Here's the latest
• Strait of Hormuz: Traffic through the strait is steadily increasing, according to MarineTraffic data, but is still well below pre-war levels. The increase came as Iran and the US agreed to set up a hotline for the strait to “prevent and resolve any misunderstandings” with countries as ships transit the chokepoint, according to Iran’s top negotiator.
• Israel-Lebanon talks: The US will mediate another round of talks beginning today to end deadly fighting in Lebanon between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah, not included in the talks, has denounced them. The US has also set up a “monitoring mechanism” for the ceasefire, a US official said, as repeated violations have threatened to derail negotiations with Iran.
• Nuclear monitoring: US Vice President JD Vance said Tehran agreed to admit nuclear monitors into the country. But Iran denied making any new commitments. President Donald Trump said preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon outweighs the potential economic consequences of a prolonged war.
Iran’s president says success of agreement with US will depend on "precise implementation"
The success of the framework agreement reached between the US and Iran will depend on its “precise implementation,” Iran’s president said Tuesday.
US and Iranian negotiators voiced optimism on Monday following negotiations in Switzerland but have offered differing messages on International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors visiting Iran’s nuclear sites.
Pezeshkian is due Tuesday to visit Pakistan, which has played a key role as mediator between the US and Iran for months as the two sides work to find a final diplomatic resolution to the war.
Rubio’s visit to the Middle East intended to “reassure” Gulf allies, expert says
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to the Middle East is intended to “reassure” Gulf allies as the US and Iran work to implement a framework agreement aimed at permanently ending the war, according to an international relations expert.
US allies in the region, including the wealthy Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the UAE, came under repeated attack over the course of the US-Israel war against Iran that began in February.
Many of the attacks targeted energy infrastructure and commercial sites, causing billions of dollars of economic losses and shattering their image as a safe haven for foreign travel and investment.
Iranian officials have stated repeatedly that the Strait of Hormuz, which is the primary conduit for Gulf states’ oil exports will not return to its pre-war status as an open international waterway but instead be jointly administered with Oman when a final agreement is reached.
A dozen Indian nationals killed in explosion due to "malfunction" at Qatar LNG hub
At least 13 people, including a dozen Indian nationals, were killed in an explosion at a massive Qatar gas complex Sunday, authorities said, adding it was the result of an industrial accident and not conflict-related.
The explosion at the Ras Laffan liquified natural gas (LNG) hub was caused “due to a technical malfunction during operations,” Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement on X on Monday. It added that 13 people had died, while 66 more were injured.
The Indian embassy in Doha said a dozen Indian nationals were killed in the explosion and that it was working to repatriate their bodies.
Qatari authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
The Ras Laffan LNG hub is the world’s largest such facility. It was struck by Iranian missiles during the US-Israeli war with Iran, suffering “extensive damage.”
QatarEnergy is working to restart operations at the facility, which had been halted following the attack, according to Reuters.
Some background: There are about 9 million Indian nationals residing and working in the Gulf, according to India’s foreign ministry. Many of these migrants work as laborers powering major sectors including construction, hospitality and domestic work, yet they remain among its most exposed and unprotected demographic.
A large number of the people killed in Gulf countries since the start of the war have been South Asian nationals.
US-Iran talks expected to continue as next steps take shape. Here's the latest
Negotiations focused on finding a permanent end to the war with Iran are retaining their momentum, with steps toward implementing the country’s initial agreement with the US taking shape. Lead negotiators have left Switzerland, but technical talks are expected to continue.
Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain from Tuesday through Thursday to discuss US-Iran negotiations.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, will visit mediator Pakistan today.
Iran is also set to hold talks with Persian Gulf states on regional security in the next stage of negotiations with the US, according to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.
Here’s what else happened on Monday:
- Strait of Hormuz hotline: Iran and the US agreed to set up a hotline for the strait to “prevent and resolve any misunderstandings” with countries as ships transit the oil trade chokepoint, according to Tehran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Traffic through the strait is steadily increasing, according to MarineTraffic data, but is still well below pre-war levels.
- Nuclear messaging: US Vice President JD Vance said Tehran had agreed to admit nuclear monitors into the country, describing this as “the first step in permanently denuclearizing” Iran. But Iran denied making any new commitments on monitoring, with state media reporting that Tehran did not negotiate the nuclear issue during 18 hours of discussions.
- Iran’s frozen assets: Vance outlined an initiative for unfreezing Iranian assets that would grant the US approval over what Tehran can purchase using the money. Ghalibaf, meanwhile, claimed Iran’s access to $12 billion of its frozen funds was finalized during negotiations in Switzerland.
- Temporary lifted sanctions: The US Treasury Department issued a 60-day waiver on the sale of Iranian oil, following through on one of the US-Iran agreement’s key commitments. The waiver allows Iran to sell and deliver oil sanction-free until 12:01 a.m. on August 21 to nearly every country around the world, including the US.
- Trump focused on nuclear: President Donald Trump said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon outweighs concerns about the potential economic consequences of prolonged military action, including the risk of a global depression. Trump reiterated that military action remains on the table if Iran does not comply with their agreement.
CNN’s Adam Cancryn, Alejandra Jaramillo, Donald Judd, Haley Britzky, Jennifer Hansler, Kevin Liptak, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Sarah Tamimi and Tal Shalev contributed to this report.
Preventing Iranian nuclear weapon "supersedes" risk of economic depression, Trump says
President Donald Trump said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon outweighs concerns about the potential economic consequences of prolonged military action, including the risk of a global depression.
President Donald Trump said Monday that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon outweighs concerns about the potential economic consequences of prolonged military action, including the risk of a global depression.
US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon resume today. Here's what to know
Another round of talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to begin in Washington, DC today. The meetings come amid a recently renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, where deadly violations by Hezbollah and Israel have threatened to derail the US-Iran negotiations.
This fifth round of US-mediated talks will include sessions on political and military issues, as Washington seeks to move forward on a “comprehensive peace and security agreement,” a State Department official said.
Since the war with Iran began, a series of truces have failed to maintain peace in Lebanon. A US-brokered truce was struck in April and most recently renewed on June 20, but repeated strikes and artillery fire have been frequently reported since.
Israel offensive in Lebanon has killed more than 4,000 people since March, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
Here’s what to know:
- US steps: The US has set up a “monitoring mechanism” for the ceasefire, a US official said. It is part of a “de-confliction cell” referenced by JD Vance, which the vice president and mediators said was set up during talks in Switzerland. Israel was not mentioned in statements about the mechanism, and it’s not clear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signed off on the idea.
- On the ground: Vance noted a period without fighting on the front lines, telling reporters on Monday that the previous 24 hours “have probably been the most peaceful that we’ve seen the situation in Lebanon.” He said teams had taken steps to “ensure it doesn’t spiral out of control in the future.” Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the UN secretary general, said in a briefing that Sunday was “the first day since the resumption of hostilities in Lebanon on 2 March that peacekeepers from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon did not detect any trajectories or observe any interceptions.”
- Israel weighing steps: Israel is considering announcing “symbolic” withdrawals from occupied territory in southern Lebanon as part of the talks, according to an Israeli source. The withdrawals would constitute the pullback of some forces from minor areas over the so-called Yellow Line, which delineated the boundary of the territory the Israeli military held after a previous ceasefire in April.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Haley Britzky, Michael Williams and Tal Shalev contributed reporting.
Shipping steadily increases in Strait of Hormuz
At least two dozen commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz over 24 hours, according to MarineTraffic data reviewed by CNN on Monday.
The ships included eight tankers and two cargo ships exiting the Persian Gulf and eight tankers and six cargo ships entering it.
These figures mark a clear increase from depressed crossing rates seen during much of the Iran war since its start in late February. Before the war, about 110 vessels crossed the strait every day on average.
In the months since, the strait has seen intense GPS spoofing — a form of navigation systems interference that causes vessels’ broadcast positions to appear in the wrong locations. Spoofing has subsided noticeably in recent days.
