Israel to close British consulate in Jerusalem after sanctions on settlements
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09/09/2026 - 00:54
This liveblog is no longer being updated.
09/09/2026 - 00:29
US forces destroy five Iranian oil carriers after missile attacks
US forces destroyed five Iranian oil carriers on Tuesday after Tehran launched ballistic missiles at an American warship twice in recent days, the US military said.
"American forces directed the crews to abandon ship before the vessels were struck and rendered inoperable," US Central Command said in a statement, adding the strikes were "in response to Iran's most recent failed attacks."
09/09/2026 - 00:27
Rubio warns Iran is 'going to lose tankers' if it keeps attacking US ships
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Iran on Tuesday that the US would continue to strike Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for attempted attacks on US warships.
"Iran continues to try to hit US naval ships, and for every time they do that or try to do that, they're going to lose tankers," Rubio told reporters during a visit to Colombia.
09/09/2026 - 00:17
South Korea's Lee visits France to discuss Hormuz security
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed cooperation on security and freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz during a summit in Paris on Tuesday, but the talks did not concern troop deployment, Seoul's presidential office said.
Lee, on a state visit to France, said at a joint press conference that he had discussed the Strait of Hormuz with Macron as part of wider talks on international security issues.
"South Korea and France agreed to continue close coordination so that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the stability of global supply chains can be restored swiftly," Lee said.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical energy transit route for South Korea, which relied on the waterway for 61% of its crude oil imports and 54% of its naphtha imports last year.
08/09/2026 - 22:46
US struck several Iranian oil tankers linked to IRGC, says US official
US forces have struck multiple Iranian tankers tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in response to more attempted missile attacks on a US Navy warship, according to a US official.
08/09/2026 - 22:06
Iran's IRGC Navy warns of strikes on ships after US attack on Iranian oil tankers
08/09/2026 - 22:04
Iran media says US missile struck Iranian tanker off Kharg Island
Iranian media on Tuesday reported that a US missile struck a tanker off the coast of Kharg Island, adding that there were no casualties.
"A small Iranian tanker was targeted by a missile attack by the American terrorist army four miles from Kharg Island. The tanker was hit by a projectile from American forces in the area of the Kharg Island anchorage," Tasnim news agency said.
08/09/2026 - 22:00
Turkey strongly condemns Iran-backed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia
Turkey condemns in the strongest term attacks by Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabia, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding that it called on the Houthis to "immediately halt their hostile actions".
"The attacks in question also damage diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in Yemen with a lasting political solution," the ministry said in a statement, adding it supported Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Turkey signed a joint defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan last month. The deal includes a collective defence clause similar to NATO's Article 5.
08/09/2026 - 21:33
In numbers: More than 500,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the West Bank
More than 500,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the West Bank, among some three million Palestinians.
According to an AFP tally based on data from the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 1,105 Palestinians in the territory since the start of the Gaza war.
08/09/2026 - 21:31
Netanyahu vows to press ahead with 'E1' settlements
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue establishing the settlements -- illegal under international law.
The E1 plan -- approved by Israel last year after decades of being frozen -- would see 1,200 housing units built and further isolate Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank.
The approval was widely condemned.
08/09/2026 - 21:20
US says underwater drone 'malfunctioned' after Iran claimed capture
The US military said Tuesday that one of its underwater drones "malfunctioned" more than a day earlier, after Iran said its forces captured an American unmanned submarine in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
"An underwater drone operated by US forces malfunctioned more than a day ago. It was surveying regional waters in support of ongoing operations," US Central Command spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins said, without mentioning whether the device was seized by Iran.
08/09/2026 - 21:18
Houthis report Saudi reprisals after oil sites set ablaze in wave of strikes
The Houthis said Saudi Arabia retaliated with strikes on Tuesday after the group targeted oil facilities, wounding dozens, as deadly fighting reignited in Yemen after a Houthi offensive towards the Red Sea's Bab al-Mandab chokepoint.
The rapid round of strikes and counter-strikes follows the unravelling of a four-year truce between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government in July.
Analysts dispute the extent to which the Houthis are acting independently or following the wishes of their Iranian backers, but on Tuesday US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that "behind some of this is clearly the Iranian hand".
On Thursday, the Houthis launched a campaign to seize territory near the Bab al-Mandab strait, an increasingly important route for Saudi oil after Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, choking Gulf exports.
The fighting has left more than 500 people dead, mostly combatants from both sides, according to an AFP tally based on sources from each camp.
08/09/2026 - 20:50
Netanyahu under fire over report UAE warned of October 7 attack
Israeli opposition leaders on Tuesday called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit to serve after a report that the United Arab Emirates had warned him before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Haaretz newspaper, in a report excerpted from a forthcoming book by its reporters, said UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke to Netanyahu a week and a half before the attack and told him that Hamas was planning a major operation. FRANCE 24's Monte Francis reports.
08/09/2026 - 20:16
Will the European intervention 'tilt the balance in favour of Netanyahu'?
“Whether the European intervention will tilt the balance in favour of Netanyahu, the far right, it’s difficult to say,” FRANCE 24’s international affairs editor Marc Perelman says.
“One thing is clear, it’s difficult for the Israeli opposition to say ‘this is great’ to have European sanctions on the west bank. Even if they don’t fully agree with Netanyahu it puts them in a corner because it’s difficult to welcome such foreign sanctions, especially from such close allies.”
08/09/2026 - 20:10
Israel FM says he called UK's Conservative opposition to praise anti-sanctions stance
Israel's foreign minister said on Tuesday he spoke to the leader of Britain's opposition Conservatives to thank the party for going against sanctions imposed by the UK government over settler violence.
"I thanked them for their firm opposition to the hostile Labour Government's announcement today and its series of anti-Israel policies since taking office," Gideon Saar wrote on X, saying he spoke to Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat.
08/09/2026 - 19:41
'No warning' from UAE over October 7 attack, Netanyahu's office says
Israeli opposition leaders on Tuesday called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit to serve after a bombshell report that the United Arab Emirates had warned him before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
Haaretz newspaper, in a report excerpted from a forthcoming book by its reporters, said UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke to Netanyahu a week and a half before the attack and told him that Hamas was planning a major operation.
Netanyahu's office denied the report by the left-leaning newspaper, saying in a statement late Tuesday: "No warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7th."
08/09/2026 - 19:37
UK chief rabbi says sanctions 'a dark day for British Jews'
Britain's chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, described the plans for sanctions as "a dark day for British Jews" and accused the UK government of "gesture politics".
"These measures will succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target," Mirvis wrote on X.
08/09/2026 - 18:37
Israeli settlements pose 'urgent threat' to two-state solution: Macron, Burnham and Carney
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that Israeli settlements in the occupeid West Bank undermined prospects for a two-state solution.
"Systematic settlement expansion in the West Bank, including the Government of Israel's latest decision to progress the E1 settlement, as well as the dramatic increase in settler violence, pose a direct and urgent threat to that vision for peace," the leaders said in a joint statement.
08/09/2026 - 18:35
What impact will sanctions have on Israel's economy?
The main produce from West Bank settlements is agricultural, including dates, citrus fruits, herbs and wine, and makes up only a tiny fraction of Israel's total exports.
Given the small volume of exports from the settlements, the trade bans are largely symbolic, and will not dent larger bilateral trade flows, but are part of wider efforts to reinforce support for the two-state solution.
08/09/2026 - 18:32
Rubio says sanctions could be 'destablising for the West Bank'
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the sanctions could be destabilizing for the West Bank, adding that Washington would not follow Britain, France and Canada in blocking imports from Israeli settlements.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)