Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States meets all of its conditions, even if Tehran and Muscat conclude their talks on the waterway, Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei…

Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States meets all of its conditions, even if Tehran and Muscat conclude their talks on the waterway, Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei said today, according to the semi official Tasnim news agency. Rezaei said the conditions include an end to the war, including in Gaza and Lebanon, and the release of frozen Iranian assets. He took over as secretary of the council on Sunday, replacing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who set out Tehran's list of demands on Saturday, as we reported earlier. Rezaei commanded the Revolutionary Guards from 1981 to 1997. President Trump said Monday that the strait is "open now" and that the U.S. Navy alone controls it, saying American forces have swept the waterway for mines. Trump also said in a post on Truth Social that he is demanding compensation from Iran for people killed and wounded in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Gaza, and for the 17 U.S. sailors killed aboard the USS Cole in 2000, and that his negotiators will carry the claim into any talks. Iran has made war reparations one of its own conditions. Traffic through the strait continued to thin. MarineTraffic said Monday that confirmed crossings fell from 15 on Friday to 11 on Saturday and six on Sunday. Daily transits ran at roughly 130 to 140 vessels before the war, according to the analytics firm Kpler. The U.S. Energy Information Administration raised its 2026 forecast for Brent crude today to an average of $87 a barrel, up from $82, citing constraints on transit through the strait and assuming those constraints persist through August. The agency also lifted its forecast for U.S. retail gasoline to $3.78 a gallon for the year, from $3.64. Brent traded near $89 a barrel this morning.

Israel and Venezuela have agreed to restore official consular coordination after 17 years without diplomatic relations. The breakthrough followed recent talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Venezuelan…

Israel and Venezuela have agreed to restore official consular coordination after 17 years without diplomatic relations. The breakthrough followed recent talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia. The two sides agreed to create a formal mechanism for handling consular matters and assisting citizens of both countries. Israel and Venezuela have lacked diplomatic ties since 2009, making the agreement the first official channel of coordination between the governments in nearly two decades.

Israel's Foreign Ministry is asking the public for help locating an Israeli mother and daughter who have been out of contact since Friday while in Vienna. Mali and Liel Yahalomi were last known to be in the Austrian…

Israel's Foreign Ministry is asking the public for help locating an Israeli mother and daughter who have been out of contact since Friday while in Vienna. Mali and Liel Yahalomi were last known to be in the Austrian capital on August 7, according to the Israeli Embassy in Vienna. Officials say their family has been unable to reach them since then. Anyone who sees the two is asked to tell them to urgently contact their family, the Israeli Embassy's emergency line at +43 676 367 2304, or local police.

Iran is not negotiating with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said today, with messages between the two governments passing through intermediaries. Araghchi said there is "no possibility of resuming…

Iran is not negotiating with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said today, with messages between the two governments passing through intermediaries. Araghchi said there is "no possibility of resuming negotiations" as long as Washington continues to violate the memorandum of understanding signed in June and does not compensate for those violations, in remarks carried by Iranian state television. He said several intermediary countries are working to rebuild the ground for talks. Araghchi told a government meeting today that the separate negotiations with Oman on managing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz are in their final stages and on the way to being finalized, according to state news agency IRNA. He again said that an arrangement with Muscat will not itself reopen the waterway, and that the new shipping lanes it sets out would come into use only once the United States meets further conditions, according to Mehr News Agency. Those conditions were spelled out Saturday by the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as we reported earlier. President Trump said the United States is "only semi-negotiating" with Iran in a phone interview with Axios today, saying Washington is watching Tehran contend with high inflation and a shortage of funds. Trump said the U.S. naval blockade has worsened Iran's economic crisis and that the country lacks money to pay its soldiers, according to Axios. He said he is personally involved in the talks and predicted the standoff will resolve itself over time. Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the Iranian conditions are "ridiculous and should be rejected out of hand," speaking on ABC's This Week today. Esper said the list indicates Tehran believes it holds the advantage and feels emboldened.