Iran's security council published six conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. A day later the secretary who signed them resigned, and on Monday the Supreme Leader signed six military decrees, two of them formalising commands already being exercised. Washington's only new instrument in the same window was a sanctions listing aimed at crypto exchanges rather than ships.
Iran and the United States changed personnel and financial tools while keeping their Hormuz terms apart.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr set out six conditions on 8 August before Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, beginning with an end to American military action.
Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, then secretary of Iran's top security council, set six conditions on 8 August for reopening the strait of Hormuz. Washington must end its military action, lift the naval blockade and withdraw its forces. It must also pay war damages, lift sanctions and release Iran's frozen assets.
Not one condition concerns pilotage or traffic rules, so no shipping arrangement opens the waterway by itself. Tehran had already demanded $12bn in frozen assets back in May.
President Masoud Pezeshkian appointed Mohsen Rezaei secretary of the Supreme National Security Council on 9 August, a day after his predecessor published Iran's terms for Hormuz.
President Masoud Pezeshkian named Mohsen Rezaei to run Iran's Supreme National Security Council on 9 August. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr resigned the post and moved to an advisory role. Rezaei commanded the Revolutionary Guard from 1981 to 1997.
That council must sign off the Hormuz draft Abbas Araghchi approved on 5 August. Rezaei publicly doubled Iran's asset demand to $24bn in June. No Iranian outlet has given a reason for the change.
Mojtaba Khamenei issued six senior military appointments in Tehran on 10 August. Two of them formalise commands the officers were already exercising.
Mojtaba Khamenei signed six military decrees in Tehran on 10 August. They cover the armed forces chief of staff and his deputy, the Revolutionary Guard commander and deputy, a naval commander and the Basij militia head.
Two of the six change nothing operationally. Ali Ozamaei has commanded the Guard's navy since early July, and Ahmad Vahidi has led the Guard throughout the war. Monday supplied paperwork Iran had been skipping.
Esmaeil Baqaei said on 10 August that transit fees are not under discussion with Oman, and named the four areas that are: monitoring, environment, maritime services and crime.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on 10 August that transit fees are not under discussion in Iran's shipping route talks with Oman. He listed four areas under discussion: monitoring, environmental protection, maritime services and crime.
Those headings are the first published detail of a bilateral channel Baqaei first described in May. A joint statement still waits on technical points, and neither Muscat nor Washington has confirmed the arrangement.
Lloyd's List Intelligence counted 84 weekly transits through the Strait of Hormuz on 7 August, up from 45. A normal week carries more than 700.
United StatesWeekly transits through the strait of Hormuz reached 84 in the week to 7 August, up from 45. Lloyd's List Intelligence supplied the count, relayed by the Associated Press. A normal week carries more than 700 vessels.
Traffic almost doubled and the strait still runs at roughly an eighth of normal. Lloyd's List has not published the split between tankers and general cargo, so the rise cannot yet be read as energy trade returning.
The United Arab Emirates said on 8 August that an Iranian missile targeted a ship owned by ADNOC in the Strait of Hormuz. ADNOC reported no casualties.
United StatesThe United Arab Emirates said on 8 August that an Iranian missile targeted a vessel owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the strait of Hormuz. The company reported no casualties from the incident.
The Royal Navy's maritime reporting cell logged a projectile strike and a fire east of Khasab in Oman, without confirming the two reports describe one event. Vessel identity remains unresolved, Tehran has said nothing, and Abu Dhabi's account has no corroboration.
OFAC designated five Iranian individuals and ten entities on 7 August, including exchanges in Tehran and Dubai and three published digital-asset addresses.
The United States Treasury designated five Iranian individuals and ten entities on 7 August. The list names Aban Tether Exchange in Tehran, Titan Exchange in Dubai, and digital-asset firms registered in Georgia and Poland. Treasury also published three crypto addresses for one Dubai-registered firm.
Treasury sanctioned two Iranian marine insurers on 30 July, pressure that only works if port states enforce it. A published wallet address blocks at every compliance desk immediately, wherever the counterparty sits.
Le Monde says Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a defence agreement in Mecca on 7 August treating an attack on one as an attack on all. No signatory has published the text.
FranceLe Monde reported on 10 August that Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a defence agreement in Mecca on 7 August. The paper says the text treats an armed attack on one signatory as an attack on all three.
No signatory has published any wording, and the report is an editorial rather than a document. Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish official channels carried nothing, so the mutual-defence clause is reported and not verified.
SABA reports at least 17 soldiers killed at Saudi-backed camps in eastern Yemen, and Kpler data shows tankers thinning out of the Bab el-Mandeb.
United States×2SABA (Yemen News Agency), the wire of the government in Aden, reported at least 17 soldiers killed at Saudi-backed camps in eastern Yemen. Kpler tracking data relayed by the Associated Press shows fewer tankers using the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
The Associated Press dates the escalation to 13 July, when a Saudi strike stopped a Mahan Air flight carrying Houthi officials at Sanaa airport. Shipping pushed out of The Gulf had been using that southern route.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on 10 August that he had met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei for about seven hours and found him in full health.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on 10 August that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is in full health. Pezeshkian described their meeting in Tehran as running about seven hours.
Israeli and Arab outlets reported in April that Khamenei had undergone three leg surgeries and suffered severe facial burns. Both accounts are attributed to named outlets and neither has been independently confirmed. Khamenei has not appeared on audio or video since taking office in March.
Sideways: Oman's route talks can reduce operational risk, but passage will not normalise unless the Supreme National Security Council changes the 8 August 2026 conditions or Washington changes its military, sanctions or asset position. A published Saudi-Pakistani-Turkish pact, if confirmed, would add a separate military decision point for Riyadh, Islamabad and Ankara.
