Conflict Events Archive | ConflictClarifier

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

Iran will shift to a “fully offensive” military posture because efforts to negotiate a permanent end to its war with the US have stalled, an Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, as Washington ruled out extending a temporary ceasefire agreement. Progress towards peace talks and a resumption of oil-tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz has ground to a halt, with no sign that the warring parties are moving towards ending the conflict that the US and Israel launched with attacks on Iran on February 28. “Iranian entities must be prepared to escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and wider region, as Iran will be ready to make decisions and take action on difficult decisions,” the Iranian official said, adding that Tehran would conduct a “timely and precise” military attack to break the US naval blockade if diplomacy failed. Monday marked the day by which Iran and the US were expected to reach a final peace agreement under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the war. Signed on June 17, the MoU set a 60-day timeframe for the US and Iran to reach a broader deal on Iran’s nuclear programme and US sanctions. The agreement, which declared the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts”, quickly unravelled over a dispute about control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war. Asked by reporters on Monday if the US was seeking to extend June’s interim agreement, US president Donald Trump said no. Iran said point five of the MoU gave it the right to manage the strait, which it shares with Oman, while the US rejected that interpretation. Hostilities resumed as Iran began firing on vessels it said were trying to sail through Hormuz on an unapproved route, and Mr Trump said on July 7 that the pact was “over”. “Within the short period of a few weeks set by Iran, all the agreement’s provisions must be implemented by the US. This is a precondition for further negotiations with the US,” the Iranian official told Reuters, adding that mediators would share Tehran’s deadline with Washington and regional states. Iran has separately been negotiating an agreement with its neighbour Oman across the strait over managing Hormuz, seen as a key component of a wider deal, and says they are close to agreement, although progress has been slow. “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Mr Trump told Fox. Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran at the end of February. Iran has bombed US military bases and infrastructure in countries including Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Mr Trump warned Americans in a speech at a rally on Friday to prepare for continued high fuel prices as a result of the war, while also saying that “after we finish defeating Iran... pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz strait a territory of the United States”. Earlier on Monday, Mr Trump repeated on his Truth Social platform that his main goal was to ensure that Iran never has nuclear weapons. “The number one Goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a nuclear weapon,” Mr Trump said. Benchmark Brent crude oil futures have surged since the start of the war in February, hitting a peak of $126 (€109) a barrel, roughly 75pc above pre-war levels, with choppy trade reflecting concerns over disruptions to Gulf oil supplies and shifting signals on peace talks. Brent crude edged up on Monday to around $89 a barrel. Attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have also renewed concerns about a widening regional war and the economic fallout it could bring. In the latest incident, the Houthis attacked what they called a Saudi military ship and four escort vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait with missiles, the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Telegram on Monday. The strait is a strategic chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and an important international shipping route. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities.

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Iran shifts to ‘fully offensive’ posture as peace talks falter and Donald Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman

strikeAug 18, 2026

Ship attacked in Hormuz Strait as U.S.-Iran ceasefire expiry risks prolonged conflict

strikeAug 18, 2026

Ship attacked in Hormuz Strait as U.S.-Iran ceasefire expiry risks prolonged conflict

Ship attacked in Hormuz Strait as U.S.-Iran ceasefire expiry risks prolonged conflict - A cargo vessel was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz: UKMTO. - An Iranian military spokesperson reportedly warned vessels attempting passage through the Strait of Hormuz will "find several beautiful holes in their hulls." - Trump ruled out extending the ceasefire in the near term, saying Tehran won't accept the terms he considers necessary to end their war. A cargo vessel was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations agency said Tuesday, signaling persisting navigation risks in the waterway as Washington and Tehran harden their positions. The attack caused damage to the engine room and resulted in a crew casualty, the maritime agency said, adding that the remaining crew were being assisted by the Omani Coast Guard. The incident came after an Iranian military official repeated threats that the Islamic state won't back down over the Strait of Hormuz. Fox News reported Tuesday that Ebrahim Zolfaghari, Iranian military spokesperson, said vessels attempting passage through the strait will "find several beautiful holes in their hulls." Washington and Tehran have rejected further talks after the 60-day negotiating ceasefire deal, reached in mid-June aimed at opening space for diplomatic engagement, expired on Monday without a formal follow-on agreement. "Both sides will dig in for a longer standoff," a team of analysts at Eurasia Group said in a note Monday, as neither side sees an urgent need to make concessions. Earlier on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump ruled out extending the ceasefire, saying that Tehran won't accept the terms he considers necessary to end their war. "They're not going to make the kind of deal that I feel is necessary," Trump said in the Oval Office. Iran's hardline leadership, for its part, has no intention of winding down the conflict, but instead widening the war to raise the costs for the U.S. and its regional allies, Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing intelligence obtained from unnamed Iranian and Arab officials. Eurasia Group no longer expects a peace deal by September, pushing back its timeline for de-escalation to year-end as the standoff drags on. The most likely outcome is "a limited deal" that allows Hormuz traffic to partially recover, the risk consultancy said, adding that pressure on Washington to push for an imminent reopening of the strait has eased. Success in routing oil around the Strait of Hormuz has kept prices from spiking past $100 a barrel, while the global economy has adapted to the closure, giving the U.S. room to "afford to wait," Eurasia Group said. The Strait of Hormuz, which handled about a fifth of the world's crude oil and gas before the war, has become the central flashpoint between the U.S. and Iran since February. Shipping remains near a standstill amid sporadic attacks on oil tankers. Just three vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to shiptracking data from Kpler. The Bab el-Mandeb strait, where Yemen Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in mid-July, also saw just 49 weekend transits by commodity vessels, according to Reuters, down from 55 in the prior week. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a Telegram post on Saturday that Iran's negotiations with Oman remained ongoing to determine a new maritime route in the Strait of Hormuz, while Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman if the Gulf state "gets in the way" of U.S. efforts to reopen the strait. "Any recovery in Hormuz flows will be partial," said analysts at Eurasia, as the U.S. and Iran remain in a state of simmering hostilities, with heightened risks of renewed flare-up that disrupts traffic. Oil prices climbed after the 60-day window for negotiated settlement closed without a breakthrough. U.S. crude oil futures ticked up 0.25% to $84.7 a barrel on Tuesday, after a 2.6% rise on Monday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was little changed on Tuesday after rising above $90 on Monday, last trading at $90.86 a barrel.