Trump wants 'compensation' from Iran as peace efforts stall

The head of military intelligence for eastern Libya's Libyan National Army was killed on Monday when an explosive device detonated in his car outside his home in the Hawari area of Benghazi, two security sources told Reuters.

Brigadier Fowzi Mansouri was killed in the evening blast, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. They did not say who was responsible for the attack or provide further details on the device.

The killing highlights continuing security challenges in Libya, where rival administrations and armed groups have retained influence despite a 2020 ceasefire that halted major warfare. Libya split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions after a 2011uprising toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

The Libyan National Army, led by military commander Khalifa Haftar, controls much of eastern and southern Libya. It is aligned with authorities based in Benghazi, while the internationally recognised Government of National Unity is based in the capital Tripoli and controls much of the west. 

 Libya's National Oil Corporation said on Tuesday that a drone fell near a main oil tank and pipeline network at the Zawiya Oil Refining Company's oil blending plant, the third such attack in two days.

No casualties or damage were reported, NOC said, adding it could declare force majeure and completely halt refinery operations if the attacks continue.

The International Atomic Energy Agency will soon remove nuclear material stored at a clandestine site in Syria after the Trump administration reached understandings with Syria and Israel, Axios reported on Monday, citing Israeli and US officials.

President Donald Trump insisted Monday that his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "very good" despite the Israeli leader's rejection of a US-led Gaza plan.

"The relationship is very good," Trump said in response to a shouted question from a journalist at the end of an Oval Office event.

The peace plan for Gaza is still operative and discussions with Israel are continuing, a Board of Peace official told Reuters on Monday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC for war crimes, refused to withdraw until Hamas is "genuinely disarmed."

US President Donald Trump said Monday he would seek conflict compensation from Iran as part of any peace negotiations, citing attacks stretching back decades allegedly backed or perpetrated by Tehran.

Iran is "asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five month Military Conflict... I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts," Trump posted.

In what has become a regular pattern, Trump last week threatened to hit Iran "very hard", potentially with attacks against civilian infrastructure, only to pull back, hinting a peace deal was near.

His latest comments on Truth Social came a day after Trump said he was "low-keying" his approach to the conflict, suggesting that he was prepared to let economic pressure mount in place of further military strikes.

Digital media outlet Axios said that the US president did not express any frustration with Iran's delaying an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz in their interview with him published Sunday.

Tehran has demanded that the US first end its blockade of Iranian ports and lift sanctions on its oil industry.

As negotiations have stalled, the strait's blockage by Iran has sent fuel prices soaring and rattled the world economy, putting pressure on Trump ahead of midterm elections in November.

In his post, Trump referenced the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 and added that compensation should also "be paid to the families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years."

"I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations," he said.

The bombing of the USS Cole, in which 17 US sailors were killed off the coast of Yemen, was carried out by Al-Qaeda, a group opposed to Iran.

Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei named Revolutionary Guards general Ali Abdollahi head of the country's armed forces on Monday, while also confirming a new commander of the Guards, putting his imprimatur on the country's military.

An statement on Khamenei's website announced that "Major General Ali Abdollahi has been appointed chief of staff of the armed forces. Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi has also been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with the rank of major general."

Leaking crude oil from a tanker grounded off a nature reserve in Oman has created a slick covering almost 400 square kilometres, the country's government said on Monday.

The Caroline Bezengi is loaded with close to one million barrels of Russian oil bound for Asia and first reported difficulties on June 8 off Yemen, with two maritime ​security sources saying initial assessments indicated a blast had occurred onboard.

No party has taken responsibility for attacking the vessel.

Oman, in its first public disclosure on the environmental impact, said on Monday it was seeking to tackle the oil leak near the Hallaniyat Islands.

Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tarik issued a royal decree last year creating a nature reserve around the islands, an area that is home to wildlife including Arabian Sea humpback whales and Socotra cormorants.

Israeli troops have carried out a major explosion between the towns of Merkaba and Rab al-Thalathin, Lebanon's National News Agency reports. 

Earlier Israeli forces demolished homes in the town of Khiam and bombed the strategic Ali Al-Taher ridge.

Ship tracker MarineTraffic has reported that maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has "significantly weakened" over the weekend, with only six confirmed crossings on Sunday as compared to 15 on Friday.

 

Weekend vessel traffic diverges

Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz weakened markedly over the weekend. Confirmed crossings fell from 15 on Friday to 11 on Saturday and six on Sunday, with 32 vessels crossing between 7 and 9 August. Routing remained concentrated,… pic.twitter.com/YcFZ6TNbvO

— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) August 10, 2026