Episode Details
Back to EpisodesIran / Oman Strait of Hormuz Plan + Gaza Board of Peace Head Meets with Israeli PM; No IDF Withdrawal Until Full Disarmament + Former AFU Chief: Ukraine Will Never Join NATO
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1. US President Donald Trump held a phone call earlier today with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during which the pair discussed “efforts to deescalate tensions between the US and Iran,” the latter’s office says.
2. Iran and the Gulf Arab state of Oman have made progress toward a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a potential breakthrough that could help wind down the war in the Middle East, regional officials say.
Under the emerging agreement, ships would enter the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exit through a route controlled by Oman, with service fees charged for providing security and preserving the maritime environment, two regional officials tell The Associated Press.
3. In his first public comments on the matter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel has not agreed to the Board of Peace’s Hamas disarmament plan, which was accepted by the terror group last week.
4. The US-backed Board of Peace appeared to change its conditions for the IDF to withdraw from Gaza after its top officials held a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday, shortly before a fresh Israeli airstrike was reported in the enclave.
5. Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's former ambassador to the U.S., has been charged with illicit enrichment, an anti-corruption prosecutor said at a hearing of the High Anti-Corruption Court on Aug. 5.
6. Ukraine will never become a member of NATO despite years of pursuing accession, Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.K. and former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said on Aug. 3.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said Zaluzhnyi's remarks had been "taken out of context and caused a stir," noting that the ambassador's full answer referred primarily to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), not NATO.