Israeli ​defence minister Israel Katz said today that Turkish ⁠president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was “dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures ⁠in ​Syria” ⁠and that his country would not “allow ⁠any entity to ​threaten ⁠its security”, in ‌a post on X.

Turkey firmly rejected ‌what ‌it called “untenable allegations” by Israel ⁠regarding its military position in Syria, after Israel bombed a Syrian air base near the Turkish border ‌and said Syria ​was on ‌the verge ⁠of permitting Turkish ⁠troops to deploy there.

Syria’s foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani has condemned the Israeli airstrike on Abu al-Duhur airbase this week and rejected Israel’s claim that the site was being used by the Turkish military.

“There was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, nor to establish a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces at the site,” he told Axios.

The base was “largely empty”, he said, adding that work there “was limited to rehabilitating the airfield and its facilities that were damaged during the war” for use by the Syrian Air Force.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury has accused Nigel Farage of asserting the UK’s Christianity to “channel anti-Muslim feeling”.

Rowan Williams, who served as the Church of England’s leading bishop for 10 years until 2012, acknowledged there is an “inevitable scepticism these days about some claims to religious conviction”.

Iraqi Airways has resued flights to Iran after a suspension since the beginning of the US and Israel’s war on Iran, which prompted the closure of Iranian and Iraqi airspace.

The airline began operating nine weekly flights to Rasht yesterday after receiving approval from Iranian authorities, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said.

Flights to Tehran and Mashhad will resume next week, according to officials.

Australia summoned Israel’s ambassador and expressed outrage at a decision by its military not to pursue criminal proceedings over the death of an Australian aid worker in a 2024 airstrike ⁠in Gaza.

The Israeli military said it had found no basis to investigate the killings of seven aid workers with the World Central Kitchen charity, including Australian Zomi Frankcom, after a fact-finding and assessment procedure.

“This decision falls far short of ⁠the accountability we expect,” foreign minister Penny ​Wong ⁠said, adding that Australia was outraged by the decision. “Democracies seek and accept higher standards. The Australian government will not stop pressing Israel ⁠for justice for Zomi and her colleagues.”

Oil prices steadied in early trade this morning as investors assessed the outlook for the US-Iran war and the security ​of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures for ‌October delivery rose 25 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $91.87 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for September slipped 2 cents to $85.81 a barrel.

The ​more active October WTI contract gained 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $84.53.

Alex Ward, a national security reporter for The Wall Street Journal, called Donald Trump’s new economic threats against Iran and countries that give them a lifeline “not practical”.

The US president warned that any nation that financially helps Tehran will face “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences”.

“Trump is calling for every nation and business to cease economic ties with Iran. It’s not practical on Trump’s quick timeline and would be immensely hard to monitor”, Ward wrote on X.

“But further confirmation that Trump, for now, is choosing economic over military pressure”, he added.

Donald Trump has issued a new threat to any nation that helps Iran financially, putting more economic pressure on the Middle Eastern country as the war drags on for more than five months.

Read the US president’s full Truth Social post:

“No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to make a Deal than me. TRAGICALLY, for them, they have failed to take it. Therefore, today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY!

“This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale. Their navy is gone, their air force is destroyed, their military factories are now rubble, their currency is worthless, and their country is hanging by a thread.

“Today, I am also announcing that ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences.

“Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies — It all needs to stop NOW. You know who you are.

“This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat.

“These maniacs are on the ropes, and these HISTORIC MEASURES will cripple them and their ability to project terror worldwide. IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.”