Iran’s top diplomat and Trump cast doubt on any hope for a peace deal

Iran’s armed forces on Wednesday warned Gulf countries against assisting the U.S. military, saying it would be tantamount to joining American military operations.

“We wish to warn that any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor U.S. military amounts to participation in the U.S. military operation,” armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.

“It seems unlikely that such a large number of military aircraft, particularly refuelling aircraft could be present at regional bases without knowledge of host countries,” said Abdollahi.

Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped significantly last week, with confirmed crossings falling 19.5% to 95 transits. Only three vessels made it through the waterway on Sunday, according to shipping data platform Kpler.

The ships used the Iranian-designated route through the strait, with no crossings recorded through the Omani routes.

Crossings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, increased 6.7% to 254 transits, while so-called dark transits, in which ships turn off the transponders that broadcast their location, fell from 40 to 16, Kpler said.

The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday that it had suspended all trade and financial dealings with Iran.

“In light of regional escalations … all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice,” UAE foreign ministry communications director Afra Al Hameli said.

The announcement came after the UAE accused Tehran of firing two ballistic missiles at shipping in the Gulf, an allegation Iran has denied.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement that the UAE’s accusations were “baseless,” Reuters reported.

CBS/AFP

The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday accused Iran of firing two ballistic missiles at shipping in the Gulf, marking the first time in months the defense ministry warned of a missile threat to its territory.

“UAE air defenses detected two ballistic missiles launched from Iran toward the country, with the first falling outside the country’s territorial waters, while the second fell within the territorial waters,” the ministry said in a statement posted to social media.

A second statement released later said: “Assessments carried out showed that the two ballistic missiles detected coming from Iran were targeting maritime navigation and fell into the sea.”

Iran did not immediately comment on the report but it has warned that the Strait of Hormuz, through which shipping leaving UAE ports must pass to exit the Gulf, will remain closed until it reaches a peace agreement with the United States.

When the Middle East war began on Feb. 28, the UAE bore the brunt of Iran’s attacks, with nearly 3,000 missiles and drones directed at the country — more than anywhere else in the region.

After a memorandum of understanding came into effect in June between the two parties, which has since expired, the UAE reported no attacks, unlike other Gulf states.

The Justice Department on Tuesday announced a superseding indictment against 17 Iranians accused of a cyber piracy campaign on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

According to the DOJ, the accused are hackers-for-hire employed by an Iran-based company, the Mabna Institute, who illegally accessed computer systems of hundreds of entities, including 144 U.S.-based universities, at least 42 U.S.-based private sector companies and at least five U.S. federal and state government agencies.

Nine of the 17 people charged were previously indicted in March 2018 for allegedly targeting 100,000 professors’ email accounts worldwide, successfully accessing roughly 8,000 of those and stealing about 31 terabytes of information.

In the new indictment, the eight additional defendants are accused of targeting HBO, allegedly stealing the media company’s proprietary data and attempting to extort it for approximately $6 million worth of bitcoin.

“Today’s charges, which include eight additional defendants, reveal the broader network allegedly behind a sweeping, state-sponsored campaign to steal research and intellectual property from American universities, businesses, and government institutions,” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald for the Southern District of New York said in a news release.

Paris will expel two Iranian diplomats posted in France in retaliation for Iran banning two French diplomats in the embassy in Tehran, the French foreign minister said on Tuesday.

“Two Iranian diplomats in France will be expelled in the coming days,” Jean-Noel Barrot said on X, adding the move was a consequence of the “intolerable” treatment of the French diplomats who were briefly detained last month in Tehran over accusations of “interference.”

The Iranian foreign ministry on Monday said it had informed France the two French diplomats would not be allowed to return to Iran.

Barrot on July 20 said the pair — one of whom was the cultural attache — had the night before been targeted by Iranian officials, who detained and questioned them over several hours, “in flagrant violation of diplomatic immunity.”

He said they had suffered “an extremely serious act of intimidation” at the hands of Iran’s security service, with one of them physically abused.

President Trump threatened to bomb Oman because he is unhappy the country is close to a deal with Iran he disapproves of to manage ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, two regional officials said Tuesday, a day after Mr. Trump leveled the threat.

The officials said the Trump administration has told Oman it is opposed to parts of the yet-to-be-announced deal, including the joint Iranian and Omani management of the exit route out of the passage that’s critical to global supplies of oil and natural gas. The officials were briefed on the U.S. position and how the administration views Oman’s position.

The U.S. believes Oman has not been tough enough in its negotiations with Iran and is unhappy with Oman’s agreement to collect voluntary fees from vessels, even if the charges are related to security and maritime environmental protection, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.

Mr. Trump on Monday threatened to bomb Oman as it works with Iran on a deal to open the strait and pave the way for the U.S. and Iran to resume negotiations to end the war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi threw cold water on the idea of a ceasefire in the U.S. war with Iran, saying his side will only accept an end to the war.

“We told the mediators that we will not accept a ceasefire; the war must come to an end,” Araghchi told semi-official Fars News Agency, translated from Persian. “We were saying that the war must end in such a way that it will not be repeated.”

The end of the 60-day ceasefire negotiated between the U.S. and Iran technically came to an end Monday, but practically both sides had long since stopped recognizing the memorandum of understanding. President Trump on Monday called it irrelevant and said he had no timeline for a deal, according to an off-camera interview he gave Fox News’ Trey Yingst.

“The enemies were seeking our surrender; they went after changing the regime, fragmentation, and internal unrest, but whatever plan they pursued, they became disappointed and were defeated,” Araghchi added in the interview with Fars News Agency.

Regardless of what Iran is hoping to get from negotiations, Mr. Trump on Tuesday said there were “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Iran.

The speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, attacked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, saying they are in over their heads in the war with Iran.

“Americans think squeezing Iran harder will win concessions that were never part of the agreement,” Ghalibaf wrote on X, possibly in reference to sanctions. Bessent threatened Iran last week with “never before seen” sanctions that would result in the “economic isolation of a country.”

“Bessent and Hegseth are way out of their league,” Ghalibaf continued. “Stop waiting for the clown crew to pull a rabbit out of their hat and clean up the mess you made.”

Ghalibaf regularly antagonizes the Trump administration on social media. Last week, Ghalibaf accused the administration of “theater diplomacy on loop” in regard to President Trump threatening massive attacks before backing off and saying negotiations are back on.

Two ballistic missiles were fired at the United Arab Emirates from Iran on Tuesday, according to the country’s ministry of defense.

Both missiles landed harmlessly in water, one within UAE’s territorial waters and one outside their waters, according to the ministry.

The strikes were the first on the UAE by Iran in months. In the opening weeks of the war, in March, the country faced daily drone and missile attacks, including in the glitzy tourist hub of Dubai. But those largely stopped after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a memorandum of understanding in mid-June.

The last Iranian strike on the UAE came in May. However, Iran has regularly targeted oil tankers operated by the UAE’s state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks.

“The Ministry of Defense confirms that it is on high alert and fully prepared to deal with any threats, and to firmly confront anything aimed at undermining the security of the state, thereby ensuring the preservation of its sovereignty, security, and stability, and protecting its interests and national capabilities,” the ministry of defense said on X.

United Nations inspectors have found “a few tons” of nuclear material at a previously secret Syrian nuclear site, according to the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said Tuesday that Syria’s new government had opened  the site in Deir ez-Zor to international inspectors.

“Today is an important day for security and peace and the indispensable efforts in the field of nuclear non-proliferation, where we began cooperation with the new Syrian government, while the previous regime did not cooperate in this field,” he said on a visit to Damascus.

Grossi said the IAEA has worked with Syria’s new government for 18 months and was granted access to the Deir ez-Zor site, which was operated by the previous regime.

“We found a few tons of nuclear material that could be misused,” he said, adding that substantial work was still needed to establish a complete picture of Syria’s nuclear-related materials.

“It is important to have full clarity regarding the nuclear materials in order to strengthen international cooperation,” he said.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, speaking alongside Grossi, said Syria’s “transparency is a voluntary choice.”

He said the nuclear material would remain in the country, for “peaceful purposes.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will head to Rome this week for talks on the future of the United Nations peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, whose mandate ends this year, a Lebanese official told the AFP news agency.

The visit scheduled for Thursday comes after Italy and France said in June that they wanted to set up a multinational coalition to succeed the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL.

Both countries provide the U.N. force with large troop contingents.

Aoun is to meet his counterpart Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to discuss “the future of the international forces, particularly in light of the French-Italian initiative to set up a force to replace UNIFIL,” the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Aoun will also meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican and brief him on “the contacts Lebanon has been making since negotiations began” with Israel, the official added.

Aoun has said Lebanon’s preferred choice is an extension of UNIFIL’s mandate, a move opposed by Israel.

On Monday, he said “the second choice is adopting a formula that ensures the continued presence of international forces in the south,” alongside Lebanon’s army.

A framework agreement reached in June between Israel and Lebanon calls for the disarmament of Iran-backed Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region.

Despite a weeks-long lull in fighting, Israel has kept up intermittent strikes and heavy demolition operations in south Lebanon, where its forces have occupied a strip of land stretching around six miles into Lebanese territory.

-CBS/AFP

The United Arab Emirates military said Tuesday that an incoming missile threat was detected, warning residents of possible interceptions for the first time in weeks.

“UAE Air Defence Systems have detected a missile threat directed towards the country,” the country’s ministry of defense said in a post on X. “If any sounds are heard, they are the result of air defence interceptions.”

The UAE, a close U.S. ally, was targeted daily, along with other Persian Gulf states allied with the U.S., by Iran during open hostilities from the onset of the war on Feb. 28. Iran’s drone and missile attacks on its neighbors have largely halted since the Islamic Republic signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. in mid-June, implementing a very shaky ceasefire.

The UAE last reported incoming Iranian weapons in May.

The government of Qatar, which has been a key mediator in the stalled U.S.-Iran talks, said Tuesday that an agreement between Iran and Oman over future control of the Strait of Hormuz would make it easier to resume negotiations to end the war in the region.

Iran and Oman, both coastal states bordering the strategic waterway, have been discussing the future of navigation through the strait for weeks. Tehran said Monday that the geographical coordinates of new shipping routes through the waterway envisaged by both countries had “been agreed upon.”

Oman has not confirmed any looming announcements or agreements with Iran. 

President Trump, who has repeatedly said the U.S. should seize and keep control of the strait, warned Monday that if Oman stood in the way of ending the war, the U.S. would “bomb the s**t” out of the country, which has long been a U.S. ally.

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters Tuesday that a final agreement between Iran and Oman “would make it much easier for us to resume the talks between the United States and Iran.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the strait would not be reopened unless and until the U.S. meets Tehran’s demands, including lifting a naval blockade of Iran’s ports.

On Monday, Iran said talks were “continuing in a serious manner” and views were being exchanged on the text of a “joint statement” with Oman.

CBS/AFP

President Trump said Tuesday that there are no ongoing talks with Iran and no new discussions have been planned, almost six months into the war launched jointly by the U.S. and Israel, which Mr. Trump had said he expected to take no more than six weeks.

“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. 

“The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect,” he continued. “The Hormuz Strait is open and operating.” 

“All water mines have been removed or detonated,” Mr. Trump added, repeating a claim he made last week.

While some tankers are believed to be getting through the strait with their transponders switched off to effectively hide from view, traffic through the crucial maritime choke point has been hugely reduced since the war began in late February, with both the U.S. and Iran imposing restrictions on the waterway.

As recently as Monday, Mr. Trump indicated to Fox News that there was still some level of discussion between U.S. and Iranian officials, saying specifically that there were “backchannel” contacts between Americans and members of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 

The U.S. ambassador to Turkey chastised Israel Tuesday for what he called an “unnecessary escalation” for airstrikes targeting an air base in Syria’s northern Idlib region.

Israel has not acknowledged carrying out the strikes, but Syrian officials and state media said at least four strikes hit the Abu al-Duhur Airbase Monday night and Tuesday morning, causing damage but no casualties.

In a post on X Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said the U.S. was “deeply concerned that the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase” – which was used by the Syrian air force – “constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”

In a statement published Tuesday, Syria’s foreign affairs ministry called the airstrikes an “unjustified act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty, and a dangerous escalation.”

Syria’s post-Bashar al-Assad government “has neither adopted a predatory posture nor maintained proxy forces,” Barrack wrote. “It has, in fact, repeatedly indicated a preference for de-escalation with Israel.”

“The United States continues to believe that restraint and engagement offer the more constructive course,” he added. “We encourage all parties to prioritize logical discourse over further military incidents.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has acknowledged that the past year has been one of the most difficult periods for the country diplomatically, but he says it will lead to an emboldened approach to foreign policy after the ongoing war.

In an interview aired on Iranian state TV, Araghchi said the war had fundamentally altered international perceptions of Iran and argued that the country had demonstrated resilience despite sustained pressure.

“In my view, Iran’s foreign policy in the post-war period will be completely different from the period before the war. The perception of Iran as weak has been completely eliminated,” he said.

Araghchi said the U.S. initially sought Iran’s unconditional surrender, but subsequently shifted its objectives.

“It was the second or third day of the war when Trump posted a tweet in two words: ‘Unconditional surrender,'” noted Araghchi.  “And, well, they were seeking surrender. They became disappointed, then they pursued regime change; they became disappointed, then they pursued partition; they became disappointed, then they pursued internal unrest. Every plan that they could pursue, they pursued, and they were unsuccessful in bringing this war to a rapid conclusion.”

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister said Tuesday that President Trump’s suggestion the Strait of Hormuz should be U.S. territory was a “delusion.”

“Soon his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will either be corrected or we will correct the delusions of this deluded man,” Kazem Gharibabadi said in a social media post.

The minister noted in his post that Mr. Trump had “correctly” referred to the body of water along Iran’s coast as the Persian Gulf, as opposed to the “Arabian Gulf” name, which is preferred by U.S.-allied Arab nations in the region. 

President Trump suggested again on Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz should be U.S. territory.

In a Truth Social post, the president posted a map of the Strait of Hormuz under the headline “NEW U.S. Territory.” The highlighted part of the map includes parts of the coast of Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

The post echoes a similar message posted by the president last week, when he wrote: “I THINK I WILL KEEP IT,” referring to the waterway, which he has claimed repeatedly is under American control. White House officials later said Mr. Trump was joking when he talked about declaring the strait a U.S. territory.

The Strait of Hormuz has become the focal point of the nearly six-month war between the U.S. and Iran, with both sides claiming control over the strategic waterway used by various Gulf states to ship their oil and gas out of the Persian Gulf to global markets.

Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel for airstrikes it said the country carried out on a military airbase in the Idlib region.

In a statement published Tuesday, the ministry called the airstrikes an “unjustified act of aggression, a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty, and a dangerous escalation.”

Syrian state TV earlier reported on the airstrikes, saying it had caused damage to infrastructure but resulted in no casualties.

The Israel Defense Forces did not comment when asked about the accusations.

Iran’s parliament speaker and negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tuesday that the Islamic Republic would not lift its de facto blockade of commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz until the U.S. meets the country’s demands.

“I want to state clearly that the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until the American commitments stipulated in the memorandum of understanding are implemented,” Ghalibaf said in a speech broadcast on state television.

Ghalibaf listed the release of Iran’s frozen financial assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil and gas sales, and the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports and associated vessels as key conditions for the reopening of the strait.

Syria accused Israel of striking a disused military air base in the country’s northwest on Tuesday.

“Israeli occupation aircraft early this morning targeted the runway… with eight strikes,” Syrian state television quoted an unidentified military source as saying.

It added that “the attack resulted in material damage to the airport’s infrastructure, without causing casualties.”

Israel has been carrying out incursions into Syrian territory since the December 2024 overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, including sending troops into a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights since 1974.

It has also hit key military sites including several airfields, according to a Syria war monitor.

The Israel Defense Forces refused to comment when asked about the alleged strikes.

Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco resumed offering crude oil shipments last week, using ship-to-ship transfers off the United Arab Emirates coast, the Reuters news agency says, citing shipping data and trade sources.

Aramco, which is the world’s top oil exporter, reportedly offered some Asian refiners medium and heavy crude cargo via ship-to-ship (STS) transfer off Fujairah in the UAE this month.

The move came after Saudi Arabia halted oil sales for ‌weeks following attacks on its tanker fleet in the Strait of Hormuz during an escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict last month.

The resumption of Saudi exports could help ease tight supply of heavier grades that produce more residue fuel which ⁠can be used to refuel ships or processed further at refineries, to yield higher quality fuels such as gasoline and diesel.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeted an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia Tuesday, according to media outlets controlled by the group, as the Houthis ramp up attacks in the regional conflict.

The attacks targeted a Saudi state-owned Aramco refinery in Jazan with drones, the Houthi news agency Saba said Tuesday, quoting a military source.

In July, the war between the U.S. and Iran expanded to Yemen and the Red Sea, with Iran’s Houthi proxies repeatedly attacking Saudi oil infrastructure and ships.

The Houthi rebels announced a maritime blockade of the Yemeni government’s backer Saudi Arabia — which has led a coalition that heavily bombed Houthi areas throughout the war.

CBS/AFP

Iran’s judiciary said it has banned a YouTube debate show for spreading “false information”, while the channel’s founder said authorities had charged him and released him on bail after questioning.

On Monday, Iran’s judiciary said it opened an investigation into the YouTube channel “Azad” following the broadcast of an episode containing “false information”.

Mizan Online, the judiciary’s news website, said the show was “considered an unauthorised media outlet” as it did not have an official licence from the culture ministry, which oversees media activity in Iran.

“A judiciary supervision order was issued prohibiting the director from carrying out any media activity until a licence is obtained,” Mizan reported.

It added that the channel had “committed numerous violations of media regulations during its unauthorised operations”.

The show’s founder and presenter Mehdi Ahmadi said he was charged with disseminating false information and questioned on Sunday and Monday.

“I, Mehdi Ahmadi, director and presenter of the Azad interviews have been charged with disseminating false information and have been referred to the prosecutor’s office yesterday and today to answer for these charges,” he said Monday on X.

“In accordance with the court’s decision, I was released on bail but the Azad channel is prohibited from broadcasting any interviews until further notice.”

A ship on its way out of the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an “unknown projectile” on Tuesday, according to a British maritime agency, resulting in one casualty and  damage to an engine room.

“The impact caused damage to the engine room and resulted in a crew casualty,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in a social media post, adding that the remaining crew members were being assisted by the Omani Coast Guard.

President Trump’s son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner said Monday that Iran is “not showing any interest” in striking a deal that “makes sense” for the United States.

In an interview with Fox News’ Trey Yingst, Kushner said the president was focused on exerting economic pressure on Iran and ensuring Tehran cannot build a nuclear weapon.

“If Iran is willing to finish the deal they’ve been discussing with us to give up their ability to create a nuclear weapon, then obviously [Mr. Trump] is willing to make a deal that could be great for the Iranian people,” Kushner said.

The comments came as the 60-day negotiation period agreed to under the memorandum of understanding expired.

Japan underlined on Tuesday that security cooperation with the United States and South Korea was “critical” for the region’s stability, after President Trump alarmed allies by scaling back military drills with Seoul while hailing his ties with Pyongyang.

Mr. Trump abruptly announced on Sunday that he had ordered the Pentagon to scale back “inappropriate and hostile” military drills with South Korea.

The following day he insisted he was making the situation “much safer” through his ties with the North’s Kim Jong Un, whom he met three times in his first term but has yet to encounter since his return to the White House.

While praising the leader of nuclear-armed North Korea, he rebuked key ally Seoul for failing to help Washington fight Iran, a war Mr. Trump says is aimed at stopping Tehran from getting an atomic bomb.

Pressed about whether Kim had responded to his messages, the president told reporters in the Oval Office: “Yeah, he has.”

Mr. Trump said “it’s very positive” when asked what stage the conversations with Kim were at, but provided no further detail.

He then doubled down on his praise for Kim, saying their ties reduced tensions.

“Kim Jong Un has always treated me with great respect,” the president said. “I understand him. He understands me.”

President Trump on Monday downplayed reports about conditions for sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea for nine months, calling them “fake news.”

“The Lincoln has been out there for a period of time, a good period of time, but over the years, we’ve had it out there much longer,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The president said he spoke to an admiral, whom he did not name, over the weekend and that the retired officer told him: “I’ve been on ships that are out there much longer than that, sir, and I know people on the Lincoln. They say it’s beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of.”

A number of families in recent days voiced worries that mental health conditions on the ship are deteriorating, and there have been some complaints about sanitary conditions and food supplies during the lengthy deployment amid the U.S.-Iran war. A typical deployment is six months, but the service members aboard the USS Lincoln have been deployed for nine months and counting.

U.S. Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper visited the aircraft carrier over the weekend and said deployment at sea is ” uniquely challenging and tough,” though he did not confirm or deny any specific issues.