War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes
- The US and Israel on Feb 28 launch joint strikes against Iran, with Trump announcing start of “major combat operations”
- Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is assassinated in US-Israeli strikes; Mojtaba Khamenei replaces his father as Iran’s new supreme leader
- Iran, US agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 8
- Pakistan hosts the first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran in 47 years in April; the talks end without a breakthrough, but also without a breakdown
- US, Iran hold high-level talks in Switzerland on June 20 after signing preliminary agreement to end the war; hold talks in Doha on July 1, with mediators citing “positive progress”
- US launches strikes on Iran on July 8 in response to attacks on ships in Hormuz, Tehran retaliates as strait heats up again
- 8:10amIran cancelled plans to strike 3 sites in Ukraine after Kyiv ‘apology’: adviser to supreme leader
- 7:23amCargo vessel hit by ‘unknown projectile’ in Hormuz strait: maritime agency
- 7:20amShipping traffic at key Gulf waterways little changed on uncertain peace talks
- 12:28amPHOTO: US Army paratrooper trains while deployed in Middle East
- 12:01amTrump says oil firms making ‘too much money’ from Iran shortage
- Aug 03, Mon11:33pmTrump says Iran faces ‘decapitation’ if it doesn’t strike deal
- 11:18pm‘I’m not going to let them charge’: Trump insists Iran will not impose fees on ships passing through Hormuz
- 11:11pmTrump expects Strait of Hormuz to be open by tomorrow
- 11:08pm‘This is the last chance’: Trump on Iran negotiations
- 11:03pmTalks with Iran ‘going on right now’, Trump says
- 10:49pmIran war ‘working out very well’: Trump
- 10:11pm44 vessels redirected by US naval blockade, Centcom says
- 9:58pmFMs of Iran, Oman discuss latest regional developments
- 9:37pmIRGC commander says fighters stand ready to deliver ‘decisive response to any threat’
- 9:13pmUS oil benchmark down 6.1pc on hope of peace agreement in Middle East
- 8:37pm‘Unbelievably duplicitous’: Trump blasts Iranian leadership over announcement of no talks with US
- 8:17pmUS military says it has assisted more than 1,000 ships in crossing Hormuz Strait since May
- 7:49pmDPM Dar invites Abbas Araghchi to visit Pakistan at earliest convenience
- 7:43pmTurkiye, Kuwait discuss regional developments
- 7:07pmTrump tells oil companies to slash consumer oil prices
- 7:00pmSix Saudi tankers turn away from Gulf of Aden, ship-tracking data shows
- 6:41pm9 vessels cross Hormuz, 30 move through Red Sea: monitor
- 6:23pmPHOTOS: Vessels transit Strait of Hormuz as Iran, Oman discuss management of waterway
- 5:52pmUS signs deal to boost production of missile-interceptor parts
- 5:29pmSEE: US military support aircraft active over Persian Gulf
33 minutes ago
Iran cancelled plans to strike 3 sites in Ukraine after Kyiv ‘apology’: adviser to supreme leader
Iran was prepared to launch strikes on three sites in Ukraine before scrapping the operation after an “apology” from Kyiv, according to a top military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Andolu Agency reports that in an interview with Iranian state television, Mohsen Rezaei said Iran’s armed forces had completed preparations for the strikes before the operation was called off.
Rezaei also warned that Iran would not allow any maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz outside Iran’s designated route, saying any hostile naval vessel attempting to use an “illegal route” would be targeted.
He also said that Iran had inflicted heavy losses on US forces during the recent 17-day conflict, adding that Iranian missile and drone attacks had thwarted Washington’s military objectives.
The remarks came after Iran accused Ukraine on July 25 of attacking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, killing one crew member.
Cargo vessel hit by ‘unknown projectile’ in Hormuz strait: maritime agency
A cargo vessel was struck by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, a British maritime agency has said, without giving specifics on damage or injuries, AFP reports.
The vessel, which has not been named, reported being “hit by an unknown projectile” and authorities were investigating, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said, adding the incident occurred 20 nautical miles (37 kilometres) northeast of Al Khasab, Oman.
Shipping traffic at key Gulf waterways little changed on uncertain peace talks
Shipping traffic at the key Gulf waterways of Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz held largely unchanged at the start of the week, shipping data showed, as the progress of talks between the United States and Iran remained ambiguous, Reuters reports.
Twenty vessels 12 tankers and eight bulk carriers passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Monday, Kpler shipping data showed, steady from the previous day.
Of these 20 crossings, there were a total of 12 exits and eight entries, mostly with their transponders on.
PHOTO: US Army paratrooper trains while deployed in Middle East
Trump says oil firms making ‘too much money’ from Iran shortage
US President Donald Trump says major oil companies are making “too much money” due to high prices stemming from the crude shortage caused by the Iran war, AFP reports.
“I don’t like it. They’re making too much money, okay? Based on a shortage, they’re making too much money,” Trump tells journalists at the White House.
Trump says Iran faces ‘decapitation’ if it doesn’t strike deal
US President Donald Trump says Iran faces “decapitation” if it does not agree to a pact to end the conflict between the two nations, Reuters reports.
“I think we’re going to maybe get something, but I want to give them every last chance before decapitation,” he tells reporters.
‘I’m not going to let them charge’: Trump insists Iran will not impose fees on ships passing through Hormuz
Asked if Iran would be willing to return to fully free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran will not charge vessels passing through the waterway.
“I’m not going to let them charge,” he tells reporters. “If anybody’s going to charge, we’re going to charge, we have total control.
“We’re not talking about charging at all,” Trump adds.
Trump expects Strait of Hormuz to be open by tomorrow
US President Donald Trump has said the Iran talks will “go quickly” and that the Strait of Hormuz will be open by tomorrow.
“It’s not very complex. We’re talking about the opening of the Strait [of Hormuz] and having it open, literally, by tomorrow, completely open. And that’s phase one,” he tells reporters in the Oval Office.
“Phase two is we’ll then talk about the nuclear capacity … basically the denuclearisation of Iran,” he adds, noting that it “has to happen”.
Trump adds that negotiating denuclearisation will “take a little while”.
‘This is the last chance’: Trump on Iran negotiations
Addressing reporters in the Oval Office, US President Donald Trump says, “This is the last chance for them to sign a good document,” referring to Iran.
Talks with Iran ‘going on right now’, Trump says
US President Donald Trump has said talks with Iran are “going on right now”.
“We have many talks … they deny it. But they’re not denying it now,” Trump tells reporters at the Oval Office. “When they’re talking, they don’t like saying that we’re talking.
“The talks are going along. We were to hit them very hard yesterday … and they called … Iran did not want to be hit. They said ‘we want to talk’,” he says of Iran, adding that he received calls from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Iran war ‘working out very well’: Trump
US President Donald Trump has said that the conflict in Iran is “working out very well”, as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office in the White House.
44 vessels redirected by US naval blockade, Centcom says
US Central Command (Centcom) says that as part of the US naval blockade on Iran, American forces have redirected 44 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two others.
FMs of Iran, Oman discuss latest regional developments
During a phone call, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken to his Omani counterpart, Badr AlBusaidi, and discussed the latest regional developments, Al Jazeera reports citing a Telegram post by Araghchi.
Oman and Iran have been negotiating over a new maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz, which borders both of their territorial waters.
IRGC commander says fighters stand ready to deliver ‘decisive response to any threat’
Mohammad Karami, ground forces commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), says that in northwestern Iran, fighters are standing ready for any “miscalculation by extra-regional enemies or terrorist groups”, Al Jazeera reports.
In a post on X, the commander says fighters of the Hamzeh Seyyed al-Shohada Headquarters, who are backed with intelligence, “operational readiness, and leveraging faith, technology, and modern sciences, are prepared to deliver a decisive response to any threat”.
US oil benchmark down 6.1pc on hope of peace agreement in Middle East
Oil prices have further slid on hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran, according to AFP.
As of 1540 GMT (8:40pm PKT), West Texas Intermediate is down 6.1 per cent at $79.5 per barrel, while Brent North Sea Crude is down 4.7pc at $83.84 per barrel.
‘Unbelievably duplicitous’: Trump blasts Iranian leadership over announcement of no talks with US
US President Donald Trump has blasted Iranian leadership as “unbelievably duplicitous” after Tehran announced that there are no talks with Washington.
“They ask for a meeting, some would say ‘beg”, talks begin, with more scheduled in the immediate future, and they say, openly and proudly, that they’re not having any discussions, that nothing is being talked about, and they’re only dealing with ‘Oman’,” he writes on Truth Social.
Trump also reiterates that the Strait of Hormuz is under American control, not Iranian, due to the US’ naval blockade and military presence in the region.
“Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a deal, or total surrender, is accomplished,” he adds. “Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades.”
US military says it has assisted more than 1,000 ships in crossing Hormuz Strait since May
United States Central Command (Centcom) says it has helped more than 1,000 ships cross the Strait of Hormuz since early May.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, a spokesperson adds that Centcom’s forces remain on high alert and are ready to support commercial ships wishing to cross the strategic waterway, through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil passes in peacetime.
DPM Dar invites Abbas Araghchi to visit Pakistan at earliest convenience
In a phone conversation, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar invites Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to visit Pakistan at his earliest convenience, FO has said in a post on X.
Dar and Araghchi have also “exchanged views on regional and international developments, including the deteriorating situation in Occupied East Jerusalem”.
Turkiye, Kuwait discuss regional developments
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his Kuwaiti counterpart, Jarrah Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah, have discussed the latest developments, Al Jazeera reports citing Turkish diplomatic sources.
No further details of the phone call have been provided.
Trump tells oil companies to slash consumer oil prices
In a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump has ordered oil companies to “get your consumer (retail!) oil prices down, now!”
Six Saudi tankers turn away from Gulf of Aden, ship-tracking data shows
Six Saudi-flagged supertankers have changed course in the Gulf of Aden in recent days and are heading to southern Africa, following threats by Yemen’s Houthi movement to target Saudi shipping, Reuters reports, citing tracking data.
The tankers, which were empty of cargo after returning from destinations in Asia, were sailing in formation towards southern Africa, rather than opting to transit the southern Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, according to AIS ship-tracking on LSEG and MarineTraffic.
One of the tankers, Dilam, had Gibraltar as its destination, ship tracking shows.
The vessel’s Saudi-based operator, Bahri, and other Saudi officials have not immediately responded to requests for comment.
9 vessels cross Hormuz, 30 move through Red Sea: monitor
Only nine vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz while 30 others transited the Red Sea from July 31 to August 2, according to shipping monitor Kpler, which notes that both waterways present “distinct risk profiles”.
“[The Strait of] Hormuz recorded nine confirmed transits, including two sanctioned and two shadow fleet vessels. Seven crossings used the Iranian Unilateral Scheme, while none followed the established traffic separation scheme, underscoring continued route concentration,” Kpler writes on X.
It notes that while 20 vessels exited the Red Sea, only 10 entered it, despite “Houthi-related exposure” remaining a risk.
“The diplomatic outlook is still unsettled. Until US, Iranian and Omani signals converge into clear navigation arrangements, operators should treat both chokepoints as contested rather than normalised,” Kpler adds.
PHOTOS: Vessels transit Strait of Hormuz as Iran, Oman discuss management of waterway
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on August 3, 2026. — ReutersA large vessel transits the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on August 3, 2026. — Reuters
US signs deal to boost production of missile-interceptor parts
The US Department of War says it has signed a framework deal with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to expand the production capacity of missile-interceptor components, Reuters reports, adding that the department did not say how much the deal was worth.
