• Iran summons Ukraine’s diplomats after Kyiv bombs an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea, killing at least one sailor and wounding another.
• Ukraine says it was targeting Russian vessels carrying Iran-linked military cargo, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is assisting Iran in its military campaign in the Middle East.
• The US military says it boarded a tanker in the Arabian Sea as part of its blockade on Iranian ports, a day after US forces fired on another vessel trying to breach the naval blockade.

Iran condemns Ukrainian attack in Caspian Sea, summons diplomats

This is the first time we’ve witnessed such an incident, but there’s little hesitation in the strongest messages of condemnation coming from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reflecting real concern about the potential for such attacks to be repeated.

The ministry first announced that it had summoned a top Ukrainian diplomat and condemned the attack as a violation of the UN Charter.

In a separate statement, the ministry said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a phone call with the EU’s foreign policy chief, in which he called on the international community and the UN Security Council to respond to and condemn the attack.

In yet another statement, the ministry went beyond condemnation, warning of what it described as a hostile approach by Ukraine towards Iran.

This is critically important as Iran is already dealing with a US naval blockade that’s putting significant pressure on the country’s maritime trade.

Iran insists it has ‘no interest’ in Russia-Ukraine war

If you look at the latest statement coming from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they have said that the Iranian side has no interest in involvement when it comes to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

And also, they mentioned earlier that there is an interest for the country, if necessary, to start mediation.

But also, controversially, we know that Iran and Russia have very strong military relations, and that means the trade of warfare [material] between the two countries.

But still, not only when it comes to this statement, but also when it comes to other statements from the beginning of the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, what comes from Tehran is the same. They are saying that there is no interest in direct involvement or any sort of interference when it comes to this conflict.

And there is a clear interest for the conflict to be de-escalated.

Ukraine-Iran tensions

• Iran on Saturday accused Ukraine of attacking an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, saying an explosion killed one sailor and injured another.
• The claim came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X that Kyiv had achieved “very strong results” with long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea, hitting “vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship”.
• Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Ukraine’s charge d’affaires in Tehran to protest what it described as a “hostile and criminal” attack.
• Zelenskyy subsequently said in a post on X that Russia has been assisting Iran’s military campaign by passing satellite imagery of Gulf states and US military sites located there.
• Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv has accused Iran of aiding Moscow’s air attacks on Ukrainian cities by supplying thousands of Shahed drones.
• Ukraine has also expressed solidarity with countries in the Middle East targeted by Tehran following the US-Israel war on Iran, sending Ukrainian military personnel to Gulf states to help intercept Shahed drones.

Caspian Sea drone attack raises Iran’s trade concerns

The Ukrainian drone that hit an Iranian commercial ship in the Caspian Sea, killing one sailor and injuring another, is a huge concern for Iran because it does not want further expansion of battlefields.

Iran is already experiencing conflict in the southern coastal provinces, as well as the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman and even the Indian Ocean, which have turned into a battlefield.

So, the Caspian Sea now not being safe for the Iranians, regarding trade, is a huge concern. That’s why the Iranians are saying they’re taking this matter quite seriously. They have summoned the chief of the Ukrainian political mission in Tehran and condemned it.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has released a statement saying the Ukrainian attack will not go unanswered.

So, now there are questions whether Iran is going to retaliate. Technically, Iranians say that is possible because, roughly, the distance between Tehran and Kyiv is less than 2,000km, and Iranians are saying that this is within the range of their missiles and drones.

Caspian Sea emerges as battleground in Ukraine-Iran-Russia tensions, analyst says

The Ukrainian drone strike on an Iranian vessel on Sunday is taking place amid “what looks like a multi-pronged confrontation,” says Paul Musgrave at Georgetown University in Qatar.

The associate professor of government said that previously it would have been difficult to ever see the Caspian Sea as a front in the current confrontation between Ukraine, Russia, and Iran.

But the Caspian Sea is now seen as an important economic lifeline for Iran in the north.

“If this also comes into play, then that’s something that is going to widen the scope of this. We are looking at energy, global energy markets being drawn in, and that’s going to draw in everywhere where there’s global energy supplies,” Musgrave said.

The Caspian Sea is where the conflict has extended from “a Russian and local and Iranian lake” to a place where now the “Ukrainians have greater familiarity with this area.”

Musgrave said the situation is unfolding in “what some analysts call the third missile age” as Iran and Ukraine are exercising regional influence. “I think that’s a development in itself,” he said.

Iran FM blames Zelenskyy over Caspian sea attack, says incident ‘cannot go unanswered’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has personally accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over an attack on an Iranian merchant vessel in the Caspian Sea, which left a sailor dead, warning that the incident “cannot go unanswered”.

In a post on X, Araghchi described the strike as a “blatant UN Charter violation” carried out “at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war”. He noted he had raised the issue directly in phone calls with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, where he “made clear that what the freeloader in Kyiv did CANNOT GO UNANSWERED”.

The warning follows remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who confirmed long-range Ukrainian strikes in the Caspian Sea against vessels used to transport military cargo linked to Iran. Ukrainian intelligence services reported targeting sanctioned cargo ships transporting military equipment between Iran and Russia.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry reported an explosion aboard the commercial vessel on Saturday morning that also wounded another sailor, stating Tehran has remained neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. State television confirmed the Ukrainian charge d’affaires in Tehran was summoned in protest over what Iran termed a “hostile and criminal act”.

Iranian, Russian foreign ministers talk by phone

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have spoken by phone to discuss the latest regional and international developments, Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency reports.

Araghchi posted on X that he made clear during the call with Lavrov that what Iran has called a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea would not go “unanswered”.

Iran to retaliate against Ukraine?

Earlier today, after the attack in the Caspian Sea, the [Iranian] Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that it’s not going to go unanswered. Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of Iran, posted on X and again said that this attack cannot go unanswered.

He said that he made that clear during phone talks with the EU’s High Representative Kaja Kallas and also with the Russian foreign minister, Lavrov.

So now, of course, the question is whether Iran is going to retaliate or not. Experts are saying, well, this decision is going to be made based on political considerations, not technical considerations, because, technically, they say it’s possible because the distance between Kiev and Tehran is less than 2,000km [1,240 miles] and that is within the range of Iranian missiles and drones.

Top Iran official threatens Ukraine over Caspian Sea vessel attack

Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, has issued a warning to Ukraine for its attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea that killed one sailor and injured another on Saturday.

In a post on X, Azizi said that Iran would not let the incident “go unanswered” and that “any attack on Iran always comes with a cost”.

US appears to pause attacks on Iran amid ‘low-level contacts’ to restore truce

The US military did not conduct any air strikes on Iranian military targets on Friday night. That’s the first time in two full weeks that there have not been any US military strikes on Iranian targets.

[It marks a pause in what had become] a resumption of open conflict after a ceasefire had been reached between the two countries in the middle of their war, which started on February 28.

Now, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached between the two countries last month is understood to basically no longer be in effect. But the US and Iran are still having low-level contacts in order to try to find a way to perhaps restore the ceasefire – which was broken just about two weeks ago – as well as try to see if there is a way to get to an eventual end to the war.

The US and Iran are still very much at loggerheads over control of the Strait of Hormuz. The US’s position has traditionally been that this is an international waterway, open to all commercial and military traffic, and no one single nation can control access in and out of the strait.

The Iranians point to the MoU as justification for their efforts, they say, to try to collect tolls on commercial vessels transiting the strait. At this point, US President Donald Trump has said that it would be perhaps the US’s best interest to try to gain control of the strait.

But given that there are no air strikes currently under way, it’s possible that this and other points of contention between the two nations may be under discussion.

Iran’s government spars with state TV as mediators push talks with US

A public rift has emerged between Iran’s government and state television over how to portray the state of war and negotiations with the United States, as mediators try to nudge both countries towards diplomacy.

The Government Information Council on Friday accused state broadcaster IRIB of “censorship” after parts of a speech by President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier in the week were not shown to the public.

The broadcaster, whose head is appointed by the supreme leader, issued a response on Saturday rejecting the government’s “accusations and improper attributions”, and emphasized that it has a duty to prevent “an incorrect and unreal suggestion of duality in the country’s leadership pillars”.

In his speech, Pezeshkian had pointed out that after last year’s 12-day war with Israel, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly said there would be no negotiations with Washington – but privately had given his approval.

“We went to the dear leader, explained the situation, and asked him what to do since he had said the ‘no war, no peace’ conditions are bad for the country,” the president said. “He ordered us to go negotiate. We started the talks based on his order.”

The government said in its statement the move to cut that section of the speech was part of a series of “unusual actions” taken by state television concerning recent comments made by the heads of the government, parliament and judiciary.

Kuwait denies involvement in US attacks on Iran

Kuwait’s ambassador to the US had denied a Wall Street Journal report that claimed the Gulf state had sent fighter jets to attack Iran.

Ambassador Sheikha Al-Zain Al-Sabah wrote to the paper’s editorial board to deny the report, and called it “utterly and completely baseless”, according to the official Kuwait News Agency.

“She affirmed that Kuwait has not participated in any military operations against Iran and has not allowed the use of its territory, airspace, or territorial waters to launch offensive operations,” it said.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Kuwait and Bahrain sent fighters to attack sites inside Iran after Tehran launched missile and drone attacks on what it called US military assets in the Gulf countries. Iran said the attacks were in retaliation for the US’s strikes on its cities.

Trump orders US military to hold off on strikes on Iran, US media report

The New York Times and Axios are reporting that the US president has decided to set aside plans to attack Iran, after 13 consecutive days of strikes.

The Times, citing Trump administration officials, said the president’s decision came amid concern that ratcheting up the war could “dangerously drain the Pentagon’s already diminished stockpile of Patriot antimissile interceptors and other air defense munitions in the Middle East”.

It said the decision followed a meeting between Trump, his top advisers and senior members of his cabinet on Friday.

Axios, citing two anonymous sources with knowledge of the decision, said it was unclear if Trump’s order to halt the strikes was a one-off or if the lull would continue.

It said Trump’s decision “reflects both his willingness to provide more space for diplomacy and a recognition that — short of a return to major combat operations — the current level of US strikes has reached the limit of its effectiveness”.

It cited the sources as saying that the US military was preparing plans for a possible return to major combat operations.

Iran says progress made in talks with Oman on Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says Iranian and Omani deputy foreign ministers held talks on the management of the Strait of Hormuz in Tehran on Friday and Saturday.

“The two sides exchanged views on common principles and operational mechanisms for managing safe shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz while respecting the sovereign rights of the two coastal states,” he said, according to the Tasnim news agency.

Baghaei said “the talks were useful and progress was made” and “technical and political consultations” between the two sides were ongoing.

He added that there was no change in the traffic situation in the strait.

Iran’s army says ‘situation is chaotic and undesirable’ for US

General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for Iran’s army, says the US has failed to achieve its goals “in the Strait of Hormuz and in weakening Iran”.

“The situation is chaotic and undesirable for America,” he said, according to Iranian state TV.

Shekarchi added that the US was looking for a “new strategy” and that the possibility of Washington withdrawing from the war was “conditional on the Zionists’ permission”, in an apparent reference to Israel.

Iranian parliamentary committees reviewing draft law on Hormuz

State broadcaster IRIB is reporting that the Parliament’s National Security Committee is reviewing Iran’s draft law on the management of the Strait of Hormuz, along with the judicial, economic and civil sub-committees.

Iran has not disclosed the content of the draft law, but officials have previously said it is intended to assert the country’s sovereignty over the maritime corridor and to introduce charges for vessels transiting the strait.

Ali Nikzad, deputy parliament speaker, said in May the draft stipulates that Israeli vessels “will never be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz”, while ships from “hostile countries” would be denied transit permits unless they compensate for war-related damage.

Iran says US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain ‘at the centre’ of retaliatory action

Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Akraminia says Tehran “took action to assert its rights” over the Strait of Hormuz after the “US violated its commitments and tried to create a fake and illegal route in the Strait of Hormuz” against the MoU signed in June.

“In these operations, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s army placed US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain – which are considered among the most important bases of this country in the region – at the centre of its operations,” he said in remarks quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

The MoU has unravelled amid the dispute between the US and Iran over management of shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. The US carried out strikes on Iran for 13 consecutive nights, prompting Iranian attacks on bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

According to US media reports, Trump paused the strikes on Friday amid concerns over depleted interceptor missile stockpiles and to allow room for diplomacy.

Maritime navigation activities ‘fully’ resume in Qatar

Qatar’s Transport Ministry says “activities can now resume fully for all types of maritime vessels and ships, as of Sunday, July 26, 2026”.

In a post on X, it urged vessels to “abide by the maritime regulations and instructions to ensure the highest levels of safety and security for all trips”.

Restrictions on maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz were imposed two weeks after a series of deadly tit-for-tat strikes between the US and Iran re-erupted, including on shipping in the waterway.

IRGC fires warning shots at ships in Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has fired warning shots at six ships over the past 24 hours as they tried to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s state television reported that the ships were stopped from continuing their journey, as the path they were taking was reportedly “outside the designated route” set by Tehran.

On Saturday, four ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz were also halted by the IRGC for “unauthorised passage”.

The differences over what route ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz can take have been a key point of contention between the US and Iran, leading to the most recent conflict in the region.

US enforces naval blockade, redirects 12 vessels and disables 2

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday that it is continuing its naval blockade against Iran.

CENTCOM said it had “redirected 12 commercial vessels trying to run the blockade, disabled 2 that didn’t comply, and boarded 2″.

US forces also halted a ship in the Gulf of Oman from transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Friday “after the crew attempted to violate the blockade multiple times and ignored repeated warnings”.

The US is enforcing a naval blockade on Iran, while there have been a series of attacks by Tehran’s forces on ships using a southern route in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran says will halt attacks on Gulf after two nights without US strikes

Tehran has said it will halt strikes on Gulf states and US interests in the region after a pause on attacks on Iran by Washington.

“Our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations,” Iran’s army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said according to the AFP news agency.

It follows a near two-week resumption in fighting between Iran and the US, centered on control of the Strait of Hormuz.

There have been no attacks so far on Sunday by Tehran on Gulf states, while the US has also not targeted Iran for two nights in a row after daily strikes.

Qatari and Saudi foreign ministers discuss regional developments

The Qatari and Saudi foreign ministers spoke by phone on Sunday about developments in the region.

The past two weeks have seen a renewal of fighting between the US and Iran, which has also seen Gulf states targeted by Iran. The Houthis have also struck Saudi Arabia in recent days.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani received a phone call from his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

The ministers pledged to continue dialogue and spoke of the necessity for all parties to implement the framework of the MoU between the US and Iran.

This includes ensuring freedom of navigation for shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining regional stability.

Oil tanker explodes after hitting naval mine in Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media says

Iranian media is reporting that an oil tanker has exploded after hitting a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz.

Tasnim news agency said the vessel struck the ⁠mine after leaving ⁠the Tehran-approved route in ⁠the key ⁠waterway.

Iranian authorities have yet to comment on the reported incident.

Reported tanker explosion follows Iranian warnings over designated Hormuz route

What we know is that a tanker, apparently without coordination with the Iranian authorities, has exploded.

Iranian media reports are saying that this is because the tanker hit a naval mine after deviating from the route specified by Iran’s armed forces.

The reports said that previously, the Islamic Republic of Iran had repeatedly warned that if ships deviate from Iran’s declared route, they will bear the consequences.

Previously, when the IRGC stopped or attacked some vessels, it released statements saying that any ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz need to be in full coordination with Iranian authorities and they need to go through the lanes designated by the Iranian authorities.

Iran’s army issues warning before Netanyahu’s US visit

Iran’s army says it has halted “retaliatory operations” in the Gulf but warns that the conflict will expand across the region if the US continues its attacks.

Spokesman Mohammad Akraminia also warned the US before the Israeli prime minister’s visit to Washington, DC.

Iran’s president orders rapid reconstruction of damaged infrastructure after US strikes

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ordered the accelerated reconstruction and rebuilding of strategic infrastructure, such as rail networks and international transit corridors, after US attacks on the country.

Pezeshkian was briefed on the damage during a visit to the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, according to the Mehr News Agency.

He highlighted infrastructure links with neighbouring countries as strategic priorities.

“The completion and connection of rail networks with neighbours could play an effective role in boosting economic resilience, developing international transit corridors and maximising Iran’s geopolitical capacities,” Pezeshkian said.

Trump pauses Iran strikes to allow diplomacy: US diplomat

Mike Waltz, the ⁠⁠US ambassador to the UN, says Trump has ⁠⁠paused attacks on Iran to allow more room for diplomacy.

“He’s giving ⁠⁠talks some space. He’s giving it a little bit of room,” Waltz told Fox News.

He didn’t provide details on the nature of the Tehran-Washington talks, but there has been a weekend lull in the fighting.

The ⁠⁠Pentagon halted bombing operations after ⁠⁠13 nights of strikes, and there were no weekend reports of attacks by Iran ⁠⁠on Middle Eastern countries.

Reported sea mine blast raises major questions on Hormuz transits

The reported sea mine blast in the Strait of Hormuz reflects two possible meanings for the Iran war, says defense analyst and retired Romanian navy officer Alexandru Hudisteanu.

Tehran may be testing whether Washington still has an appetite to strike while also signaling US demining efforts in the strait aren’t effective, reinforcing the idea that only the IRGC’s approved corridor is safe.

Asked if the explosion could be an accident, Hudisteanu said it’s too early to tell with only Iranian sources reporting the incident so far. He noted sea explosives can break loose or submerge just beneath the surface, becoming undetectable.

On a likely US response, he said Washington appears to have reached a “temporary limit on military options” because strikes alone haven’t shifted Iran’s stance. The US may now favour a “window of calm” to let talks continue while still showing it can resume attacks.

Hudisteanu also pointed to the collapsed US-Iran memorandum of understanding, under which Iran was meant to handle demining. With Iran’s conventional navy largely destroyed, Hudisteanu argued Tehran can’t properly secure the strait and is instead using that to justify its own transit corridors.

Bahrain and Israel leaders hold talks on Abraham Accords

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Israeli President Isaac Herzog have spoken by phone to discuss regional developments and the Abraham Accords.

“Bahrain is an important country in the Middle East, and I congratulated the King on his bold leadership and vision for the region,” Herzog said in a post on X.

Bahrain became the second Gulf Arab country after the United Arab Emirates to normalize ties with Israel in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords, breaking with long-standing Arab consensus that recognition of Israel should only follow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

The accord was not a brokerage but a conspiracy masterminded by Netanyahu with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the accord was originally meant to isolate the Palestinians from the Arabic world.

Netanyahu warns Iran any attack on Israel would be ‘a terrible mistake’

Netanyahu has warned Tehran that any attack on Israel – direct or via proxies – would be “a terrible mistake” and would be met with a “very, very forceful” response.

In an interview with Fox News, Netanyahu said ending the war requires either Iran’s government to fall or Tehran to accept the cost of “wreaking economic chaos” and “shooting at everyone” – naming Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Israel and Jordan as its targets.

Netanyahu said he “fully backed” Trump’s diplomatic efforts but insisted Iran’s nuclear programme must end “with a deal or without a deal”.

He said he also supported Trump’s proposed condition for Saudi-Israel normalisation – a civilian, not military, nuclear programme for Riyadh – in exchange for formal ties.

On Lebanon, Netanyahu claimed Israeli forces had pushed Hezbollah back 5 to 8 miles (8km to 13km) from the Israeli-Lebanese border and destroyed about 94 percent of its roughly 150,000 missiles and rockets.

He pointed to a new trilateral deal opening direct Israeli-Lebanese talks for the first time in decades, under which Israel is to withdraw from Lebanon as Lebanon disarms Hezbollah. Whether the Lebanese army can hold that territory is “yet to be seen”, he said, although Israel is “willing to give it a try”.

Israel currently occupies about 6 percent of Lebanon’s territory and has killed more than 4,000 Lebanese since its ramped up hostilities against the country starting on March 2.

Pressure is growing on US president to find exit strategy for Iran war

The most recent poll, conducted by Ipsos and the Washington Post in the US, indicates that just 29 percent of those surveyed believe that the president is handling the war with Iran appropriately, or approve of the war overall, while 28 percent say the war was worth it.

By contrast, 68 percent of Americans surveyed by the Post and Ipsos say the war has not been worth it. The economic impact, most notably, is on people’s minds, but certainly people are also very much aware that nearly 20 US service members have been killed since the war began back on February 28.

There are also questions now about how the Trump administration proceeds with trying to resolve the war, if in fact diplomacy is once again taking the lead.

Does this mean that the memorandum of understanding, which essentially collapsed nearly 15 days ago, when the US resumed air strikes on Iranian targets, – does that mean it’s back in effect? Does this mean we’re in a new ceasefire? There are a lot of questions about the status of the conflict between Iran and the US, but certainly there is growing pressure on the US president to basically try to figure out what is the exit strategy.

Qatari PM discusses peace efforts with UAE national security adviser

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has spoken by phone with UAE National Security Adviser Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss bilateral ties and regional developments.

The two men reviewed diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions in the region with Qatar emphasising the importance of dialogue, implementing the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and supporting efforts to achieve lasting regional peace and stability.

Iran’s Baghaei says messages actively being exchanged with US, but Washington has previously ‘betrayed’ talks

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei says that mediators, including Pakistan and Qatar, are actively exchanging messages between Tehran and Washington, but that Tehran’s priority remains defending its sovereignty while under attack.

Baghaei told Austrian broadcaster ORF that Iran had fulfilled its Memorandum of Understanding commitment to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days, but that the US had launched new strikes before that deadline expired, using alleged shipping incidents as a pretext.

He said that this was the third time in the past year that Iran’s diplomacy had been “betrayed” by attacks during negotiations.

Baghaei also said that the US had failed to release Iran’s frozen assets as required under the MoU.

‘Operational pause is not peace’, analyst says of Iran-US war

Abas Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies (CMESS) in Tehran, said that the halt in fighting between Iran and the United States is so far only an “operational pause” of about two days, not a settled truce.

Turning the current calm into a durable ceasefire would require two things, he said: “A militarily recognized equilibrium on the battlefield” and “a concrete political framework”.

“Without these two items, I think it will be only a breathing room for another eruption sometime in the future”, Aslani said.

He said Iran was approaching the pause “very carefully and cautiously”, keeping an eye on continued US military movements – including additional forces and refueling aircraft being deployed to the region.

It was too early to judge “whether this is the eye of the storm, or we are witnessing… a clear sky”, Aslani added, saying a clearer read on the trajectory would likely take a few more days.

Tanker blast in strait unlikely to be ‘disruptive element’ in Iran-US diplomacy

The blast near a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz is unlikely on its own to disrupt fragile diplomacy, says Abas Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies in Tehran.

“Iran is saying that ship was transiting through a corridor that was not the one coordinated by the Iranian side,” Aslani said, adding that the vessel “was not targeted by Iranian missiles or drones”.

“So far, I think it doesn’t seem that this is a disruptive element,” he said, arguing that both sides “have something at stake” and share an interest in focusing on upcoming talks aimed at a final agreement.

“They have tried the military force and operation and campaign, and so far, they have not been able to settle using those forces.”

Tehran, he said, would now wait to see what the diplomatic trajectory will be.

He added that Iran’s next step would be to watch the US response but noted that “having a clear picture is very difficult because you cannot predict how Trump is going to react. He has had volatile positions.”

A “viable framework”, Aslani said, would require “a stable and clear strategy toward a final solution”. For now, Iran was weighing whether to “resolve the issue through talks and negotiations or prepare for a likely military escalation in case the US chooses to do so”.

US decision-making in ‘a state of confusion and attrition,’ says Iran army spokesman

Iran has halted its retaliatory military operations after the United States stopped its strikes over the past two nights, an Iranian military spokesman told state television.

Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said on Sunday that Iranian counter-operations were conditioned on US military activity in the region.

“These attacks continued until two nights ago, but over the past two nights the Americans have stopped their attacks,” Akraminia said. “Since our strategy has essentially been retaliatory, we have also halted our retaliatory operations.”

Asked whether the pause in US strikes signaled a formal ceasefire, Akraminia said Washington had not yet established a clear long-term strategy, adding that US decision-making appeared to be suffering from “a state of confusion and attrition.”

Pakistani FM, IAEA chief discuss regional developments

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephone call with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, discussing regional developments and the importance of continued diplomacy and dialogue, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said.

Grossi expressed hope that the US and Iran would maintain dialogue following the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, with a view to achieving a peaceful and durable outcome, the ministry said in the statement.

Pakistan was a key mediator in brokering the June memorandum, which established a 60-day ceasefire and created a framework to negotiate long-term stability and Iran’s nuclear programme.

The diplomatic exchange comes as Grossi engages international stakeholders regarding the IAEA’s monitoring role during the truce, alongside briefing Pakistani officials on his candidacy for UN secretary-general.

Qatar, Oman foreign ministers discuss Hormuz navigation, US-Iran memorandum

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani spoke by phone with Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, discussing bilateral ties and joint coordination to de-escalate regional tensions.

Sheikh Mohammed stressed the need for all parties to stick to dialogue and diplomacy and implement the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, including ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

He also renewed Qatar’s full support for efforts to defuse tensions and reach a comprehensive agreement for sustainable peace in the region.

Trump denies reports US running out of munitions

The US president has rejected reports that the US is running out of munitions in its war on Iran.

“We have far more munitions than anyone in the world, and far more than we need,” he told The Wall Street Journal in a statement.

The White House has been informed of declining inventories of its air defence interceptors by General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the US newspaper reported.

Continued war in Gulf could push oil price to $200

Ed Hirs, a lecturer at the University of Houston, has warned that the continuation of the war is likely to lead to crude oil prices skyrocketing.

He made a distinction between the futures price of oil, which sits at $98 per barrel for Brent crude, and the spot price for oil delivered today, which is much higher.

The spot market is “where the rubber meets the road”, he said.

Hirs said that global oil reserves may no longer be able to compensate for the loss of oil flows from the Gulf, and noted that releases from the US strategic petroleum reserve “have only about 40 days at the current rate”.

“If conflict continues to expand, we could very well see the futures price and the spot price meet up at approximately $200 a barrel,” he said.

Oil prices drop more than 5% after US pauses strikes on Iran

Oil ⁠prices fell more ⁠than 5%, Reuters news agency reports, after ⁠US President Donald Trump paused strikes on Iran after two ‌weeks of attacks, raising hopes of reaching a diplomatic solution that would cease attacks in the regional war.

Brent crude futures slipped $5.58, or ⁠5.77%, to $91.20 at night, as US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $84.40 ‌a barrel, down $4.91, or 5.50%, Reuters says.