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to MoroccoIsraeli strikes continue in Gaza as disarmament roadmap stallsChinese chip advances trigger week of global market swingsDrone strikes kill nine in Russia as Ukraine says it hit Saratov refineryIran says Hormuz route talks with Oman near completion as US blockade holdsRights group blames Sudan's army for drone strike on Darfur courtOPEC+ completes rollback of 2023 oil output cutsRosatom reports drone strike meters from Zaporizhzhia reactor buildingTwo water-bomber pilots killed as wildfire destroys homes near AthensAstraZeneca held talks on $400bn Bristol Myers mergerBrent falls below $82 as US holds off on Iran strikesSuicide bomber kills 14 at Pakistani police stationHungary shuts sole nuclear plant as Danube hits record lowEU labelling duty for AI-generated content takes effectBomb kills three at central Moscow restaurantChina drills at Scarborough Shoal and warns Manila of a 'head-on blow'Hackers hit US water systems in at least seven statesUS-backed Venezuela transition talks set to openWildfires around Spokane force 60,000 to evacuateAI funding boom shows signs of strainBeijing draws 'red lines' before trade talks with EU and USIsrael ties Lebanon deal to Hezbollah disarmament after Kafra blastGunmen kill 12 in Nigerian village and seize churchgoersUS restores part of its vaccine and health aidLula launches bid for fourth term against Bolsonaro's sonChina flash flood death toll rises to 25Israeli forces push into Syria's Quneitra provinceEU naval force boards sanctioned Russian shadow-fleet tankerAI policy groups demand federal probe into OpenAI breachModi speeds up informal Indo-Pacific bloc to counter ChinaOrtega scraps elections to cement family rule in NicaraguaUS weighs transfer of Patriot production technology to UkraineTaiwan warns China's hybrid warfare tests whole regionUS troop movements in Iraqi Kurdistan raise drawdown questionsKremlin pushes more Russian men into fighting in UkraineUK farmers warn drought could cause food shortagesTürkiye updates military readiness for Cyprus after UN chief's visitChina's private factory gauge shows weaker growthUS Senate leaders reach funding deal to avert shutdownPaul Weiss's capitulation reshaped US legal resistance to TrumpThird suspect arrested as more graves surface in Zubin PotokUS health secretary tells families to vaccinate against measlesPakistan applies for $10bn US forex facilityStorm leaves two dead and 180,000 without power in ChileMonte dei Paschi explores Banco BPM takeover as Rome plans exitLebanon weighs consequences of Salameh arrestIran-linked Foxtrot network recruits teenagers in EuropeBus collision kills eight in central Tanzania
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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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