Al Jazeera

By Ali Mustafa and Adam Hancock

    US President Donald Trump says Washington is having “very friendly talks” with Tehran but suggests he is not prepared for prolonged negotiations. Tehran says the US is struggling to find a way out of the war.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Washington, DC, and is expected to meet Trump, with the war on Iran likely to top the agenda.

    Saudi Arabia condemns a drone attack launched by Iran-backed groups in Iraq that targeted Riyadh as well as oil facilities in the Eastern Province.

    UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk tells Al Jazeera his office has documented violations of international law by Israel in Lebanon, some of which may amount to war crimes.

Netanyahu likely to press Trump for ‘regime change again’ in Iran

    We have more from Alex Vatanka at the Middle East Institute.

    He told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu is likely to try and “sell the idea of regime change again in Tehran” when he meets Trump at the White House on Tuesday.

    But, “I don’t think it will go down well with President Trump because he doesn’t want to do that”, Vatanka said. “Politically, in the US, this war is hugely unpopular, so it remains to be seen what Prime Minister Netanyahu gets out of this meeting.”

    He added that previous meetings between Trump and Netanyahu in Washington, DC, have often preceded a flare-up in tensions with Iran, and it remains to be seen whether this one breaks that pattern.

    Vatanka also said that Israelis are still unhappy with the Trump administration about the memorandum of understanding agreed with Tehran, because they “have a different sense of threat perception when it comes to Iran”.

    Israeli officials will want Netanyahu to continue to press Trump on Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, he said.

    “The Trump administration’s counter to that is there is only so much the US can do militarily unless they decide to go in and occupy Iran, and this is something nobody really takes seriously,” he added.

US official says next round of Israel-Lebanon talks to be held on August 4

    A US State Department official has told AFP that the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place in Rome on August 4.

    “In Rome, technical groups will focus on advancing the full implementation of the framework agreement” signed between Israel and Lebanon in June, the official said, adding that the talks will “include expanding the pilot zone process, resolving all outstanding border issues, and working on a comprehensive peace and security agreement”.

    The framework deal outlines a “sequenced process” in which the Lebanese army restores “effective sovereign authority over all Lebanese territory”, pending the verified disarmament of Hezbollah. Only then, it says, will Israel be able to “progressively redeploy” out of Lebanon.

    The deal also outlines two “pilot zones” for an initial Israeli withdrawal.

Lebanon divided over framework agreement signed in Washington

Marine Traffic says 29 ships crossed Hormuz on July 24-26

    The Strait of Hormuz recorded 29 verified crossings, including 21 vessels exiting and eight entering the waterway between July 24 and 26, according to Marine Traffic, a maritime data tracker.

    By comparison, it said the Bab al-Mandeb Strait recorded 100 crossings during the same period, with 51 vessels entering the Red Sea and 49 exiting.

Hundreds of ex-Israeli military officials urge Trump to help end settler violence

By Nour Odeh

Reporting from Ramallah, occupied West Bank

    Some 600 figures from Israel’s security, defence, and diplomatic establishment have written to the US president, warning against the Israeli government’s push to expand illegal settlements and its encouragement of land grabs by settlers.

    They argue this threatens Israel’s security and threatens Trump’s push to expand the Abraham Accords, under which Israel normalised relations with Arab countries it had never been at war with, effectively bypassing the Palestinian issue.

    The letter appears to be an attempt to influence the White House and put the brakes on what the signatories see as a dangerous escalation.

    This aligns with warnings we have seen from within Israel’s defence establishment, which has cautioned that settlers are increasingly taking the initiative, acting on behalf of the Israeli army, and putting Israeli soldiers themselves at risk.

Pause in hostilities ‘more of a US initiative’ to give diplomacy another chance

    Alex Vatanka, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, has cast doubt on Trump’s claims that nearly two weeks of US air strikes had forced Iran back to the negotiating table.

    “I don’t think the Iranians were ready to throw in the towel just because of US military strikes,” Vatanka told Al Jazeera.

    “The Iranian side has been consistent in saying to the Trump administration that time is on their side, and we [Iran] can absorb more pain than you [the US] can. So bring it on,” he said.

    “It’s a risky business for Iran to be in, but that has been their approach in recent weeks, and I didn’t see any major changes.”

    Vatanka added that US officials and sources in Washington, DC, were instead discussing the effectiveness of continued US strikes on Iran, with most saying the attacks were no longer productive.

    “I think this [pause] was more of an American initiative to see if diplomacy can be given another chance,” he said.

    Trump’s comments come as he prepares to meet Netanyahu, who has opposed the move.

What’s the latest on the US-Iran talks

    The US paused strikes on Iran on Friday, and Trump told supporters in Michigan on Monday that “right now, there are very friendly negotiations [with Tehran] going on”.

    He also threatened to resume attacks if the negotiations do not yield any results, telling reporters on board Air Force One: “I think there’s a good chance that something could happen, and if it does, good; if it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.”

    But earlier in the day, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said Tehran was not holding talks with the US but that “intermediaries may convey messages from the American side to us regarding ongoing developments in the region”.

    He added that Tehran will continue to use diplomacy to safeguard its national interests and that the Strait of Hormuz remained closed.

    The Associated Press, citing two regional officials, meanwhile, said that mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan were working to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran to return to an interim ceasefire deal.

Iraqi official says ‘cells belonging to Ukraine’ carried out bombings in Iraq

    Iraq’s national security adviser, Qasim al-Aboudi, has told Dijlah TV that new information points to “Ukrainian interference in Iraq”, with “cells belonging to Ukraine” carrying out bombings against Iraqi government facilities.

    He told the Arabic-language network that further investigation was needed “before we can level an accusation at this side or that”.

    “But we arrested a small group of people, who confessed that they were working for Ukraine,” al-Aboudi said. “They targeted some Iraqi government facilities with bombing.”

    He did not elaborate further.

    There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

‘Uncertainty remains the name of the game’

By Tohid Asadi

Reporting from Tehran, Iran

    Iran is oscillating between the rhetoric of war and the rhetoric of peace.

    The situation is marked by three key characteristics.

    First, ambiguity: This isn’t the first time hopes for peace have been raised, considering the nature of recent statements from the US president.

    Second, fragility: We haven’t seen that much of an exchange of fire over the past few nights under this brittle ceasefire, but we know that the potential for a new round of escalation remains.

    Third, complexity: There are numerous points of contention in the talks, including the nuclear dossier, sanctions, war reparations, and the Strait of Hormuz.

    The strait may be the most contentious issue of all. Iran is insisting on maintaining control and authority over it, saying any passage through the chokepoint must be coordinated with Iran and routed close to its coastline.

    At the end of the day, uncertainty remains the name of the game.

Mapping Israeli settler violence in the West Bank

By Alia Chughtai and Marium Ali

War on Iran set to top the agenda at Trump-Netanyahu meeting

By Alan Fisher

Reporting from Washington, DC, US

    Netanyahu is going to spend the night at the Blair House, which is a very short walk from the front gate of the White House.

    Already, protesters are gathering there to express their anger at Netanyahu for what happened in Gaza as well as in the ongoing war on Iran.

    At the moment, the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu is not expected to be public. What is interesting is that during the peace talks with Iran, Israel – which is the only country that joined the US in attacking Iran – was not involved.

    There are many in Israel who believe that the US should not come close to making a deal – in fact, that they should resume the war – and there are certainly plenty of people in Washington, DC, who would agree with that.

    Now, Trump has expressed his frustration with Netanyahu and has said several times that he feels the Israeli leader is not seeing the big picture. And sometimes you’re not sure whether both men are on the same page or whether they are diametrically opposed to one another.

    So it will be interesting to see if we get any readout from either side after that meeting.

    Of course, there is also the added issue of the US selling aircraft to Turkiye. Netanyahu doesn’t want that to happen.

    Trump was asked about it in the last few hours, and he said we will sell to whoever he wants. So it could be a very interesting meeting at the White House on Tuesday.

Iran taking ‘cautiously calibrated’ pragmatist approach

By Tohid Asadi

    Iran is not going to allow the US to determine the timing of peace or war. This is perhaps the most important sentence from the weekly press briefing given by the spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    Iran is trying to send a mixed, two-sided message that the country is fully prepared for confrontational scenarios on the horizon.

    This message has also been repeated by the head of Iran’s army – that in case of any attack by the US, Iran’s retaliation will be more crushing than before.

    At the same time, Iran is also saying that the doors for diplomacy are neither open, nor closed, but rather ajar.

    And on that account, Iran’s leadership is saying that it hasn’t requested any formal talks with the US, but that mediated communication is still ongoing, considering the role of the Qataris, Pakistanis and other regional players.

    Iran is trying to undertake a cautiously calibrated pragmatism, impacted by a cloud of mistrust regarding any rapprochement by the US.

Australia considers first new domestic oil refinery in decades

    The Australian federal government and the state of Western Australia will undertake a feasibility study for a new oil refinery, a government statement said, as the US and Israel’s war on Iran squeezes global energy supplies.

    Australia, which depends on imports for 80 percent of its fuel needs, has been scrambling to secure supplies as the war drags on.

    The country has just two oil refineries in operation, compared with eight in 2000.

    Australia hasn’t built a new refinery in more than 60 years.

US, Iran ‘would like to get to a deal, but it’s going to take a lot of work’

By Alan Fisher

    Reporting from Washington, DC.

    The first intention [of the US-Iran talks] is to stop the military action that we have seen over the past 13 days – albeit it has paused for the last three nights – and to pave the way for the resumption of talks, which would then lead to the agreement beyond the memorandum of understanding to an actual deal.

    The difficulty, of course, is getting to that first step.

    The US wants to make sure that the Strait of Hormuz is back open; Iran sees that as something that gives them a great deal of leverage.

    But the fact is that after 13 days of attacks, both sides are talking and there have been no further strikes.

    But Trump still says if things don’t work out and this doesn’t become a deal, we will… go back to very strong military action.

    That hangs over all of these talks. So it is clear they would like to get to a deal, but it’s going to take a lot of work.

    Remember, when the MoU was signed, the intention was a 60-day period for talks that could be extended by both sides, and they would hopefully come up with a deal. That clock hasn’t even started. So there’s still a lot of talk and a lot of time to be spent on trying to get peace between Iran and the US.

    Trump has threatened to escalate attacks even further, risking the possibility of wider Iranian retaliation and an all-out war.

How has the history of these two countries influenced the current conflict

    This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks to Ali Kadivar, associate professor of sociology and international studies at Boston College.

A recap of recent developments

    US President Donald Trump says Washington is having “very friendly talks” with Tehran, but suggests he is not prepared for prolonged negotiations.

    Iran says it is exchanging messages with the US through intermediaries, and that Washington is struggling to find a way out of the five-month-long conflict.

    Saudi Arabia condemns a drone attack launched by Iran-backed groups in Iraq that targeted the capital, Riyadh, as well as oil facilities in the Eastern Province.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington, DC, and is expected to hold talks with Trump for the first time since February. The two leaders are likely to discuss the war on Iran.

    Israeli forces conduct more raids in the occupied West Bank as former senior Israeli military officials write to Trump, urging him to press Netanyahu to curb the violence.

    UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk says his office has documented violations of international law by Israel in Lebanon, some of which may amount to war crimes.

Welcome to our coverage

    Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran.

    Stay with us for the latest news and analysis from across the Middle East and beyond.