US president Donald Trump says there are “very friendly negotiations” taking place with Iran amid a pause in military action, adding that he believes they have a good chance to end the war.However, Trump has also warned that the US would resume “strong military action” if the talks fail.Tehran has denied that any direct negotiations with Washington are taking place, and says it is only receiving messages from the US via mediators.Meanwhile, Iran has threatened to retaliate against Ukraine after accusing Kyiv of a missile strike on a tanker in the Caspian Sea.Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday the reported strike on a commercial vessel “cannot go unanswered” in a call with the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.Kyiv’s forces struck a Russian warship and vessels used for transporting Iran-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.Tehran said that Kyiv had attacked an Iranian commercial vessel and killed a sailor, describing the incident as an act of aggression and accusing Ukraine of trying to expand the Russia-Ukraine war. Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic still low, data showsTracking data shows that just 29 verified vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz between 24 and 26 July, with 21 ships exiting and eight entering the strategic waterway.During the same period, 100 vessels transited the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, with 51 entering the Red Sea and 49 leaving it, according to the maritime tracking platform Marine Traffic.The US and Iran paused military strikes for a second consecutive day on Monday, raising hopes that diplomatic efforts to end the conflict may resume.The pause comes despite both sides previously threatening further escalation and accusing each other of violating a June memorandum of understanding that had laid out a framework for negotiations.Maroosha Muzaffar28 July 2026 05:55Oman-Iran Hormuz talks make progress as US pauses strikesOman and Iran are reportedly moving closer to an agreement on managing the Strait of Hormuz, though they remain divided over Tehran's proposal to charge transit fees.Progress in the Oman-Iran talks, backed by China, Qatar and Pakistan, is believed to have influenced the US decision to pause its attacks on Iran after nearly two weeks. Maroosha Muzaffar28 July 2026 05:25Maroosha Muzaffar28 July 2026 04:55Iran denies direct negotiations with the USTehran has rejected Donald Trump’s characterisation of the talks, with foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei saying there are currently no direct negotiations with Washington and that only mediators are passing messages between the two sides.“Mediators may convey messages from the American side to us regarding current developments in the region. But at present we are not engaged in any negotiations with the United States,” he said, according to the Guardian. Maroosha Muzaffar28 July 2026 04:25Trump warns of renewed military action if diplomacy with Iran failsDonald Trump said the US would resume “very strong military action” against Iran if ongoing diplomatic efforts do not produce a rapid resolution to the crisis in the Middle East. “We are in very deep talks with Iran. If they don’t work out, we will go back to very strong military action,” the US president told Axios. He told reporters later on Air Force One: “They want to meet, and we’re meeting. Without what we did, they wouldn’t even be talking to us … They would not have requested the meeting if we were doing poorly. The only reason they want to meet is because we’ve been hitting them very hard.”Maroosha Muzaffar28 July 2026 03:55European gas reserves at ‘historically low level’ - but fears of 2022 price shock played downThe Independent’s Karl Matchett writes: Europe faces a gas shortage this winter due to lower global production and reserves being run down due to the Iran war, an analyst has warned.Liquified natural has (LNG) is a key part of the overall energy mix for the UK and Europe. On the continent, natural gas as a whole accounts for around a fifth (21 per cent) of total energy consumption, according to Eurostat’s research, with LNG representing around 40 per cent of that gas usage in 2024.An estimated 89 per cent of Europe’s overall gas supply in 2025 came from outside the EU - including the UK - and analysts at Wood Mackenzie have cautioned that the continent “is approaching energy crisis territory.”Research from the firm shows European inventory is “only just above 50 per cent, an historically low level” for this period of the year.“Low European inventories, strong Asian demand and limited new LNG supply growth almost guarantee elevated prices through this winter and into 2027,” said Massimo Di Odoardo, Wood Mackenzie’s vice president of gas research.Harriette Boucher28 July 2026 03:00Harriette Boucher28 July 2026 02:00Houthis looking to replicate Iran's Hormuz strategy in Red Sea, says foreign ministerYemeni ​Houthis are looking to copy Iran's Hormuz strategy in the Red Sea by disrupting shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb. Yemen's ⁠top diplomat said that the movement has been emboldened by an insufficient international response.Foreign Minister-designate Afrah Al-Zouba told journalists on Monday: “The Houthis want to copy the Iranian model and this will shut down two main straits, the gateways into the Gulf and Red Sea.”The Red Sea has become a new front in the Iran war, with the Houthis taking ⁠an escalatory approach against Saudi Arabia by firing missiles and drones ​at ⁠the kingdom and declaring a blockade ‌on Saudi shipping. Harriette Boucher28 July 2026 01:00Pentagon change appears to make it harder to tally military deaths and injuriesThe Independent’s Isabel Keane reports: Casualties reported overseas since July 7 — when the U.S. cease-fire with Iran collapsed and the conflict intensified — are no longer listed on the Pentagon website under “Operation Epic Fury,” where earlier casualties were listed.As of Sunday, the Defense Department appears to be tracking casualties in the “Defense Casualty Analysis System,” under a new category labeled “overseas operations casualties.”This means that to track all U.S. casualties since the Iran war began February 28, the numbers from the two separate webpages must be added up.With the change, four fatalities that had been scrubbed from the website last week were added back but on a new webpage. Those deaths include First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, Private Isabella Gonzales and Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton.Harriette Boucher28 July 2026 00:00Trump says there is 'good chance' of deal with IranThere is a chance with a deal between the US and Iran following “good talks”, Donald Trump said on Monday, warning that strikes would resume if the negotiations failed to deliver.It comes as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq reported drone attacks today, despite the US abruptly suspending a two-week campaign of air strikes on Iran on Saturday“We're having good talks,” he said. “I think there's a good chance that something could happen, and if it does, good, if it doesn't, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.”At a campaign rally in Michigan later on Monday, Trump said of ⁠Iran: “You can't bribe them. You've got to beat them, and we'll beat the hell out of them. But ​we'll ⁠see how it turns out. Right now, there are very friendly negotiations going on.”Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that messages were still being passed between the sides through mediators and Iran had not forsaken diplomacy, but reports that it requested negotiations were “fabricated.” “This is not in our DNA,” he said.Harriette Boucher27 July 2026 23:00