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Iran live updates: Tehran can adopt 'offensive aspect,' IRGC official says

The U.S. and Iran are yet to agree a deal over the Strait of Hormuz.

Last Updated: August 17, 2026, 5:01 AM EDT

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.

Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.

The U.S. and Iran have nonetheless continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz the primary flashpoint.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
52 minutes ago

Trump applauds Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani defense pact

President Donald Trump on Sunday applauded a recently signed defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, saying that the deal "shows how the Middle East is coming together."

"Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement," Trump wrote, adding that this will allow the countries to "defend themselves in a more meaningful way."

"THIS IS A BIG, BOLD, AND IMPORTANT FIRST STEP -- WOW!" Trump wrote.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the "Mecca Joint Defense Agreement," under which the signatories said they would treat an attack on one country as an attack on all three.

The deal builds on a September 2025 mutual defense agreement signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

On Monday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted to X thanking Trump for his "courageous and decisive leadership" that helped in averting "nuclear catastrophe in South Asia and saved millions of lives."

Sharif said that all three signatory countries will "continue to play a constructive role in ensuring the defence of our own countries as well as the entire region."

-ABC News' Emily Chang and Habibullah Khan

2 hours and 21 minutes ago

Tehran can adopt 'offensive aspect,' IRGC official says

In an interview with the semi-official Fars News Agency published on Sunday, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps political deputy Brig. Gen. Yadollah Javani said Tehran could shift from a defensive to offensive posture.

"The armed forces will have transformative approaches based on the issued decrees, and every action to defend the country, ensure security, and neutralize enemy threats will be taken at the necessary time," Javani said, as quoted by Fars.

"The enemy initiated the war and Iran's actions are defensive, although they may also take on an offensive aspect in the future," he added.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Aug 16, 2026, 4:43 PM EDT

Foreign ministers of 8 countries 'condemn' Israeli rejection' of Trump's 15-point Gaza plan

The foreign ministers of 8 countries issued a joint statement Sunday condemning Israel’s rejection of the 15-point Gaza plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.

The statement, also posted on X, was signed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and said the ministers "condemn the declared Israeli rejection of the Road Map for completing the implementation of U.S. President Trump’s Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, as endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803, and the Israeli rejection of Palestinian statehood."

“These positions amount to a direct repudiation of the Comprehensive Plan, jeopardize its implementation, and fundamentally undermine the collective efforts undertaken to achieve a just and lasting peace,” the statement further said.

The statement added that Israel’s rejection of the plan “confirms that Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

The ministers also said the decision “threatens to derail the extensive efforts exerted by U.S. President Trump to bring an end to the war in Gaza and establish the conditions for lasting peace.”

Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and Middle East envoy, will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel Monday to discuss the situation in Gaza and other regional issues, sources told ABC News Sunday.

-ABC News' Jamie Dorrington

Aug 16, 2026, 4:12 PM EDT

Jared Kushner traveling in Egypt and Israel this week, official confirms

A Board of Peace official confirmed to ABC News that Jared Kushner is traveling in Egypt and Israel this week.

Kushner will be accompanied by Nickolay Mladenov, the director-general of the Board of Peace, and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Kushner and the rest of the delegation met with the Egyptians and other mediators in El Alamein, Egypt, Sunday, where they discussed how to “concretize next steps on Roadmap implementation” and reviewed plans for when a Palestinian technocratic committee assumes authority in Gaza, the official said.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi discusses developments in the Middle East with Jared Kushner, adviser and son-in-law to U.S. President Donald Trump, in El Alamein, Egypt on August 16, 2026.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi discusses developments in the Middle East with Jared Kushner, adviser and son-in-law to U.S. President Donald Trump, with the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip being a key topic, in El Alamein, Egypt on August 16, 2026. (Photo by Egyptian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Egyptian presidency/handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

Once in Israel, the delegation will “continue the constructive conversations that we are having on how to advance the President’s historic comprehensive 20-Point Peace Plan,” according to the official.

Two Israeli sources familiar with the matter previously told ABC News that Jared Kushner will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday to discuss Gaza and other regional issues.

"The United States and Israel agree on the end state, which is a demilitarized Hamas. We will hear the concerns that have been raised and talk about next steps. What is critical is that we both agree on the desired outcome and are finding ways to accelerate progress,” the official said.

-ABC News' Shannon Kingston

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