August 16, 2026

Good morning! Today is Sunday, August 16th 2026, and this is The American Conservative's Morning Brief. A new trilateral defense pact signed in Mecca by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signals that the Middle East's heaviest hitters are quietly moving to diversify away from American protection. As the war with Iran drags into its 169th day, President Trump vows to declare the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory while dismissing morale concerns aboard the long-deployed USS Abraham Lincoln. Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon kill at least 11, including women and children, as Defense Minister Katz declares Israel will not withdraw from occupied "security zones" in Lebanon, Syria, or Gaza. and now for the details. We begin this morning in the Middle East, where a significant realignment is taking shape. On August 7th, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Mecca to sign a new trilateral defense pact. The agreement brings together three of the region's heaviest hitters: Turkey, which fields NATO's second-largest army; Pakistan, the only Muslim nation with a nuclear arsenal; and Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil producer. Pakistan's foreign ministry says an attack on any one of the three will be regarded as an attack on all — language that echoes NATO's famous Article 5. As Ted Snider writes for The American Conservative, the pact leaves important questions unanswered — not least what concrete support each party would actually provide, and how these new commitments intersect with existing alliances like NATO. But Snider argues one thing is already clear: the region's powerhouses are quietly signaling that they no longer view American protection as sufficient. Gulf countries were badly bruised by a war with Iran they had warned Washington against, and they feel abandoned by the failure of promised U.S. protection. Turkish, Egyptian, Pakistani, and even Omani officials are now openly calling for a new regional security architecture — what Pakistan's defense minister bluntly calls an "Islamic NATO." Erdogan has said the alliance is open to other nations, and Egypt is expected to eventually join. Snider concludes that while much remains uncertain, the diversification underway could offer one silver lining for Americans: it may finally facilitate the long-overdue U.S. military disentanglement from the Middle East. Turning to the ongoing war with Iran, now in its 169th day. President Trump said Friday that "pretty soon" he will be "declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States." Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister responded on Saturday that "the Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian," vowing that Tehran would continue to enforce its blockade. On Saturday, Iran attacked a tanker owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the strait. As Harrison Berger reports for The American Conservative, President Trump also dismissed concerns about the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln following press reports of serious morale and mental health issues among its crew. Asked whether the Lincoln's more than 250-day deployment had gone on too long, Trump replied that it was "not nearly long enough," though he added the ship would be replaced soon. The war continues to weigh on American wallets: Brent Crude closed Friday at $88.52 a barrel, and AAA recorded the national average price of regular gasoline at $4.07 per gallon. In Lebanon, at least 11 people — including two women and three children — were killed Saturday in Israeli strikes on the towns of Ansar and Deir-al-Zahrani. Prime Minister Netanyahu said the strikes were a response to an earlier Hezbollah attack that he claimed seriously injured three Israeli soldiers inside what Israel calls its "security zone" in southern Lebanon. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the killing of "an entire family" in Ansar and denounced repeated Israeli violations of the framework agreement signed by Lebanon, Israel, and the United States back in June. Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri went further, calling Israel's military operations a "war of extermination." As Harrison Berger reports, Israel does not appear to be moving to end its occupation. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that "under no circumstances will we withdraw from the security zones: not in Lebanon, not in Syria and not in Gaza." Hezbollah, which is not a signatory to the June agreement, has refused direct talks and warned that the U.S.-brokered deal could create conditions for civil war. According to the Lebanese health ministry, more than 4,300 Lebanese have been killed by the Israeli military since March. Those are today's highlights. For the full stories and more, visit theamericanconservative.com. Thank you for starting your morning with us.