Morning update

Live Blog Update| War on Iran 24 September 2026 06:49 BST Good morning Middle East Eye readers, Here are the latest developments: Pakistan's prime minister said the country is ready to make progress in efforts to de-escalate US-Iran tensions. "We have not lost hope; we [are] absolutely determined that we will further make efforts and make progress to de-escalate the situation," Shehbaz Sharif said. US Special Envoy Jared Kushner says that the goals for Gaza’s reconstruction are "transparent: a fully demilitarized Gaza, governed responsibly by Palestinians". "Much of what we presented today did not exist a year ago," Kushner added, and claimed that a "security and demilitarization framework has been developed". Eight US Navy personnel assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group attempted suicide during the vessels' deployment against Iran, CNN reported based on a letter Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao wrote to democrat senator Kirsten Gillibrand. One US military official told CNN that eight attempted suicides is "incredibly high". Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi accused European countries of enabling Israeli crimes in the Middle East during a meeting with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul. The Iranian foreign minister echoed these sentiments in other discussions with several European officials, including EU Vice-President Kaja Kallas. In a post on X, Araghchi said he warned them of "severe long-term consequences of facilitating and supporting Israeli-U.S. war crimes, whether in Gaza or Iran". Turkey will hand over control of its Bashiqa base in northern Iraq to Baghdad, the Turkish presidency announced Wednesday in a joint statement with its neighbour. "In light of progress achieved by these security measures implemented by Iraq, Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zilkan base to the Federal Government of Iraq in accordance with the agreed mechanism and timetable," a joint statement said.