Iran minister heads to Russia as talks remain stalled TEHRAN, Iran—Iran’s foreign minister headed to Russia on Sunday as peace efforts between Tehran and Washington hung in the balance, following a flurry of regional diplomacy and the collapse of planned talks in Pakistan. Abbas Araghchi visited Oman between trips to Pakistani capital Islamabad and is expected to meet President Vladimir Putin on Monday, according to the Iranian ambassador. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump scrapped a planned trip to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. In a sign that efforts were ongoing, the Fars news agency said Iran had sent “written messages” to the Americans via mediator Pakistan outlining red lines, including nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz. Fars said the messages were not part of formal negotiations, however. A ceasefire in the US-Israeli war with Iran has so far held, but its economic shockwaves continue to reverberate globally. Iran has sealed off the strait, cutting flows of oil, gas and fertilizer; and sending prices soaring, raising fears of food insecurity in developing countries. Hopes for talks had centred on a planned visit by Witkoff and Kushner, but Trump canceled the trip, dismissing it as “sitting around talking about nothing.” On Sunday, Trump told Fox News that if Iran wanted the talks, “they can come to us, or they can call us.” Trump faces domestic pressure as fuel prices rise following Iran’s closure of Hormuz, with midterm elections due in November. Polls show the war is unpopular among Americans. Safe transit Asked whether canceling signalled renewed fighting, Trump said: “No, it doesn’t mean that.” On Saturday, Araghchi met Pakistan’s military chief Asim Munir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, before travelling to Oman and returning to Islamabad. He later left for Russia for talks with senior officials, his ministry said. Russia confirmed the visit but did not say whether he would meet Putin. Iranian state television quoted Iran’s envoy to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, saying Araghchi and Putin would meet in St Petersburg, Russia’s second city. Araghchi himself posted on X that the talks in Oman had focused on ensuring safe transit through Hormuz, “to benefit of all dear neighbors and the world.” “Our neighbors are our priority,” he added. Pressure to end the war has intensified as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had no intention of lifting their blockade, which has roiled energy markets. “Controlling the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining the shadow of its deterrent effects over America and the White House’s supporters in the region is the definitive strategy of Islamic Iran,” the Guards said on their official Telegram channel. The United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports in retaliation. In a statement carried by state media, Iran’s military warned that continued US “blockading, banditry and piracy” would draw a response. Israel strikes Lebanon Israel and Hezbollah traded blame over violations of the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the military was “vigorously” targeting the Iran-backed militia as both sides claimed new attacks. Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2 by firing rockets at Israel to avenge the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, with Israel responding with strikes and a ground invasion. But claims that both sides have breached a 10-day ceasefire agreed earlier this month have continued. Netanyahu told Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting that Hezbollah’s actions were “dismantling the ceasefire” while Hezbollah said it would respond to Israeli violations and its “continued occupation.” Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on the country’s south on Sunday killed 14 people, including two women and two children, and wounded 37. The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes had struck after evacuation warnings in Kfar Tibnit. An Israeli strike on Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, another of the flagged villages, destroyed a mosque and another religious building, the news agency said. Israel, which reported a soldier killed in combat in south Lebanon, says it can act against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.” “This means freedom of action not only to respond to attacks…but also to pre-empt immediate threats and even emerging threats,” Netanyahu said. /apl
Iran minister heads to Russia as talks remain stalled TEHRAN, Iran—Iran’s foreign minister headed to Russia on Sunday as peace efforts between Tehran and Washington hung in the balance, following a flurry of regional diplomacy and the collapse of planned talks in Pakistan. Abbas …
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman’s Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vessel’s owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait – at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade usually passes – would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years”.
Saudi Arabia said it would take “all necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international law”. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iran’s president said the country had returned “full-scale war”, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan – a key mediator in the conflict – for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay “many times over” for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US military’s Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to “degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iran’s launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.