European foreign ministers held a call with Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Bagheri Kani, on August 22nd, 6:01 PM UTC, regarding Iran's nuclear program, but no significant progress was made, according to sources familiar with the matter. The call, which included the foreign ministers of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, began with a confrontational tone, as Kani questioned the right of the E3 to trigger snapback sanctions. While Kani expressed some openness to extending snapback deadlines, he stressed that any decision rests with the UN Security Council and did not indicate a strong interest in reaching a deal, beyond a meeting between deputies and E3 political directors. Iran claims its enriched uranium stockpile is inaccessible, and Kani stated Iran is cooperating with the IAEA, offering no indication of allowing further UN inspector access. In parallel, tensions are escalating in Yemen, with the Yemeni government expressing concerns that the Houthi movement is exploiting the arrest of tribal figure Sheikh Mohammed bin Ahmad al-Zaidi to mobilize tribes into eastern, government-controlled areas. Al-Zaidi was detained in Al-Mahrah governorate while attempting to travel to Oman with a counterfeit Houthi-issued diplomatic passport. His armed escorts allegedly ambushed a Yemeni National Army convoy, resulting in an officer's death. The government fears the Houthis are using the arrest to incite tribal mobilization, known as Nakf, under the guise of tribal honor, potentially as a precursor to territorial expansion. In response, government forces have reinforced their presence in eastern areas and deployed surveillance drones. A separate report indicates that an unmanned aerial vehicle, identified as originating from Yemen via Sinai, was detected and is being countered by the Israeli Air Force. Alarms were triggered in the Gaza Envelope following the launch of what was described as a Houthi CPI, which evaded interception attempts before being neutralized. In Iran, five policemen were killed on Friday in southeastern Iran after unidentified gunmen attacked two police patrol vehicles, as reported by Iranian news agencies. In Lebanon, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) alleged that Brigadier General Suheil Bahij Harb, head of the Lebanese Army’s Southern Intelligence Branch, collaborated with Hezbollah to conceal the December 2022 killing of UNIFIL peacekeeper Sean Rooney. The IDF claims Harb maintained contact with Hezbollah operatives to hide their role in the incident in Al-Qabiya, southern Lebanon. The Lebanese Army command has denied these allegations, stating that its officers perform their duties with integrity and that the officer in question played a role in coordinating with UNIFIL and clarifying the circumstances of the incident. In a separate incident, the Israeli Air Force attacked and eliminated a Hezbollah operative in the Ayat A-Shab area in southern Lebanon, who was reportedly involved in attempts to restore the organization's terrorist infrastructure. Meanwhile, Yemeni southern armed forces have reportedly pushed military reinforcements to the Tharah front in Abyan Governorate amidst Houthi militia mobilization. A large gathering of Houthi supporters took place in Sana'a, Yemen, under the slogan "fixed with Gaza."