The 60-day deal signed between Iran and the US in June is set to expire today, with no breakthrough in sight for permanent peace talks.
The memorandum agreed to halt the US and Israel's attacks on Iran and address Tehran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. However, since then there has been little improvement in shipping traffic, as Iran and the US have continued with their respective blockades of Hormuz and Iranian ports.
Meanwhile, an Iranian army commander has threatened to break Donald Trump’s legs after the American president threatened to declare the Strait a US territory.
Responding to his remarks, major general Amir Hatami said: “Joking about such remarks is a major mistake, because this is Iran, and it has defenders who will break your legs,” according to Iranian broadcaster IRIB.
He added that US forces had “effectively been driven out” and no longer had permission to enter the Gulf, the Sea of Oman or the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian military has also offered a bounty equivalent to $30,000 for killing or capturing US soldiers and vowed to double the reward if carried out by a woman.
Trump moves aircraft carrier out of Pacific as USS Abraham Lincoln heads home
Donald Trump is moving an aircraft carrier out of the Pacific to support America's war on Iran, replacing the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East.
The USS George Washington, the last carrier in the Pacific, will depart the South China Sea to be deployed in the Middle East waters.
USS Abraham Lincoln was deployed to the Middle East last November with around 5,000 crew on board.
It had been expected to be deployed until May but its stay has been extended and there is currently no end date in sight, a situation that has led to a number of recent reports about dwindling morale.
How the Iran war is forcing families to choose between schooling and survival
Sou Sreynich dreams of becoming a teacher. But she knows she's far behind.
The 13-year-old first entered a classroom at 10, an age when most Cambodian children have already been in school for years. Her mother waited until she was old enough to swim, fearing the boat to school could capsize — a decision familiar to many parents on Cambodia's Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.
Now, the price of gasoline has spiked because of the Iran war, an additional burden. Unlike outright school closures during Covid-19, the Iran war’s impact on education is less visible.
More here.
Sailor’s texts reveal deteriorating conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln - report
Text messages sent home by a sailor aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have revealed new details about the deteriorating conditions on board, according to a report.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier was deployed to the Middle East last November with around 5,000 crew on board and has been supporting President Donald Trump’s war with Iran since the spring.
It had been expected to be deployed until May but its stay has been extended and there is currently no end date in sight, a situation that has led to a number of recent reports about dwindling morale.
More here.
Iran used MoU with US to prepare for bigger war - report
Iran used the 60-day pause in war with the US to prepare for a bigger conflict in the region, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June expires today and it is not immediately clear what will happen next.
Iranian leaders viewed the agreement as a possible attempt by the US and Israel to ease global economic pressure and "buy time before another attack down the road", according to the report.
“There is also a widespread view in Iran that the main war has not yet begun,” Mohammad Hassan Sangtarash, a Tehran-based defence analyst close to the Iranian government, told the WSJ.
"What we have seen so far is increasingly interpreted through the lens of ‘salami-slicing’ tactics – limited, incremental escalation designed to weaken capabilities before a larger confrontation."
Trump orders Pentagon to scale back joint exercises with Seoul
President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back planned joint military exercises with South Korea, saying it declined to help “denuclearise” Iran and citing his good relationship with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.
Trump said in a social media post that the exercises slated to begin this week are not only costly but “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea, which he said “has been unthreatening and respectful” during his time in the White House.
“Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises!” Trump wrote.
The president added that he recently asked South Korea’s president to join the US in its efforts to denuclearize Iran, “and they said, ‘No thanks!’”
Shipping slows through Strait of Hormuz
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed over the weekend, data showed, following attacks on tankers, while US-Iran talks to resolve the Middle East conflict stalled.
Five commodity vessels transited the strait on Saturday, with none registered for Sunday, shiptracking data from Kpler showed, versus 31 in the prior weekend.
Shipping appeared to grind to a near standstill after the UAE said three vessels operated by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company were attacked in transit last week.
The United States said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely.
Iran-US memorandum of understanding will expire today
The Iran-US memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in June between Iran and the US will expire today, even as the impasse in talks continues.
The 60-day memorandum was signed to halt the US and Israel's war on Iran and address Tehran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
It was not immediately clear what would happen once the MoU expires.
Oil nears $90 as US-Iran peace talks stall
Oil prices rose this morning over fading expectations of a US-Iran peace breakthrough and as slower tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz reinforced geopolitical risk concerns in the market.
Brent crude futures rose as much as 1 per cent to $89.40 per barrel and were last trading up 72 cents at $89.20. The US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 44 cents to $82.83 a barrel.
Recap: Israeli officials shocked by the speed of Iran’s military recovery after war, report says
Israeli military and intelligence officials were stunned by the rate of Iran’s military recovery after the first weeks of the 2026 war, according to a report.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was taken aback by how fast the Islamic Republic was able to reconstitute its forces after the main phase of fighting, including the redevelopment of its ballistic missile threat.
Iran launched missiles at Israel at the beginning of June and rose to an escalation in early July with renewed strikes on Arab states in the region. They were also accused of striking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining a hold over the vital waterway.
Top Israeli defence officials have now been forced to admit that Iran appears to have figured out creative ways to rebuild its offensive threats, according to the Israeli outlet.