Trump says Iran talks ongoing as IRGC warns it is ready for any threat

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces are continuing to enforce the US blockade against Iran, providing updated figures on maritime operations in the region.

In a post on X, CENTCOM said that as of August 3, US forces had redirected 44 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two as part of blockade enforcement efforts.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ground force commander Mohammad Karami said its forces are prepared to respond decisively to any threat, warning against what he described as potential "miscalculations" by extra-regional adversaries or terrorist groups.

Karami said fighters under the Hamzeh Seyyed Al Shohada Headquarters remain on high alert and are backed by intelligence capabilities and operational readiness.

In a post on X, Karami said the forces, drawing on "operational readiness, faith, technology and modern sciences", were ready to deliver a "decisive response to any threat."

US President Donald Trump said Iran’s leadership was being “duplicitous” over diplomatic efforts, claiming Tehran had sought talks while publicly denying that negotiations were taking place.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said discussions were underway, while insisting that the US would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

Trump also reiterated his claim that the Strait of Hormuz was under US control, saying the US Navy’s presence and blockade measures would prevent anything from reaching Iran unless a deal was reached. He said any resolution would require Iran to address what he described as problems caused by Tehran over decades.

Six Saudi-flagged supertankers have altered their routes in the Gulf of Aden in recent days, heading towards southern Africa amid threats by Yemen’s Houthi fighters to target Saudi Arabian shipping, according to ship-tracking data cited by Reuters.

Shipping traffic continued through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab El Mandeb on August 2, but both key maritime routes remained exposed to elevated risks, according to maritime analytics firm Kpler.

The Strait of Hormuz recorded nine confirmed vessel transits, including two sanctioned vessels and two linked to the shadow fleet. Seven crossings used the Iranian Unilateral Scheme, while no vessels followed the established traffic separation scheme, indicating continued concentration on alternative routing patterns.

In the Bab El Mandeb corridor, 30 vessels crossed the route, down from 41 on July 31. Of these, 20 vessels exited the Red Sea and 10 entered. Dark transit activity declined to one vessel, improving tracking visibility, although sanctions risks and exposure linked to Houthi activity remain concerns.

Kpler said the diplomatic situation remains uncertain, adding that until signals from the United States, Iran and Oman align on clear navigation arrangements, shipping operators should continue treating both chokepoints as contested areas rather than fully normalised routes.

The US Defense Department said on Monday it had signed a framework agreement with defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to expand production capacity for missile-interceptor components, according to Reuters

The Pentagon did not disclose the financial value of the agreement or provide further details on its scope.

Oil prices tumbled Monday after US President Donald Trump said he was preparing for new talks with Iran aimed at ending the war in the Middle East, which also helped lift stocks.

Crude futures slid more than six percent, even though Iran denied that any negotiations were taking place.

The yen meanwhile surged against the dollar after US and Japanese authorities confirmed Monday that they had bought Japan's currency on the open markets after months of weakness.

But while a weaker yen helps big exporters like Sony or Toyota, it also inflates import costs for Japan, and the main Japanese stock index fell nearly one percent on Monday.

On currency markets, the dollar traded mixed, rising against the pound and the euro but down sharply against the yen after the rare joint US-Japan intervention.

The yen soared late last week after wallowing near its weakest dollar level since 1986, hit by higher US interest rates, rising oil prices and persistent capital outflows from Japan.

Despite falling on Monday, oil prices remain well above levels seen before the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran, sparking a war that has sharply curtailed Gulf exports of oil and other key products.

The decline in oil prices was aided by an agreement between Saudi Arabia, Russia and five other OPEC+ members to boost production by 188,000 barrels a day from September, analysts said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the situation in Yemen is a separate issue and should be addressed through dialogue.

Baghaei told reporters that linking Yemen-related developments to the war against Iran was an attempt to avoid responsibility.

He blamed the US and its allies for what he described as ongoing instability in the region, saying responsibility for current developments lies primarily with Washington and those supporting the “aggressor”.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday there were currently no negotiations with the United States but there were talks with Oman over the management of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

"We are not currently negotiating with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a weekly press briefing.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran has been in talks with Oman over the past seven to eight days, with discussions making "some progress".

Baghaei said the two countries, both bordering the Strait of Hormuz, are discussing the establishment of a safe temporary shipping route through the strategic waterway. He added that Iran is also holding consultations with officials from countries in the region and beyond.

However, Baghaei stressed that an agreement with Oman alone would not be enough to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying US attacks on Iran must end before the waterway can fully reopen.

He also said there are currently no direct talks taking place between Iran and the United States.

Iran executed two men convicted of spying for Israel, the judiciary said, the latest in a wave of hangings over alleged espionage.

Since the start of the war with Israel and the United States in February, Tehran has ramped up executions, with many of the convicts accused of spying for Israeli intelligence.

"Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat were hanged this morning for transmitting the coordinates of sensitive military and security sites to Mossad agents," said Mizan, the media outlet for Iran's judiciary, referring to Israel's foreign intelligence service.

"They helped the intelligence services achieve their objectives by providing them with information on military and security centres during the war," Mizan added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that negotiations between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages, the official news agency IRNA reported.

Araghchi said on Sunday during a cabinet meeting that the negotiations have progressed and are on the path of being finalised.

Elaborating on the Iran-Oman talks in an interview with state-run IRIB TV on Sunday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stressed that reaching an agreement between the two countries is not related to the waterway's reopening or continued closure, reports Xinhua news agency.

Baghaei said Iran and Oman are working to designate a "new route" in the strait within a traffic separation scheme format that can ensure both sides' sovereign rights as well as Iran's national interests and security.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has echoed President Donald Trump’s claim that the US military was prepared to launch attacks on Iran at levels “not seen since World War II”.

In a post on X, Hegseth said the Pentagon “remains ready” and is “locked and loaded”.

The US military has redirected 38 commercial vessels as part of the renewed naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to the latest figures reported by the command amid continued enforcement operations in the region.

The update came as the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln transited the Arabian Sea, with a US Marine Corps F-35C stealth fighter launching from its deck in support of the mission.

The blockade of maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports resumed on July 14 at the direction of President Donald Trump.

Israeli strikes on Gaza hit multiple residential buildings and killed at least 13 people, authorities said Sunday, despite Hamas saying it agreed to the latest stage of a deal to end the war.

Hamas said Friday it had agreed to a plan championed by US President Donald Trump that includes provisions for handing over its weapons and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

Israel has yet to officially comment on the agreement, but a political source has told AFP "that there will be no withdrawal whatsoever" without Hamas's "genuine disarmament".

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported an explosion in close proximity to a tanker off the coast of Oman on Sunday.

According to UKMTO, in an X post at 4.37am on Monday (August 3, 2026) the incident occurred approximately 20 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman.

It confirmed that all crew members and the vessel are reported to be safe following the incident.

Maritime authorities have launched an investigation into the event. Meanwhile, the UKMTO has advised all vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and immediately report any suspicious activity to the agency.

US President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran will begin Monday after he decided to hold off on new "disastrous" strikes against the Islamic republic to pursue a deal.

"Obviously, they don't want to be attacked. They knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming," Trump told reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One. 

"Now what we're doing is we're talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon," he said, without providing further details of the venue of the talks or the participants.

President Donald Trump said on August 1 that he would halt new planned attacks on Iran pending renewed talks to wind down the war and revive stalled cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. It was the latest in a pattern of announcements the US president has made to first threaten massive strikes and then later call them off. The abrupt shifts have been a defining feature of the five-month conflict that has sent prices of oil and basic goods soaring — and the announcements to date have been upended by renewed attacks days or even hours afterward.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the US and Iran in June will serve as the foundation of the country’s future foreign relations, the Iranian leader said early on Monday.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that the deal was the product of collective decision-making by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and all members of the council are aligned with the agreement.

“I believe that this memorandum of understanding will be the centre of gravity of our foreign relations in the future,” he wrote in a post on X.

“We must strive to force the enemy to remain committed to what it has signed. The security of the country, the region and our allies will be enhanced with this memorandum of understanding.”

Iran has prepared an "extensive" plan for responding to potential attacks on Iranian infrastructure, the country's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Saturday. Tasnim cited a senior security official as saying that Iran has prepared an "extensive" plan in response to US media's recent claims about possible US and Israeli strikes against its infrastructure.

 Day 152: Trump pauses strikes as Iran demands US honour deal

Day 152: Trump announces Hamas disarmament deal

Day 151: GCC condemns renewed Iranian attacks on Kuwait, Jordan

Day 150: US, Saudi forces strike Iran-backed militias in Iraq

Day 149: Trump holds 'positive' talks with Zelenskyy, Netanyahu

Day 148: Saudi air defences foil drone attack on oil facilities

Day 147: Iran says military ready as Netanyahu heads to US

Day 146: Iran says it earned $11.5b in oil sales during the war

Day 145: US-Iran war escalates as Tehran targets US bases in Gulf