West Asia LIVE: Pakistan hopes Hormuz agreement will lead to resumption of Iran-U.S. talks

Iran has made a concerted diplomatic push with Gulf states, warning them explicitly that Tehran will ‌hit their oil, power and water plants unless they convince Donald Trump to end U.S. strikes on Iran and instead seek a negotiated end to the war. 

The warning envisaged attacks on the energy facilities, oil fields, refineries, electricity ⁠grids, water infrastructure, transport networks and other strategic assets of Washington’s closest Arab allies, according to a senior Iranian official.

The message, part of a broader Iranian effort to deter further U.S. military action by raising the prospect of severe economic disruption across the Gulf, was delivered through a flurry of high-level diplomatic ‌contacts after Trump threatened on July 28 to strike Iran’s energy network and infrastructure, the sources said. 

Two senior Iranian officials, two Gulf sources and a senior regional diplomat with knowledge of the discussions said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi spoke ‌with his Saudi, Turkish and Qatari counterparts, as well as Pakistan’s army chief. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of ‌the ⁠sensitivity of the matter. 

-Reuters

Authorities in Kuwait ordered the closure of a local Iranian school, a source at the education ministry told AFP on Thursday (August 6, 2026), after the country came under repeated Iranian attack during West Asia war.

The source did not give a reason for the closure of the country’s only Iranian school, but Kuwait was one of several Gulf states hosting U.S. forces to be targeted by Iran over the course of the war, most recently when a June ceasefire between the belligerents broke down.

“The Minister of Education issued a decision to revoke the educational licence of the private Iranian school and close it down,” said the text of the decision, which was seen by AFP.

Rights groups said on Thursday (August 6, 2026) that an Israeli attack in south Lebanon that killed reporter Amal Khalil and wounded another journalist earlier this year was an apparent “war crime”.

The attack took place in the village of Al-Tiri on April 22, days after a ceasefire was announced between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.

Khalil, a 42-year-old reporter for Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, and freelance camerawoman Zeinab Faraj had taken refuge in a building after an Israeli strike hit a vehicle travelling in front of theirs.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Lebanese rights group ‘The Legal Agenda’ on Thursday (August 6, 2026) released the findings of separate investigations into the attack.

– AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday (August 6, 2026) the United States has a vast supply of munitions and threatened those who suggested otherwise with jail terms as his frustration with the Iran war boiled over.

The Republican leader lashed out on his Truth Social platform at media reports about the dwindling weapons stockpile, saying that the United States has “massive amounts of ‘munitions’ especially of certain types,” without giving further detail.

“Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed. Defence companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country’s history,” he said.

– AFP

Lebanese state media reported Israeli airstrikes and shelling overnight into Thursday (August 6, 2026) morning, after Israel announced its first military fatalities in more than a month as renewed hostilities flared.

The strikes — which began on Wednesday afternoon (August 5, 2026) and were accompanied by the first evacuation warning in weeks — came as Israel and Lebanon took part in U.S.-mediated talks in Rome, with Beirut seeking Israel’s phased withdrawal from the south.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported that “the Israeli enemy escalated its attacks” on Tyre district with “a series of airstrikes and artillery shelling” that lasted from Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

– AFP

Pakistan hopes an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz will lead to the United States and Iran resuming talks under a memorandum of understanding Islamabad helped mediate, the foreign office said on Thursday (August 6, 2026).

“We hope that the agreement on the Strait will pave the way for continuing dialogue, particularly the resumption of technical level talks between Iran and the United States,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters.

– AFP

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir will visit Saudi Arabia on August 6-8, the South Asian nation’s foreign office said on Thursday (August 6, 2026).

“Although taking place against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Gulf, the visit will carry significance beyond the immediate crisis and short term considerations,” said foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi, whose government has been mediating to end the U.S.-Iran war that has drawn in Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia.

– AFP

Iran has warned Gulf states that any new U.S. attack on its territory would trigger ‌retaliation against critical energy infrastructure across the region, according to five sources, as Tehran seeks to raise the cost of military action by threatening Washington’s closest regional allies. 

Two senior Iranian officials, two Gulf sources and a senior regional diplomat with knowledge of the discussions said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi spoke with his Saudi, Turkish and Qatari counterparts, as well as Pakistan’s Army Chief. ‌All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Mr. Araqchi urged Washington’s Gulf allies to use their influence with Trump to dissuade him from launching renewed strikes, the senior diplomat said, warning that any attack on Iran would ‌prompt retaliation against U.S. assets and energy facilities across the Gulf.

– Reuters

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, the key maritime chokepoints ‌in the Gulf, reduced significantly on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) from the previous ⁠day, shipping data showed.

Just two vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz, including a Panama-flagged ‌coal-laden carrier entering the waterway and another commodity Marshall Islands-flagged ‌vessel exiting, shipping data from Kpler ‌showed, ⁠down from eight vessels ⁠a day earlier.

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The Lebanese Health Ministry said an Israeli strike on the southern town ⁠of Tibnin killed one person and wounded 12 ‌others. 

The Israeli military began strikes in southern Lebanon ‌in response to what ‌it ⁠said was a “Hezbollah violation” of ⁠the ceasefire. 

– Reuters

The Israeli military said Thursday (August 6, 2026) that two of its soldiers were killed in combat in southern Lebanon in the first Israeli deaths since the implementation of a shaky truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in June.

The military identified the two reservists, who were killed in combat on Wednesday (August 5, 2026), as Major Harel Birenstock, 34, and Sergeant Major Tamir Vaknin, 33, of the 2855th Battalion, 55th Brigade.

Read the full story below

Israel reports its first troop deaths in Lebanon amid ongoing talks in Rome

Israel reports its first troop deaths in Lebanon amid renewed strikes, as U.S.-backed peace talks continue in Rome.

U.S. President Donald Trump said talks with Tehran seemed “to be working out quite well,” reiterating his ‌positive portrayal of the negotiations on the Iran war without elaborating on the specifics ⁠of the discussions.

Even ‌as the Iran war has entered its ‌sixth ⁠month and the two sides have so ⁠far failed to reach a permanent end to the conflict, Mr. Trump has repeatedly attempted to portray the talks positively. He has also said a deal ‌on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for energy supplies that Iran blocked after the war began, is “imminent”.

– Reuters

In Rome, Israel requested that the day’s talks with Lebanon end three hours early, a source in the negotiations told AFP, saying the head of the Israeli delegation, U.S. ambassador Yechiel Leiter, had blamed alleged “misleading leaks” by the Lebanese side.

But the talks were expected to resume on Thursday (August 5, 2026) for a third and final day.

This week’s negotiations are the seventh round since Hezbollah drew Lebanon into war in West Asia in March with rocket fire at Israel in support of its backer Iran.

– AFP

Gold advanced for a fourth straight session on Thursday (April 6, 2026)and touched its highest level in seven weeks, helped ⁠by weaker oil prices, a softer dollar and lower Treasury yields, on growing hopes over the Strait of Hormuz reopening.

Spot gold was up 1% at $4,285.84 per ‌ounce by 0132 GMT, the highest level since June 18. On Wednesday, bullion posted its biggest daily gain since February.

U.S. gold ‌futures rose 0.9% to $4,345.80.

– Reuters