Qatar

Trump said on Sunday there would be no strike that day, but that he must choose between a deal and finishing Iran off. Iran says it downed a US drone.

Geopolitics

Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia have signed a defence industry pact, Premium Times reports. The Qatari Defence Ministry said the agreement aims to foster cooperation in defence manufacturing and enhance defence capabilities among the four countries.

Geopolitics

Netanyahu said on Wednesday he has told the IDF and Mossad to overthrow Iran's regime. Iran says Hormuz stays closed until the US accepts its terms.

Geopolitics

Macron called foreign leaders' comments on France's unrest "stupid" and vowed to stop a repeat of last weekend's violence. New protests are planned in Paris on Saturday.

Geopolitics

Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia signed a defence cooperation memorandum in Doha on Wednesday. Turkey's ruling party also plans a mandate to send military personnel to Saudi Arabia.

Geopolitics

Brent eased to about $107 on Monday after touching $110, as traders weighed a US waiver on Russia sanctions against Middle East risks.

Economy

Iran's Revolutionary Guards say two loaded supertankers caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The Guards also declared the strait closed.

Geopolitics

Citizen Lab and Confiant reported on Thursday that Israeli ad agency Discover-Tech used online ads to track users and help plant Candiru spyware. Devices at Al Jazeera were among those infected.

Technology

Former president Joseph Kabila will lead the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation, which absorbs the Rwanda-backed M23. The FT says it further complicates US peace efforts.

Geopolitics

Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they hit a third supertanker in the Strait of Hormuz within two days. Tehran is still reviewing Washington's reply to its seven-point plan, with mediators relaying messages.

Geopolitics

Trump said on Thursday the US will not attack Iran before the 3 November midterms, citing talks with Tehran. Iran's Revolutionary Guards meanwhile hit tankers beyond Hormuz.

Geopolitics

Trump said on Thursday the US will not attack Iran before the 3 November midterms, after a report on Pentagon strike options. Ship traffic through Hormuz fell to its lowest in over two months.

Geopolitics

Iran has formally accused Qatar of holding three air force pilots as prisoners of war since their fighter jets were shot down in March during an attack on the US Al Udeid air base, and has asked the International Committee of the Red Cross to examine the case. Qatar denies detaining any Iranian pilots and dismissed Tehran's account as misleading.

Geopolitics

BP, Abu Dhabi's XRG and Qatar's UCC have won the licence for phase two of Venezuela's offshore Loran gasfield, among the first large foreign investments since the US ousted Nicolás Maduro in January.

Economy

The IEA and OPEC both trimmed their oil forecasts on Wednesday, blaming the blocked Strait of Hormuz. Crude fell on Thursday after five days of gains.

Economy

A US helicopter fired on a Panama-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday to enforce Washington's blockade of Iranian ports. Trump claimed full control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Geopolitics

Qatar on Tuesday endorsed the collective defence agreement that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed on Friday in Mecca, calling it a positive step towards greater regional security, Daily Sabah reported. In New Delhi the pact has raised questions over whether Pakistan could use it to build wider security ties with Muslim-majority countries, according to the South China Morning Post.

Geopolitics

The Congolese government has released 15 detainees to a rebel alliance as a confidence-building step in the Doha-brokered process for the east of the country. Al Jazeera reports that it remains contested whether the framework can end fighting that has displaced millions.

Geopolitics

Iran announced on Wednesday that it had agreed with Oman on the coordinates of a new shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg reports oil held a three-day drop on Thursday.

Geopolitics

Trump said at a Nevada rally on Wednesday that he would rather reach a deal with Iran than kill people. Mediators are redrafting the June memorandum on the Strait of Hormuz; CNN puts the chance of an agreement by Friday at 50 percent.

Geopolitics

US, Qatari and Omani officials say a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come within days, with draft language circulating. The waterway was still shut to shipping on Tuesday, day 158 of the US-Iran war.

Geopolitics

Israeli strikes killed 18 Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday and two more on Monday, one of the deadliest stretches since the October ceasefire.

Geopolitics

An Israeli air strike killed two Palestinians in a car in Gaza City on Monday evening, medics said. The truce's mediators, Türkiye, Egypt and Qatar, condemned Israel's ceasefire violations the same day.

Geopolitics

After its envoy met Prime Minister Netanyahu on Monday, the US-led Board of Peace said Israeli forces will leave Gaza only once Hamas has handed over all weapons. Israel refuses to pull back before disarmament, Hamas refuses to disarm before a pullback.

Geopolitics

US President Donald Trump says he cancelled a planned wave of strikes on Iran and that talks with Tehran open on Monday afternoon. Iranian agencies deny any deal on the Strait of Hormuz was reached.

Geopolitics

Israeli air strikes hit Gaza for a second straight day on Sunday, with Palestinian tallies of the dead ranging from 8 to 18. Israel has still not publicly responded to the US roadmap for Hamas's disarmament.

Geopolitics

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported two incidents involving tankers off Oman on Saturday. One vessel was left inoperative after a projectile struck its engine room.

Geopolitics

Hamas confirmed on Friday that it accepted a US-brokered plan to give up its weapons alongside a phased Israeli withdrawal. Both sides insist the other side must move first.

Geopolitics

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his Board of Peace had reached an agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza, with Israeli forces withdrawing in phases as weapons are handed over. Hamas negotiator Ghazi Hamad said the movement will not disarm before Israel withdraws. An Israeli official told Reuters the terms do not meet Israel's demand for full demilitarisation first.

Geopolitics

Pakistan secured Iranian agreement for the tanker Al Areesh, idle in the Persian Gulf since early July after loading at Qatar's Ras Laffan terminal, to pass through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday morning, TASS reported. Qatar sent its first LNG cargo through the waterway since one of its tankers was attacked more than three weeks ago, and CENTCOM says it has redirected 24 ships since Iran's blockade began.

Economy

Five months after the United States and Israel began striking Iran, the Financial Times reports that Iran's missile force remains operational and is still hitting targets across the Gulf region. At the same time, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has told President Trump that American munitions stocks make further escalation questionable. President Pezeshkian toured ports, railways and border terminals that US airstrikes damaged, while US public support for the war stays below 40 percent.

Geopolitics

The pause in US and Iranian attacks held for a third day on Monday while mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan worked to restart ceasefire negotiations. President Donald Trump described the contacts as "very deep talks" but warned he would return to "very strong military action" if they fail quickly. Tehran denied it is negotiating directly with Washington and said the United States will not decide the timing of war or peace for Iran.

Geopolitics