• Trump says he will declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory “pretty soon” while preparing a hard economic blow to force Iran into ending the war.
• In response to Trump’s threats, Iran’s deputy foreign minister says the waterway will remain Iranian and that blockade enforcement will continue until the US accepts defeat.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the Islamabad MoU marked an “end of the war, not a ceasefire”, pointing out that the US violated the deal and fighting resumed, leaving no 60-day ceasefire to extend.
• Araghchi also says negotiations between Iran and Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz “may reach a conclusion soon”.
• Abu Dhabi National Oil Company says one of its vessels came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, reporting no injuries and that the situation was brought under control.
• Oil prices rise more than a dollar a barrel as tanker attacks and stalled US-Iran peace talks drive Brent crude to $88.52 and US WTI to $82.40.
• CENTCOM says US forces “redirected” 62 commercial vessels in the Arabian Sea after reinstating the naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump does not take his own claim of taking over Hormuz ‘particularly seriously’

It’s clear the US president, with a chuckle as he said that, even himself, is not taking this particularly seriously, given the fact that there is already an international waterway in the Strait of Hormuz where ships are traversing back and forth.

Also, these are the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. But what the US president likes to do is get under the skin of adversaries, and, in this case, it’s Iran.

The US president is not backing down on his naval blockade that is in effect in the Strait of Hormuz.

In fact, the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that there will be ships that will be interchanged in order to continue and prolong that naval blockade.

So, the US president is trying to exert control. What is important to point out, however, is that he said no ships are going in and out of the strait unless the US wants them to.

That’s not entirely true. There is some traffic that is going through, but it has slowed down significantly.

Marine data traffic, the continuously fluctuating prices on the oil market. and the losses made by the exporters in the Gulf region, reveal who is "controlling" the Strait of Hormuz.

Then, even when it is serious, Trump cannot claim the Strait as part of the US:

Under international law, an attacking belligerent cannot unilaterally declare an international waterway or strait used for international navigation as its own sovereign territory. Such a declaration violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and foundational principles of freedom of navigation.

While a belligerent border state exercises sovereignty over its own territorial sea, international straits remain subject to transit passage rights for global commerce and third-party nations.

Iran resumes oil tanker loading at Kharg Island, tracking firm says

Maritime tracking service TankerTrackers says an Iranian supertanker has been seen loading oil at Kharg Island for the first time since late July.

The ship-tracking firm says a National Iranian Tanker Company Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) was spotted loading roughly two million barrels of crude at the island’s Azarpad jetty on Friday.

Kharg Island is Iran’s main oil hub, usually accounting for about 90 percent of the country’s crude exports.

The firm added that Iran’s overall oil production appeared to be roughly in line with domestic consumption, “meaning it may not need to export much”.

The United States reimposed its naval blockade on Iranian ports in mid-July.

Saudi Arabia condemns attacks on UAE oil tankers in Strait of Hormuz

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has expressed its “strongest condemnation and denunciation of the targeting of two tankers belonging to the UAE’s ADNOC while transiting the Strait of Hormuz”.

In a statement, the ministry said that “the recurrence of these attacks constitutes a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to the security and safety of maritime navigation and global energy supplies”.

“The Kingdom holds Iran fully responsible for the consequences of continuing these attacks and calls on it to immediately cease these violations and respect international law,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry added, reiterating its “full solidarity” with the UAE.

US economic pressure on Iran now taking the ‘forefront’

There was that pause, back in late July, in the attacks by the United States. It was speculated, although the US has really denied this, that it’s because of a depletion of munitions.

At the same time, what we’ve also seen is kind of a shift in the economic warfare that’s now taking place.

In fact, we have a statement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying that Iran should expect even more punitive economic action against it in the coming days, something to the likes that’s “never been seen before”.

We already know that Iran is facing sanctions. That’s something they have been trying to negotiate, but so far without success. Iran is looking to see those lifted.

So, what we’ve got here is the United States really continuing its two-pronged approach. On the one hand, it’s the military pressure; on the other, it’s the economic pressure.

And the economic pressure, it seems, is now taking the forefront.

But yesterday, The Pentagon has announced framework agreements with Boeing and RTX to increase production of components for SM-3 Block IIA and SM-3 Block IB missile interceptors.

August 7th: The US Army says it is opening test ranges to private companies developing missiles, drones and other weapons in hopes of buying them more quickly for use on the battlefield.

August 8th: Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg wrote to industry leaders last Wednesday, noting that they have to submit plans to “drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities,” within 21 days.

Iran ‘probably can resist’ tighter US economic pressure

Iran is likely to be able to resist the increased economic pressure the United States is threatening to impose on the country to try to force it to open the Strait of Hormuz, says Dan Grazier, director of the National Security Reform Program at the Stimson Center.

“The Iranians probably can resist this. The Iranians, at least as far as the United States is concerned, have been a pariah state since 1979, and they’ve been subject to lots of sanctions over the years,” Grazier said.

“So, it’s interesting to think that the administration believes that a form of economic warfare is now going to produce the kind of results that six months of military strikes have not been able to accomplish.”

He said Washington’s growing focus on economic pressure is probably being dictated by the US military’s reportedly dwindling munitions stockpiles.

“There are contradictory statements coming out of the administration. But from the available evidence, it does appear that the United States military is short of the kind of long-range munitions that you need to fight a war from a distance, which is exactly the kind of military strategy that the United States has used so far in this campaign,” said Grazier, a former Marine Corps officer.

“And the US military has other obligations, security obligations around the world, so it’s important that we don’t … run completely out of ammunition. So, those kinds of shortages necessitate a change in strategy. I think that’s why the administration has shifted to this kind of economic warfare.”

US economic ‘game of chicken’ with Iran will likely fail, says former ambassador

Marc Ginsberg, a former US ambassador and White House Middle East policy adviser, says the Trump administration’s current campaign against Iran is a “game of economic chicken” that Washington is likely to lose.

Ginsberg said that while the US has long used maximum pressure tactics, the current situation is distinct because “the Strait of Hormuz is completely in play, and Iran is completely cut off from the foreign currency reserves that it needs to sustain its economy”.

However, he warned that the White House lacks a clear strategy to resolve the standoff.

“You have a situation where there’s no end game for this administration. We don’t know what the president’s planning to do,” Ginsberg said. “The only thing we know is that he’s engaged in what I call the campaign of epic endurance.”

Comparing the standoff to a high-stakes collision course, Ginsberg expressed skepticism that Washington could force Tehran’s hand through economic measures alone.

“This is sort of a game of economic chicken. Which of the two parties is going to jump off the side of the road before a collision?” he said. “I think in the end, the administration’s going to cave before the Iranian government does.”

Iran is ‘playing’ Trump as US election pressure mounts, says former envoy

Marc Ginsberg, former US ambassador and White House adviser, said President Donald Trump is ultimately being driven by domestic political pressure and the upcoming midterm elections rather than a long-term strategy.

“In the end, Donald Trump is going to do what he needs to do in order to save his soul regarding the upcoming midterm elections and his increasing loss of popularity at home,” Ginsberg told Al Jazeera.

He noted that Tehran is well aware of Washington’s internal political dynamics and is prepared to play the long game.

“The Iranians are watching the polls here,” Ginsberg said. “In the end, this Iranian regime is going to survive until the last Iranian drops dead. They intend to hold on to power, no matter how much punishment is being inflicted on the public.”

Ginsberg added that while the American public is growing “disgusted with the state of affairs”, Trump faces a dilemma because he cannot afford to admit defeat.

However, he argued that Tehran is betting on a familiar outcome.

“The Iranians are basically playing him and playing the United States,” Ginsberg said, adding that Tehran calculates Washington will eventually “walk away from all of its demands, and in the end, they’ll wind up getting sanctions relief”.

Vessel struck in Strait of Hormuz

A vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the UK Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO).

The ship, described as a bulk carrier, was reported struck in its hull on Friday evening at about 20:00 GMT, the UKMTO update said.

No casualties were reported among the crew, the report added.

IRGC commander says Iran brought US military ‘to its knees’

Iran has brought the “most armed army in the history of the world to its knees,” IRGC commander Major-General Ahmad Vahidi has said.

Vahidi’s comments were contained in an open letter to IRGC members and other security forces, published in the military publication Sepah News.

The commander is one of several military leaders newly appointed by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a major defence cabinet reshuffle in the past week.

"US destroyed Iran’s ballistic missile capability"

The US claims it destroyed Iran’s ballistic missile capability, but a former White House adviser in the Carter administration calls that a “pipe dream”.

Another analyst says President Trump faces a stark choice: deploy up to 300,000 troops or risk “faltering” in front of Iran.

US-Israel war on Iran likely to enter ‘stalemate’

Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, said Trump usually makes such statements primarily to speak to a US audience, especially his support base.

It’s important to remember, he added, that Trump is a product of US reality TV and is, at the end of the day, a “showman”. “This is a guy who speaks big. You have to take him seriously in some cases but not literally,” Musgrave cautioned.

Trump cannot be taken seriously, especially in this case because making the strait US territory is physically and legally impossible, he said. But the statements do show that Trump is determined not to back down from Iran and accept defeat in the months-long war, he added.

Instead, he said, a new phase of the war will see Washington try to impose more economic sanctions, and even wage war on other fronts, such as with cyber attacks on Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran is showing “bravado” and does not want to accept its suffering economically as well, Musgrave noted. Some hardliners in government do not want to be associated with the term “negotiations”, hence official statements denying talks with the US, while admitting talks with mediators such as Qatar and Pakistan.

Neither side is likely to admit defeat, and in the short to medium term, the result will be that the war enters “a stalemate”, he concluded.

Iran says US foreign policy relies on ‘lies’

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has invoked Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov to criticize US policy towards Iran and the wider region.

Baghaei said Washington’s system of governance and foreign policy had become excessively reliant on “lies”, quoting the Russian writer, who said: “The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him.”

UAE condemns latest attack on ADNOC vessel in Strait of Hormuz

The United Arab Emirates has condemned what it described as an Iranian attack on a vessel affiliated with state oil company ADNOC as it transited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday.

ADNOC said no injuries were reported and the situation was now under control, according to the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency.

In a statement posted on X, the UAE’s Foreign Ministry described the targeting of commercial shipping and use of the strait for “economic coercion or blackmail” as “acts of piracy by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps”.

The ministry called on Iran to halt the attacks and demanded the “complete and unconditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz”.

The incident follows attacks on two other ADNOC vessels transiting the waterway on Thursday evening, according to the UAE’s media.

Iran officials respond to Trump’s latest Hormuz threats

It’s not the first time the Iranians are receiving such threatening rhetoric from US President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the statements zigzag between progress and then talk about military prospects on the horizon. Simultaneously, they have seen that translate into real acts of war.

A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry says the situation over the Strait of Hormuz and security at the moment is due to US military movements.

The Iranian head of the judiciary came out with furious rhetoric, calling the US president criminal and feather-headed, and saying the Strait of Hormuz belongs to Islamic Iran.

At the same time, the country’s deputy foreign minister says the Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized either by a tweet or an aircraft.

This is a statement we have from him in direct response to recent statements from the US president.

Iran says route through Hormuz agreed with Oman, but deal yet to be finalized

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei tells state-run outlet Defa Press that Iran has reached an agreement with Oman on a shipping route map for the Strait of Hormuz after weeks of technical negotiations.

Iran’s foreign ministry has previously said that there was broad agreement on the coordinates of a route through the Strait of Hormuz, reached during talks with Oman.

Baghaei told Defa Press that Iran and Oman, the two coastal states bordering the strategic waterway, began intensive negotiations three months ago following the signing of the June 18 memorandum of understanding to establish safe navigation routes.

“Despite US obstruction, the talks have made positive progress over the past three weeks, and an agreement has been reached on the shipping route map,” he said.

Baghaei said the plan was the result of coordination led by the Foreign Ministry with the participation of Iran’s defense, security and environmental authorities.

He added that the two sides were still negotiating outstanding issues, including a statement to be issued by Tehran and Muscat, noting that exchanges between the two countries would continue until the process was finalized.

Baghaei stressed that the Iran-Oman arrangement was an independent agreement between the two coastal states aimed at ensuring the safe passage of ships through the strait, while preserving the sovereignty of both countries.

US-Iran policies shift amid Strait of Hormuz tensions and costly conflicts impacting both nations

Setareh Sadeqi, an assistant professor at the University of Tehran, says there is a shift in policy both in the United States and Iran after six months of war.

“Iran has learned that the only language that the Washington regime will respond to is a language of power and showing that they are not desperate for a deal. Their number one priority is protecting their sovereignty and the lives of their citizens against US bombardment. US has now pivoted towards a policy of economic coercion”, Sadeqi said.

“For Iran, this is an existential war, and they are the target of a campaign of aggression and terrorism by the United States for the US. For the US, it’s a war of choice. They can withdraw from this war if they want. Iran just has to defend and respond to the attacks. Both countries know it is very costly for them.” Sadeqi added.

Sadeqi says the US is not going to change course soon. “I think, unfortunately, the United States will continue to opt for military aggression if they can and if they have the capability to do so because that is the trajectory of US foreign policy, particularly under Trump.”

Sadeqi says Iran is unlikely to back down on its claim to control the Strait of Hormuz.

US deploys USS George HW Bush to Middle East amid concerns for sailors on USS Abraham Lincoln

The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) posted images today of the USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, after concerns about prolonged deployment conditions faced by sailors on board the USS Abraham Lincoln.

The images, posted on US social media platform X, showed what appeared to be fighter jets taking off from the George HW Bush flight deck as “the ship sails in the Arabian Sea supporting security in the Middle East.”

The USS George HW Bush (CVN-77) is a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and is part of the US Navy’s carrier forces operating in the region during US’s war on Iran.

 

Every time when the media picks up something that exposes the Trump administration, White House officials quickly denies while the defense department rush to act like they have done after serious depletion of munitions shortage came to light.

Turkey's Erdogan says reopening Strait of Hormuz a priority

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told Al Jazeera that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a priority, stressing that its prolonged closure is in no one’s interest.

Speaking in an exclusive interview that will air on Sunday, Erdogan said that during Trump’s recent visit they had discussed the necessity of ending Israel’s war on Lebanon and Washington’s key role in achieving this goal.

The Turkish president also commented on the recently announced joint defence agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, saying the future accession of other countries such as Egypt was a possibility.

Qatar’s foreign minister denies detention of Iranian pilots

A spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry has denied claims that it detained three Iranian pilots, after Tehran called for their release.

“We are surprised by the misleading statements regarding the Iranian pilots amid the continuation of diplomatic efforts,” the spokesperson said.

Contact was made with the pilots following a breach of Qatari airspace in March, but no response was received, the spokesperson added. Qatari rescue teams found the remains of one of the pilots and coordinated with Iran for the repatriation.

Oman oil spill threatens fragile marine ecosystem along 12km of coastline

An oil spill from the tanker Caroline Bezengi has spread across 12 kilometers of coastline in Oman’s Ras Madrakah area, threatening fragile marine ecosystems and wildlife habitats.

The tanker, carrying around 800,000 barrels of oil, ran aground in June and has been leaking for weeks.

Economic hardships likely to bring Iranians closer to government, analyst says

The US naval blockade is having an economic impact on Iranians who are already suffering due to mismanagement and crippling economic sanctions, Stephen Zunes, professor of international studies at the University of San Francisco, has said.

As Iran is suffering now primarily because of the US blockade, “they will be more understanding of the Iranian government, even those who are traditionally opponents”.

Gulf countries are likely to have used their leverage to pressure their US ally to end the war on Iran, which has been widely unpopular since the beginning, he added.

“But Trump is no ordinary politician, he is willing to pursue a number of unpopular policies,” the analyst continued. “Whether this kind of pressure will lead him to change is going to be seen.”

Iran war not perceived as ‘defending the homeland’ by US Marines on aircraft carrier

Reports of an intensifying mental health crisis on board the USS Abraham Lincoln – deployed at sea for nine months as part of the war with Iran – are an indication of the perceptions around the conflict, said Stephen Zunes from the University of San Francisco.

“US Marines are willing to endure all kinds of difficult conditions if they believe they’re defending the nation,” Zunes said. “But in this case, they recognize that this war is not in the national interest, that it is not defending the homeland.”

Given that and the logistical problems linked with prolonged deployments at sea, “I’m not surprised there are serious morale issues,” he said.

CENTCOM chief tours Middle East as blockade continues

Brad Cooper, who oversees the US war effort against Iran, has wrapped up a 10-day tour of six Gulf countries and the USS Abraham Lincoln, the carrier enforcing the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM said in a statement on X.

On board the Lincoln — his second visit this year — Cooper thanked the crew, calling the deployment one of the most intense of the modern era. The San Diego-based carrier deployed in November, reached the region in January, and has since flown thousands of missions supporting Operation Epic Fury, regional security and the US naval blockade against Iran.

The USS Abraham Lincoln has come into the spotlight amid reports of extreme dissatisfaction among US personnel serving on board.