Iran-US war latest: Qatar denies detaining Iranian fighter pilots after downing jets

Admiral Brad Cooper, the top US military commander in the Middle East, visited the USS Lincoln in the Arabian Sea during a 10-day tour in the region that concluded on Saturday, US Central Command said.

Adm. Cooper visited the USS Lincoln in the Arabian Sea as reports have emerged of mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed aircraft carrier.

The Lincoln arrived in the Middle East in January and has been supporting the US war against Iran, including the blockade on Iranian ports. Its deployment has included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 240 days.

Extended deployments of carriers – which can have more than 5,000 sailors and Marines on board – have raised concerns about the impact not only on the ships but on service members.

“History will record this deployment as one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era,” Cooper said of the Lincoln strike group in a statement released Saturday.

Cooper also went to Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to meet with civilian and military leaders, according to the Central Command statement.

Mohammad ‌Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for ‌the Search for Missing Persons of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, has also pointed fingers at Kuwait for similarly withholding information about the ​fate of four Iranians held in Kuwait.

In ‌May, Iran said the ⁠four were affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards and had ⁠been on a maritime patrol before entering Kuwaiti territorial waters because ‌of a navigation disruption. ​

Kuwait has said the ‌four were suspected of ​planning hostile actions against the country.

Iran has accused two French diplomats of conducting an “infiltration and interference” operation inside the country.

Iran’s intelligence ministry said the two diplomats were seen at a “secret meeting place” with documents pointing to efforts to establish contacts and build networks.

They were handed over to the Iranian ambassador to France in the presence of diplomatic police, the intelligence ministry said in a statement.

“Given the infiltration and overt interference in Iran’s internal affairs, particularly during wartime, and the blatant violation of the country’s laws and departure from diplomatic frameworks that have been conclusively established in this project, the intelligence ministry warns that it will not allow its diplomatic guests to engage in illegal and interventionist behaviour,” the ministry said.

Yemen’s Mocha port has temporarily stopped operations after being hit by over 25 missiles in recent days in Houthi attacks, the port’s director said.

At least seven people have been killed and $16 million in losses incurred from the attacks, the director said.

The port is near the Bab el-Mandab strait, another key ​route ⁠for international shipping.

Tehran has called on Qatar to let an Iranian team into the country to investigate the fate of Iranian pilots who Tehran says are being held there, Iranian media said on Sunday.

Qatar denies holding any pilots.

Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander of the Committee for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, said the air force and fact-finding team had been waiting for months to enter Qatar, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Baqerzadeh accused Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying the investigation and preventing the pilots’ return to Iran. He called for the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently follow up on the case.

Iranian ​military official said on Sunday that Qatar should let an Iranian ⁠team in to investigate the fate of Iranian pilots who Tehran says are ⁠being ​held there, Iranian ⁠media said on Sunday.

Qatar denies holding ⁠any pilots.

Mohammad Baqerzadeh, commander ​of ⁠the Committee ‌for the Search for Missing Persons of Iran’s Armed ‌Forces General Staff, said ‌the air force and fact-finding team had been ⁠waiting for months to enter Qatar, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Baqerzadeh accused Qatari officials of repeatedly delaying the investigation and ‌preventing the pilots’ ​return to Iran. ‌He called for ⁠the International Committee of ⁠the Red Cross to urgently follow ‌up ​on the ‌case.

America’s emergency oil stockpile has dropped to its lowest level in 40 years, with experts warning that ongoing withdrawals for the war with Iran could permanently damage the underground caverns holding the crude.

The warnings arrive as American drivers face unprecedented gas prices for late summer. Today’s AAA National Average for a gallon of regular gasoline sits at $4.07, marking the highest levels on record for mid-August.

Concerns over the physical limits of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve center on the unique geology of its storage network. The crude is held within 60 salt caverns thousands of feet below ground at four sites across Texas and Louisiana.

To extract crude, operators pump fresh water into the bottom of a cavern to force oil up to pipeline intakes. However, petroleum engineering professor Siddharth Misra of Texas A&M University told CNBC that repeated rapid drawdowns wash away salt walls.