• Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran is continuing talks with Oman on shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, but warns reopening the waterway will depend on the US upholding the memorandum of understanding signed in June.
• The USS George Washington has arrived in the Arabian Sea and is expected to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln amid growing concerns over conditions on board the latter carrier.
• Qatar denies Iran’s claims that it is holding captive three Iranian pilots whose planes crashed in the Gulf state in the early days of the US and Israel’s war.

Iran’s Pezeshkian blames high inflation on US blockade

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has blamed the country’s economic problems on the US blockade of the country’s ports as well as declining oil revenues.

Pezeshkian also said the bombing of industrial facilities has affected government coffers.

“The issue of livelihoods that our brother is talking about, the rise in prices that he is talking about – well, that is natural. Previously, we used to bring goods by ship, but now they have to travel the entire route before reaching us. The cost of the finished product has gone up,” he said in remarks released on Friday.

“Our income has also decreased. We used to sell oil, but now we cannot sell it. They have destroyed a number of factories, and we cannot collect taxes from them in the same way. The wheels of the economy have to keep turning,” he added.

‘We really are seeing the waning days of the American empire’

The US’s war with Iran is adding to Washington’s waning influence in the Middle East and across the world, says Stephen Zunes, a professor of international studies at the University of San Francisco.

He says that the US is building up a reputation for launching illegal wars with “horrific humanitarian consequences” that are destabilizing the Middle East.

US allies in the region are therefore concluding that it can’t protect their interests without “backfiring spectacularly, as we’ve seen here”, and looking for alternative alliances, he added.

“Even America’s closest allies in the Middle East have to think, should we really rely on Washington, given their track record here?” said Zunes.

The professor also pointed to opposition within the US itself to the war on Iran and other so-called forever wars of the recent past in the Middle East and Asia, and to “the enormous resources that is taking away from vital needs here at home — healthcare, housing, education, public transit”.

Americans, he said, “are struggling as well, and over half of our discretionary budget goes to the military every year, which is ridiculous. So, I think that under both international and domestic pressure, we really are seeing the waning days of the American empire, or at least to the degree of its hegemonic reach that we have seen since World War II.”

The following wars by the US where also waged across borders

Afghanistan 2001 to 2021

• The US stated it acted in collective self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Most international experts viewed this intervention as legally valid because the Taliban government harbored al-Qaeda, though some academic debates persisted regarding long-term military presence, which is occupation.

Iraq 2003

• The US and the UK argued that prior UN Security Council resolutions regarding weapons of mass destruction allowed the invasion. No weapons of mass destruction where found. This war is widely considered illegal by international legal scholars and former UN leaders, including former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, because it lacked explicit, specific authorization from the UN Security Council for regime change.

Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Syria

• The US used drone strikes and special operations in countries like , arguing self-defense against imminent terrorist threat.  These actions are legally contested. Critics and some international lawyers argue they violate state sovereignty, while US officials maintain they fit modern definitions of self-defense against non-state actor. The latter refers to an existing politically based dictionary used by the US.

About self-defense

• International law describes self-defense as the inherent right of a sovereign state to use military force in response to an armed attack.
• However, Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter forbids countries from threatening or using military force against other nations. Article 51 of the UN Charter allows countries to defend themselves if an armed attack happens. This was not the case with US drone attacks on Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Syria.

Flights resume at Iran’s Bandar Abbas airport

Flights at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas have resumed after repeated interruptions during US attacks on the southern city.

Kazem Tavassoli, director general of airports in Hormozgan province, told IRNA news agency that scheduled flights on high-traffic domestic routes resumed on Saturday, following “limited flights in recent days”. Passengers can now book tickets on the Tehran-Bandar Abbas, Mashhad-Bandar Abbas and Bandar Abbas-Isfahan routes, in both directions.

Before the war, the airport handled 35 to 40 domestic and international flights a day, Tavassoli said. It has been repeatedly closed since the US launched its war on Iran.

Araghchi says talks with Oman and reopening of Hormuz are ‘two separate issues’

On the status of the talks with Oman, Araghchi said to Shahrara News:

• “Our negotiations with Oman are ongoing. That is a completely separate matter. It is a technical issue concerning the designation of maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz for the passage of ships.”
• “The routes that existed previously are no longer functional, so a new route needs to be defined. For now, we are designing a temporary route, which can then, at a later stage, be turned into a final route.”
• “We may reach an outcome soon, but I want to emphasize that these negotiations and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz are two separate issues. This is a technical negotiation concerning the designation of a maritime route.”
• “Once this route has been determined, whether the Strait will be reopened or not will depend on the fulfillment of other conditions to which the United States must adhere.”

The latest in the efforts to end the US-Israel war on Iran

Iran has said for weeks now that it is nearing a final pact with Oman that will define new shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz. But it maintains that any resumption of shipping still depends on the US meeting its conditions under the MoU signed in June.

Where things stand:

• Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday that Tehran and Oman “may reach an outcome soon” on a new route in the Strait of Hormuz. But Araghchi said those negotiations and the reopening of the waterway are “two separate issues”.
• He said: “Whether the strait will be reopened or not will depend on the fulfillment of other conditions” by the US, including ending sanctions and releasing Iranian assets.
• On Friday, Araghchi said “no decision” had been made yet on a return to talks with the US and Qatar and Pakistan were “exchanging messages” between the two nations.
• Trump, meanwhile, said that after “defeating Iran”, he would declare the Strait of Hormuz as US territory. Tehran responded by saying on X that the strait “has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian”.
• Separately, US officials said Washington can keep up its naval blockade of Iranian ports “indefinitely” and apply new economic measures to pressure Iran.
• This came after Trump signaled he would rather rely on squeezing Tehran’s economy than returning to a military offensive.

Iranian parliament to debate bills on foreign influence, oversight of Hormuz

Iran’s parliament is set to convene virtually later today to review key security and legal proposals, according to the IRIB state broadcaster.

It said lawmakers are scheduled to examine a bill to combat international crimes and a separate plan to counter foreign influence within the country. Members of the parliament’s National Security Committee will also study the details of a “Smart Management Plan” for the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for global oil and gas shipments, it said.

IRIB said today’s public session of the parliament will be held in a virtual format.

Iranian lawmaker warns Trump about ending up ‘hiding in a food truck’

Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran’s parliament, has mocked Trump over his claims about the Strait of Hormuz.

“The US President ought to worry about his own security rather than his endless bluffing regarding the Strait of Hormuz; before he ends up hiding in a food truck,” Azizi said in his latest post on X.

The jab follows recent remarks by Trump that “after we finish defeating Iran” he would soon declare the strait “a territory of the United States”.

Azizi’s reference to a food truck alluded to US media reports that Trump used a catering truck to switch from Air Force One to a smaller government plane during a visit to Ankara last month for the NATO summit due to concerns about an Iranian attack.

IRGC says 85 percent of air defense production survived war

An official with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says more than 85 percent of the force’s air defense production capacity remained undamaged during the war.

In an interview featured in a documentary published by Fars news agency, the official said despite attacks on Iran’s military production infrastructure, the rate of production and delivery of missiles and air defense systems had not fallen compared with levels before the conflict.

He said a large part of the IRGC’s air defence equipment is produced by the force’s own self-sufficiency organization and claimed that production in some areas had since increased.

The official also said Iran’s current stock of operational air defense systems was in a better position than it had been at the beginning of the fighting.

IRGC official says Iran developed ‘new’ air defence structure during war

An official with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says Iran adopted what he described as a “new air defence structure” during the war, changing elements of its command-and-control network, training and tactics.

The comments were made in a documentary released by the Fars news agency, in which the official said the overhaul was shaped by lessons from earlier fighting and represented a move away from what he called a more “classic” air defence model.

According to the official, the new structure included changes to tactics, equipment and technical procedures, as well as to the way information was gathered and shared across the air defence network.

He claimed the changes helped Iran keep more of its missile and air defence systems operational during the conflict.

Iran’s military pledges ‘complete defeat’ of US, Israel

The General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces says it will not back down until the “complete defeat” of its US and Israeli enemies in the region.

In a statement marking the anniversary of the 1990 return of Iranian prisoners of war from Iraq, the military body said the legacy of “resistance” had been passed to a new generation of Iranians who had stood against what it described as the world’s most heavily equipped military.

It said Iran would continue pursuing what it called the country’s legitimate rights and the demands of its leadership “until the enemy surrenders”.

The statement, carried by the Fars News Agency, also praised public support for Iran’s armed forces and accused the US of aggression and domination in the region.

Israel claims Iran planning phishing attacks targeting journalists

Israel’s Shin Bet security agency and National Cyber Directorate have warned of what they say is a new wave of targeted phishing attempts by Iranian intelligence operatives against journalists and media workers in Israel.

The agencies said the attempts were detected at an early stage and were aimed at obtaining sensitive information amid recent political and security developments.

According to a report by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan 11, citing the agencies, Iranian operatives approach journalists through messaging platforms, including WhatsApp and Telegram, sometimes impersonating known individuals and tailoring messages to their targets.

The messages may offer journalistic cooperation or interviews before directing the recipient to what appears to be an invitation for an online meeting.

The agencies said the links could lead to phishing pages seeking Google login details or to malicious files and links capable of compromising a victim’s phone.

Israeli security officials said the operations seek access to journalistic sources, correspondence and other information that could be used for intelligence gathering and influence operations.

"..approach journalists through messaging platforms, including WhatsApp and Telegram, sometimes impersonating known individuals and tailoring messages to their targets."

This is exactly what the Israelis have been doing since they started contacting reporters and journalists in Gaza.

Iran ‘truly won’ the war both militarily and politically: Ghalibaf

Iranian parliamentary leader Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has given his latest comments regarding the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.

Fars news agency:

• Iran “truly won” the war both militarily and politically.
• Ghalibaf described the conflict as a “cowardly war” led by the US and Israel, saying the Iranian people fought “bravely, manfully and sincerely.”
• He said the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the US was a “document of honor and victory” that consolidated Iran’s gains through diplomacy.

Flights from Iran’s Qeshm airport to resume on Wednesday

Flights from Iran’s Qeshm International Airport are scheduled to resume on Wednesday after a suspension caused by the war, according to Iran’s Fars News Agency.

The airport had been preparing to restart operations after authorities said the security situation in the region had stabilized.

Iran votes to further criminalise interviews with ‘hostile media’

Iran’s parliament has approved a bill that would criminalise interviews and other communications with media deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic, including US or Israeli media and outlets financed by either country, Iran’s Shargh newspaper reports.

Under the bill, which must still be reviewed by the Guardian Council before it can becomes law, interviews or participation in discussions with such media would be banned and violations punishable by six months to two years in prison.

Interviews with other foreign media would require notification to the intelligence ministry.

The move does not mark the first time Iran has criminalised cooperation with foreign entities. A law passed last year after the 12-day war with Israel and the US imposed tougher penalties for alleged cooperation with hostile states.

Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery was sentenced this month to 15 years under that law over allegations that included giving interviews to media deemed hostile and providing photographs to US and Israel-linked organisations.

Iran army chief to Trump: Hormuz defenders will ‘break your legs’

Iranian army commander Major General Amir Hatami has criticised US President Donald Trump over remarks about the Strait of Hormuz, according to IRIB.

“Joking about such remarks is a major mistake, because this is Iran, and it has defenders who will break your legs,” Hatami said.

He added that the US forces had “effectively been driven out” and no longer had permission to enter the Gulf, the Sea of Oman or the Strait of Hormuz.

Hatami also said US bases would not be allowed to return to their previous status, adding that “Iran will never allow this”.

Trump had threatened that he would turn the strait into a US territory.

Iran places $30,000 bounty on US soldiers

Iran has repeated announcements of a bounty for any Iranian who “kills or captures” an American soldier, according to reporting by state broadcaster IRIB.

Every person “who kills or captures and hands over an American aggressor…will receive a gift equivalent to $30,000,” army commander Major General Amir Hatami told reporters on Sunday.

Iran attempting to show protracted war bound to prove ‘too costly’ for the US

Talks have stalled between the US and Iran, with both sides accusing each other of violating the agreement due to expire on Monday.

If no agreement is reached, then Iran believes Trump “is willing for another final round of full-fledged war”, said Mostafa Khoshcheshm, professor at the University of Applied Science and Technology in Tehran.

In response, Iran is prepared to fight back but “time is pressuring both sides’ economies”.

Iran has more experience with that, as in the past 40 years it has dealt with sanctions and severe economic pressures, but Khoshcheshm believes Tehran thinks the US “is under increasing pressure because crude prices will go up as the winter season is getting close” and that is also around the time of the midterm elections.

“Tehran, I believe, is trying to convince the US that any kind of attack on Iran would be too costly to be waged,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat discusses regional issues with counterparts in Oman, Qatar

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud has held separate phone calls with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, as well as Oman’s top diplomat Badr Albusaidi.

That’s according to a statement from the Saudi Foreign Affairs Office.

The ministers discussed regional issues and the need for continued “coordination and consultation” between the countries to maintain security and stability in the region, the statement said.

Prompt reopening of Hormuz ‘extremely important’: Turkey's Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told Al Jazeera that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is a priority. Control of the waterway has been one of the key sticking points in the negotiations between the US and Iran.

“The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a serious global concern,” Erdogan said.

“This waterway is vital to international trade, particularly for oil and energy resources. It is, therefore, extremely important that the Strait of Hormuz be reopened as soon as possible.”

Turkey, he added, supports the “uninterrupted flow of global oil supplies”.

Shipping has largely come to a halt in the strait after Iran and the US resumed attacks against each other. The memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides back in June is set to expire on Monday.

Trump lacks viable ‘military option’ in negotiations with Iran

The Strait of Hormuz is vital to international trade, particularly for oil and gas exports, but with the MoU due to expire on Monday, concerns remain about the waterway’s future.

Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and specialist on US foreign policy and Iran, says that “we’re not going back to the situation before the war”.

“The question is whether a new arrangement can be devised that will satisfy the Iranians and that will be sufficient for the United States to call off its blockade,” she said.

“Everyone is trying desperately to get this resolved, but Iran is playing hardball here, clearly furious at the Trump administration for, in its view, not fulfilling the MoU … and they’re making the international economy, and…Trump sweat.”

She ruled out the possibility of the US launching a ground invasion: “Trump is not that crazy…he doesn’t have a military option…he only has a diplomatic and an economic option”.

CENTCOM Commander Cooper says USS Lincoln visit was ‘awe-inspiring’

Brad Cooper, who oversees the US war effort against Iran, says that his recent visit ⁠to the USS Lincoln was “awe-inspiring” and hailed the crew’s “resilience” following reports of ‌concerns about mental health and deteriorating conditions aboard the ship enforcing the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement CENTCOM posted to X, ⁠Admiral Cooper said while prolonged ⁠service at sea is “uniquely challenging and tough”, he noted ⁠that the Lincoln had ⁠the lowest ⁠number of mental health cases of the Navy’s 11 active ‌aircraft carriers, and praised the carrier’s leadership ‌for ‌prioritising mental health and crew resilience.

The San Diego-based carrier deployed in November last year, 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.

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

Trump is fueling the suspicion that this is the reason why the USS Lincoln was deployed to the Mediterranean, and certainly will sail to the Red Sea.

Iran parliament speaker says US used more firepower in Iran than on Vietnam

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said the US used more firepower on Iran than it did during the Vietnam War.

He was speaking at an event aired by state broadcaster IRIB.

Ghalibaf also said Tehran must reach a “point of deterrence” to ensure it is not caught in a cycle of war and peace.

Qatar’s top diplomat discusses regional tensions with Saudi, Jordanian, Syrian counterparts

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a series of statements about telephone calls between the country’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, and the top diplomats of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.

It also said that in each conversation, the expiring US-Iranian MoU was discussed, along with the importance of guaranteeing “freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.

Trump hails Saudi-Turkiye-Pakistan defense pact

US President Trump says he is, “Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement”, in a post on Truth Social.

He said the trilateral deal, “shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way. Congratulations to the Great Leadership of the three Nations mentioned. THIS IS A BIG, BOLD, AND IMPORTANT FIRST STEP — WOW!”

US-Iran MoU to expire on Monday

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that since the US had violated the memorandum of understanding and continued its attacks, “there was no 60-day ceasefire that needed to be extended”.

He said the 60 days referred to in the memorandum were intended as a window for negotiations aimed at reaching a final agreement, not as the duration of a ceasefire.

The recent reshuffle in Iran’s national security apparatus suggests a tougher stance in future talks and less willingness to back down, particularly on control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier this month, for instance, the former head of the IRGC, Mohsen Rezaei, was named as the new head of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s top security body. The move is meant to better synchronize military and civilian operations, according to analysts.

Rezaei's appointment, along with other recent leadership changes, “shows Iran believes it has the upper hand”, Mostafa Khoshcheshm, professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Tehran, said.

Any new talks would likely see Iran coming to the table with more demands, he said, from ending the war in Gaza to lifting sanctions and a blockade of Yemen, even calling for the denuclearization of Israel.

Expiration of ‘stillborn’ MoU meaningless

Alan Eyre, a former senior US diplomat who served as a key member of the negotiating team for the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, says the expiration of the memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran in June does not signify much, because the deal was dead on arrival.

“It is not as if either side feels beholden to it. Both sides realise that it almost died stillborn,” Eyre said. It “was violated almost a minute after it was signed, so I don’t think either side is going to reinitiate hostilities just because the MoU expired”.

“We’re still in this deadlock where the US is blockading Iranian ports, and Iran is keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed, and that seems to be continuing,” he added.

Tehran has decided against any deal with Washington because it wants to maximize pressure on Trump, according to Eyre. “The Iranian leadership, which is more hard line and more radical than the one we killed in late February, has decided that they want to increase the pain on the US and not give President Trump relief as the US heads into the midterms.”

“The default position now for Iran is to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed just to increase the pain on the United States.”

"..the deal was dead on arrival.."

On July 13, 2026, Trump ended the ceasefire with Iran thereby having killed the memorandum.

Trump left with ‘bad and worse’ options on Iran

Alan Eyre, a former senior US diplomat who served as a key member of the negotiating team for the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement says Trump has no good options left on Iran.

“He just has bad and worse,” Eyre said.

Eyre says the least bad option for the US “is ceding Iran control of the Strait” of Hormuz by “allowing Iran to control the flow of maritime traffic in and out of the strait in the hopes that it increases the vital maritime flow through the strait”.

“But it seems that even now that’s not possible, because Iran wants to maintain and increase the economic pressure” on the US, he said.

Trump orders reduction of US military drills with S Korea, says Seoul declined to help in Iran

The US president has instructed the Pentagon to reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, adding that Seoul had declined to join Washington in “the denuclearization” of Iran.

“Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful.”

Trump said it was too late to cancel the drills this year, which are due to start today, but that he has instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” them.

“While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!'”