Latest war news. Tensions rise at sea: the death toll of sailors killed in the Red Sea rises to four; the US strikes a container ship in the Gulf of Oman

Natural gas prices on the Amsterdam TTF market have turned negative, falling below the 59-euro mark after having exceeded 63 euros earlier in the morning. September futures contracts are down 3.29 per cent at 58.81 euros per MWh, whilst a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry – according to Bloomberg – has revealed that talks between Iran and Oman are “at an advanced stage” and Pakistan has indicated that Washington and Tehran are “close to some form of agreement” on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

US forces opened fire on a Panamanian-flagged vessel which, in the early hours of today, attempted to breach the US blockade of Iranian ports. This was reported by a US official to the Wall Street Journal. A US military helicopter fired on the ship’s rudder after the crew had ignored warnings. No casualties have been reported.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have fired missiles at a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, killing four people, according to Yemeni authorities. The attack, which took place on Tuesday, involved three ballistic missiles fired at a Yemeni commercial vessel. The victims included Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national.

The Israeli army has announced that it has killed a Palestinian identified as a Hamas “sniper” near the so-called “Yellow Line” in the north of the Gaza Strip. According to a statement published on Telegram by the Israel Defence Forces, soldiers from the 99th Division opened fire “to neutralise the threat”.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has stated that the United States and Iran are close to ‘some sort of agreement’, adding that a lasting peace would be in the region’s interests. “The situation is once again moving towards a peace agreement or an understanding,” Islamabad told Bloomberg News. “Signs over the last two or three days indicate that we are close to some sort of agreement.” The price of oil, writes Bloomberg, has fallen in the wake of renewed hopes for an agreement following Asif’s statement, whilst according to some sources, Pakistan’s Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi has arrived in Tehran for talks.

Pakistan’s Minister of the Interior, Syed Mohsin Naqvi, has arrived in Tehran for a new round of talks with Iranian officials. This was reported by the Iranian news agency Mehr. Pakistan has played a leading role in mediating between Iran and the United States.

Talks between Oman and Iran on the future of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz are now at an advanced stage, a spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry said in a briefing reported by Arab media.

Speaking at the Galilee Conference, former Mossad director Yossi Cohen revealed: “We have visited the Fordow nuclear site in Iran on many occasions. A US air strike there would be the fulfilment of all my dreams.” According to Cohen, “60 per cent uranium enrichment is still a long way from a bomb”. “We have visited the Fordow nuclear site many times to understand its layout,” he said. On 22 June last year, US President Donald Trump issued a statement on the American strikes against Iran, stating that “The US military has carried out precise and massive strikes against the Iranian regime’s three main nuclear facilities: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Our objective was to destroy Iran’s nuclear enrichment capability and put an end to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism. Tonight I can report to the world that the strikes were an extraordinary military success”, reported Ynet. Fox News had reported that during the US strike on Fordow, six bunker-busting bombs were dropped, whilst 30 Tomahawk missiles were launched against the other nuclear facilities.

Oil prices have wiped out their gains and turned negative in the wake of news from the Middle East. Pakistan has reported that the United States and Iran are close to an agreement that could ease the tensions weighing on the energy markets. According to the IRNA news agency, Pakistan’s Home Minister Mohsin Reza Naqvi has arrived in Tehran for a new round of talks with the Iranian authorities.

Furthermore, according to various media reports, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Majed al-Ansari has stated that talks between Oman and Iran on the future of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz are now at an advanced stage. The minister expressed the hope that the strait could be reopened “as soon as possible”.

The Israeli authorities have informed the President of the European Commission that they are willing to extend the mandates of the EU missions Eubam Rafah and Eupol Copps by nine months, until 30 June 2027. This was announced by European Commission spokesperson Arianna Podestà during the daily press briefing.

“On 29 June, the Council adopted a decision extending the mandates of EUPOL COPPS and EUBAM Rafah until 30 September 2026,” said Podestà, explaining that the decision followed letters from the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government, as well as Commissioner Dubravka Šuica’s visit to the region.

A cargo ship has been attacked by the Iran-aligned Yemeni Houthis in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Three crew members were killed in the attack. This was reported by two sources from the Yemeni Coastguard and two government military officials, as quoted by Reuters.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reported that it received a report concerning an incident involving an oil tanker and military forces in the Gulf of Oman.

The British authority has not yet provided any further details regarding the nature of the incident, the vessel involved or whether there were any casualties or damage.

A Lebanese Civil Defence team is reported to have been targeted by a drone in the Nabatieh area, in the south of the country. This was reported by the Lebanese news agency NNA. “The Media and Public Relations Department of the Lebanese Civil Defence Directorate,” writes NNA – announced in a statement that whilst members of the Civil Defence Directorate were extinguishing a brush fire in the Nabatieh area, they were targeted by a drone, forcing the fire crews to retreat to a safe location; no injuries were reported.”

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reported, via an update on X, that the first reserve battalion of the Israeli Army’s Hasmonean Brigade – a unit created to encourage the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox soldiers – is now operational.

Last week, the Shimon Battalion completed its first battalion-level exercise in the Golan Heights, marking, according to the army, its official formation and its readiness for operational activities.

Syria has confirmed the arrival in the country of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), following the revelation of the presence of nuclear material at a secret site on its territory. This was reported by Ynet. Yesterday, it was reported that the Trump administration had reached an agreement with Syria and Israel to remove the material in order to prevent an escalation around the sensitive site. Syria has stated that the IAEA inspectors are expected to announce ‘significant progress’.

An Israeli drone targeted ambulance crews belonging to the Islamic Health Authority, the Students’ Union and the Scouts of the Islamic Message, whilst they were transporting an injured person following a previous drone attack on a vehicle in the university district of Nabatieh, causing damage to the ambulances. This was reported by the Lebanese news agency NNA.

The Damascus Criminal Court has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia.

An Iranian threat against President Donald Trump prompted the US authorities last month to organise a covert operation to have him leave Turkey on board a military aircraft other than Air Force One, whilst the White House had suggested that the President was travelling on the presidential aircraft alongside journalists and some of his staff. This was revealed by the Washington Post.

The operation dates back to 8 July, when Trump left Ankara following a NATO summit. The president appeared before the cameras on the old Boeing 747 used as Air Force One, but a few minutes later, according to the newspaper, he was secretly transferred to a smaller Air Force C-32A, a modified Boeing 757. The transfer is said to have taken place via an airport catering lorry, used to take Trump and some of his aides from the presidential aircraft to the second aircraft without being seen.

Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz – which yesterday Trump claimed to have fully cleared and to be in 100 per cent control of – fell to just six transits on Monday, compared with an average of around 11 ships over the last ten days, according to shipping industry data. The decline comes as hopes for a peace agreement between the United States and Iran fade.

According to data from Kpler, updated on Tuesday night, four cargo ships passed through the strait on their way in, including two empty tankers carrying refined petroleum products. Two other vessels, meanwhile, left the strait: a small tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and another carrying residual fuels.

US President Donald Trump has sarcastically dismissed Iran’s demands that Washington pay compensation for the damage caused by five months of war. A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry reiterated on Monday that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is conditional upon the payment of compensation by the United States and other concessions.

Trump responded on social media, stating that it is Iran, on the contrary, that should compensate the United States for the hundreds of American soldiers killed or wounded over several decades by militias supported by Tehran, including more than 600 US service personnel who died in Iraq between 2003 and 2011.

Further reading

Latest war news. Trump: ‘We have cleared the entire Strait of Hormuz of mines; we have 100 per cent control over it’

10 August 2026