2026 Iran War: 2026-08-23

Middle East Spectator said satellite imagery shows fresh damage at Saudi Arabia's Jazan Oil Refinery after an August 18 Houthi (Ansarallah) drone strike, with a large oil storage tank appearing hit and burned. The imagery was presented as corroboration of earlier strike claims.

Middle East Spectator cited The Telegraph saying Iranian-affiliated hackers shut down a UK power plant for four consecutive days in a sophisticated cyberattack. The report said the incident is believed to be the first successful Iranian government-linked shutdown of such a UK facility and noted it came after recent attacks on U.S. water infrastructure.

Yemen's Armed Forces said they carried out two drone operations in Saudi Arabia, targeting a sensitive site at Najran Airport and Aramco facilities in Najran, according to Middle East Spectator. Saudi authorities have not independently confirmed the claimed hits in public statements cited with the report.

China's Foreign Ministry said it does not recognize U.S. sanctions on Iran and will not comply with what it called an "economic warfare" campaign launched by President Trump this week, according to Middle East Spectator.

Iran's state news agency IRNA said Tehran authorized several Iraqi oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz after repeated requests from Baghdad. Passage for Iraqi tankers was among Iraq's main asks during Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf's visit to Iraq, according to Middle East Spectator.

Middle East Spectator reported the IMF expects Qatar's economy to shrink by 8.6% in 2026 because of the war with Iran, described as the largest GDP drop in decades. The same report said Kuwait's economic crisis is expected to worsen after damage to oil and gas infrastructure in both Gulf states.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is "in a full-scale economic, military and security war," according to Al Jazeera's live coverage. He also said the United States falsely predicted Iran would become another Venezuela.

Mohsen Rezaei, the new head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said in a state TV interview that neighbors who join Washington's economic pressure campaign would be considered enemies and that Tehran would target their interests, including oil shipping routes out of the Persian Gulf. He also said Iran would retaliate "in a seismic manner" if President Trump escalates further. The comments follow US vows of unprecedented economic isolation of Iran.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the United States wants allies to join a campaign to "squash" Iran's economy and said Washington intends to "collapse this regime." He framed the planned measures as the greatest coordinated economic isolation effort ever and said more details would be presented at a press conference on 24 August. Bessent argued economic pressure could reduce the need for a large-scale military restart of the conflict.