Trump says US clears Hormuz mines as Iran, Oman discuss temporary corridor
US warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or risk secondary sanctions
The Middle East war enters another tense day after the US warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or risk secondary sanctions, although Washington stopped short of immediately imposing the threatened penalties. Iran warned of a “harsh” response to expanded US economic pressure, while China said further sanctions could escalate tensions. Meanwhile, Iran blacklisted 45 tankers for allegedly breaking its Strait of Hormuz transit rules, threatening fines, detention or cargo confiscation. In Gaza, Israeli strikes killed at least four Palestinians on Monday, including two children, according to hospital officials. Israeli and Syrian officials also held US-mediated talks in Jordan aimed at easing tensions.
Iran and Oman's foreign ministers on Tuesday said they discussed a framework for a temporary corridor through the Strait of Hormuz and a mine-clearing project in the waterway which both border.
The two countries have sought to regulate transit through the Strait of Hormuz, as written in the US-Iran memorandum of understanding, after the waterway became a flashpoint in the Middle East war.
Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi "discussed a phased framework that could provide a practical and implementable basis for moving forward" in talks in Tehran, a joint statement shared by Oman said.
The framework "includes the establishment of a joint temporary navigational corridor through the Strait of Hormuz and an agreement to implement a joint project to clear the Strait of mines," the statement added.
Technical negotiations will continue to find a "permanent navigational corridor and future administration of the Strait, as well as a mechanism for information-sharing, traffic management, and the provision of relevant navigational and security services", it added.
Both sides said it was important to hold joint discussions with states bordering the waters of the Gulf.
China said Tuesday that its economic cooperation with Iran is conducted within international law and should not be disrupted, after the United States announced new sanctions on Tehran.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing opposed “illegal unilateral sanctions” imposed without a basis in international law or authorization from the UN Security Council, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
“Economic warfare and extreme pressure do not help solve problems; they only further intensify conflicts,” Lin said.
He added that China’s cooperation with Iran had “always been conducted within the framework of international law and should not be disrupted or undermined,” and said Beijing would take necessary measures to protect its interests.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that “no one is above the reach of US sanctions” when asked whether Chinese banks financing Iranian oil imports could be targeted.
Oman and Iran have discussed a proposed framework that includes establishing a joint temporary navigational corridor through the Strait of Hormuz and carrying out a joint project to clear mines from the waterway.
The development comes after US President Donald Trump said the US Navy had removed or detonated mines in international waters of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran and Oman said the proposed framework would also involve joint efforts to clear the strategic waterway of mines.
Qatar has continued regional contacts aimed at encouraging a return to negotiations between the United States and Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said, according to a post on X by Qatar’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
“The priority for Qatar is to restore normal navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, ensure global energy and food security, and preserve the safety of supply chains,” al-Ansari said, adding that those goals could only be achieved through a comprehensive diplomatic solution.
He said the US sanctions being discussed did not directly affect Qatar, adding that Doha abides by international sanctions frameworks but that the measures announced by Washington were unilateral rather than UN sanctions.
Al-Ansari also rejected remarks by some Iranian officials about targeting regional countries.
“Qatar, with all its institutions and armed forces, is fully prepared to defend its security and sovereignty against any aggression, regardless of its source or justifications,” al-Ansari said.
Qatar’s direct communication with Iran is also part of mediation efforts aimed at resuming negotiations, he added.
US President Donald Trump said the US Navy has removed or detonated all mines in international waters of the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran had been warned that any vessel placing new mines in the strategic waterway would be “immediately and systematically destroyed”.
Trump also said the US was monitoring the Strait through the US Space Force and had a “Zero Tolerance” policy towards any new mine placement.
He added that the US was also monitoring Pickaxe Mountain and three other nuclear sites he said had already been destroyed.
Long queues formed at petrol stations in Tehran on Tuesday after the United States announced fresh sanctions aimed at pressuring Iran into submission.
Washington has turned to pulling economic levers six months into a war on Iran that has ground to a stalemate militarily, with peace talks stalled and most traffic through the crucial Strait of Hormuz blocked.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday laid out plans for the "economic asphyxiation" of Iran, saying the "objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime".
Though Iran's leaders have shrugged off the tough talk, having already endured sanctions for decades, some residents of the capital feared that they would feel the pinch.
"Naturally, sanctions affect people's lives. People are being hurt, both those who are financially well-off and those who are financially weak," said realtor Mehdi Yazdian, 55, who urged the authorities to control prices.
"Yes, these sanctions are having an effect, but naturally, our people are resilient. These sanctions have been in place for 47 years."
US President Donald Trump expressed outrage on Tuesday at the mounting number of executions in Iran of people allegedly involved in historic mass protests earlier this year before the war began.
"The failing Islamic Republic of Iran is not paying large segments of their military, while at the same time killing protesters, even when they are not protesting, at levels not seen before. It is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions, and must be stopped, NOW," he wrote on Truth Social.
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One-third of the vessels Iran has threatened to confiscate for breaching Strait of Hormuz transit rules have already been attacked during the Middle East war, an AFP data analysis found.
Since the conflict erupted in late February, Tehran has sought to impose its own shipping corridor in a bid to control traffic through the strategic chokepoint, which had been open before the war and governed by international maritime law.
But not all vessels have been passing through this Iranian-approved route in the northern part of the waterway.
On Sunday, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), created by Iran in May to oversee the strait, published a list of 45 vessels on its X account that face future "restrictions" during their next passage, including "fines, seizures or confiscations".
The maritime authority said the measures were in response to previous "violations" of Iranian rules.
Of the 45 vessels on the list, at least 14 have already been damaged in incidents in or around the strait that were confirmed by the International Maritime Organisation.
All of these incidents were classified as attacks by Britain's maritime security agency UKMTO, which does not specify who was responsible.
Almost all took place off Oman's coast, along a route backed by the United States and banned by Iran.
A delegation from Pakistan led by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir departed Tehran on Tuesday after talks with Iran’s president and other senior officials on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and reviving stalled negotiations to end the Iran-U.S. conflict, the Pakistani military said.
Pakistan has sought to mediate a resolution between Iran and the U.S., maintaining contacts with officials in both countries and urging them to resolve their differences.
Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who accompanied Munir, said their meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had been “very positive and productive,” focused on eventually bringing about an end to the conflict.
A far-right Israeli lawmaker took a sledgehammer to a Palestinian memorial in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday while under military escort, a move that was later condemned both by the army and Israeli politicians.
Footage circulating online showed Zvi Sukkot, who is also a settler and activist, smashing a monument commemorating "martyrs" in the Palestinian village of Madama in the northern West Bank, while soldiers stood nearby.
"A few days ago, I demanded that the military take action to remove the monuments commemorating terrorists in the murderers' villages of Madama and Burin. Unfortunately, they remained in place. So I went there myself and took action to remove them," Sukkot posted on Facebook, along with a video of the act.
Israeli forces on Tuesday began an operation to evacuate and demolish a compound belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Kafr Aqab, north of Jerusalem, according to Israeli and Arab media reports.
Large numbers of Israeli army and police personnel entered the compound, which houses UNRWA’s Qalandia Vocational Training Centre, as demolition operations got under way, Palestinian media reported.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said authorities had begun evacuating the UNRWA facility, declaring that the agency had “no place” in Jerusalem or Israel.
The operation comes amid heightened Israeli military activity in Kafr Aqab and the nearby Qalandia refugee camp, where forces carried out raids and demolitions earlier this month.
Iran must work with Gulf Arab countries to de-escalate tensions and seek a political way out of the war rather than target them, Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, said as the US-Iran confrontation enters a new phase.
Gargash said the latest phase of the confrontation was marked by increased economic pressure, an end to attempts to dominate the Strait of Hormuz and a move beyond the memorandum of understanding stage.
“As the US-Iran confrontation enters a new phase, characterised by escalating economic pressure, ending attempts to dominate the Strait of Hormuz and moving beyond the memorandum of understanding stage, we reiterate that Iran’s aggression against the GCC countries missed its target,” Gargash said in a post on X platform.
“Instead, it deepened Tehran’s predicament and was a grave strategic miscalculation that further increased its isolation and weakened its position.”
“The path out of this war does not lie in targeting the GCC countries, but in working with them to create the conditions for de-escalation and to seek a political way out of the war,” he added.
China said on Tuesday it would safeguard its interests after Washington laid out plans for the "economic asphyxiation" of Beijing's economic partner Iran, issuing penalties on some entities including in China and expanding secondary sanctions threats.
"China has already stated many times that it firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions... China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news briefing.
Palestinian residents of war-battered Gaza fled homes and businesses as Israeli strikes and tank fire killed at least four people Monday, including two children, hospital officials said, a week after a US delegation asked Israel to draw down attacks.
After evacuation warnings by Israel's military, a strike hit a building in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. One family was unable to flee and a 4-year-old child was killed, according to Awda Hospital, where he was taken. His mother and sister were wounded.
Iran's currency plunged to a record low on the open market, hours before the US announcement of a new wave of sanctions aimed at further isolating Tehran.
The rial fell to 2.02 million on Monday (local time) against the US dollar as trading opened on currency markets, while the official exchange rate set by Iran's Central Bank stood at around 1.5 million rials per dollar.
Asian stocks fluctuated Tuesday while oil edged up as investors assess a US plan for the "economic asphyxiation" of Iran, while tech firms struggled following another down day on Wall Street and ahead of earnings from chip titan Nvidia.
With the war against Tehran now in its sixth month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the White House was declaring an "economic D-Day" on the Islamic republic and threatened to hit countries that trade with it.
The threat comes with talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz stalled and neither side showing any sign of backing down -- pushing oil prices up for most of August, which has in turn fanned long-term inflation fears and put pressure on bond markets.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday told Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir that the United States must change its approach toward Iran, warning that "coercion and bullying" would complicate diplomatic processes, according to the official website of the Iranian President.
Pezeshkian, while meeting Munir, expressed hope that continued joint determination and cooperation would help achieve the goals set out in the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Emphasising the need for the United States to adhere to its commitments to Iran based on international law and standards, Pezeshkian said, "The United States must correct its tone and approach in its interactions with Iran, because relying on coercion and bullying will only complicate the implementation processes."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised US President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the latest sanctions against Iran, saying they "justly exact a steep price" from Tehran and those supporting its actions.
The Strait of Hormuz has been the main focus of the six-month war between Iran and the US and Israel, with many commercial vessels targeted in the vital conduit for oil and gas shipments.
In total, 68 incidents have been confirmed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in the Gulf and neighbouring bodies of water, the equivalent of one every 2.6 days.
Across all incidents, at least 20 seafarers or port workers were reported killed, 35 wounded and one missing, the UN maritime agency said.
About half of the incidents have involved tankers, 20 per cent container ships and 15 per cent bulk carriers.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) classified 47 of the incidents as attacks.
Liberia-flagged vessels have been most affected, being involved in 13 incidents, followed by 10 vessels each from Panama and the Marshall Islands.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday laid out plans for the "economic asphyxiation" of Iran, expanding Washington's secondary sanctions threats and warning of dire consequences for countries that do not join the campaign.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (MTO) reported (via advisory/warning, referenced as Warning 120-26 in related posts) that an oil tanker was struck by an unidentified/unknown projectile about 9 nautical miles northeast of Ash Shishah, Oman.
The impact damaged the engine room, disabling the vessel reportedly transiting the US-protected lane. The crew was reported safe; environmental impact was not immediately known.
This fits a pattern of multiple projectile strikes on commercial vessels (especially tankers) off Oman near the Strait of Hormuz / Musandam area throughout 2026 amid US-Iran hostilities. UKMTO has issued repeated warnings of such incidents.
Day 160: Tehran reshuffles military
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