Syria Military Source Denies Iran Bombed Al-Tanf Base

The al-Tanf military outpost in southern Syria is seen on Oct. 22, 2018. (AP)
The al-Tanf military outpost in southern Syria is seen on Oct. 22, 2018. (AP)
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Syria Military Source Denies Iran Bombed Al-Tanf Base

The al-Tanf military outpost in southern Syria is seen on Oct. 22, 2018. (AP)
The al-Tanf military outpost in southern Syria is seen on Oct. 22, 2018. (AP)

A Syrian military source denied to AFP on Friday that Iran had bombed the al-Tanf base near Syria's southeastern borders with Jordan and Iraq, after Tehran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted the facility in response to US strikes. 

"We deny any Iranian bombardment targeting the al-Tanf area," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.  

US forces said they withdrew from the base earlier this year after troops were stationed there as part of a US-led anti-ISIS coalition. 

Earlier on Friday, Iran's ‌Revolutionary Guards claimed they had attacked a US special operations command center at al-Tanf in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr, state media reported. 

Reuters could not independently verify the claim.

The US ‌military said in February ‌it ⁠completed a withdrawal from ⁠the al-Tanf base positioned at the tri-border confluence of Syria, Jordan and Iraq. 

Syria has sought to avoid being drawn into the regional conflict that has engulfed neighboring countries, including Lebanon, ⁠where Hezbollah has fought Israeli ‌forces, and ‌Iraq, where Iran-backed armed groups have launched drone ‌and rocket attacks. 

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa ‌said in March that his country would stay out of any conflict unless it came under attack. 

"Unless Syria is targeted by ‌any party, Syria will remain outside any conflict," Sharaa said at ⁠an ⁠event hosted by the Chatham House think tank in London. 

The Guards also said Iran retained full control of the Strait of Hormuz and that no oil or gas would be exported through the waterway for as long as US attacks continued, according to the state media report. 



Iraq Seizes $20 Mn, Recovers 60 Kg of Gold in ‘Deputy Oil Minister’ Case

Image published by Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council of the seized funds.
Image published by Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council of the seized funds.
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Iraq Seizes $20 Mn, Recovers 60 Kg of Gold in ‘Deputy Oil Minister’ Case

Image published by Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council of the seized funds.
Image published by Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council of the seized funds.

Diaa Jaafar, the investigating judge at Iraq’s Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court, announced on Sunday that authorities had seized $20 million and recovered 60 kilograms of gold in a corruption case involving suspended Deputy Oil Minister for Refining Affairs Adnan al-Jumaili.

In a statement released by Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council and reported by the German Press Agency (dpa), Jaafar said that, in coordination with the Kurdistan Region, authorities had seized $20.34 million, 200 million Iraqi dinars, and seven vehicles, in addition to recovering 60 kilograms of gold.

The seizures were made as part of the case against Jumaili and other individuals allegedly involved in the corruption scheme.

He said that follow-up and investigative efforts to recover funds obtained through squandering and irregularities in projects carried out by the defendant and others involved in the case led to the seizure of the cash, gold jewelry and vehicles.

The judge said the investigation is ongoing and that authorities are pursuing other suspects before completing the necessary legal procedures against them.


Hamas Delegation in Cairo for Gaza Ceasefire Talks

15 August 2026, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians crowd the beach, as the coastline has become a refuge for thousands displaced from different parts of the Gaza Strip by the war. (dpa)
15 August 2026, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians crowd the beach, as the coastline has become a refuge for thousands displaced from different parts of the Gaza Strip by the war. (dpa)
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Hamas Delegation in Cairo for Gaza Ceasefire Talks

15 August 2026, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians crowd the beach, as the coastline has become a refuge for thousands displaced from different parts of the Gaza Strip by the war. (dpa)
15 August 2026, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians crowd the beach, as the coastline has become a refuge for thousands displaced from different parts of the Gaza Strip by the war. (dpa)

A Hamas delegation, chaired by the group’s leader Khalil al-Hayya, is in Cairo Sunday for Gaza ceasefire-related talks with Egyptian officials, the group said.

The talks come as mediators push for the implementation of a roadmap to move forward with US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian groups in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area as well as handing over power to Palestinian technocrats.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Trump’s latest plan to advance the stalled ceasefire in Gaza, saying Israel will not withdraw from any of the roughly 60% of the territory it controls until Hamas has been completely disarmed — something the group controlling the other 40% has long resisted.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether al-Hayya would meet with Trump’s son-in-law and negotiator Jared Kushner, the Board of Peace’s high representative Nickolay Mladenov, or executive board member and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who are scheduled to travel to Israel and Egypt this week.


Israel Vows to Go After Hezbollah as It Names Another Killed

15 August 2026, Lebanon, Nabatieh district: An Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike on a house in a tourist area of Ansar, southern Lebanon, before dawn, completely destroying the building and causing extensive damage to surrounding properties. (dpa)
15 August 2026, Lebanon, Nabatieh district: An Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike on a house in a tourist area of Ansar, southern Lebanon, before dawn, completely destroying the building and causing extensive damage to surrounding properties. (dpa)
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Israel Vows to Go After Hezbollah as It Names Another Killed

15 August 2026, Lebanon, Nabatieh district: An Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike on a house in a tourist area of Ansar, southern Lebanon, before dawn, completely destroying the building and causing extensive damage to surrounding properties. (dpa)
15 August 2026, Lebanon, Nabatieh district: An Israeli warplane carried out an airstrike on a house in a tourist area of Ansar, southern Lebanon, before dawn, completely destroying the building and causing extensive damage to surrounding properties. (dpa)

Israel vowed Sunday it would hit Hezbollah again if threatened, as it identified what it described as a commander killed in strikes a day earlier that also left several children dead. 

Israeli strikes on Saturday killed 11 people in southern Lebanon, according to authorities, in the deadliest attacks since a deal was reached in June aimed at ending hostilities. 

Israel said the strikes were a response to Hezbollah setting off explosive drones inside a so-called "security zone" in southern Lebanon, seriously injuring three Israeli troops including an officer. 

"No score will be left unsettled in any arena. We'll defend our soldiers and our civilians with full power," Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X. 

The Israeli military identified one of those killed on Saturday as Abu Hassan Alaa, saying he was a senior commander of Hezbollah's Badr unit who had been involved in firing drones at Israeli troops. 

Israel earlier said that the strike killed a commander in Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan. 

The Israeli military acknowledged that Hassan's family was present but defended the strike by saying they were not the target. 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said a whole family had been killed in the strike in the village of Ansar, with Lebanon's health ministry reporting that three children and two women died. 

Imran Riza, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, condemned the strike. 

"Children and civilians continue to pay an unacceptable price. International humanitarian law is clear: civilians must be protected at all times," he said. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accused Hezbollah of deliberately placing civilians in harm's way. 

Hezbollah denied the account, saying that "another entire family has been wiped out following orders issued by Netanyahu". 

"Netanyahu, who is the subject of proceedings before the International Criminal Court over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza, is once again presiding over the killing of Lebanese civilians," Hezbollah said in a statement. 

Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the regional war in March by firing rockets at Israel in support of Iran, after US-Israeli strikes there sparked war in late February. 

Lebanon and Israel signed a US-brokered deal in which Lebanon's army will gradually take over security in southern areas occupied by Israel, but Hezbollah has refused to disarm.