Deadlock over Hormuz as Iran, US both claim control over strait

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Israel and Lebanon have agreed on Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia as potential contributors to a proposed mechanism that could see foreign troops deployed to Lebanon to verify Hezbollah's disarmament, people familiar with the matter said.

The shortlist emerged from US-mediated talks in Rome last week, the latest round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon on implementing a June agreement that ties Israel's phased withdrawal from Lebanon to the disarmament of Hezbollah.

The countries could help define the mechanism's scope, provide personnel to oversee its implementation or contribute troops to observe or take part in inspections verifying disarmament, three sources said.

A Lebanese official told Reuters on Friday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed on a list of potential countries that could send troops to verify disarmament, but declined to identify them, saying the US would decide which of them would take part.

Israel and Lebanon in late June agreed to a US-mediated framework as part of Washington's efforts to end the latest round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, triggered in March when the Lebanese group attacked Israel following the US and Israeli war against Iran.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States is in control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz and will "keep it."

"The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. "Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, 'A WALL OF STEEL,' and there is nothing Iran can do about it."

Twenty-six nations, including France, the UK and Canada, on Wednesday condemned the use of capital punishment by Iranian authorities, saying in a joint statement the Islamic republic was executing protesters to "silence dissent".

The countries, joined by the European Union's top diplomat, "condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing executions of protesters and use of the death penalty" by Iran. "The use of capital punishment to silence dissent, intimidate communities, and punish individuals exercising their human rights can never be justified".

Kuwait's interior ministry said on Wednesday it foiled a terrorist scheme to attack a vital facility in the country, the state news agency KUNA reported.

The ministry said one national was arrested as he it was affiliated with Islamic State before carrying out any attack. 

Israeli warplanes have carried out air strikes on the town of al-Mansouri in  southern Lebanon, according to the National News Agency.

Israel has attacked Lebanon on a near-daily basis despite an alleged ceasefire agreement. 

As the Iran war draws away naval resources, Somali pirates are exploiting weaker security, economic hardship, and a growing pool of vulnerable ships, reports Faisal Ali.

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The New York Times claimed in a report that the Iran government knew US President Donald Trump's exact location in Ankara last month for the NATO summit, including the specific floor of his hotel building, according to information obtained by US intelligence at the time.

US intelligence also had information about alleged plans to fire a missile at Air Force One

NYT claims the threat's credibility led to the decision to secretly move Trump away from the Turkish capital.

The dollar ticked higher on Wednesday, underpinned by renewed Gulf tensions, with markets focused on upcoming U.S. economic data for signals on the Fed's policy trajectory.

Oil prices edged up after the United States and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping on Tuesday, with Tehran saying the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington accepts its conditions.

Investors buy the safe-haven dollar when concerns about the economic impact of the energy shock from the Iran war intensify.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will conduct a two-day visit to Egypt on Thursday, according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency.

Fidan is expected to exchange views on the implementation of the second phase of the 15-point Gaza deal and address the risks to regional stability posed by Israel's attacks across Palestine, as well as its aggressive actions against Lebanon and Syria, it said.

He is expected to express support for diplomatic efforts aimed at re-establishing a ceasefire between the US and Iran and reopening the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible, the agency added.

Yemen’s Houthis launched new ballistic missile attacks on the port of Mocha near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in southwestern Yemen, according to state media.

The attack comes a day after Yemeni government forces said the Houthis had launched 10 ballistic missiles and four drones at Mocha city. 

Senior Iranian source tells Reuters there are no discussions over extending ceasefire between Iran and US.

From Iran's perspective, the source said, there is no ceasefire start date, therefore nothing to extend. 

At least 174 Palestinian children–or "more than one child every week"–has been killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces, including occupied East Jerusalem, since January 2024, according to UNICEF.

Lebanon's parliament passes a sweeping and long-awaited amnesty law that should benefit thousands of prisoners and wanted people, in the first legislation of its kind since 1991.

The office of the speaker of parliament announces the "approval of a draft law aimed at granting a general amnesty and exceptionally reducing the terms of certain sentences," which had been a demand of various political factions and a topic of debate for years in Lebanon.

Oil from a vast slick leaking from the grounded tanker Caroline Bezengi is reported to be reaching Oman's mainland, the UN's shipping agency said on Wednesday.

"Oil is drifting offshore to the northeast of (Oman's) Al-Qibliyyah Island, with some oil reported to be reaching the mainland. Oil spill contingency planning is in place," a spokesperson at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said.

The slick off a nature reserve in Oman has created a slick covering almost 400 square kilometres, the country's government said on Monday.

The tanker was carrying around 800,000 barrels of oil from Russia bound for Asia grounded off the coast of Oman on June 30 and is around 22 nautical miles off Oman's fishing village of Sharbithat, the IMO spokesperson said.

"Oil has been leaking from the vessel for some time. The seasonal monsoon has limited access to the vessel and delayed salvage operations," the IMO spokesperson said, adding that the agency was closely monitoring the leak. 

German travel giant TUI said Wednesday that bookings were returning to normal levels despite the ongoing Mideast war, as it presented its latest financial results.

Tourism in Europe is experiencing a turbulent summer marked by soaring jet fuel prices because of the US and Israeli war against Iran, as well as heatwaves and wildfires in Spain, France, Portugal and Greece.

Though booked revenue for the summer was down six percent from the same season last year, TUI, the world's largest travel group, said bookings over the past four weeks had risen seven percent.

But TUI shares were down than three percent in early Frankfurt trading, after it reported net profit of 124.2 million euros ($143.1 million) in the latest quarter, down 44.7 percent from the period last year.

The company noted renewed interest in Eastern Mediterranean destinations as holidaymakers return to the region after months of geopolitical uncertainty.

"Business is coming back, it's normalising," chief executive Sebastian Ebel said on an earnings call. "We have seen strong weeks."

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday sharply reduced its forecast for global oil demand this year, as supplies remain crimped by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and high prices deter buyers.

Demand is expected to slump by 1.6 million barrels per day (mb/d), compared with its forecast slump of one million barrels in its previous monthly report in July.

Crude prices have remained well above levels seen before the US and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, sparking a war that has seen oil infrastructure damaged in several Gulf countries.

Tehran also responded by effectively shutting down tanker and cargo traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which around one-fifth of global oil supplies usually transit.

"The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz and elevated fuel prices continue to weigh on oil consumption," the Paris-based IEA said.

More Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks despite a ceasefire.

At least two Palestinians have been injured in new Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, and one body was retrieved from the rubble of previous attacks, according to the Gaza's health ministry.

Israel has killed at least 1,259 Palestinians and injured 4,148 others since last October's "ceasefire", the ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

Israel's genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 73,388 Palestinians and injured 174,259 since October 2023, it added.

According to the Lebanon's state media, President Joseph Aoun met on Wednesday with US Gen. Joseph Clearfield, head of the Military Coordination Group for Lebanon (MCG4L), to discuss steps toward implementing the alleged framework agreement reached through Lebanese-US-Israeli negotiations in Washington.

US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and several members of Clearfield’s team attended the meeting.

According to a statement from the Lebanese presidency, the discussions focused on how to implement the framework agreement, after talks Clearfield held in Israel last week.

Oil prices rose again Wednesday and stock markets were mixed, with eyes on the release of key US inflation data that could guide the Federal Reserve on its plans for interest rates.

Traders trod nervously ahead of the consumer price index (CPI) figures, which follow a report last week showing the world's top economy lost more than 20,000 jobs last month, suggesting the labour market was slackening.

With inflation stubbornly elevated above the Fed's two percent target for more than five years—compounded by the Iran war since February—monetary policymakers are increasingly considering lifting borrowing costs.

Pakistan's interior minister is visiting Iran to discuss regional security, stability and other developments, the foreign office said on Wednesday.

"He is discussing bilateral relations, security, regional security and stability, and constructive engagement amongst the parties in the region and regional developments," foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi, whose government has been mediating to end the fighting in the region, told reporters in Islamabad.

Three Pakistani citizens were killed in an attack by Houthi rebels on a vessel in the Red Sea, the South Asian nation's foreign minister said on Wednesday.

"Three Pakistani nationals have lost their lives and one has sustained injuries in the incident," minister Ishaq Dar posted on X, a day after Yemen's coastguard confirmed Houthi strikes on a vessel killed at least six people off the country's coast.

Colombia's decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights has triggered condemnation across the Middle East, with Arab governments accusing Bogota of legitimising Israel's decades-long occupation and defying international law.

The move makes Colombia only the second UN member state, after the United States, to recognise Israel's claim to Syrian territory it seized by force in 1967 and later unilaterally annexed in a move rejected by the international community.

Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt condemned the recognition on Tuesday, stressing that a declaration by Bogota cannot alter the Golan Heights' status as occupied Syrian territory.

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Israeli forces conducted several explosions in southern Lebanon overnight, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Two large explosions in the town of Haddatha, as well as a "massive explosion" in the Bint Jbeil district were reported.

The tally of vessels tracked in the Strait of Hormuz fell to a one-week low of eight on Tuesday, shipping data showed, as owners avoided the key waterway amid continued hostilities in the Middle East.

The United States and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks as prospects appeared to dim for an end to the Iran war, with Tehran saying the strait would stay closed unless Washington accepted its conditions.

Tuesday's tally of eight vessels fell below a 10-day average of about 12, for the lowest daily count since August 5, Kpler data showed. Only one, a coal carrier, exited the strait, while the rest were still making their way through.

The seven entering all took the Iranian route.