New posts
15:19
Iran Denies Negotiations With US Taking Place
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has said that there are currently no negotiations under way between Iran and the United States.
In his weekly meeting with reporters on August 3, Baghaei said that what is currently under way are bilateral negotiations between Iran and Oman.
His remarks come as US President Donald Trump announced that talks with Iran will resume on August 3.
In response to Trump’s remarks, Baghaei said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will be traveling to Najaf to take part in the Shia Muslim pilgrimage of Arbaeen. “and the rest of the negotiating team is in Iran.”
A senior Iranian source also told Reuters that no talks were planned and that Araqchi would be unavailable at least until the end of the week.
Hassan Qashqavi, the spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran’s parliament, said that there is currently “no discussion” with the United States.
In an interview published by the Iran’s state-run ISNA news agency, Qashqavi said that the Iranian government is not negotiating with Washington, especially on the nuclear issue.
Qashqavi said that the Islamic republic’s current priority is “the lifting of primary and secondary sanctions in [the US] Congress and the return of Iran’s frozen assets.”
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
03:17
Oil Prices Fall Sharply On Optimism Of Renewed Middle East Talks
Oil declined sharply early on August 3 as hopes of peace in the Middle East rose again following the latest remarks by US President Donald Trump.
The benchmark Brent crude futures fell more than 6 percent to $82.41 a barrel after Trump claimed that talks with Iran will restart on August 3. West Texas Intermediate fell 467 percent to $80.72 a barrel.
He also said he had called off an imminent “massive” attack on Iran as deals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse over Tehran’s nuclear capabilities were in the works, although he did not provide details.
The war, which began with US-Israeli air strikes on Iran at the end of February, has caused oil prices to swing sharply — going up when attacks intensified and falling when hope of a negotiated settlement resurfaced.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
00:34
Trump Says Iran Talks To Resume August 3 After Calling Off ‘Biggest Attack Since WWII
US President Donald Trump said he called off the biggest attack since World War II against Iran following a plea from Tehran and requests from US Gulf allies, adding that peace negotiations would resume on August 3, with a deal on the crucial Strait of Hormuz imminent.
“Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow [August 3] afternoon,he told reporterson Air Force One on August 2.
Trump did not discuss the participants or a venue for any fresh negotiations. Qatar and Pakistan have been acting as mediators in talks between Washington and Tehran. On July 30, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry saidno high-level meetingwas scheduled in Doha in the coming days following earlier remarks by Trump.
“I’d love to [make a deal],” Trump said. “It would save a lot of lives…So we had an attack that would have been the biggest attack since World War II and it would have been disastrous for them. And they didn’t want us to do it.”
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on August 2.
He said he was asked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, along with Iran, to call off the planned air strikes on Iran. Trump said Tehran asked “very strongly” to hold off. “They said we want to make a deal,” he added.
“We were all set to go, at about this time right now, and it would have been a massive attack.”
“But when the allies asked to call it off…and the reason they did is because they think there’s a deal. There’s a deal on Hormuz and there will be a deal on the…denuclearization of Iran.”
“A deal is imminent having to do with the Hormuz Strait and also, ultimately, the denuclearization of Iran,” he said.
The remarks followed up on comments he made a day earlier when he said had decided to “hold off” on fresh attacks because “the perimeters” of a deal had been agreed to with Tehran and that Israel was joining him in the commitment.
“The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II. Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to,” Trump posted onTruth Sociallate on August 1.
SEE ALSO:
Trump Says He Called Off Impending Attack On Iran, Insists Deal Is Close
“This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”
“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” he wrote.
Trump has often threatened major attacks on Iran only to call them off, claiming an agreement between Washington and Tehran was imminent. Until now, a lasting peace agreement has been elusive, with tit-for-tat strikes by both sides resuming.
However, according to Iranian media, military sources in Iran denied Trump’s claim that Tehran had asked Washington to refrain from launching new attacks.
Irans Mehr News Agency on August 2 quoted the unnamed sources as saying Trump’s statement was “simply a new lie” and an attempt to “blackmail the rulers of the Persian Gulf and pressure them with threats.”
Tehran did not immediately comment on the latest remarks regarding resumption of talks on August 3.
Although Trump initially said the elimination of Tehran’s nuclear threat was the major aim of the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28, in recent weeks he has focused on the free flow of traffic through the important Strait of Hormuz.
More than 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies moved through the strait prewar, but Iran has at times effectively shut down the waterway, including with attacks on ships it said had not received proper approval from Tehran. Iran has also threatened to impose fees or tolls on ships in the strait.
The United States and other countries have insisted the strait is an international waterway and is not under the control of any nation.
Washington and Tehran signed a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MOU) on June 17 aimed at ending hostilities and reopening the strait. However, disputes over the meaning of the terms in the agreement have led to fresh attacks by both sides.
Early on August 3, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it received areport of an incidentinvolving a tanker some 20 nautical miles northeast of the Omani port of Khasab.
UKMTO said the master of a tanker reported hearing an explosion near the vessel, adding that the ship and its crew were safe.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen in recent weeks opened a new front in the war by targeting oil facilities and striking oil tankers in the Red Sea as part of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, threatening to create a second chokepoint on global oil supplies after the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
21:06
2.8.2026
US Continues Maritime Blockade Of Iran As Tehran, Muscat Discuss New Route
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, July 31, 2026.
The US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said on August 2 that its naval forces had redirected 35 commercial vessels, disabled two, and boarded two others in Middle Eastern waters amid Washington’s resumed maritime blockade of Iran.
The CENTCOM update came as Iranian officials said Iran was in the final stages of talks with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz, with negotiators from the two countries trying to work out a joint mechanism to manage the strait.
However, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the “understanding between Iran and Oman” did not mean the key waterway would be reopened and instead concerned an “unrelated” new route.
Baqaei blamed the difficulties in reopening the Strait on the United States, saying that, because of Washington’s maritime blockade, reopening it was “an entirely different equation.”
Map: The Strait Of Hormuz
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has long been one of the central issues in the war between the United States and Iran and one of the main obstacles to a negotiated settlement aimed at ending the broader conflict in the Middle East.
From the early days of the war, Tehran kept access to the waterway restricted, disrupting global oil markets and sending prices soaring. In the following months, it also sought to impose a toll on vessels passing through the Strait, a move that the United States described as unacceptable.
With reporting by Reuters and CNN.Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
16:09
2.8.2026
Iran Executes 19-Year-Old Arrested During January Protests, Right Group Says
A demonstrator wears a sticker over her mouth with the words “no execution” prior to a silent march denouncing the Iranian government’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters, on January 31 in Paris.
Iranian authorities have executed a 19-year-old man who was arrested during nationwide protests that began in late December and spread across the country in January, according to a US-based rights group.
Arvin Kheirkhahan was executed at about 4 a.m. on August 1 at Shahrud Prison in Iran’s Semnan Province, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported, citing a source close to his family.
Kheirkhahan had been sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Shahrud Revolutionary Court on a charge of “enmity against God,” according to HRANA. The sentence was upheld during the appeals process and by Irans Supreme Court, the group said.
Kheirkhahan was transferred to solitary confinement on July 29 ahead of his execution, according to Iran International.
His family gathered outside the prison on July 31 in an attempt to prevent the sentence from being carried out.
In a final conversation with his family, Kheirkhahan reportedly said: “Don’t let them forget me. We stood up for the liberation of our homeland. Don’t let the path we chose be silenced.”
To read the full report, clickhere.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
13:20
2.8.2026
Iran Media Says Tehran Did Not Ask Trump To Halt Attacks
Iranian military sources have denied US President Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran had asked Washington to refrain from launching new attacks, Irans Mehr News Agency reported on August 2.
Mehr, a conservative outlet, quoted the unnamed sources as saying Trump’s statement was “simply a new lie” and an attempt to “blackmail the rulers of the Persian Gulf and pressure them with threats.”
The sources said Iranian forces were at the highest level of readiness and prepared for any eventuality. They added that if a confrontation became inevitable, “the battlefield will be decisive,” regardless of whether the United States continued its attacks or retreated.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform on August 1 that “we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack” because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
He said the deal would include the “Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT” and an end to Iran’s “nuclear threat.”
“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” Trump wrote.
Trump did not identify who he claimed had made the request on Iran’s behalf.
Separately, Iran’s Fars news agency — which is affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps — cited a source close to Iranian negotiators as saying the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed as long as “US hostile actions” continued.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
13:05
2.8.2026
Iran’s Cinema House Urges President to End Pressure On Filmmakers
Documentarian Sepideh Abtahi is one of the filmmakers who has reportedly been arrested. (file photo)
Iran’s Cinema House, the country’s main professional organization representing filmmakers and cinema workers, has urged President Masud Pezeshkian to halt the summoning of filmmakers by judicial authorities and establish a committee to investigate the cases.
In a letter to the president, the organization’s board criticized what it described as the treatment of filmmakers and members of Iran’s cultural and artistic community by some state institutions. It called for the suspension of summonses and other legal actions against artists, warning such measures risk deepening social divisions at a time when officials are emphasizing “national unity.”
The letter, published by the Cinema House’s public relations office, urged Pezeshkian to intervene in his role as the official responsible for upholding Iran’s constitution.
The appeal comes amid growing pressure on Iran’s film community.
In recent months, filmmaker Samira Norouzi Naseri and documentary filmmaker Sepideh Abtahi were reportedly been arrested. In June, around 30 filmmakers were reportedly summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor’s Office over their public positions on the authorities’ crackdown on the January protests.
Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on August 2 that Pezeshkian had issued “the necessary orders” to follow up on the Cinema House’s concerns.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
11:37
2.8.2026
Iran’s Acting Defense Minister Says Tehran Taking All Threats Seriously
Iran’s acting defense minister, Majid Ebn-e-Reza, said on August 2 that Tehran regards any military threat as credible, after President Donald Trump warned of possible new US strikes against Iran.
“From our perspective, any threat is a real and significant threat,” Ebn-e-Reza said, according to Iranian state media.
He said Iran was prepared for such threats and would use them to strengthen its military readiness, deterrence and capabilities.
Ebn-e-Reza was appointed acting defense minister on March 2, after his predecessor, Aziz Nasirzadeh, was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28.
His comments came after Trump said he was considering further military action against Iran. On August 1, however, Trump said he would pause a potential new attack to allow more time for negotiations.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
11:12
2.8.2026
Saudi PM Urges De-Escalation In Call With Trump
Saudi Arabia’s prime minister, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, urged de-escalation in the US-Iran war during a phone call with US President Donald Trump, the Saudi Press Agencyreportedon August 2.
The two leaders discussed “developments in the region and their regional and international implications,” the report said.
Al Saud “stressed the need to prioritize dialogue to reduce escalation and the importance of making every possible effort to achieve calm that paves the way for diplomatic solutions, preserves the region’s security and stability, and prevents a wider conflict whose repercussions would affect regional and international security and stability,” it continued.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
05:33
2.8.2026
We are now closing the live blog for the day. We’ll be back tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
LinkedIn
Email
Share
Load more
