Iran says it’s in the final stage of drafting an agreement on the waterway with Oman, while two Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon.
Here鈥檚 a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Thursday. Full coverage can be found .
Iran says a deal with Oman is close
Iran鈥檚 Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, has said , which lies on the other side of the waterway, is in the 鈥渇inal stage鈥� of drafting. Speaking Wednesday, he said a joint statement will be issued 鈥渋f certain parties do not obstruct this process,鈥� apparently referring to the U.S.
The agreement is likely to be contingent on the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran鈥檚 ports.
A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly said Thursday that any temporary routes through the Strait of Hormuz will not have impediments such as approvals, permissions, tolls or charges.
Asked Thursday if a deal has been reached with Iran to reopen the vital waterway, U.S. President Donald Trump said he didn鈥檛 want to say.
鈥淚t has been sort of open right now,鈥� he told reporters in the Oval Office.
The strait is crucial to global shipping and energy supplies. Before the war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, about one-fifth of the world鈥檚 traded oil and natural gas passed through the waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.
鈥� Michelle Price in Washington
Ships struck over the past week in the Strait of Hormuz
At least two ships were hit in the Strait of Hormuz in the past week, while several others reported near misses or warnings from entities claiming to represent Iran鈥檚 Revolutionary Guard, according to maritime data company Lloyd鈥檚 List Intelligence.
The company added that Yemen鈥檚 Iran-backed Houthi rebels continued to claim attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The claims could not be independently verified.
Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz increased to 84 transits during the week of July 27 to Aug. 2, up from 45 the previous week. But traffic is still far below the more than 700 transits seen in a typical week before the crisis, Lloyd’s List said.
Yemen鈥檚 Houthis kill 30 government forces in major attack
, including a 4-year-old child, were injured in Saudi Arabia on Thursday after a series of attacks by Yemen鈥檚 Houthi rebels, according to the Saudi military.
The attacks, which took place in the southern region of Najran, near the Yemeni border, came hours after the Iran-backed rebels claimed responsibility for another series of strikes in central and eastern Yemen that killed at least 30 government troops and wounded at least 50 others.
The back-to-back attacks mark a major escalation since a truce in 2022 largely halted fighting. The civil war pits the Iran-backed Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition allied with Yemen鈥檚 internationally recognized government.
A Houthi leader said Saudi-backed troops were targeted in the attacks and that 鈥渉undreds鈥� were either killed or injured. The assaults hit camps for forces of the internationally recognized government in the provinces of Marib and Hadramout, the Yemeni officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi military, said the later attack wounded seven Saudi nationals, one Yemeni, two Egyptians and one Pakistani expatriate. The Houthis did not release any statement.
Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year.
鈥� Samy Magdy in Cairo and Baraa Anwer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon as negotiators meet in Rome
Two Israeli and another four were seriously wounded in an explosion in southern , the Israeli military said Thursday. The deaths are first since a shaky truce was implemented in June between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group .
The Israeli army launched strikes Wednesday in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as Hezbollah鈥檚 violation of the ceasefire and issued a call for residents of another village to flee 鈥� the first such warning Israel has issued in weeks.
The escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome to discuss implementation of the June deal under which Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from areas they occupy in southern Lebanon, in exchange for Hezbollah鈥檚 disarmament.
Uganda approves sending troops for international force in Gaza
Ugandan authorities won parliamentary approval Thursday as part of the International Stabilization Force for Gaza.
The 20,000-strong force, proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 Board of Peace in February to ensure 鈥渇uture prosperity and enduring peace,鈥�
Several other countries pledged troops to the mission, including Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Albania and Indonesia, which has since put its commitment of troops on indefinite hold.
The Gaza ceasefire has stalled, as Israel鈥檚 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that from its current lines in Gaza until Hamas has completely disarmed.
Israeli settler charged in West Bank killing of Palestinian activist
Israeli prosecutors have charged a settler with the killing of a Palestinian community leader last year in the occupied West Bank.
Prosecutors accuse Yinon Levi of reckless manslaughter in the death of prominent Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen in July 2025. The charge holds a lesser punishment than murder under Israeli law. The indictment also charges Levi with armed trespassing and malicious property damage.
It is extremely rare for Israel to charge settlers with violence against Palestinians. Israeli rights group B鈥橳selem said the charges against Levi mark the first time since Hamas鈥� Oct. 7, 2023, attack that an Israeli has been indicted for the death of a Palestinian in the West Bank.
In that time, the group said, Israeli settlers and soldiers have killed at least 1,100 Palestinians in the territory.
Iraq moves to crack down on armed militia groups
Iraq said Thursday that any armed activity outside of state authority after Sept. 30 will be prosecuted under the country鈥檚 Anti-Terrorism Law, the latest move in .
Several powerful, Iran-backed armed factions have rejected calls to surrender weapons or dissolve their organizations, saying they remain committed to the 鈥渙ption of resistance.鈥�
Saudi Arabia and the U.S. launched strikes on Iraq last week after Riyadh accused Iraqi militias of using drones to attack its oil facilities.
The retaliatory strikes in Iraq hit bases of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a collection of armed groups close to Iran that are officially part of Iraq鈥檚 security forces but often operate outside of state control.
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