Day 165 of the WarTuesday, August 11, 2026
Day 165 — Hellfires Stop the Vela Nova as Hormuz Traffic Halves; Tehran Sets Its Price; Mojtaba Khamenei Installs Rezaei and Taeb
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Strait of HormuzTehran
Mojtaba Khamenei's New Security Team — Rezaei, Taeb and 'Every Iranian a Basij'
Iran- Mojtaba Khamenei's decree returns Hossein Taeb — Basij chief in the 2009 protests and ex-head of IRGC Intelligence — to the Basij, tasked with strengthening a 'People's Intelligence Network'; Iran International says that means forcing people to inform on each other.source
- Iran International analysts Morad Veisi and Kamyar Behrang say the vacuum left by the killing of dozens of senior officials let Mojtaba Khamenei rearrange power around loyalists, and that Rezaei's appointment signals a more confrontational course.source
- Mohammad Reza Naqdi, senior adviser to the IRGC commander-in-chief, said on state TV that the IRGC has been tasked with developing the capability to carry operations onto enemy territory, far from Iran's own soil, and to launch them 'at the appropriate time.'source
- LiveIranNews cites Israel's Channel 14 saying the leader asked IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi to prepare a powerful offensive, and Fox News reporting that a Mojtaba Khamenei 'proof of life' video is months old and that IRGC forces abandoned some missile sites.source
Death Row in Evin, an 88-Day Blackout and Oil on Qeshm's Shores
- Masih Alinejad raises the alarm for Arghavan Fallahi, 24, held in Evin Prison and sentenced to death by Judge Salavati on a 'baghi' (armed rebellion) charge; she says Fallahi endured months of solitary confinement and psychological torture but refused to give a forced confession.source
- Iran International reports that Alireza Balouneh, a 22-year-old protester arrested at his fast-food workplace in Tehran's Saadat Abad during the December protests, remains in limbo in Evin after five interrogation and court sessions before Judge Salavati.source
- Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi said that in meetings on restoring the internet after the 88-day shutdown, some argued 'only 12 percent of people need the internet'; RadioFarda notes it was the longest internet blackout ever recorded worldwide.source
- Iran International publishes images of oil slicks and widespread pollution along the coasts of several Iranian islands, including Qeshm, reportedly from leaks out of tankers damaged in explosions in the Strait of Hormuz.source
Blockade Bites — Hellfires Into the Vela Nova as Hormuz Traffic Halves
Gulf & Naval- CENTCOM says a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles into the engine room of the Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova after its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings while trying to reach an Iranian port through the Gulf of Oman, per Open Source Intel.source
- CENTCOM's tally as of Aug. 11: 55 commercial vessels redirected, three non-compliant vessels disabled and two boarded; the command stresses that the blockade against Iran 'remains in full effect.'source
- Kpler shipping data cited by Iran International show only six vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on August 10, against a recent average of 11 — before the war, some 130 to 140 ships passed through every day.source
- Babak Taghvaee shares video from near Qeshm Island of a U.S. Army AH-64E attack helicopter patrolling the strait and flying close to Iranian fishing boats to check that no IRGC Navy personnel are aboard; he says IRGC boats can no longer move freely off southern Iran.source
Tehran Names Its Price for Reopening Hormuz
- Trump told reporters on Monday that the U.S. has completely cleared the strait of mines and has '100 percent control' of it, insisting it 'is open right now' and that the only force controlling Hormuz is the U.S. Navy, RadioFarda reports.source
- Mohsen Rezaei, the new Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, told China's ambassador that Hormuz will not reopen until the U.S. ends the war, pays Iran's frozen funds and accepts Tehran's conditions; Mojtaba Khamenei's aide Mohammad Mokhber echoed the line on X.source
- Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said reopening the strait is conditional on lifting the U.S. naval blockade; he said tolls were not discussed with Oman, but Tehran is seeking to collect 'maritime service fees,' Iran International reports.source
- Citing Reuters, LiveIranNews says Trump's demand for compensation over more than 50 years of damages has undercut hopes of a Hormuz deal, and reports a threat attributed to parliamentary adviser Majid Shakeri to keep the strait shut until 2029 unless Washington pays $300 billion.source
Around the Region — a Houthi Missile at Bab al-Mandeb, Strikes on Kurdish Camps
- Four crew members were killed when a Houthi missile struck the bridge of the small deck cargo ship Tihamah near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, Open Source Intel reports; initial reports relayed by Visegrád 24 spoke of a Saudi-linked vessel and three dead sailors.source
- Komala leadership member Amjad Hossein-Panahi told Iran International that the Islamic Republic hit the party's headquarters and camps in the Allaneh Valley with three missiles on Tuesday afternoon, injuring at least two people.source
- Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran and says he delivered a message from Pakistan's prime minister and army chief; neither side disclosed its content, Iran International notes.source
- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, after talks with Britain's David Lammy, said Iran's regime has not abandoned its pursuit of nuclear weapons and welcomed London's decision to add the IRGC to its list of banned organizations.source