US-Iran War LIVE | Trump Says Iran To Be Hit Hard If Hormuz Strait Not Reopened Soon
Published : August 5, 2026 at 4:42 AM IST
|Updated : August 5, 2026 at 8:29 PM IST
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said negotiations with Iran are currently focused on two key objectives: the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to ensure safe maritime navigation, and the longer-term goal of the complete denuclearisation of Iran.
Speaking about the ongoing diplomatic engagement, Rubio said progress had been made in discussions mediated by Oman, although no final agreement had been reached. "There are two things to talk about when there is a deal... They can never have a nuclear weapon, and the President has been clear about that. So the denuclearisation of Iran is the ultimate deal. The immediate deal, or one that there is a lot of focus on, is the Strait," Rubio said.
"A conversation and a negotiation that we are involved in between Oman and Iran about how more ships can be able to go through there safely in the short term as we move towards these longer-term talks about denuclearisation. And suffice it to say there's been progress made in those talks, but not finality yet. We are hoping that will happen very shortly," he added.
Rubio's remarks come amid growing diplomatic activity involving Washington, Tehran and Oman aimed at reducing tensions in West Asia and securing navigation through the strategically significant Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier on Tuesday, Qatar said efforts to resolve the standoff between the United States and Iran had entered "very progressive stages", with drafts of a potential agreement already being circulated, according to CNN. Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said diplomatic efforts were continuing despite conflicting public statements from Washington and Tehran.
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US-Iran War LIVE | Lebanon State Media Says One Dead, 11 Wounded In Israeli Strike On South
Lebanese official media said an Israeli attack on the country's south killed one person on Wednesday, as Israel announced it was carrying out strikes in retaliation for what it said was a Hezbollah ceasefire violation.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said the Israeli strike "targeted the roof of a prayer area of the cemetery in the town of Tibnin", killing one person and wounding 11 others.
US-Iran War LIVE | Oil Prices Ease And Asian Shares Gain On Hopes For Mideast Deal, As Companies Report Strong Profits
Asian shares surged and oil prices slipped Wednesday after the U.S. stock market rallied to records, helped by strong corporate earnings reports and hopes for a deal setting the stage for talks that might eventually lead to an end to the war in Iran. Benchmarks jumped more than 3% in Tokyo and Seoul as shares in computer chipmakers and other AI-related companies advanced.
Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 3.7% to 66,300.44, with chipmaker Kioxia surging 4.6% while chip testing equipment maker Advantest soared 8.7%. The Kospi in Seoul shot up 3.8% to 6,598.26, led by a 7.4% gain for memory chipmaker SK Hynix. Tech giant Samsung Electronics advanced 3.5%. Taiwan's Taiex advanced 2.9% as major chipmaker TSMC gained 3.7%.
“Clearly today the market is rallying on the back of AI stocks. You look across the other sectors, there’s a bit of activity here and there but really the focus has been back on semiconductors, technology and AI," said Neil Newman, head of strategy for Astris Advisory Japan. Elsewhere in the region, the Shanghai Composite index picked up 1.4% to 3,874.40, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4%, to 25,951.68.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9% to 9,227.80. The Sensex rose 0.2% after the Reserve Bank of India chose to keep its key repo rate unchanged at 5.25%, saying the economy was resilient despite shocks from the Iran war, but risks remained. Declines for oil prices have buoyed shares.
US-Iran War LIVE | Shiite Muslims Join Arbaeen Pilgrimage In Iraq Amid Fears Of US-Iran Escalation
Millions of Shiite Muslims observed the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage Tuesday in the Iraqi holy city of Karbala, under the shadow of ongoing regional tensions and fears of another round of escalation in the U.S.-Iran war. Arbaeen is held 40 days after Ashoura, which commemorates the killing of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and members of his family, at the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
Karbala Gov. Nasseif Jassim al-Khattabi said Tuesday that more than 22 million people entered the city during the pilgrimage, including about 5 million non-Iraqi visitors as well as Iraqis from different regions of the country. The event is considered one of the world’s largest annual religious gatherings.
Among the highest-profile foreign visitors was Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who arrived in the Iraqi city of Najaf on Monday and continued on to Karbala to take part in the pilgrimage.
Araghchi's presence was a reminder of the delicate balancing act that Iraq — which has close ties to both Washington and Tehran — has carried out since the beginning of the war. Iraq has found itself in the crosshairs of both sides and has sought to avoid getting pulled further into the conflict.
US-Iran War LIVE | Yemen's Houthis Say Attacked Saudi Oil Tanker In The Red Sea
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said on Wednesday that they attacked a Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu, in the Red Sea, as the rebels pressed on with their declared maritime blockade of the kingdom. This was the eighth Saudi oil tanker targeted since the start of the blockade on July 22, a Houthi military spokesman said.
The group "successfully targeted the Saudi oil tanker 'Wafa' in the northern Red Sea, off the coast of Yanbu, with a number of ballistic missiles," Yahya Saree said in a video statement. The Houthis declared they will escalate attacks in the northern Red Sea because Saudi Arabia is diverting its oil tankers there from the south in response to their blockade.
The blockade has threatened top oil exporter Saudi Arabia's ability to get its supplies to the world following Iran's parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off the kingdom's only other maritime route. Saree said that the group's blockade had pushed Saudi Arabia to divert "its oil tankers towards the northern Red Sea".
So the group will now "escalate in targeting Saudi oil tankers in the northern Red Sea to close all access points and prevent their passage".
US-Iran War LIVE | More Than 800,000 Displaced Lebanese Returning Home After War: UN
More than 800,000 people displaced by war in Lebanon have begun returning to their hometowns following a lull in violence amid the Israel-Hezbollah war, the United Nations said. The announcement late on Tuesday came as Lebanon and Israel began a new round of US-sponsored talks in Rome aimed at ending the fighting, which are scheduled to run until Thursday.
UN humanitarian agency the OCHA said "821,077 people had begun the return to their areas of origin as of 30 July", but added that more than 360,000 remained displaced, around 26,000 of them in government shelters. Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war in March by firing rockets at Israel in support of its backer Iran.
Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion that Lebanon says have killed more than 4,300 people and displaced more than a million at the peak. Violence has decreased since the signing in June of a preliminary US-Iran agreement on the wider regional conflict, which includes a ceasefire in Lebanon, and following a US-sponsored deal between Israel and Lebanon.
But Lebanon continues to report intermittent Israeli strikes and shelling, as well as detonations of explosives and demolitions in southern villages, with Israeli troops occupying a swathe of the area.
US-Iran War LIVE | Trump Says Iran To Be Hit Hard If Hormuz Strait Not Reopened Soon
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (US local time) said that Iran will be "hit very hard" if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened "very soon."
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said the United States is "having very good discussions" with Iran. But Tehran denied it is having any talks with Washington. Trump earlier warned that he was giving Iran a “last chance before decapitation," he said that they were talking about opening the Strait of Hormuz “literally by tomorrow”.
“I mean they're going to go quickly, one way or the other. It's not very complex," he said at the Oval Office. "We're talking about the Strait, the opening of the Strait, having it open, literally by tomorrow," he said, but Iran has denied there were any talks with the US.
The contradictory claims leave the gateway to the world for 20 per cent of fossil fuels trapped in uncertainty.
US-Iran War LIVE | US Closes In On Hormuz Deal With Iran And Oman: Report
The United States is close to finalising an interim agreement with Iran and Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has once again witnessed heightened tensions following the collapse of the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Washington and Tehran last month, reported Axios.
The US is aiming to announce the deal on Wednesday, Axios reported, citing two regional sources and a US official.
According to the Axios report, the proposed arrangement is intended to restore the ceasefire between the US and Iran, which collapsed last month, and pave the way for the resumption of negotiations with Tehran, including its nuclear programme.
The development comes after US President Donald Trump decided on Saturday not to proceed with previously threatened large-scale military strikes against Iran, opting instead to allow more time for diplomatic efforts after consultation with the Gulf Partners.
However, if an agreement is not reached soon, Trump had threatened to authorise major military action against the Islamic Republic.
US-Iran War LIVE | Hegseth Rejects Reports Claiming US Missile Defence Stockpiles 'Dangerously Low'
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Tuesday (local time) rejected a media report claiming that the Pentagon's missile defence stockpiles had fallen to dangerously low levels.
In a post on X, Hegseth wrote, "That banner is NOT TRUE, @CNN. Shame on you. We don't hate the Fake News media enough."
His remarks came after CNN reported, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter, that the US military has exhausted nearly 80 per cent of its inventory of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors and around half of its Patriot missile interceptors since the conflict with Iran began.
According to CNN, senior US military commanders have warned that the Pentagon's munitions stockpile is "dangerously low," with key air defence systems significantly depleted during operations linked to the war with Iran.
The report cited estimates by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which said the United States possessed around 452 THAAD missiles and approximately 2,200 Patriot interceptors before the conflict.
US-Iran War LIVE | Southern Route Through Strait Of Hormuz Remains Free And Open For Commercial Vessels: US CENTCOM
The United States said on Tuesday (local time) that the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz remains free and open for all commercial vessels despite what it described as "unwarranted Iranian aggression," with US Central Command (CENTCOM) stating that American forces have assisted more than 1,000 vessels in safely transiting the strategic waterway over the past three months.
In a post on X, US CENTCOM said, "The southern route through the Strait of Hormuz remains free and open for all commercial vessels seeking to transit the international waterway. Over the past three months, U.S. forces have assisted more than 1,000 vessels in successfully transiting the strait despite unwarranted Iranian aggression, and these transits continue today."
The statement comes amid heightened tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest maritime chokepoints for global energy shipments, and competing claims by Washington and Tehran over navigation through the waterway.
US-Iran War LIVE: Iran-Oman Diplomatic Engagement On Hormuz Enters New Phase, Reports Iranian Media
Talks between Iran and Oman on the Strait of Hormuz have entered a new phase, a top Iranian official told state broadcaster Press TV. Press TV reported on Tuesday that continued Iran-Oman Hormuz talks reflect Tehran's diplomatic engagement.
The official further noted that the understanding with Oman on Hormuz is within reach if US stops interference.
According to the Iranian state broadcaster, the official said that the talks revolve around a new corridor to secure passage of ships via the critical energy chokepoint.
"Iran-Oman talks revolve around new corridor that'll secure safe passage of ships through Strait of Hormuz," the official said. Press TV further noted that the official highlighted how the corridor in Hormuz will safeguard Iran sovereign interests as a littoral state.
The latest remarks come amid a rapidly evolving situation in West Asia region. As developments follow, Qatar on Tuesday said that the efforts to resolve the conflict between the US and Iran are in "very progressive stages", further noting that the drafts of a potential agreement are "being circulated", CNN reported.
