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booksellers suspect AI firms behind bulk ordersEtna alert lowered as Catania airport reopensFuneral held for Indigenous girl whose death sparked outback riotsIran rejects US claim to Hormuz as ship attacks mount600 drones head for Moscow as Russia strikes Kyiv and Kryvyi RihDeath toll passes 50 after magnitude 7.7 quake off FloresIsraeli strikes kill 11 in south Lebanon, deadliest since June truceColombia asks Trump to suspend tariffs as quake toll climbsRhine hits record low at Kaub as Hungary sinks barges to cool reactorUS readies unprecedented economic measures against IranUS boat strikes pass 200 dead as Ecuadorean fishermen describe attacksBond traders struggle to price $70bn of credit backstops behind AI buildoutAlibaba says its open AI models passed three billion downloadsDeath toll rises to 68 after Lake Kariba ferry sinkingTaliban mark five years in power as UN warns of rights crisisEU aircraft join fight against Belgium's record wildfireUS presses Netanyahu over settlers as Qusra homes are occupiedMokha port halts operations as Houthi missiles hit MaribSeoul proposes talks to end the Korean war as North rejects drillsChina-led perovskite solar plant outperforms silicon in three-month field testOpenAI revenue run rate passes $40bn as revenue chief departsHamas leader in Cairo as Kushner trip nearsWHO says Congo's Ebola outbreak is outpacing the responseTurkish parliament passes amnesty law for PKK membersMorocco detains scores near Ceuta as feared mass crossing fails to materialiseChina publishes ecology reports to bolster South China Sea claimsMyanmar says more than 300,000 Rohingya verified for repatriationPetrobras detects signs of oil off the mouth of the AmazonChina condemns Japanese politicians' moves at Yasukuni ShrineUS inflation cools as wages again lag behind pricesModi offers free exam coaching after youth protests in IndiaOil from grounded Russian tanker reaches Oman's coastPanama Canal cuts draught again as Mexico pitches rival corridorUkraine's idle ports cost $1.75bn as farm exports fallFormer Chinese premier Zhu Rongji diesAt least 20 killed in communal clashes in central NigeriaIran accuses Qatar of holding three of its pilotsXi calls for shift to prevention as floods batter ChinaVenezuela frees 131 more political prisonersMore Syrians in Germany lose refugee protectionAudit finds gaps in Taiwan's counter-drone defencesIndia drafts rules to open nuclear power to private firmsHichilema takes early lead as Zambian count resumesParis prosecutors open investigation into tax portal hackReport details leverage behind Situational Awareness lossesArgentina has lost 30,633 companies under MileiAt least five dead in Indiana floodingIran detains two French diplomats over alleged infiltrationCanadian petition to expel US ambassador passes 170,000 signaturesIndia raises $50bn from its diaspora and ends swap facility earlyOpaque start-ups build erotic AI industry from Cyprus and MaltaBritain's biggest EV battery plant shelves expansion as Jaguar Land Rover talks stallThird drone debris find in a day on Turkish coastsForecasters put 95 percent odds on a very strong El NiñoSecondhand booksellers suspect AI firms behind bulk ordersEtna alert lowered as Catania airport reopensFuneral held for Indigenous girl whose death sparked outback riots
Bota
Symbolic image: Iran says Hormuz route talks with Oman near completion as US blockade holdsSymbolic image

Iran says Hormuz route talks with Oman near completion as US blockade holds

3 sources

Iran's foreign minister said on Sunday that talks with Oman on a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages. The US naval blockade of Iran, resumed in mid-July, is still in force.

What happened

  • CENTCOM said on Sunday it has redirected 35 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two since 14 July.
  • More than 20 US ships are operating in the Middle East to enforce the blockade, CENTCOM said earlier.
  • US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on 28 February; a June ceasefire collapsed and fighting resumed in July.
  • About 20 percent of global oil consumption normally passes through the strait, which borders Iranian and Omani waters.
  • Trump said early on Sunday, 2 August, that the US and Israel would hold off new attacks pending a rapid deal.

The view from outside

Russia's TASS relays a Fars report that Tehran has not permitted a reopening and rejects Israeli N12 claims of a Qatari mediation deal. China's Global Times reports, citing UKMTO, that a tanker signalled an explosion nearby on Monday.

What could happen next

  • Details of the proposed route are unpublished, and whether it leads to reopening Hormuz is unresolved.
  • An Iranian delegation may travel to Muscat again as mediators try to revive the June memorandum, SNN reported.
  • The halt on US and Israeli strikes depends on a rapid deal; no deadline has been named.
How the camps see it

  • Iran: Blames the US blockade for the closure, says the strait will never return to its pre-war status and calls the Oman route separate from any reopening.

  • United States and Israel: Enforce the naval blockade and say further attacks are on hold only if a deal to end the conflict comes quickly.

Also involved

Oman

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