US-Iran war Highlights: Iran threatens to keep Strait of Hormuz closed until US ends war, unfreezes funds

The US will sponsor the next round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome in early September.

Talks will continue in Beirut, Jerusalem and Washington before the next Rome meeting.

The US says the framework agreed in June is progressing, with the first pilot zones now operational.

The framework includes the disarmament of Hezbollah, a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army.

At the next technical talks, Lebanon will present detailed plans for securing additional areas as implementation expands.

The latest Rome talks were the seventh round of US-sponsored negotiations.

A US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired missiles at the engine room of the Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova after its crew allegedly ignored repeated warnings.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the vessel was disabled and stopped from travelling to Iran in violation of the US blockade.

The incident marks the third time US forces have forcibly stopped a vessel since the Iranian ports blockade was reinstated on July 14.

CENTCOM said US forces have redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to breach the blockade and boarded two others.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said the strait will remain closed as long as the US does not change its behaviour.

Tehran wants the US to end the war before the Strait of Hormuz can reopen.

Rezaei said the US must also unfreeze Iranian funds held overseas.

Additional Iranian conditions have been communicated to Washington through mediators, according to Rezaei.

Rezaei's comments were reported by Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Oil prices held near a one-week high on Tuesday as markets assessed developments in talks between Oman and Iran over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude rose 12 cents, or 0.1%, to $87.84 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained seven cents, or 0.1%, to $82.20.

Both benchmarks had closed at their highest levels since July 31 on Monday.

Qatar said talks between Oman and Iran on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz were at an advanced stage.

The outlook remains uncertain after an exchange of demands between the US and Iran complicated efforts to reopen the crucial waterway.

An alleged Houthi missile strike on a cargo vessel near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait off southern Yemen killed at least four people, Yemen's internationally recognised government said Tuesday.

The attack targeted the cargo ship Tihamah, which was reportedly carrying food supplies.

Yemen's Transport Ministry said the Houthis launched three successive ballistic-missile strikes on the vessel while it was sailing through the strategic waterway.

The attack triggered a fire on board the ship, killing four crew members — three Pakistanis and one Indonesian.

Four other crew members were injured, along with a member of the rescue team, according to the Yemeni government.

The incident marks the latest fatal attack on commercial shipping in the Red Sea since the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia last month.

The attack comes amid a broader escalation between the Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government.

Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi travelled to Tehran for talks with Iranian officials amid efforts to mediate an end to the ongoing US-Iran conflict.

Iran's state news agency IRNA, citing a diplomatic source, reported that Naqvi left for Tehran early Tuesday.

The talks are expected to focus on bilateral relations and issues of mutual interest.

The visit comes about a month after Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni travelled to Islamabad and held talks with Naqvi.

Pakistan has been attempting to mediate between Washington and Tehran, with support from Gulf countries including Qatar.

Naqvi's Tehran visit comes as Pakistan seeks to revive diplomatic channels between Iran and the US and prevent further escalation.

The Strait of Hormuz remains a major obstacle to efforts to de-escalate the conflict, with its closure disrupting regional and global shipping.

The United States and Iran appear to be moving closer to a possible agreement, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in an interview with Bloomberg News published on Tuesday.

Asif said recent signals suggested that negotiations between Washington and Tehran were again moving towards a possible peace arrangement or deal.

“Things are shaping up again in favour of a peace arrangement or a deal,” Asif said.

“The signals in the last two three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement,” he added.

His comments come as diplomatic efforts continue to ease tensions between the US and Iran. Pakistan has been involved in efforts to facilitate dialogue between the two sides.

Asif did not provide details about the possible terms of an agreement or indicate when a deal could be reached. His remarks nevertheless suggest that Islamabad sees renewed momentum in the negotiations.

A rocket attack struck a camp belonging to an Iranian Kurdish opposition group northeast of Erbil in northern Iraq on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing security officials.

The security sources blamed Iran for the attack. No casualties were reported following the incident.

The camp is located in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, which has previously been targeted in strikes involving Iranian Kurdish opposition groups. The latest attack comes amid heightened regional tensions and follows several earlier attacks on such camps near Erbil.

Negotiations between Oman and Iran have reached an advanced stage, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The spokesperson said both countries had provided positive feedback on the discussions, signalling progress in the ongoing negotiations.

“We have heard positive feedback from both countries,” the spokesperson said, without providing further details on the talks or the issues under discussion.

emen’s Iran-backed Houthi group has defended its attacks on Saudi-linked ships, saying the operations were carried out in response to Saudi attacks on Yemen.

Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the group’s chief negotiator, said the attacks were a response to strikes on Yemen, including a July 13 attack on Sanaa airport.

Abdul-Salam said the Houthis had observed a truce and refrained from attacking Saudi Arabia for four years. However, he accused Riyadh of using the period to increase economic pressure on Yemen.

He said the Houthis remained open to negotiations but accused Saudi Arabia of rejecting dialogue while preparing for further military action.

A container ship was involved in an incident with military forces in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

UKMTO said authorities were aware of the incident and an investigation was underway. A map accompanying its advisory placed the incident south of Gwadar, Pakistan.

The maritime body initially described the vessel as a tanker but later clarified that it was a container ship.

No further details were immediately available about the vessel, the military forces involved or the nature of the incident.

A cargo ship is believed to have been targeted in the Red Sea, according to maritime security sources.

The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear, including the condition and whereabouts of the vessel’s crew.

Germany’s embassy in Tehran remains on emergency operations due to the security situation in Iran, the German Foreign Office said on Tuesday. Its visa section is closed to regular visitors, with no new visa appointments being issued until further notice. However, national visa applications already submitted through the embassy or its external service provider will continue to be processed where capacity allows.

A tanker was involved in an incident with military forces in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. The incident occurred south of Gwadar, Pakistan, with authorities investigating. No further details were immediately available.

A Syrian court convicted former President Bashar al-Assad of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to death on Tuesday in a case over killings, torture and arbitrary detention during the government's crackdown on protests that began in 2011.

Iran will bring back 95 million cubic metres of gas to its production cycle by the end of September, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Tuesday according to the oil ministry's news outlet.

InterContinental Hotels Group's room revenue growth slowed in the second quarter as a sharp decline in the Middle East offset continued gains in the United States and China.

Israeli forces fired 455 projectiles into southern Lebanon and breached Lebanese airspace 97 times between Friday and Sunday, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported, marking one of the heaviest periods of fire recorded in months.

Gold ticked lower on Tuesday after hitting its highest level in more than two months, while investors focused on upcoming inflation data for clues on the US interest-rate outlook.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday as negotiations between the United States and Iran over a peace deal and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz hit an impasse, while Asian shares drifted on protracted uncertainty over the global inflation outlook.