TOP STORIES
“Iran and Oman have reached an understanding on the geographic coordinates for a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, and a joint announcement is being finalised, provided certain third parties did not interfere, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Wednesday. Baghaei added that any such agreement between Iran and Oman would not, by itself, guarantee security in the strategic waterway. The proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.”
Iran Warns Gulf States: Tell Trump to Desist or We Hit You Hard | Reuters
“Iran has made a concerted diplomatic push with Gulf states, warning them explicitly that Tehran will hit their oil, power and water plants unless they convince Donald Trump to end U.S. strikes on Iran and instead seek a negotiated end to the war. The warning envisaged attacks on the energy facilities, oil fields, refineries, electricity grids, water infrastructure, transport networks and other strategic assets of Washington's closest Arab allies, according to a senior Iranian official.”
Gulf Shipping Traffic Down After Houthis Say They Attacked Saudi Tanker | Reuters
“Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, the key maritime chokepoints in the Gulf, reduced significantly on Wednesday from the previous day, shipping data showed. 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 showed, down from eight vessels a day earlier. . . . Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Wednesday 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.”
UANI IN THE NEWS
Former UN Ambassador: Iran ‘Uncertain’ How to Handle Trump | The Hill
“Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mark Wallace on Tuesday said Iran is ‘uncertain’ about how to handle President Trump as both countries enter talks to potentially reach another interim peace deal. Wallace, who is also the CEO of the nonprofit group United Against Nuclear Iran, praised Trump’s military campaign against Iran in an interview with NewsNation’s Blake Burman. ‘He’s been true to his word,’ Wallace said. ‘If Iran does something, engages in bad, malign, vicious behavior that results in loss of life or otherwise, this president responds and reacts. And I think Iran is uncertain how to handle that. The president is not messing around and he does strike back.’”
Dozens of Idling Iranian Oil Tankers Show US Blockade Is Working | Bloomberg
“A growing flotilla of Iranian oil tankers is gathering off the country’s coast, a sign the renewed US naval blockade is disrupting Tehran’s energy exports and depriving it of much-needed revenue. Some 50 laden vessels—mostly carrying crude, but also fuels and liquefied petroleum gas—were idling along Iran’s coastline in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman as of Tuesday, according to nonprofit group United Against Nuclear Iran. That’s up from 45 a week earlier and 36 when the blockade was renewed on July 14. . . . ‘The blockade seems effective,’ given the increase in the number of ships along the coast, said Charlie Brown, an adviser to UANI.”
DIPLOMACY
U.S. Ready to Return to ‘Commitments,’ Iran Says, After Trump Signals Deal Is Near | CNBC
“Iran said the U.S. was ready to ‘return to commitments,’ while denying that negotiations were ongoing with Washington, after President Donald Trump signaled a deal was in the making.”
MILITARY MATTERS & SHIPPING
Vessel Sinks off Yemen After Attack by Uncrewed Surface Vessel—UKMTO | Iran International
“A vessel sank off Yemen after being attacked by an uncrewed surface vessel that caused a fire on board, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Wednesday. . . . The crew were rescued by local authorities and were safe . . .”
Trump, Hegseth Clashed at Camp David over Iran Missile Depletion Concerns | Washington Post
“President Donald Trump’s frustration over the Iran war boiled over at Camp David last week, where he demanded answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on why he had apparently been misled on extreme munitions shortages that now threaten to limit military options with Iran, two people familiar with the exchange told The Washington Post. The encounter took place on the sidelines of his Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday where Trump vented at Hegseth that he thought the munitions issue ‘had been fixed,’ according to both persons familiar with the conversation . . .”
Pentagon Holds Crisis Meeting on Weapons Shortfall After Angry Trump Call, Sources Say | NBC News
“The Defense Department’s second in command hastily gathered top military and defense acquisition officials for a meeting Friday night to discuss ways to quickly address a shortfall of U.S. weaponry—after he got an angry phone call from President Donald Trump, according to four people with knowledge of the meeting.”
Trump Dismisses Munitions Shortage Reports, Says Leakers ‘Being Hunted Down’ | The Hill
“President Trump on Thursday dismissed reports of the U.S. military being low on munitions amid the war with Iran, saying his administration is determining who leaked the information to news outlets. ‘The U.S. has massive amounts of ‘munitions,’ especially of certain types,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social. ‘Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed.’”
Trump Should Stop Negotiating and Win Against Iran | Gen. Keith Kellogg in the Washington Times
“Do we still have the will to prosecute a war to a successful conclusion? This can be simply defined as the ability to bend an enemy to our will while making minimal to no concessions. In short, do we still have what it takes to commit to the American way of war? By extension, do the president’s advisers, from the vice president down, subscribe to that as well? Based on the latest developments regarding Iran, I am increasingly concerned about the answer to that question. It seems the American people are being told that negotiations to a satisfactory outcome for both sides are a win-win. That is wrong. If you believe the purpose of war is a means to negotiate, then you have already lost. You wage war to win. Period.”
INTEL
Two Ashkelon Residents Indicted for Spying on Behalf of Iranian Intelligence | i24 News
“In a combined operation by Lahav 433 and Shin Bet during July 2026, Israeli citizen Tremilan Amushkov and Ukrainian citizen Alina Kushnirenko, both residents of Ashkelon, were arrested and indicted for allegedly carrying out espionage missions for Iranian intelligence in exchange for payment.”
SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS
Iran State Oil Company’s Bank Accounts Reportedly Frozen over Debt | Reuters
“The National Iranian Oil Company’s bank accounts have been frozen by a state-owned lender over mounting debt, the semi-official Fars news agency reports, underscoring the strain being felt by the country’s most important source of revenue.”
Water and Electricity Bills Surge Up to Fourfold in Iran | IranWire
“The Ettela’at newspaper reported on August 5 that utility bills for certain Iranian households had surged three- to fourfold, noting that charges in some cases jumped from approximately 300,000 tomans to between 800,000 and 1 million tomans.”
US Lifts Sanctions on Fly Baghdad, Previously Linked to Iran’s IRGC | Reuters
“The U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday it had removed counter-terrorism sanctions from Iraq’s Fly Baghdad Airlines and two aircraft that were imposed in 2024 over links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, citing changes in the airline's behavior. A Treasury official said that the move was not indicative of any shift in U.S. policy towards Iran’s government, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards or any organization designated as terrorist and was unrelated to U.S. negotiations with Iran over a possible deal to end hostilities in the Gulf.”
CYBER WARFARE
“Cyberattacks on U.S. water systems that officials suspect may be linked to Iran-backed hackers have been reported in at least a dozen states, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News on Wednesday. . . . In Georgia, the Clayton County Water Authority, which serves 300,000 customers in the Atlanta area, said cyber activity last month caused a water pressure drop and forced the agency to issue a boil water advisory. Service was restored within hours, however. Some utilities have lost critical remote-control capabilities, forcing operators to switch to manual mode. In several cases, the hackers gained remote access to pumps, valves and water pressure.”
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran President Says Contact with Supreme Leader Is ‘Very Difficult’ | France 24
“Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that communication with the country's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was very ‘difficult at the moment.’ . . . Pezeshkian defended his leader, however, insisting he had been able to hold productive meetings with him and been met with ‘kindness and very sound logic.’”
CONGRESS & IRAN
Duckworth Bill Targets Pentagon’s Confusing Accounting of Iran War Casualties | ABC News
“Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., are set to introduce legislation Thursday that aims to prevent the Pentagon from resetting a war’s casualty count by reclassifying the dead and wounded under new operational labels.The move comes after the Pentagon revised how it accounts for U.S. casualties in the ongoing war with Iran.”