Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, two key maritime chokepoints in the region, decreased significantly from the previous day, according to shipping data.
The Saudi-led coalition says 11 civilians were wounded in a Houthi attack on the southern border region of Najran, including seven Saudi nationals, among them a woman and a four-year-old child.
A senior Saudi official says intelligence indicates Iran-backed Iraqi militias and Yemen's Houthis are preparing imminent attacks on Saudi Arabia, with energy facilities, ports and airports among the potential targets.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he believes the war with Iran will "end pretty soon", telling reporters at the White House that he expects the conflict to conclude in the near future.
A joint statement issued by Türkiye, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and other countries strongly condemned what it described as ongoing Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip.
According to a Reuters report, the statement called for an end to the violations and expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in the territory, as reported by the participating countries. Further details of the declaration were not immediately available.
Qatar Airways, Qatar's national carrier, announced on Thursday that it will resume flights to Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iraq's northern governorate of Erbil as of 8 August.
Eight major international shipping associations have urged the UN to oppose the introduction of compulsory tolls or service charges for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a joint open letter addressed to UN chief António Guterres and International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez, the groups warned that such fees would undermine freedom of navigation and damage the global economy.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani held a phone call to discuss regional developments. Both sides stressed the importance of continued political consultations and regional cooperation to reduce tensions.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran and Oman were "near to finalising" a deal on new shipping arrangements for the strategic waterway, but stressed that it would not lead to an "immediate or complete re-opening" of the strait.
He added that "the understanding with Oman does not mean implementing Clause 5 of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding."
Iranian officials also warned that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz would not return to pre-war conditions. Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Parliament, said Iran "will not accept the U.S.-imposed southern corridor because it fails to ensure Iran's national interests."
Oil prices edged lower as investors assessed whether progress in Iran-Oman talks could pave the way for a U.S.-Iran agreement to end the five-month conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures fell 37 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $79.08 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined 53 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $74.69 a barrel.
The declines followed mixed trading in the previous session, with Brent ending Wednesday slightly higher and WTI closing marginally lower.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would rather reach a deal with Iran than resort to military action, while warning that the use of force remains an option if diplomacy fails.
"I'd rather make a deal because I don't want to kill people," Trump said at an event in Las Vegas.
Trump said his administration had been prepared to launch the “biggest attack since World War II," but paused those plans after Iranian officials requested talks.
UKMTO said it had received a delayed report of an incident that occurred about 9 nautical miles (16.7 kilometres) southeast of Kumzar, Oman. According to the report, the master of the tanker heard the blasts.
UKMTO said the crew and vessel were safe and that no environmental damage had been reported.
It advised vessels transiting the area to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.
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Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Iran to pay compensation for decades of deaths and damage, adding a new demand to peace talks as Tehran seeks compensation and sanctions relief before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
A criminal court in Damascus has sentenced former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for premeditated murder, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is preparing to deploy additional North Korean forces on its territory and has received more ballistic missiles from Pyongyang, arguing that their growing military cooperation poses a threat beyond Ukraine.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Iran said it was nearing a final pact with Oman defining new shipping lanes between them through the Strait of Hormuz but repeated that the U.S. must meet other conditions.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are progressing and suggested an agreement with Iran could be reached “soon”.
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