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Middle East live: Trump says Iran talks set to start after calling off strikes

Home Middle East Live Issued on: 03/08/2026 - 00:11Modified: 03/08/2026 - 09:44 President Donald Trump said the United States and Israel had agreed to hold off on any new strikes on Iran as long as a deal was quickly reached © Aaron…

August 3, 2026 SphereNexus Editorial Team 4 min read
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Middle East live: Trump says Iran talks set to start after calling off strikes
Middle East live: Trump says Iran talks set to start after calling off strikes

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Middle East live: Trump says Iran talks set to start after calling off strikes
President Donald Trump said the United States and Israel had agreed to hold off on any new strikes on Iran as long as a deal was quickly reached © Aaron Schwartz, AFP

US President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran will begin Monday after he decided to hold off on new strikes against the Islamic republic to pursue a deal. Follow our liveblog for all the latest.

Iran FM says no talks ‘currently’ between Tehran and Washington

Iran’s foreign ministry said there were currently no negotiations with the United States but there were talks with Oman over the management of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. 

“We are not currently negotiating with the United States. Our negotiations are with Oman to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a weekly press briefing. 

Iran executes two people accused of working for Israel

Iran ⁠executed ​two ​Iranian nationals on Monday ​after ‌accusing ⁠them ‌of ⁠sending sensitive military ​and security ‌location coordinates ‌to ​Israel during the Iran-war, the ​Fars ​news ​agency ​reported.

Trump says Gulf leaders’ input weighed heavily in decision to hold off on ordering new Iran strikes

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Trump added that a plan was in place for US forces to carry out “the biggest attack since World War II” on Sunday. But he decided to scrap the plan and give diplomacy more time to play out after hearing from key Gulf leaders — including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — as well as at the request of unnamed Iranian officials. 

Two tankers with Saudi oil exit Red Sea over weekend, data shows

Two tankers laden with ⁠Saudi oil crossed ​the Bab el Mandeb strait over the weekend, while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz slowed following ​reports of vessel attacks, shipping data showed on Monday.

The number of commodity vessels that passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait fell to 18 on Sunday, from 27 on Saturday and 28 on ​Friday, the ‌Kpler data showed.

UK faces recession if Strait of Hormuz stays closed, forecaster warns

Britain’s economy ⁠is likely ​to shrink in 2027 if the Strait of Hormuz does not ​reopen to shipping before the middle of next year, forecasters at accountants EY warned on Monday.

EY slightly nudged up its growth forecast for ​this ‌year to 0.8 percent from 0.9 percent, on the ⁠basis that the Strait reopens by the end of September, and sees growth of ‌1.2 percent in 2027 on that basis.

“If the Strait of ⁠Hormuz reopens in the coming months, we expect the UK to avoid a more pronounced downturn, but an extended ​closure into 2027 would raise inflation and ‌could push the economy into contraction next year,” EY UK Chief Economist Peter Arnold said.

Tanker off Oman reports explosion near vessel

The master of a tanker off the coast of Oman has reported hearing an explosion near the vessel, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reported Sunday.

“The vessel and crew are all reported as safe,” said the UKMTO. The incident happened 20 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, in Oman, the monitor added.

Oil tumbles as Trump cancels attack on Iran to reach nuclear deal

Oil prices ​lost more ​than $5 a barrel at Monday’s open after ​US ‌President ⁠Donald Trump held off ‌from a fresh attack ⁠on Iran, in order to ​reach a ‌quick deal that would halt Tehran’s ‌nuclear ambitions and ​reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures slipped $5.52, ​or 6.28 percent, ​to $82.41 by ​22:02 GMT while US ​West Texas Intermediate crude was at $79.40 a barrel, down $5.27, ⁠or 6.22 percent.

Trump says new talks with Iran to begin Monday after calling off strikes

US President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran will begin Monday after he decided to hold off on new strikes against the Islamic republic to pursue a deal.

“Obviously, they don’t want to be attacked. They knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming,” Trump told reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One. “Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon.”

  • Israeli ​airstrikes hit Gaza for a second straight day, killing at least 18 Palestinians, medics said, despite US President Donald Trump‘s announcement of a breakthrough in efforts to implement last year’s ceasefire agreement.
  • The ​crew ​of an Iranian commercial ship that ​was ‌hit ⁠in ‌a Ukrainian attack ⁠and the body of ​a ‌sailor killed in the incident ‌have returned ​to Iran, according to Iran‘s semi-official ​ISNA ​news agency ​in a ​report on Sunday.
  • Iran on Sunday said it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the Strait of Hormuz, hours after the US called off major strikes to allow for diplomacy.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP, Reuters)

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