Trump says Iran talks start Monday after shelving massive US strikes

Cairo,UPDATED: Aug 3, 2026 20:02 IST

US President Donald Trump said new talks aimed at winding down the war in Iran will begin on Monday, after he decided against carrying out the massive strikes he had threatened on the country. The proposed talks also come amid efforts to revive cargo traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about a fifth of traded oil and natural gas moved before the war.

Even as Trump announced the move, Iranian state media quoted the country's foreign ministry as saying Tehran was not currently holding negotiations with the United States. Elsewhere in the region, Israeli strikes on Gaza over the weekend killed at least 17 people, according to hospitals there, days after the US and Hamas said a deal had been reached for the militant group to disarm.

Trump said on Sunday that he stepped back from ordering major strikes against Iran after appeals from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He said US forces had a plan in place for what he called "the biggest attack since World War II", but he chose to give diplomacy more time after hearing from Gulf leaders and at the request of unnamed Iranian officials.

"Now what we're doing is we're talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon," Trump said. He did not give further details or say who would take part. Trump has previously threatened large strikes and later called them off, with some announcements later followed by renewed attacks. The sudden shifts have marked the five-month war, which has shaken global markets and pushed up the prices of fuel and other basic goods.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said Tehran was not currently in talks with Washington. Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that the ongoing discussions were with Oman, on the other side of the strait, and were limited to setting up a temporary route for safe navigation through the channel. Trade data and analytics platform Kpler said nine vessels passed through the strait on Sunday, most of them using an Iranian-controlled route.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived on Monday in Iraq's holy city of Najaf to take part in the Arbaeen commemorations, an annual pilgrimage for Shia Muslims, his office said on social media. His visit comes as Iraq tries to balance ties with both Iran and the US, a task that has become more difficult since the US and Israel went to war with Iran in February.

In another regional development, Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Iraq's Kurdish regional president Nechirvan Barzani met on Monday to discuss ways to improve cooperation and support regional security. The meeting came amid wider tensions, with Iranian-backed Iraqi militia groups carrying out multiple drone strikes targeting American interests across Iraq, including the Kurdish region. Syrian state media also reported last month that authorities at the border with Iraq had foiled an attempt in June to smuggle weapons that were believed to be headed to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon. Hezbollah denied the allegation.

Iran's judiciary said it executed two men on Monday after convicting them of spying for Israel during both last year's 12-day war and the ongoing conflict. The judiciary's Mizan news agency identified them as Omid Behzad and Pouria Safvat, and said they were accused of providing military coordinates, images and other intelligence used in attacks on Iranian targets. It did not say where the executions took place. Last week, Iran publicly hanged two men convicted of killing four police officers during nationwide anti-government protests in January.

In Gaza, hospitals said at least 17 people were killed in Israeli strikes over the weekend, including children. Nasser hospital said a strike on a residential apartment in southern Gaza killed three members of a family, including a four-year-old child, and that the bodies were brought there. The Israeli military said the strikes targeted militants.

At the same time, Palestinians displaced in Gaza are facing intense summer heat in makeshift tents made of plastic sheets that trap heat during the day and offer little ventilation. With limited access to clean water, electricity and sanitation, crowded camps are also struggling with flies, mosquitoes and other insects. Humanitarian agencies such as the Norwegian Refugee Council have warned that these conditions raise the risk of dehydration, heat-related illness, skin infections, diarrhoeal diseases and other communicable illnesses.

"It's very hot. We can't stay inside the tents. Our tent is made of nylon," said Aida Abu Hadeesha, who was displaced from Rafah near the border with Egypt. "There is no breeze, nothing, and our kids are suffering," she said, adding that the heat lasted through the night. "The flies and the cockroaches attack us." Overall, the developments reflected continuing instability across the region, from renewed diplomacy over Iran and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz to fresh violence and worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

With PTI Inputs

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