Regional powers seek off-ramp from Iran war, and other Middle East developments

Regional powers seek off-ramp from Iran-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38748" data-entity-type="event">Iran war, and other Middle East developments 1 of 3 | Children play at a beach as commercial vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (Amir Biazar/ISNA via AP) 2 of 3 | A pro-government demonstrator chants slogan during a gathering in a square in Tehran, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 3 of 3 | Palestinians walk past a food-aid warehouse damaged in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a nearby house in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) By The Associated Press Updated 11:57 AM MESZ, August 27, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Jerusalem (AP) — Regional powers sought an off-ramp from the war with Iran as another tanker attack was reported in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Iranian government dismissed the Trump administration’s latest sanctions. Elsewhere in the Middle East, a Jerusalem court acquitted a man accused of beating a Catholic nun, but ordered him to undergo years of psychiatric hospitalization over the attack, which drew global condemnation. Israel’s strikes in Gaza drew a sharp rebuke from the top diplomat overseeing the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the territory. Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38748" data-entity-type="event">Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here. Court orders psychiatric hospitalization for man indicted in nun attack A Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court judge acquitted a man accused of attacking a Catholic nun based on his insanity defense and ordered him committed to psychiatric hospitalization for up to six years. The violent assault in April on a nun walking in her habit in Jerusalem’s Old City sent shock waves across Israel — and its many Christian communities, which have reported an increase in harassment. Religious Freedom Data Center, an Israeli volunteer organization that tracks incidents like verbal abuse and spitting in the direction of Christian people in Jerusalem, said they’re happening almost daily and virtually all are committed by Jewish religious nationalists. Jerusalem’s Old City contains some of the holiest sites of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Iran official says support for new sanctions would be an ‘act of war,’ and other Middle East news 5 MIN READ Iran warns of a harsh response as US announces new sanctions and other Middle East news 6 MIN READ 57 Iran and Oman hold talks on managing the Strait of Hormuz and other news from around the Middle East 6 MIN READ 57 Tanker was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization, or UKMTO, said Thursday that it had received a report of an oil tanker hit in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that has been at the center of the evolving diplomacy in the Iran-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38748" data-entity-type="event">Iran war. The monitoring agency, run by the British military, said that local authorities reported that the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile Tuesday in the waters between Oman and Iran, causing it to catch fire. The crew was reported to be safe and there have been no reports of environmental damage, the UKMTO said. The attack underscores the ongoing dangers for vessels attempting to transit the key waterway while it’s firmly under Iranian control, even as Oman and Iran are reportedly in the final stages of talks on a plan to manage shipping traffic through the strait. Iran periodically fires at vessels attempting to transit the strait to enforce its control of the waterway, though there was no immediate claim for Tuesday’s attack. The U.S. has also fired on vessels while imposing a blockade of Iranian ports. Faltering diplomatic efforts to end Iran-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38748" data-entity-type="event">Iran war continue Pakistan said Thursday that it was continuing diplomatic efforts to help resolve the crisis between the United States and Iran, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a news briefing that Field Marshal Asim Munir’s recent visit to Tehran was aimed at reviving the June memorandum of understanding to reopen the strait. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has also continued diplomatic outreach during Munir’s visit, speaking with Turkish, Egyptian and other regional counterparts, Andrabi said. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is expected in Tehran on Thursday for talks with Iranian officials on “ways to de-escalate tensions & create the conditions conducive to dialogue,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on X. The discussions, confirmed by Tehran, will also address “freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz and the need to return to the prewar status quo, according to Majed Al Ansari, an agency spokesperson. But U.S. President Donald Trump told Al Jazeera by phone on Wednesday that he has “no time schedule” to wrap up the conflict that will reach the six-month mark on Friday. Trump told the Qatar-based broadcaster that he believes the United States is “winning very big.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry calls US sanctions ‘pure parody’ Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, wrote late Wednesday in a social media post that the U.S. had made a coalition with Bahrain, calling it a country with “virtually no meaningful economic exchange with Iran.” In another social media post on Wednesday, Iran’s top negotiator and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf thanked China for rejecting the U.S. “economic D-Day” policies against Iran. “We welcome China’s principled statement rejecting illegal sanctions against Iran,” Qalibaf said. Earlier this week, Tehran had warned that it would respond harshly to expanded U.S. sanctions, including measures against countries it sees as cooperating with Washington. Iran has repeatedly targeted Bahrain and other Gulf countries with missiles and drones since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28. Israel’s Gaza strikes get rebuke from peace board chief Nickolay Mladenov, head of Trump’s Board of Peace, told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that the gap between what has been agreed upon by both sides and what is happening on the ground is the biggest risk to the peace process in Gaza. “Israeli strikes have continued since the road map was accepted, and Palestinian civilians are still being killed,” Mladenov said. An Israeli strike on a tent for displaced people Wednesday in southern Gaza killed one person and wounded at least four, the territory’s Health Ministry said. The Israeli military said that it struck a “military operative,” without elaborating. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have reported a surge in deadly Israeli strikes, despite a fragile ceasefire in the nearly three-year Israel-Hamas war. Israel has said that it targets Hamas and other militants. Israel’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Noa Furman, told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that Israel is committed to Trump’s peace plan, but that Hamas’ “disarmament must come first” before Gaza’s reconstruction can begin. The war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel. The militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and 251 others were abducted. Israel’s retaliatory offensive killed more than 73,400 people in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-controlled government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It doesn’t distinguish between civilians and militants, and says women and children make up around half all fatalities. Dutch diplomats removed from Gaza ceasefire coordination center The Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement that Israel’s Foreign Ministry is removing two Dutch diplomats from the Gaza ceasefire coordination center. The statement said that the order covers two Dutch diplomats who work at the embassy in Tel Aviv and the Netherlands Representative Office in Ramallah. “We understand that they are no longer welcome at the IGSC, but are allowed to remain at their respective postings,” the statement said, referring to the International Gaza Support Center. Previously known as the Civil-Military Coordination Center, it’s the U.S.-led center in Israel overseeing the Gaza ceasefire. “I regret this step by Israel, which in my view is unnecessary,” Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said in the written statement emailed to The Associated Press. “I also view this step in the context of the elections in Israel.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that the decision was in response to “a series of anti-Israel measures taken by the Dutch government,” including next month’s implementation of a ban in trade of Israeli products from the occupied West Bank and other areas. Berendsen said that the Netherlands stood by its decision “to ban products from illegal settlements.”