• Donald Trump says the US will seek restitution “for all of the people” Iran has “killed… in many conflicts” after Tehran demanded payment for damage caused by the US and Israel during the months-long war.
• Trump also says the US military cleared the Strait of Hormuz of mines placed by Iran.
• Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, pushed back against the US treasury secretary’s claims of “suffocating” Iran through sanctions, saying the remarks were evidence of “America’s compulsive addiction to sanctions”.
• Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has issued decrees appointing six senior commanders to roles within the armed forces, the IRGC, and the Basij domestic security force.

Trump’s midterm pressure gives Iran upper hand

Charles Kupchan, a former special assistant to ex-US President Barack Obama, says Tehran holds the upper hand in negotiations with Washington due to political pressure on Trump ahead of the US midterms.

Kupchan said that Iran may be better positioned to weather the current standoff than the US as the elections approach.

“Can the Iranians bear more pain than Donald Trump as he heads into the midterms? The answer to that is probably yes,” Kupchan said.

Iran is leveraging that advantage, he noted, though it risks pushing its position too far in the negotiations.

Tehran is “perhaps trying too hard to take advantage of it by making demands that Trump can’t say yes to. But right now, we’re not there yet; I’m guessing we will get there,” he said.

“I think we’re in a game of a kind of cat and mouse,” Kupchan added.

Trump advisers push low-key Iran approach as elections loom

President Trump’s advisers have been pushing the message that it’s a good idea to take a low-key approach to this ongoing conundrum and not to escalate warfare.

His advisers are saying to the media that Iran is suffering economically and that might have an impact on the war or the divisions that happen between moderates and hardliners within Tehran.

In addition, they say heightened conflict would divert people’s attention, as they put it, from the economic hardships they are suffering. Outside observers claim that’s wishful thinking.

President Trump himself, publicly at least, says he’s quite happy in the position he is in. He says he has stopped Iran from getting the bomb, something he says repeatedly, and he doesn’t appear publicly concerned about the impact of all of this on those elections that are looming in November.

He is absolutely adamant that his administration is handling this, but once again, his critics are absolutely adamant that his Republican Party may well pay at the polls with this ongoing inability to get an exit ramp away from this ongoing conflict.

Oil prices steady at one-week highs above $87 a barrel

Oil prices are holding steady at more than one-week highs, with Brent crude futures flat at $87.81 a barrel as of 00:13 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate futures held at $82.20 a barrel.

The steady prices follow a surge on Monday, when both benchmarks rose more than 5 percent to their highest levels since July 31. The gains came after Trump responded to Iran’s conditions for a peace deal by demanding compensation for damages incurred by the US, dampening hopes for a negotiated settlement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The commanders appointed by Iran’s supreme leader

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has appointed six senior commanders across the armed forces, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the Basij domestic security force, formalizing a wartime leadership structure after several top commanders were killed.

• Ali Abdollahi was named chief of staff of the armed forces, replacing Abdolrahim Mousavi. A senior IRGC commander, Abdollahi had already been overseeing the General Staff during the war, and has been tasked with improving coordination across Iran’s military command.
• Kioumars Heydari, the former commander of the army’s ground forces, was appointed deputy chief of staff.
• Ahmad Vahidi was confirmed as commander-in-chief of the IRGC, succeeding Mohammad Pakpour. Khamenei instructed him to strengthen deterrence and readiness for “powerful offensive operations”, language analysts say reflects a more assertive military posture.
• Mostafa Izadi became Vahidi’s deputy, with responsibility for organisational and operational readiness.
• Ali Ozmaei was appointed commander of the IRGC Navy, a key position given the continuing confrontation around the Strait of Hormuz.
• Hossein Taeb, a former IRGC intelligence chief, took over the Basij, with orders to strengthen popular mobilisation and domestic intelligence networks.

The appointments came a day after former IRGC chief Mohsen Rezaee was named secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, pointing to a wider consolidation of experienced IRGC figures across Iran’s wartime security establishment.

US Senator Schumer slams Trump’s ‘illegal war’, says his leadership a ‘total failure’

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has accused Trump of lacking strategy and discipline in his war on Iran while endangering American troops and driving up prices.

“Donald Trump got us into an illegal war, is losing his illegal war, and has no way out of his illegal war,” Schumer wrote on X.

“His lack of strategy, discipline, and any ability to seriously negotiate is endangering our troops and raising prices for everyday Americans,” he said.

“Trump’s leadership is a complete and total failure. We must end this war and begin to repair the damage he has wrought,” he added.

Iranian trade official warns against adapting to US maritime blockade

Majid Reza Hariri, head of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, said Iran cannot afford to adapt to the US maritime blockade and must break it.

“Whether through negotiations, requests, threats, or even using force and starting a war again, this maritime blockade must end,” he told the Iranian news outlet KhabarOnline.

Hariri warned that trying to circumvent the blockade would repeat Tehran’s previous experience of attempting to bypass sanctions, which increased trade costs, weakened the economy, and fuelled major corruption.

“The worst thing that could happen today is to think we can bypass the maritime blockade and try to run the country despite it,” Hariri said. “We must not allow our economy – or the enemy – to get used to the maritime blockade.”

Hariri estimated that transporting a container from China to Iran costs about $3,000 by sea, compared with roughly $12,000 by land. With about 2 million containers entering Iran annually through its southern ports, he said replacing maritime trade with land routes could add about $18bn a year to import costs.

He also warned that Iran’s roughly $50bn in annual non-oil exports could become economically unviable if forced onto more expensive overland routes.

Hariri said rail and road links could cover urgent needs for weeks, or perhaps months, but they were not a sustainable substitute for maritime trade.

Oil edges higher as US, Iran hit impasse over Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices climbed on Tuesday after Trump countered Iran’s terms to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by demanding compensation for casualties from past wars, attacks, and protests, marking a sharp escalation that threatens efforts to unblock the critical shipping lane.

Brent crude futures edged up to $88 per barrel, while US crude futures rose to $82.45, the highest levels for both benchmarks since July 31, following a 5 percent surge on Monday.

Where Iran-Oman talks on reopening Hormuz stand

Iran and Oman appear close to an agreement on how ships will navigate the Strait of Hormuz, but the broader dispute over fully reopening the waterway remains unresolved.

• Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the two sides have agreed on the geographical parameters of a shipping route and are working through the remaining technical issues. A joint statement is also being prepared.
• Baghaei pointed out that talks were progressing constructively, but he warned that an agreement with Oman alone would not make the strait safe. Oman has similarly described the negotiations as “positive and constructive,” while warning against actions that could undermine the progress.
• Transit fees are not currently under negotiation, though discussions do cover services such as safe navigation, environmental protection, and maritime monitoring, according to Tehran.
• The primary obstacle remains sequencing. Washington says it will lift its blockade of Iranian ports once unhindered commercial shipping is restored and Iran fulfils its commitments. Tehran, however, maintains that reopening depends on US concessions, including compensation as well as the lifting of sanctions and the naval blockade.
• Shipping traffic remains far below normal: Only 33 vessels transited the strait between August 3 and 6, compared with roughly 130 to 140 daily crossings before the war.

Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic drops to six as US-Iran peace deal hopes fade

Shipping data show traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to six vessels on Monday, compared with a 10-day average of about 11, as hopes fade for a peace deal between the US and Iran, Reuters reports.

Citing data from the ship-tracking company Kpler, Reuters said four commodity vessels entered the waterway, including two empty oil product tankers. Two vessels exited the strait, including a small tanker laden with liquefied petroleum gas and another carrying residual fuels.

In pre-war days, roughly 130 to 140 ships typically transited the strait each day.

Meanwhile, 25 vessels on Monday sailed through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait connecting the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea. Its traffic remained broadly unchanged compared with its 10-day average of nearly 24 ships, according to Kpler data.

US energy secretary claims oil flows through Hormuz nearing 9 million barrels per day

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has claimed that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz are averaging nearly 9 million barrels per day, citing coordinated efforts by the US military and Gulf allies, in a statement on X.

Wright also claimed an additional 5-7 million barrels per day are leaving the region through upgraded pipelines and export facilities, putting total regional oil flows at about 15 million barrels per day.

He said more than 20 million barrels left the Gulf region on Sunday alone, exceeding the pre-conflict average.

‘Who cries out first?’ Tehran analyst says Hormuz standoff comes down to endurance

How the Strait of Hormuz standoff ends will come down to which party has the greatest endurance, according to Tehran-based political analyst Hossein Royvaran.

“This equation now exists: closure versus blockade. But the question is, who cries out first?” he said.

“Right now, America is suffering: in petrol prices, in inflation, in the rising cost of living at home. There is deep discontent inside America over this war and its consequences for society there,” Royvaran said about the US. “The same is true in Iran, though in Iran there are justifications society finds acceptable: that this war was imposed on Iran and Iran had no choice but to defend itself.”

Iran, he said, could hold out longer. The war, he added, “will cost the Republican Party the elections unless the American president finds a solution”.

Royvaran said reports of shortages within Iran are not as the US imagines. “Iran’s ports on the Caspian Sea are very active in covering the country’s domestic needs. There is no shortage of any commodity in the Iranian market.”

“A country the size of Iran with 7,000km of land borders and 3,000km of coastline cannot be blockaded,” he added.

Araghchi says Iran proved itself as ‘invincible power’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says his country showed the world that it is “a tough and invincible power”.

Speaking at a televised news conference, he said: “I have heard this many times from foreign ministers and officials from other countries: ‘You Iranians created a miracle; you surprised the whole world.’”

“No one thought that Iran could resist America like this,” Araghchi said, adding that the US had the backing of Israel, the Western world and some other countries.

US ‘begged for negotiations’: Iran’s Araghchi

The Iranian foreign minister made the remarks at a televised news conference broadcast by Iranian state television.

Abbas Araghchi recalled that US President Donald Trump demanded “unconditional surrender” from Iran at the beginning of the war.

“The US president wrote two words [on social media] at the beginning of the war: ‘Unconditional surrender’,” he said.

“That was what they wanted from us and, 20 days later, the same enemy was begging for negotiations,” the top diplomat added.

German FM urges Iran to engage in talks, reopen Strait of Hormuz unconditionally

Yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, discussed the Strait of Hormuz and efforts to end the conflict following a telephone call on Monday.

Wadephul said on X that he urged Iran to engage constructively in negotiations with regional countries and the US to bring the ongoing conflict to an end.

“In a call with Araghchi I urged Iran to finally engage constructively in negotiations with regional neighbors & USA in order to bring the conflict to an end,” he wrote.

He also called for the unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime route for global energy supplies.

“The Strait of Hormuz needs to be opened unconditionally ensuring free and safe navigation for all,” he added.

Question:

Who and how inflicted the blockade by Iran?

Trump seeks to strip Tehran of leverage by rejecting compensation demands

Trump’s rejection of Iran’s compensation demands is an attempt to strip Tehran of leverage, according to Hassan Barari, professor of international relations at the University of Jordan.

“This is an attempt by President Trump to neutralize the Iranian card, to neutralize Iran’s demands for compensation on the grounds that these demands are unrealistic and unverifiable,” he said.

“If the American president accepts the idea of paying compensation, then he is declaring his responsibility for this war,” he added. “When Iran raises the ceiling of its demands, President Trump raises the ceiling of his in return,” he said, describing Washington’s stance as backed by “military force, a suffocating American blockade on Iranian ports, and an Iranian economy that is deteriorating and staggering”.

Both sides’ weaknesses were now exposed, he said: “America’s military incapacity is real, but so is Iran’s political and military incapacity.”

Barari explained that Iran’s remaining leverage is the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran “wants to employ to the maximum degree possible” to force Washington back to the Memorandum of Understanding “according to the Iranian interpretation”.

“Unless Washington and Tehran decide that the cost of remaining in the current situation is much higher than the cost of returning to the memorandum, there will be no solution,” he concluded.

Bahrain congratulates Pakistan on defence pact with Turkiye, Saudi Arabia

A statement from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry says a phone call took place between Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Bahraini counterpart Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani a day earlier.

Al Zayani congratulated Dar on the recent pact and expressed his intention to visit Pakistan in the near future, according to the ministry.

Dar expressed Pakistan’s “firm commitment to promoting dialogue and diplomacy to achieve peace and stability in the region and beyond”.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the defence agreement in Mecca on Friday.

The deal considers an armed attack against any of the three countries an attack against all of them and aims to strengthen collective deterrence and expand defence cooperation.

Iran’s appointment of six new army commanders sending message

The appointment of six new military commanders is critically important.

First, in terms of timing: the country stands before a dilemma of decision-making when it comes to some critical foreign policy issues, such as negotiations with the United States, talks with the Omani side and indeed a sort of confrontational scenario on the horizon should negotiations fail. That is one aspect.

The second aspect is the very significant positions we are talking about when it comes to the chief of the armed forces, to the Revolutionary Guards, to the Basij organization. We know that these are not necessarily just military bodies, but that they also have a crucial role when it comes to political decision-making.

There are two further aspects. First, domestically there is a sort of message being sent about the entirety of the establishment being interconnected, a sort of consensus, and most importantly, the active engagement of the supreme leader when it comes to the different courses of action, militarily and politically.

Tehran is trying to send a message of consolidation and solidarity back home, and the same message is intended to be sent abroad.

Iran’s recent military appointments are a continuation of ‘wartime footing’

Iran’s six recent military appointments, including that of Mohsen Rezaei as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, reflect a continuation of the country’s trajectory since the US-Israel war began at the end of February, says Alan Eyre, a former senior US diplomat.

While “Iran is preparing for a long confrontation … and planning to remain on a wartime footing”, the recent military appointments don’t mark “an abrupt change of strategic direction” for the country,” Eyre said.

“It’s just a consolidation of trends that were already existing as a result of the 28 February attack on Iran by the US and Israel.”

These appointments by the new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei mark his first steps to “put the people in charge that he wants in charge”, said the former diplomat, clarifying that “he’s customizing the position to his own desires.”

Iran is continuing to hold on to the “precept that the US and Israel will keep coming after them, that there is not going to be peace, so they need to remain on a wartime footing and can’t give the US a chance to catch its breath by opening the Strait of Hormuz or by accepting a ceasefire,” concluded Eyre.

Middle East cannot stay in ‘neither war nor peace’ state: UAE’s Gargash

The Middle East cannot remain indefinitely in a state of neither war nor peace, Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, has said, adding that the region’s stability and the future of its peoples “require clarity in vision and direction”.

In a post on X, Gargash said the coming phase cannot be built on “shaky foundations or arrangements detached from international law”.

“The goal is to transition to sustainable stability governed by clear and shared rules,” he wrote. Gargash also stressed the principles of “peaceful coexistence, respect for sovereignty, and the logic of peace” as essential pillars for any durable settlement.

His remarks come as the region navigates continued tensions between the United States and Iran, with diplomatic efforts to return to the Memorandum of Understanding still unresolved and both sides warning of a possible return to confrontation.

Tanker, military forces involved in incident in Gulf of Oman: UKMTO

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says it has received a report of an incident involving a tanker and military forces in the Gulf of Oman.

The UKMTO did not give any further details of the incident but said authorities are aware and relevant investigations remain ongoing.

UKMTO is part of the navy of Britain, which has allowed the US for using its soil to carry out attacks on Iran.

Oil prices jump to more than one-week high

Oil prices rose more than 2 percent to over one-week highs as hopes for a US-Iran deal to end the war and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz faded after President Donald Trump demanded compensation from Tehran.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose $1.73, or 1.97 percent, to $89.45 a barrel by 08:33 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were up $1.91, or 2.33 percent, to $84.04 a barrel, with both benchmarks trading at their highest levels since July 31.

Prices extended gains after both contracts jumped more than 5 percent on Monday after Trump responded to Iran’s conditions for a peace deal with his own demands that Iran pay compensation for people killed in wars, attacks and protests, which is likely to complicate efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Later in the day, he added that the US had control of the strait and had swept the strategic oil waterway for Iranian mines.

Iran plans to restore 95 million cubic meters of gas output by end September

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad says the country plans to bring 95 million cubic meters of natural gas back into its production cycle by late September as repair work continues on energy infrastructure damaged during the US-Israel war on Iran.

The ministry’s announcement follows a statement from a senior government official in July indicating Tehran aimed to recover about 100 million cubic meters per day of capacity in the coming months.

Strikes targeting key facilities have knocked out an estimated 230 million cubic meters of daily natural gas output since the conflict erupted in late February.

Qatar says Iran-Oman talks on Hormuz reached advanced stage

Majed al-Ansari, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, says negotiations between Oman and Iran have reached an advanced stage.

The negotiations are at a critical juncture, he said, adding that Doha supports all efforts for de-escalation in the region.

“As mediators, we want the Strait of Hormuz reopened as soon as possible,” the official added.

Possibility of Iran-US diplomatic settlement becoming ‘more distant’

Yesterday, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at his conference said that there are no direct talks between Iran and the United States, even though he did not deny mediated communication between Iran and Washington  and that Pakistan plays a crucial role in that regard.

In statements recently made, the US president was talking about further economic pressure on Iran. On the other hand, Iran has come out to talk about its demands, or preconditions, when it comes to any re-engagement with the United States. Those conditions include some key economic demands, such as the removal of sanctions and the release of the frozen assets.

That means the two sides are further apart. They are getting more and more distant when it comes to the possibility of any diplomatic settlement. While there is some sort of a ceasefire for the time being, it is unclear whether there is another round of confrontation on the horizon. With this military posturing from both sides shows, such possibility is rising.

Pakistan’s interior minister arrives in Tehran for talks

Mohsin Raza Naqvi has arrived in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials amid mediation efforts to end the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.

Iran’s official news agency IRNA, citing a diplomatic source, said Naqvi departed Islamabad for the Iranian capital early on Tuesday for talks on bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest.

The visit comes a month after Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni travelled to Islamabad for talks with his Pakistani counterpart.

Pakistan, alongside Qatar, played a key mediating role in facilitating a memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US in June to end the recent conflict between the two countries.

Oman, Bahrain leaders discuss issues of ‘mutual concern’

Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa have discussed regional and international developments during a telephone call, according to the Oman News Agency.

The two leaders exchanged views on ways to strengthen “security and stability in the region”, the state news agency said.

They also discussed bilateral relations between Oman and Bahrain and other issues of “mutual concern”.

Iran’s Strait of Hormuz leverage weakening

Despite increasingly tough public messaging from Washington and Tehran, discussions aimed at resolving the crisis appear to be progressing, according to Rashid al-Mohanadi, vice president of the Center for International Policy Research.

“Looking at recent developments, we see a lot of messaging from Iran and the US,” al-Mohanadi said. “Everybody is pushing their position forward.”

As for what an eventual agreement over the Strait of Hormuz could look like, al-Mohanadi said the issue remained “contentious”.

He said Iran views control over the strategic waterway through the prism of its security concerns and as a “negotiating chip” it can use in talks, although he described that leverage as a “depreciating asset”.

Al-Mohanadi added that impeding freedom of navigation remains widely rejected, but said there appears to be some appetite for a regional mechanism that all sides could agree on to manage the Strait of Hormuz.

Qatar maintains dialogue only way to bring end to US-Israel war on Iran

The key message from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson is that dialogue remains the only way out of this crisis.

He said that Qatar has been hearing positive messages from the capitals of Iran and Oman regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, adding that he understood that those two countries are discussing the technical details of how that will happen in terms of negotiations between Iran and the US.

He said that Qatar continues to aid those discussions through mediators, as that is the only way to ensure this process moves forward.

There are clearly obstacles remaining to reopening the strait. Not least that Iran is now demanding that the US meet certain conditions, namely that US forces are removed from this region and that the US pays compensation for the damage done to Iran by US and Israeli strikes.

US President Donald Trump says he is now also demanding compensation from Iran, and he says he’s minded to put more pressure on Iran economically to try and get them to agree to a deal.

All the while, Qatar says it is keeping lines of communication open to try and facilitate more talks because dialogue is the only way this crisis is going to be resolved.

Araghchi meets visiting Pakistani interior minister: Iran’s Foreign Ministry

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry now says he already met the country’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi.

Iran portraying latest visit by Pakistani official as proof of improved bilateral relations

This is not the first time that Iran is hosting Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. He visited Islamabad twice in May and June, as well as in July. This is a very important visit, with Iranian media outlets trying to portray it as proof that bilateral relations between Islamabad and Tehran have improved.

It goes without saying that Naqvi plays a very critical role in the mediated messaging between Tehran and Washington.

Furthermore, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei announced yesterday that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, head of the Iranian negotiating team, have been invited to Islamabad.

Baghaei also contextualized this visit within the prospect of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran.

While Pakistan’s role as a mediator between Iran and the US has become critically important, it’s important to bear in mind that the prospect of talks between Washington and Tehran remains far from certain.

Iran’s Pezeshkian says stronger Pakistan ties can boost regional security

Following a meeting with Pakistani Interior Minister Moshin Naqvi, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran is ready to deepen relations with Pakistan across political, economic, trade, cultural and security fields, praising Islamabad’s efforts to strengthen ties.

Pezeshkian said stronger bilateral cooperation could help “strengthen regional stability and security.” Naqvi said Iran-Pakistan relations are “strong and unbreakable” and that Islamabad is determined to expand ties with Tehran.

US, Iran setting ‘possible entry price for negotiations’

Negotiations between Iran and the United States have reached a deadlock, but neither side wants an all-out war, according to Lorenzo Kamel, professor of international history at the University of Turin.

“Both sides, the Iranian and American sides, are setting a possible entry price for negotiations,” Kamel said, adding that while neither side wants an all-out war, neither can afford to appear weak to domestic audiences.

Kamel added that from a historical perspective, many Iranians view current events through the lens of sovereign resistance – an element that cannot be ignored in any diplomatic talks.

Commenting on Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s visit to Tehran, Kamel observed that without addressing core structural issues, Pakistan and other external actors will have a highly limited impact.

“Winning peace is much more difficult than winning war,” Kamel concluded.

Iran–US talks in Limbo as Pakistan and Oman Mediate

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is visiting Tehran, reinforcing Islamabad’s role in mediated messaging between Iran and the US.

Iranian officials say talks via Oman continue, but deep mistrust persists, and sanctions, frozen assets, Iran’s nuclear program and a US-imposed naval blockade remain major obstacles.

Iran’s Rezaee: Strait of Hormuz won’t reopen until US ‘changes its behaviour’

Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told China’s ambassador that the Strait of Hormuz “will not be opened until the United States changes its behavior and accepts Iran’s conditions,” according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

He said the US is “the source of insecurity” in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman, accusing it of imposing “an illegal war” that has put the entire region at risk. Rezaee said Washington “must end the war” and release Iran’s blocked funds, along with ending conflict across the region, including in Lebanon and Gaza.

He added that any Iran-Oman agreement on a route through the Strait of Hormuz would remain “separate” from the broader issue of the Strait’s closure.

He described a “strategic agreement” between Iran and China, noting both countries are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS, calling it “great potential” for future ties. Rezaee also welcomed China’s decision not to back an “anti-Iranian and illegal” UN Security Council resolution introduced during Ramadan.

Iran ‘in this war because of American decisions’

“Iranians are in conversations with other countries in addition to Oman,” Mohammad Eslami, research fellow at the University of Tehran, said. Countries argue that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open, and Iran is ready to negotiate the terms and conditions. “But [the] Americans are thinking about who’s controlling the Strait, and they started this war without thinking about who’s going to pay the price for it.”

The Strait of Hormuz, in the event of war, is important for the security of the Iranian people, according to Elslami. “Right now, we’re in this war because of American decisions.”

“We know that in negotiations between Iran and Oman regarding the memorandum of understanding (MoU), America threatened sanctions – and even attacks – if Oman accepted Iran’s proposals,” he said.

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz to foreign shipping after the US and Israel launched their joint war in late February 2026. Since then, Iran and Oman have been negotiating a framework to manage traffic through the waterway, which normally carries roughly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade.

As of early August, both sides described bilateral talks as being in their final stages, although Iran said it would not reopen the strait until Washington meets its political and economic conditions.

“But [the] Americans are thinking about who’s controlling the Strait, and they started this war without thinking about who’s going to pay the price for it.”

If the second part of the line refers to the first part, then this:

The United States didn't start this (2026) war. Trump joined the war, which Netanyahu started in June 2025 and resumed on February 28, 2026. He decided to join after Netanyahu promised him that the (resumed) war would bring the Iranian regime to a collapse.

Then, the resumption of the 2025 war on Iran wasn't started because of the question who will control the Strait of Hormuz. It was to achieve regime change. Trump and Netanyahu had to find out that this achievement was impossible to reach. So, they turned on Iran's nuclear program..

US says it fired missiles at cargo ship violating Iran blockade

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces fired two Hellfire missiles at a Panama-flagged cargo ship after it ignored warnings and attempted to sail towards an Iranian port, disabling the vessel’s steering gear.

CENTCOM said the M/V Vela Nova was attempting to violate the US blockade of Iran. It said that, as of today, US forces had redirected 55 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two vessels attempting to run the blockade.

Saudi, Turkiye discuss regional developments in phone call

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan have discussed the latest developments in the region and support for diplomatic efforts to reduce escalation in a phone call.

The two ministers also discussed ensuring the security and freedom of navigation of waterways in the Gulf and Red Sea.