US-Iran diplomatic talks back on, Tehran signals Hormuz deal with Oman

A seventh round of direct US-mediated talks between Lebanon and Israel is set to begin in Rome on Tuesday, a Lebanese official told Anadolu.

The three-day negotiations will focus first on the ceasefire and alleged Israeli violations in the south, including home demolitions and its scorched-earth policy, which Lebanon says contradict the framework agreement reached in June.

Beirut is also expected to propose new pilot areas for Israeli withdrawal, with the second phase potentially covering Bint Jbeil or Khiam south of the Litani River.

The Lebanese delegation includes political, military and legal officials, who will present maps and documentation of the army's deployment in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, along with plans for future deployments in areas from which Israeli forces may withdraw.

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Monday with Nechirvan Barzani, leader of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, as official sources told AFP the talks aimed to advance an integration deal between Damascus and Syria's Kurds.

Syrian state news agency SANA said Sharaa received Barzani at the presidential palace in Damascus, in the first visit by the head of Iraq's Kurdistan region following the December 2024 ouster of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.

After clashes between Syrian Kurdish fighters and the new authorities' forces in January this year, the two sides reached a deal to integrate Syrian Kurdish institutions and forces into the state.

استقبلتُ اليوم في دمشق أخي العزيز السيد نيجيرفان بارزاني @IKRPresident، رئيس إقليم كردستان العراق، في لقاءٍ تناولنا خلاله العلاقات الثنائية وسبل تعزيز التعاون بما يخدم الاستقرار ومصالح شعبينا.

إنّنا نثمّن ما قدّمه الإقليم في السنوات الماضية من رعاية واستضافة لأبناء شعبنا، ونتطلع… pic.twitter.com/X3VwU9QZUU

— أحمد الشرع (@AH_AlSharaa) August 3, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday described Iran's leadership as "unbelievably duplicitous", saying they had asked for talks on ending the war and then announced that no discussions were being held.

"Nothing gets through to Iran, unless we want it to, and nothing will get through, unless a Deal, or Total Surrender, is accomplished," he said in a post on Truth Social.

President Donald Trump lashed out Monday after Iran denied it was in negotiations with the United States, declaring in an angry social media post that a US military blockade will continue until there is a "Deal, or Total surrender."

Calling Iran "duplicitous" for "openly and proudly" saying it was not negotiating, Trump wrote: "Whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades."

Wall Street stocks bounced early Monday after Presdent Donald Trump held off on new attacks on Iran, pressuring oil prices.

Trump, who had last week threatened severe attacks on Iran, said Saturday that the "perimeters" of a deal were present, although Iran officials denied that there were ongoing talks with the United States.

Oil prices fell more than five percent.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.1 percent at 53,072.36.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.6 percent to 7,535.94, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.8 percent to 25,566.98.

"Obviously, the market likes hearing that there may be some progress in the Persian Gulf," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. "We've heard this news before, and it hasn't led to much, but the market always seems optimistic when they hear something of this type."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, on Monday, during a symposium of the Iranian Ministry of Health, that Iran does not seek to widen the tension in the region, but will strongly defend its security, national interests, and territorial integrity.

He added, according to the Iranian ISNA agency, that "the enemies are trying to disrupt the process of progress in the country."

Six Saudi-flagged supertankers have changed course in the Gulf of Aden in recent days and are heading to southern Africa amid threats by Yemen’s Houthi movement to target Saudi shipping, ship-tracking data showed on Monday.

The tankers, which were empty of cargo after returning from destinations in Asia, were sailing in formation towards southern Africa, rather than opting to transit the southern Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, according to AIS ship-tracking on LSEG and MarineTraffic.

Saudi officials did not respond immediately to a request for comment. 

The US Defense Department has signed a framework deal with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to expand the production capacity of components for the Patriot PAC-3 and THAAD missile interceptor systems, it said on Monday.

Pentagon negotiators have pressed contractors to move much faster with tentative production agreements struck earlier this year to increase missile output as conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine strain US weapons stockpiles. Ukraine has run chronically low on supplies of Patriots, which remain the only weapon in its arsenal capable of downing ballistic missiles.

In its statement on Monday, the department said the framework deal would allow production of Patriots to triple and THAAD systems to quadruple.

It did not give a value for the deal, which it said would establish a second source for PAC-3 solid rocket motors and ramp up output of ignition safety devices. It follows a deal last week when the US Army awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth up to $58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.

The ICC's pursuit of Israeli officials over the Gaza war was a defining moment for international justice, but the backlash now threatens its survival, writes Jonathan Fenton-Harvey.

Read more below:

Gaza's health ministry reports at least 19 Palestinians have been killed and 35 wounded by Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.

According to the ministry, since the so-called "ceasefire" with Israel began last October, a total of 1,250 people have been killed and 4,110 others wounded.

The ministry said the cumulative toll since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023 is at last 73,375 killed, with 174,220 wounded.

Manufacturing activity in China slowed in July as the 5-month-long US-Israeli war on Iran delivered weaker demand and elevated costs for the exporting powerhouse—a situation mirrored across much of Europe—surveys showed on Monday.

The conflict has almost halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for the Gulf's energy exports, sending manufacturers' energy prices soaring.

Factories in the world's second-largest economy saw growth in new orders slow to its weakest pace since January, and although euro zone output surged, that was largely driven by firms clearing order backlogs rather than rising demand.

The headline S&P Global Eurozone Manufacturing PMI INPMI=ECI rose to 51.9 in July from June's 51.4, its highest reading since April but just below a preliminary estimate of 52.0. A reading above 50.0 indicates growth.

"It's a mixed bag, but with the main conclusion the euro zone economy is more resilient than feared ... but we're clearly heading into at least a low growth environment," said Carsten Brzeski at ING.

Data from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, cited in a new report by Israeli researchers, reveals that more Israelis are leaving than staying, Israeli media reported.

268,509 Israeli citizens departed for trips lasting at least three months between 2023 and 2025, the report noted.

In 2025, 90,922 Israelis stayed abroad for three consecutive months or more. 91,499 left for extended periods in 2024 and 86,509 in 2023.

For comparison, annual departures averaged roughly 60,000 per year throughout the decade spanning 2010 to 2019. 

In 2024 and 2025, almost 50,000 more people moved abroad than came to live in the country, according to CBS data.

How did the race for Michigan Senate become the most expensive Democratic primary race ever?

That’s the $60 million dollar question going into Tuesday’s race between AIPAC-backed Representative Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, a doctor who volunteered in Gaza and former government healthcare director, which has captured national attention, far beyond a typical state primary.

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The Israeli Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee votes 4-2 to approve a government-requested extension of emergency military mobilisation until 30 September.

The approval allows the Israeli army to call up a maximum of 240,000 reservists.

Such extensions have been granted every few months since the outbreak of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in 2023.

Iranian television reported that the Revolutionary Guard shot down an American MQ9 drone in the airspace of the Strait of Hormuz earlier today.

European shares rose on Monday as oil prices dropped sharply after US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran were expected later in the day, raising hopes that diplomacy could avert a further escalation in the conflict.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.4% at 651.69 points by 8:50 GMT, with most major regional bourses trading higher. Germany's DAX led the gains, jumping 1.4%.

Energy stocks fell 1% as oil futures slid more than 4%. Trump's decision to hold off on a fresh attack on Iran, while seeking a rapid agreement to curb Tehran's nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, eased fears of further supply disruptions.

"For now, it seems like a step in the right direction, but I'm sceptical that this will last," Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, said. "Everyone is waiting to see the latest developments in the Middle East, and that remains the main driver of market momentum."

US-based CBS News quoted a regional official as saying that the proposal announced by US President Donald Trump over the weekend calls for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and stopping attacks throughout the region, including attacks by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Gulf states and Jordan.

The same source added that the United States, in return, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, in accordance with what was stated in the initial memorandum of understanding.

The official, who spoke to the network on condition of anonymity, confirmed that “an agreement has not been reached yet, but mediation efforts are underway.”

Iran has been discussing with Oman creating a new route through the Strait of Hormuz that would be one path with entry and exit lanes, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a televised press conference.

Israel has conveyed concerns to the United States on a Gaza plan hailed by President Donald Trump after Hamas said it had agreed on disarmament, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Monday.

"Israel has conveyed its comments and concerns on the proposed framework to our American counterparts. The version that has been made public does not reflect Israel's positions," Doron Spielman, spokesman for the prime minister's office, said in a response to AFP.

Iran is not currently holding talks with the United States and is now in discussions with Oman over a temporary safe route through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.

Baghaei added that reaching an agreement with Oman is not sufficient to reopen the strait, as the situation will remain unchanged while US "aggression" continues. 

The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei says Tehran has been holding talks with Oman "for the last 7-8 days".

"Some progress has been achieved," he said, adding that talks with officials from the region and outside the region are being held as well.

Lebanon's official National News Agency is reporting that Israeli forces dropped phosphorus bombs on olive and pine groves in the towns of Yaroun and Arnoun, and the city of Bint Jbeil in the Nabatieh governorate.

Two tankers loaded with Saudi oil crossed the Bab al-Mandeb Strait over the weekend, according to shipping data issued on Monday, at a time when shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz slowed following reports of attacks on ships.

Kpler data showed a decrease in the number of ships transporting goods crossing Bab al-Mandeb to 18 ships yesterday, Sunday, compared to 27 ships on Saturday and 28 on Friday, after the Houthis in Yemen announced, on 20 July, a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia, which expanded the scope of attacks on oil tankers outside the Gulf waters.

Oil prices tumbled on Monday as Donald Trump announced that fresh talks with Iran would begin later in the day, while the yen extended its gains after US and Japanese officials confirmed a rare joint intervention to prop up the currency.

The US president said Sunday that negotiations would cover the Strait of Hormuz route for global energy supplies that has become a key sticking point in the conflict and ultimately, the denuclearisation of Iran.

His announcement came after he had threatened to hit the Islamic Republic "very hard" and was reportedly considering renewed attacks, including against energy infrastructure.

He pulled back from that threat Saturday, saying the "perimeters" of a deal were there.

Iran executed two Iranian nationals on Monday after accusing them of sending sensitive military and security location coordinates to Israel during the US-Israeli war on Iran, ⁠the Fars news agency reported.