strait would be a clear win for Iran and a loss for the US, which has yet to accomplish some of its various and shifting goals in the war.
It would also deal a blow to global norms on freedom of navigation and set a precedent that much of the world would find disturbing — that nations can shut down trade choke points at will.
China, which buys oil from Iran and has influence over it, said as recently as May that “normal and safe passage” through the strait should be restored.
Arpan Rai8 August 2026 05:36
Houthis strike Marib again as UN warns Yemen nearing wider conflict
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones at displacement camps and residential neighbourhoods in the city of Marib on Friday, killing two people and wounding 14 others, state news agency SABA reported, citing local authorities.
The Houthis said they had targeted Saudi-backed forces, depots, vehicles and military equipment at the Sahn al-Jinn camp in the city with missiles and drones.
The attacks came a day after at least 30 Yemeni government troops were killed in strikes on military camps in Marib and Hadramawt provinces, according to government sources, in one of the deadliest escalations in months.
The Houthis also claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attacks, saying they struck Saudi military deployments in the two provinces after detecting what they described as a large Saudi military buildup ahead of an escalation against areas under their control.
US special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said on Friday that the latest attacks in Marib and Hadramawt, together with renewed attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, had left Yemen at its greatest risk of renewed large-scale conflict since the UN-brokered truce in April 2022.
Arpan Rai8 August 2026 05:25
Watch: Vance says oil prices will ‘come down and stay down’ as Iran war drags onVance says oil prices will ‘come down and stay down’ as Iran war drags on
Arpan Rai8 August 2026 05:05
Trump’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs seeking ‘off-ramp’ from Iran war, report says
Caine has privately told other top administration officials that the country needs to find a way to exit the war, according to CNN, which cited three sources familiar with the matter.
Despite Trump claiming throughout the war that a peace deal, which would include his demand that Iran never obtain a nuclear weapon, was within reach, fighting has continued for more than five months.
“Caine is looking for an off ramp,” one of CNN’s sources said.
The general’s meetings with Trump officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are just to make clear the limitations and pitfalls of different military options, according to the sources.
Arpan Rai8 August 2026 04:45