News blog about the war in the Middle East
Port on important strait ceases operations
Updated on August 16, 2026 – 12:31 p.mReading time: 14 minutes
Iran is in dispute with Qatar over missing pilots. An important port ceases operations after rebel attacks. All developments in the news blog.
Report: Iran puts bounty on US soldiers
According to a report by the news portal Avash, the Iranian army is offering a bounty of the equivalent of 25,000 euros for every US soldier killed or captured. Accordingly, the amount doubles when women arrest or kill American soldiers. The bounty was offered by the commander-in-chief of the regular Iranian army, Amir Hatami.
The background is the ongoing military tensions between the USA and that Iran. Both sides have violated a framework agreement of June 17, which provided for a permanent end to the war on all fronts, several times in recent weeks.
Iran demands Qatar allow investigation into detained pilots
Iran is calling on Qatar to allow an Iranian team on site to investigate the fate of detained pilots. An expert of air force and an investigation team had been waiting for months to enter Qatar, Mohammed Bakersadeh, a commander in the general staff of the Iranian armed forces, said on Sunday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Bakersadeh accused authorities in Qatar of delaying the investigation and preventing the pilots from returning to Iran. He also called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently pursue the case.
Qatar denies holding Iranian pilots. The government in Doha announced on Saturday that its search and rescue teams had found the remains of a pilot. In March, Iranian aircraft violated Qatari airspace and did not respond to attempts to contact them. Qatar has contacted Iran to coordinate the handover of the remains. Tehran was also invited to review the details of the search and rescue operations. However, no response was received.
Director: Operations suspended at Mocha Port
Trade and shipping traffic in the port of the Yemeni city of Mocha has been suspended. The port director said this became necessary after the port was hit by more than 25 rockets in attacks by the Houthi rebels in recent days. The attacks killed seven people and caused an estimated 16 million in damage US dollars emerged, he says.
The city of Mocha lies on the important Bab al-Mandab strait, the “Valley of Tears”, which marks the entrance to the Red Sea. The method of preparing coffee is named after mocha.
Iranian official: Trump must accept defeat
Iran has Trump’s claims on the Strait of Hormuz rejected in clear terms. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on X that Trump must accept reality. “Accept the reality once and for all: Up to now you have suffered strategic and severe defeats. As long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and give up your unrealistic delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” he wrote.
