Trump threatens to bomb Oman after Iran-Oman agree on Strait of Hormuz route

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The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned an Iranian drone attack targeting the private office of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and the residence of the region’s security agency director in Erbil.

In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “The UAE strongly condemns the Iranian aggressive attack on Iraqi Kurdistan.”

The statement elaborated that the UAE “condemned in the strongest terms the Iranian aggressive attack that targeted the private office of Prime Minister His Excellency Masrour Barzani and the residence of the Director of the Protection Agency in Erbil in the brotherly Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with two drones."

It described the incident as “a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, and a threat to its security and stability.”

The ministry expressed the UAE’s “full solidarity with the brotherly Republic of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, and its support for all that would preserve its security and stability.”

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Iraq's federal government said on Monday it would launch an investigation into an attack on the office of the autonomous Kurdistan region's prime minister, which the regional authorities blamed on Iran.

Tehran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the attack and called on Iran's "Kurdish friends" to be "vigilant against false flags".

Earlier, Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said that an investigation by the region's counter-terrorism unit found that his "personal office and the home of the head of the Security and Intelligence Agency were targeted by Iranian drone attacks". There were no reported casualties in the attack.

Since the start of the Middle East war, the Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops and foreign oil firms as well as rebels exiled from Iran, has been targeted with more than 1,000 attacks by Tehran and pro-Iran armed groups inside Iraq.

Drones have repeatedly been intercepted over Kurdistan's capital Erbil, while others have struck the rebels and US interests.

US President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner said that the United States and Iran were having "very positive and active conversations," while noting that "there's really not a lot of trust between America and Iran after all these years".

Kushner told Fox News that "President Trump is going to be very patient…he doesn't want to rush to a deal. He'll make the right deal when the right deal is ready," he added.

On Monday, Trump said Iranian officials "want to make a deal, but they're not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary," before repeating his key demand that "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon."

Progress in getting Hamas to give up its weapons and move forward with a Gaza peace plan could materialize in about a month, US President Donald Trump's envoy Jared Kushner said Monday.

"We could be seeing progress... in as little as 30 days, hopefully starting to take some of the weapons out, and hopefully, you know, filling in some of the tunnels as well," Kushner told Fox News while in Tel Aviv.

“They're not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary,” Trump said when asked if Washington was getting closer to reaching a deal with Tehran.

“We're in there for one reason. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he added. “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. And they won't have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump said Washington was not seeking to extend its memorandum of understanding with Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi condemned what he described as a “reckless attack” on the office of Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.

In a post on X, Araghchi warned Kurdish officials to remain vigilant against what he called possible “false-flag ploys” aimed at creating tensions between neighbouring countries.

He also said Iran had protected its Kurdish allies against Saddam Hussein and Daesh, while expressing gratitude for the security they had provided along Iran’s border.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei condemned on Monday a drone attack that targeted the Iraqi Kurdistan prime minister's office overnight, state media reported.

Baqaei denounced the attack, "describing it as a highly suspicious development that requires vigilance and careful attention", according to a statement carried by state news agency IRNA.

Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah spoke by phone with Bahrain's Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif Al Zayani on Monday. The two discussed the latest regional developments, along with diplomatic efforts to ease tensions and strengthen security and stability across the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US-backed Board of Peace agreed on Monday to establish two working groups focused on the Gaza Strip, including one tasked with addressing its disarmament and demilitarisation.

The agreement followed a meeting in Israel between Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Board of Peace Director Nickolay Mladenov, according to Netanyahu’s office. It said the first working group would focus on the “disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza”, which both sides want completed promptly and before any reconstruction begins.

A second working group will focus on sanitation, access to clean water and other public health issues affecting people in Gaza and Israel, the statement said.

US Central Command said on August 17 that its forces have redirected 64 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two as part of efforts to enforce the US naval blockade against Iran.

The latest figures come as tensions remain high around the Strait of Hormuz and amid continued efforts to control maritime traffic in the strategic waterway.

Iran has reportedly given the United States a “few weeks” ultimatum to meet its demands or it will shift to a fully offensive posture and launch a "timely and precise" military attack, per Reuters citing a senior Iranian official.

Iran's demands:

• $300 billion in reconstruction funds

• Full release of frozen Iranian assets

• Lifting of the U.S. naval blockade

• End to the war across all fronts

• Permanent resolution on the Strait of Hormuz

He emphasized Iran has reportedly decided to shift from a defensive to a fully offensive posture.

Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell 19.5% last week to 95 crossings from 118, global ship-tracking and maritime analytics service MarineTraffic said on Monday.

Daily traffic dropped from a peak of 19 crossings on Aug. 11 to just three on Aug. 16, according to the data.

Of the 95 crossings, MarineTraffic said 51 used the Iranian Unilateral Scheme and 44 were classified as Route Undetermined. No crossings using the Hormuz traffic separation scheme or Omani route were recorded.

By contrast, crossings through the Bab el-Mandeb rose 6.7% to 254 from 238, with 150 vessels entering the Red Sea and 104 exiting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on Monday with US envoy Jared Kushner that a US general should supervise Hamas's disarmament and said Israel would not pull troops from Gaza until then, an Israeli official told AFP.

The two sides "agreed that the first step toward the demilitarisation of the Strip would be to require Hamas to hand over its weapons for decommissioning under the supervision of an American general," the Israeli official said.

There was no immediate US confirmation of any agreement.

Trump threatens Oman

Trump threatened to bomb Oman if it "gets in the way" of a US deal with Tehran on the Strait of Hormuz and called for Iran to surrender.

"If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb the shit out of them," Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, while Washington is also pursuing its own talks.

Iran says 60-day deadline 'irrelevant'

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday that a 60-day deadline for negotiations included in June's memorandum of understanding was "irrelevant" because the US had violated the deal early on.

"We did not begin any negotiations because, a few weeks after the signing, widespread violations of the agreement began, thereby rendering the 60-day provision irrelevant."

Houthis target Saudi ship

Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Monday they had targeted a Saudi military vessel and four accompanying boats in the Red Sea, as part of their maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia.

Yahya Saree, military spokesperson for the Iran-backed Houthis, said they had "succeeded in targeting a military landing ship belonging to the Saudi enemy, accompanied by four military patrol boats, in the Red Sea off the coast of Mokha, using several ballistic missiles".

Risk of 'full-scale conflict' in Yemen: UN: The UN rights chief voiced alarm

Monday at the rising civilian toll of escalating hostilities in Yemen, and called for efforts to avoid plunging the country back into full-scale war.

"I call on all parties to de-escalate tensions and spare the Yemeni people from further misery. The Yemeni people have already suffered way too much from the devastating legacy of years of conflict, displacement and humanitarian crisis," Volker Turk said.

Iranian drones attack Iraqi Kurdistan PM's office

Two Iranian drones targeted the Iraqi Kurdistan prime minister's office and the home of the autonomous region's intelligence chief overnight, authorities said on Monday.

Masrour Barzani said that an investigation by the region's counter-terrorism unit found that his "personal office and the home of the head of the Security and Intelligence Agency were targeted by Iranian drone attacks earlier today".

Iran says missing pilots prisoners in Qatar

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday it would consider three missing pilots to be prisoners in Qatar, despite Doha's denials, until it clarified their fate.

Tehran has said the Iranians went missing while carrying out an operation against the United States' Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on March 2.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pushed back on Monday against remarks by US President Donald Trump, rejecting his assertion that American officials were engaged in behind-the-scenes discussions with the IRGC over matters tied to the conflict. IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohibbi told Tasnim news agency that no such contact between the Guard and US officials was taking place.

Pirates have seized a cargo ship off the coast of Somalia, monitors reported on Monday, in the latest incident since a resurgence of maritime attacks around the Horn of Africa.

Eight people boarded and took control of the merchant ship near Marraye in Somalia, according to alerts by UK Maritime Trade Operations and the EU's Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO), without naming the vessel.

"The crew is reported safe at this time," the MSCIO said.

Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Monday they had targeted a Saudi military vessel and four accompanying boats in the Red Sea, as part of their maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia.

Yahya Saree, military spokesperson for the Iran-backed Houthis, said they had "succeeded in targeting a military landing ship belonging to the Saudi enemy, accompanied by four military patrol boats, in the Red Sea off the coast of Mokha, using several ballistic missiles".

The UN rights chief voiced alarm Monday at the rising civilian toll of escalating hostilities in Yemen, urging efforts to avoid plunging the country back into full-scale war.

Yemen, which has been embroiled in more than a decade of civil conflict, last month became the latest country to be dragged into the Middle East war as the Iran-backed Houthis upended the 2022 truce with the Saudi-backed government, ramping up attacks on areas it holds.

The latest violence has raised the spectre of a return to war in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country.

"I urge all parties to halt immediately any actions that risk returning Yemen to full-scale conflict" Turk said

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman if it "gets in the way" of a deal with Iran on the Strait of Hormuz and called for Iran to surrender.

"If Oman gets in the way, we'll bomb them," Trump told Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, referring to ongoing talks between Oman and Iran on control of the strait, while Washington is also pursuing its own talks.

Trump also said that Iran should "put up the white flag of surrender," according to Yingst's post on X on his interview with the president.

The 60-day clock has run out on Donald Trump’s Iran deal. Now the US president faces a harder question: What does he do next?

The memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran in June was supposed to provide a pathway out of the war. It envisioned an end to hostilities, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and negotiations leading to a permanent settlement of the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Instead of negotiating their way out of the conflict, Washington and Tehran increasingly appear to be trying to force the other side to break first.

Read the full story here.

UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman today discussed the longstanding fraternal ties between the two countries and ways to further strengthen cooperation, particularly in the economic and development fields, in support of shared priorities and interests, as well as the prosperity and wellbeing of their peoples.

The discussions took place as Sheikh Mohamed received Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, who is on a fraternal visit to the UAE.

Read more here.

Iran said Monday it has reached an agreement with Oman over a plan for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the two countries, and the sides are now working to finalize details for a joint statement.

Iranian Foreign Affairs spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that “an understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route.”

He did not elaborate, but details that have previously emerged suggest the deal would reopen the strait with ships entering through a route close to Iran and exiting through a route close to Oman. Ships would transit without paying fees or tolls during the interim period.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday it will consider three missing pilots to be prisoners in Qatar, despite Doha's denials, until it clarifies their fate.

Tehran has said the Iranians went missing while carrying out an operation against the United States' Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on March 2, shortly after the outbreak of the Middle East war. 

On Saturday, Iranian authorities alleged for the first time that the pilots had been captured in Qatar, after previously saying one pilot had been killed and three others were missing following their sortie.

Iran's foreign ministry on Monday blamed pollution in Gulf waters on US military operations in the region, after several oil spills were reported.

"This environmental damage stems from the US military presence and the wars it has waged in the region over the past five decades," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a news briefing.

"The damage caused to the environment of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is not solely linked to this war." 

He called for the United States to be held accountable, estimating the damage at "trillions of dollars."

Last week, Iran called for compensation after an oil slick in the Strait of Hormuz reached the island of Qeshm, affecting beaches and an environmentally sensitive mangrove forest.

After President Donald Trump signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran in mid‑June 2026, US officials fanned out across the Gulf to sell an agreement they hoped would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin winding down the war. 

Instead, according to a US Congressional report citing Iranian and Arab officials, Tehran’s hard‑line leadership treated the MOU as a “tactical pause”.

Moreover, it was seen as possibly a US–Israeli ploy to ease pressure on the global economy and buy time for a larger strike — the hardliners spent the ensuing two months preparing for escalation, as per a US Congressional Report published August 7. The MOU was signed on June 17, 2026 at Versailles, during a push to halt hostilities and restart negotiations.

Both sides declared an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts,” including Lebanon, and pledged not to initiate war or military operations against each other.

Almost immediately, the deal’s 14 points began to fray.

Eight of the world’s largest oil producers posted a combined $93 billion in profits in the second quarter of 2026, nearly double their earnings in the same period last year, as the Iran war and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices higher. The figures, reported by OilPrice.com, cover Saudi Aramco, BP, Shell, Equinor, TotalEnergies, Eni, Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Their combined profits rose from just under $50 billion in the second quarter of 2025. The windfall came as the conflict that began in late February disrupted one of the world's most important energy corridors.

Iranian Army Chief Amir Hatami has announced a $30,000 bounty for anyone who kills or captures a US soldier, with the reward reportedly doubled when the act is carried out by a woman, amid ongoing friction between Tehran and Washington.

The decision comes after a "large number of requests" from individuals seeking to participate, state-run IRNA cited the military chief as saying. However, he did not specify the location or timeframe for any such potential attack or capture.

"Courageous Iranian women who carry out such an action will receive double the reward," he added.

Oil prices rose on Monday, with Brent crude ​futures gaining as much as 1 per cent to $89.40 per barrel and were last trading ​up 72 cents at $89.20 by 0229 GMT.

The US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 44 cents to $82.83 a barrel. Both contracts gained more than 5 per cent last week.

Iran's First Vice President, Mohammad Reza Aref, has warned that external adversaries, specifically the United States and Israel, are shifting their strategy to economic warfare following recent military standoffs, according to Iranian media.

Aref claimed the "enemy" is seeking to offset military setbacks by escalating economic pressure and exploiting domestic inflation to provoke social discontent.

According to Iran's ISNA news agency, Aref made the remarks at a meeting of the Market Regulation Headquarters, where he said Iran remained committed to international law but would not compromise on its rights.

Iran has criticised Canada for supporting the US amid the ongoing conflict with Tehran, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei using an ice hockey reference to accuse Ottawa of acting as Washington's "farm team".

In a post on X on Sunday, Baghaei referred to Canada as Washington's "farm team"- a term used in ice hockey for a minor-league affiliate that develops players for a national-league parent club. He said, " This is not hockey night in Canada; It is Washington's Farm Team."

US envoy Jared Kushner is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday after holding talks with Hamas leaders in Egypt aimed at reviving a US-backed Gaza peace plan that Israel has so far rejected.

The meeting comes two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest stage of Trump's Gaza plan, which Netanyahu has refused to support, insisting any settlement must ensure the group is "genuinely disarmed".

Kushner -- Trump's son-in-law -- met Hamas's new leader Khalil al-Hayya in the Egyptian Meditarranean city of El-Alamein on Sunday, sources with knowledge of the talks told AFP.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, and Asaad Al-Shaibani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic, held a telephone conversation, where they reviewed bilateral relations and ways to support and strengthen them. According to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the two sides also discussed the latest regional developments, particularly the diplomatic efforts and joint coordination aimed at de-escalation and enhancing security and stability in the region.

As the Aug. 17 deadline for the 60-day US-Iran memorandum arrives, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) political deputy, Brig. General Yadollah Javani warned that Iran's military posture could shift from defensive to offensive, telling state broadcaster IRIB that Tehran's future actions could take on an “offensive” form.

Reports by London-based Iran International and Tehran-based Press TV, also quoted Javani, who warned the US and Israel that Iran's armed forces would adopt “transformative approaches”.

General Javani stated that under the new appointment decrees issued by Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, any military action taken by Iran — while maintaining a defensive character in principle — will now take on an "offensive form" to deliver proactive strategic surprises and ensure maximum deterrence against adversaries.

Day 166: Israel strikes Lebanon as Iran-US tensions rise; Oman holds Hormuz talks

Day 165: US-Iran tensions rise over Trump’s Hormuz claim

Day 164: Iran demands faster US exit from Middle East

Day 163: 2 ADNOC vessels attacked in Hormuz; no injuries

Day 162: Trump says US has ‘total control’ of Strait of Hormuz

Day 161: Tehran: Hormuz stays shut as US-Iran diplomacy push continues

Day 160: Tehran reshuffles military

Day 159: Netanyahu rejects Gaza plan

Day 158: Trump says Iran can’t ‘go on much longer’

Day 157: Iran says Oman deal alone won’t reopen Hormuz