Iran and Oman inch closer to Hormuz deal, as Trump warns of more attacks if diplomacy fails

Israeli settlers attacked a small Palestinian community in the West Bank, injuring people, destroying homes and smashing their power source, residents said Thursday, in the latest in a spate of a series of Israeli pogroms. 

AFP journalists in remote Khirbet al-Tuba saw buildings blackened by fire and smoke, the interiors of three homes completely burned and graffiti in Hebrew spray-painted on remaining structures.

The dozen solar panels the isolated southern community relies on for power had also been smashed to render them unusable.

Radwan Abu Jundi, whose house was torched, told AFP that about 40 Israeli settlers attacked the hamlet at around 10 pm.

"The settlers started throwing stones. We rushed to protect the women, but they got to my wife and daughter and beat them," he said.

"Then they started spraying something and setting the room on fire. The pictures tell the whole story."

Locals said that five people were wounded in the attack, including Abu Jundi's wife and daughter, as well as another child.

The seventh round of Lebanon-Israel talks in Rome has ended, according to Lebanese media.

The meeting had focused on Lebanese prisoners held by Israel, expanding proposed "pilot zones", and limiting Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Israeli prosecutors on Thursday charged a fundamentalist Jewish settler over the murder of a Palestinian community leader last year in the occupied West Bank—the first indictment of an Israeli settler in a Palestinian's death in nearly three years.

In an indictment filed by the State Attorney's office, Yinon Levi is charged with reckless manslaughter in the death of Owdeh Hathaleen, a prominent activist who was involved in the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary "No Other Land".

The charges against Levi also include armed trespassing and malicious property damage during a July 2025 incident in which settlers operated a large excavator in the Palestinian village of Umm al-Khair, setting off a confrontation with residents.

Hathaleen filmed the moment he was shot during the confrontation. Footage released by the Israeli rights group B'Tselem shows Levi draw a weapon and fire in Hathaleen's direction. Hathaleen is then heard moaning as he falls to the ground.

"The decision to indict Yinon Levi is the exception that proves the rule. The impunity Israel grants to soldiers and settlers who harm Palestinians is not a failure of the system — it is a central component of a policy designed to allow the violence to continue and escalate," B'Tselem said.

UN rights experts on Thursday urged Iran to end what they called the escalating arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture and arbitrary executions of ethnic minorities.

The Kurdish and Baluch minorities are particularly affected, they said in a statement.

"Iran's ethnic minorities must be able to live in safety and dignity, free from discrimination," the experts said.

In late December, a protest movement initially sparked by the high cost of living rapidly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations.

The UN experts said that since the protests began, the Iranian authorities had reportedly detained thousands of individuals.

"Reports point to a significant increase in arbitrary arrests, and what appears to be politically motivated sentences, including against individuals from ethnic minorities, who are often arrested under broadly defined national security charges," the experts said.

The third round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon opened in Rome.

According to Lebanese network LBCI reported, citing sources, a key focus this day for Lebanon is a list of Lebanese citizens who were abducted by Israel.

According to Israeli media two Ashkelon residents were arrested for carrying out “espionage missions on behalf of Iranian intelligence” in exchange for cryptocurrency.

Israeli citizen Tamerlan Amshukov and Ukrainian citizen Alina Kushnirko were arrested last month and were indicted today at the Tel Aviv District Court, Israeli police and the Shin Bet say in a statement.

Amshukov was in contact with an Iranian agent "over the past few months" and received thousands of shekels to go to Eilat and buy an advanced phone with a high-resolution camera that he used to photograph "sensitive sites," including the Eilat port and Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery and museum, according to the statement.

The statement also does not specify the amount the two allegedly received, or their alleged means of communication with the Iranian agent.

Dozens of people in Israel have been arrested in recent months on suspicion of spying for Iran, often in exchange for several hundred dollars from agents contacted via the Telegram chat app.

According to Israeli media two Ashkelon residents were arrested for carrying out “espionage missions on behalf of Iranian intelligence” in exchange for cryptocurrency.

Israeli citizen Tamerlan Amshukov and Ukrainian citizen Alina Kushnirko were arrested last month and were indicted today at the Tel Aviv District Court, Israeli police and the Shin Bet say in a statement.

Amshukov was in contact with an Iranian agent "over the past few months" and received thousands of shekels to go to Eilat and buy an advanced phone with a high-resolution camera that he used to photograph "sensitive sites," including the Eilat port and Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery and museum, according to the statement.

The statement also does not specify the amount the two allegedly received, or their alleged means of communication with the Iranian agent.

Dozens of people in Israel have been arrested in recent months on suspicion of spying for Iran, often in exchange for several hundred dollars from agents contacted via the Telegram chat app.

At least 30 Yemeni government troops were killed in Houthi attacks on military camps in the provinces of Marib and Hadramout, government sources told Reuters on Thursday.

The sources added that the death toll could rise. 

Once celebrated as Palestine's fig capital, the village of Tel now faces growing Israeli settlement expansion, and a threat to its future.

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Currency markets drifted on Thursday with the Japanese yen retracing some intervention-led gains and the dollar edging away from a six-week low, as investors awaited more details on a proposed US-Iran deal and looked ahead to Friday's US jobs report.

The yen was a touch softer at 157.85 per dollar following modest declines over the past two sessions. It has now given back some intervention-driven gains after touching 155.20 per dollar on Monday, but remains well off a multi-decade low of almost 164 reached in July.

"Stretched positioning, the involvement of the US and the fact that the yen is historically undervalued all suggest that the current round of intervention has a better chance of propping up the yen for longer than some previous ones," said Jonas Goltermann, chief markets economist at Capital Economics.

One person has been killed and five others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the past day, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

At least 1,254 Palestinians have been killed and 4,121 injured in Israeli attacks since the October 2025 “ceasefire”, it said.

The total death toll from Israel's genocide has reached to at least 73,382 since October 2023, and at least 174,236 injured.

A group of countries—including close Israel ally the United Arab Emirates—condemned Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip, and said Israel was undermining US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the fighting in Gaza.

Qatar, Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt say Israel’s conduct in Gaza "constitutes a clear breach of Israel's obligations under international law and the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, undermines international and regional efforts aimed at implementing the second phase of the Plan, particularly following the announcement by US President Donald Trump that the Palestinian factions accepted the roadmap, including the provisions relating to the confinement of weapons."

They say Israel's policy in Gaza "threatens to derail the political process, reignite the cycle of escalation, and further deepen the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip."

Authorities in Kuwait ordered the closure of a local Iranian school, a source at the education ministry told AFP on Thursday, after the country came under repeated Iranian attack during the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The source did not give a reason for the closure of the country's only Iranian school, but Kuwait was one of several Gulf states hosting US forces to be targeted by Iran over the course of the war, most recently when a June ceasefire between the belligerents broke down.

"The Minister of Education issued a decision to revoke the educational license of the private Iranian school and close it down," said the text of the decision, which was seen by AFP.

New admissions were suspended for the coming academic year, with the ministry urging parents to transfer their children to other schools, the decision read.

The British pound was steady against both the euro and the dollar on Thursday as investors awaited updates on a possible deal between Iran and Oman that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Global financial markets are watching events in the Middle East closely, as expectations have risen that a deal that could potentially reopen the strait – one of the biggest sticking points in wider efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war – could be close.

"There was a clear intention from the latest de-escalation not to create too prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz," said Francesco Pesole, FX strategist at ING. "I think that's what markets are caring about at the moment."

Sterling was little changed against the dollar at $1.3460 on Thursday as markets bided their time before a possible announcement on a deal.

Against the euro, the pound was flat at 85.73 pence.

Two members of the Iranian women's football team who claimed asylum in Australia in March have been granted citizenship.

Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh said in a statement Thursday that Immigration Minister Tony Burke swore them in the day before at a citizenship ceremony in their Australian home city of Brisbane.

Friends and supporters from the local Iranian community attended the ceremony.

"Yesterday was a truly special and unforgettable day for me. I feel proud and deeply grateful to become an Australian citizen. Australia has given me the opportunity to build my life and my future, and I feel, more than ever, that I belong here," Ramezanisadeh said in the statement.

Ramezanisadeh said her Iranian roots and memories would always be part of her.

Pasandideh said Wednesday had been "one of the happiest days of my life."

"I'm incredibly proud and grateful to officially become an Australian citizen. After everything we’ve been through and all the challenges we faced, this moment means more than words can express," Pasandideh said.

When The Associated Press asked Burke's office for an explanation for why the women's citizenship was fast-tracked, his department said it could not comment on individual cases for privacy reasons.

European shares hit an intraday record high on Thursday as investors assessed the prospects of a U.S.-Iran peace deal and progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, alongside a largely positive slate of corporate earnings.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5% at 660.22 points, as of 0849 GMT. The benchmark index closed at an all-time high in the previous two sessions.

Resilient company results so far have helped European markets look past geopolitical risks, with investors betting that a potential de-escalation in the Middle East could further support risk appetite.

Lebanon's Ministry of Health reports that at least 8 people were injured by Israeli army air strikes on the town of Burj Al-Shamali in the south of the country.

Secretary of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in the Iranian Parliament, Behnam Saeedi, said that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the threats directed at Tehran end.

In statements to the “Young Journalists Club” affiliated with Iranian TV, Saeedi said that the negotiations conducted by Iran with the Sultanate of Oman are only related to determining the mechanism for sailing ships and marine vehicles and their routes in the strait.

Saeedi stressed that the agreement with Muscat does not mean opening the Strait of Hormuz, saying: "The issue of the Strait of Hormuz will be discussed and negotiated when the Americans stop threatening and blockading the sea, when they leave the region and the war is declared over. Therefore, at this stage there is no reason to open the Strait of Hormuz."

"Oman must bear in mind that Iran will not allow the Americans to interfere in or be present in the Strait of Hormuz," he added.

Lebanese state media reported Israeli airstrikes and shelling overnight into Thursday morning, after Israel announced its first military fatalities in more than a month as renewed hostilities flared.

The strikes came as Israel and Lebanon took part in US-mediated talks in Rome, with Beirut seeking Israel's phased withdrawal from all the territories it occupies in the south.

Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) reported that "the Israeli enemy escalated its attacks" on Tyre district with "a series of airstrikes and artillery shelling" that lasted from Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

The agency reported four strikes in the town of Burj al-Shamali, leaving four people wounded.

It also said Israeli aircraft carried out three strikes in and around Mansouri, as "artillery shelling and tank fire" targeted the town simultaneously.

Mansouri's residents had been warned by the Israeli military on Wednesday to evacuate their homes.

The Lebanese health ministry reported at least one person killed in Wednesday's strikes.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States has a vast supply of munitions and threatened those who suggested otherwise with jail terms as his frustration with the Iran war boiled over.

The Republican leader lashed out on his Truth Social platform at media reports about the dwindling weapons stockpile, saying that the United States has "massive amounts of 'munitions' especially of certain types," without giving further detail.

"Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed. Defense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country's history," he said.

The Washington Post reported that Trump demanded answers about the munitions shortages from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth last Friday, when they attended a cabinet meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat.

Trump told Hegseth that he thought the munitions issue "had been fixed," the Post reported, citing two unidentified sources familiar with the exchange.

Trump railed against the media reports, threatening on Thursday that "the 'leakers' of these treasonous statements are being hunted down" and "Long term jail sentences will be sought!"

CNN also reported that shortages of long-range guided missiles and air-defense interceptors had affected Trump's strategy in the conflict with Iran, with the US military having "nearly exhausted 80%" of its stock of THAAD interceptors.

The Post also said that the shortages led Trump to call off fresh strikes against Iran, despite having threatened to hit the Islamic republic "very hard".

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt branded coverage of the exchange with Hegseth "FAKE NEWS!"

"I was at Camp David with President Trump and Secretary Hegseth. This literally never happened," she wrote on X.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the reports about Trump's clash with Hegseth and the weapons shortages were "equally fictional."

Pakistan hopes an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz will lead to the United States and Iran resuming talks under a memorandum of understanding Islamabad helped mediate, the foreign office said Thursday.

"We hope that the agreement on the Strait will pave the way for continuing dialogue, particularly the resumption of technical level talks between Iran and the United States," foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir will visit Saudi Arabia on 6-8 August, the South Asian nation's foreign office said on Thursday.

"Although taking place against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Gulf, the visit will carry significance beyond the immediate crisis and short term considerations," said foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi, whose government has been mediating to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.

For five months, Saudi Arabia tried to stay out of the Iran war. Even as missiles and drones struck its territory, energy infrastructure, and military facilities, Riyadh avoided direct involvement, keeping channels with Tehran open while urging Washington to prevent a wider conflict.

Over the past month, that posture has grown more active. Saudi Arabia joined US strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq after a wave of drone attacks on the kingdom, backed a coalition to protect Red Sea shipping after Houthi forces blockaded the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, and, most recently, helped persuade Trump to call off a new round of strikes on Iran in favour of renewed diplomacy over the Strait of Hormuz.

Taken together, these moves show how Saudi Arabia is adapting to a war that no longer allows it to remain a bystander.

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Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the key maritime chokepoints in the Gulf, reduced significantly yesterday from the previous day, shipping data shows.

Just two vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz, including a Panama-flagged coal-laden carrier entering the waterway and another commodity Marshall Islands-flagged vessel exiting, shipping data from Kpler shows, down from eight vessels a day earlier.

Roughly 130 to 140 ships would typically transit the waterway before the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28 and Iran responded by closing the strait.

In the Bab al-Mandeb, only one commodity vessel, a Bahamas-flagged dry bulk carrier, crossed the strait on Wednesday, Kpler data shows, down from 20 the previous day.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they had launched a missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker off the coast of the kingdom's Red Sea port city of Yanbu and another missile attack on a Saudi oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

US President Donald Trump denied reports of ammunition shortages and claimed on his social media platform Truth Social that the US has "massive quantities" of ammunition, "especially of certain types."

According to Trump, "large quantities are being produced and shipped to the US as needed. Defense companies are building the largest amount of factories in our country's history."

"The leakers of these treasonous statements are being tracked. Long prison sentences will be required!" he added.

Iran and Oman have agreed a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and were finalising arrangements for jointly managing the strategic waterway, Tehran said Wednesday, even as fresh security incidents highlighted continued risks for regional shipping.

The agreement would be a step towards reopening the key energy route, but official sources briefing Iranian media stressed that any easing still hinged on Washington ending its own naval blockade of Iran's ports.

Iran has exercised de facto control of the waterway and threatened any vessels transiting routes it deems unauthorised ever since the United States and Israel launched their war against the country on 28 February.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted Tehran is keen for a deal to reopen Hormuz, but Iran has denied this and said it will instead make arrangements with its neighbour across the strait, Oman.

"The geographical coordinates of the route envisaged by the two sides have been agreed upon and, if certain third parties do not obstruct the process, the joint statement of the two countries, containing the main considerations and points of agreement, is also in the final review and drafting stage," Iran foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to state news agency IRNA.

According to the report, Baqaei told journalists that talks with Oman were moving forward, but that even if an understanding was reached, it would not mean that the strait had become safe for all passing vessels.