Latest Updates on West Asia Conflict

60-day deadline for Iran peace deal is expiring. Here's where things stand

The deal that US President Donald Trump signed at Versailles in June set an ambitious 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear program. The deadline was Monday, and the two sides are further apart than they were then. Talks, such as they are, have focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting a US blockade on Iran, both of which were supposed to have happened under the interim deal. There has been no sign of any compromise on the strait, or that detailed nuclear talks have even begun. The US, meanwhile, has no good options for getting out of the war it started alongside Israel. Acceding to Iran's latest demands would mean giving it control over a critical international waterway that carried a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas before the war - and would be tantamount to admitting defeat. Escalating the deeply unpopular war would further draw down US supplies of advanced missile interceptors, jolt the world economy, and drive

Iran says Qatar holds 3 missing pilots as Hormuz attack raises tensions

The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacking a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, while the Iran-backed Houthis struck a Red Sea port in Yemen. In Southern Lebanon, nine people were killed in Israeli airstrikes, some of the deadliest since a shaky truce between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on June 20. Here's a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East. Full coverage can be found here. A vessel is attacked in the Strait of Hormuz ---------------------------------------------- A tanker owned by Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil and gas company ADNOC was attacked while transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, Emirati state-run WAM news agency said Saturday. The attack happened Friday evening, and there were no injuries, the agency reported. This is the third such attack on vessels operated by ADNOC in the critical waterway in the last week. In a statement on Saturday, the United Arab Emirates blamed Iran for the attack and called on it to stop

Iran, Oman edge closer to Hormuz shipping routes deal as war continues

The move follows a series of attacks in Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas transited before the war

Trump's Iran war pulls US carrier from Pacific as China steps up pressure

President Donald Trump's war against Iran is stretching the limits of US aircraft carriers and leaving the western Pacific without one of the key American warships as China shows more signs of aggression. The USS George Washington is departing the Pacific and expected to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East amid growing concerns about mental health and supply issues aboard the long-deployed carrier. The Lincoln has had its time at sea extended from its original May return date to support operations against Iran. The lack of a US carrier in the Pacific may be short-lived if the Navy deploys another in the next couple of months. But it shows how the open-ended operations with Iran are running some American sailors ragged, analysts say, while the Trump administration further retreats from the Asia-Pacific region and focuses on the Western Hemisphere. "The administration says that the Pacific is supposed to be the most important behind the Western Hemisphere," said Greg ..

Will declare Strait of Hormuz 'US territory' after defeating Iran: Trump

Trump had earlier claimed that the US exercised "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz and that he "will keep it" amid stalled negotiations with Iran regarding the reopening of the strategic route

Iran may have used cheap drones to target US F-15 fighter jet: Report

Iran's use of multiple drones to track a US F-15E Strike Eagle during its April 3 combat loss highlights how distributed sensors and missile systems can work together to challenge an adversary

Trump reverts to economic squeeze as 'entrenched' Iranian regime resists

Facing munitions shortages and growing pressure over the conflict, the Trump administration is turning again to sanctions and a naval blockade to squeeze Iran's oil exports

Hormuz remains blocked: Iran dismisses Trump's 'total US control' claims

Tehran says the strategic waterway remains blocked and will not reopen until Iran's conditions are accepted, rejecting US claims that the Strait is under total US control

Pakistan minister meets Iran leaders to revive stalled US-Iran peace talks

Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi held talks with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran to follow up on the stalled US-Iran peace negotiations, according to media reports. An interim agreement, which Pakistan had signed as a guarantor, derailed last month as tensions escalated in West Asia with the US and Iran resuming military strikes. Islamabad is actively pushing to revive its mediation efforts to end the conflict. Naqvi departed for the Iranian capital early Tuesday for talks on bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest, according to diplomatic sources cited by Iran's official news agency, IRNA. He was received in the airport by his Iranian counterpart, Eskandar Momeni, and later held talks with Araghchi. IRNA posted photographs of Naqvi's meeting with Araghchi on X. Naqvi and Araghchi are also expected to hold detailed bilateral discussions during this visit, according to a diplomatic source. In his meeting with the Iranian

Trump claims total control over Hormuz as US, Iran harden their stances

Trump has oscillated for months between threatening to resume attacks on Iran and expressing confidence that talks to bring an end to America's war with the Islamic Republic are progressing

Iran talks going to be messy, will take time: US Vice-President JD Vance

Vance described Iran's leadership as fractured, saying negotiations would be complex while stressing Washington would use military, economic and diplomatic pressure to secure its objectives

US would prefer deal, says Trump, but warns Iran against nuclear ambitions

Trump maintained that Iran respected the United States after recent developments and reiterated his long-standing position that Tehran must never acquire nuclear weapons

Enemies tried to topple Iran but new leader kept country united: Pezeshkian

The Iranian president said external powers sought to destabilise Iran through war and sanctions, but credited Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and national unity for keeping the country resilient

Iran, US signal Hormuz deal near, but key differences still remain

Iran said on Wednesday it is in the "final stage" of drafting an agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz, and US President Donald Trump has said a deal could be announced this week. That could potentially reopen the critical waterway, ease pressure on the world economy and help bring an end to the war. But the agreement is likely to be contingent on the US lifting its blockade on Iran's ports. The Trump administration has previously ruled out any deal that would cement Iran's grip over the strait, which would amount to a major loss for the US and a break with global norms. Iran has insisted on some measure of control over the strait, saying it will not go back to being an open international waterway, as it was before the war. The US, along with Israel, launched the war on February 28, citing various goals including toppling Tehran's government and ending its nuclear programme. Those have not been achieved, and the conflict has devolved into a fight over the strait as Iran's ..

Asia's energy-starved nations go dark as Hormuz strait tensions drag on

The cost of gasoline in the Southeast Asian nation climbed more than 40% after US strikes on Iran in February disrupted energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz

Iran says Hormuz talks progress after Trump calls off planned strikes

Trump said Sunday that a deal to open the waterway may be close and that new unspecified talks with Iran would begin on Monday