Follow updates on the war in the Middle East for Thursday, Aug. 13, here. See earlier coverage below. The head of Iran's Basij paramilitary unit, Hossein Taeb, asserted Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's control and management," reported, citing Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.
The remarks came a day after President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. had "total control" of the vital waterway. More than 30 countries, including France, Britain and Canada, have condemned Iran's use of capital punishment, saying in a joint statement that the Islamic republic is executing protesters to "silence dissent." The countries, joined by the European Union's top diplomat, said they "condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty" by Iran. "The use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified," the statement said.
"The people of Iran must be free to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear." Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Germany and numerous other European nations were among those calling for Iran "to immediately end the use of the death penalty and release all those arbitrarily detained." Iran's foreign minister brushed off the criticism, saying, "Countries like France should stop lecturing the world about 'human rights' and international law. The hypocrisy is blatant and embarrassing. "Your backing of Israel's genocide in Gaza -- and aggression against Iran -- has destroyed whatever moral high ground you imagined you had," Abbas Araghchi posted on X.
The joint statement speaks to growing alarm from the United Nations and rights groups over a surge in executions in recent months, after Iran was rocked by nationwide anti-government protests earlier in the year and the start of the Middle East war in February. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Wednesday condemned Israel's "systematic destruction" in the country's south as a violation of international law, as Israel's defense minister said its military was "destroying all the houses" there. Salam said Israeli "attacks, incursions, demolitions and the systematic destruction of homes," infrastructure, government buildings and places of worship "represent a serious violation of the principles and rules of international law and international humanitarian law." Claiming that villages and towns "are entirely 'military facilities' does not stand up to any logic and cannot be used as an excuse for destroying them, displacing their inhabitants and preventing them from returning," he said in a statement.
Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz visited southern Lebanon on Wednesday, vowing to keep troops in a so-called "security zone" there and saying the Israeli military was "destroying the underground infrastructure" in the area and "destroying all the houses." The Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the war in March by attacking Israel, which responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanese authorities say have killed more than 4,300 people. A framework deal reached in late June between Lebanon and Israel involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region, starting in "pilot zones." When asked about Katz's remarks, a U.S. State Department official responded in an email that the U.S.
"expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the framework they agreed to, and Israel clearly stated that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon. A permanent military presence in South Lebanon is not consistent with the commitments made in the framework, or the long-term peace and security of both states." Last month's elaborate ruse that saw President Trump secretly move from Air Force One to another plane by way of a catering truck took place within a day of U.S. and Turkish intelligence picking up on an Iranian plot to fire a missile at the presidential jet, CBS News has learned. The decision to shift Mr.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
