live UN 'Alarmed' By Rise In Executions And Death Sentences In Iran

Iran's Bank of Industry and Mines has frozen the bank accounts of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) over outstanding debts.

According to the Fars news agency, the move comes despite the country's budget law, which defers the NIOC's debt repayments until the end of the current fiscal year in Iran

The dispute follows an earlier complaint by NIOC's deputy for tax affairs, who told the Tasnim news agency that the Iranian Tax Administration had imposed penalties on all of the company's transactions and sales.

The official said the fine amounted to 287 trillion tomans ($1.7 billion), adding: "Because this amount was not included in the budget of the NIOC, which is a state-owned enterprise, it is simply impossible to pay."

The official also said that "under higher-level government directives, the NIOC's exports are not subject to public disclosure, yet the Tax Administration imposed the penalties without taking these factors into account."

The news website Emtedad, referring to the freezing of NIOC's bank accounts, criticized the decision, writing that while the world's major oil companies are turning geopolitical crises into unprecedented profits and adding billions of dollars to their balance sheets, Iran's largest oil company is struggling with financial constraints and frozen bank accounts.

Iran's oil and gas sector remains subject to extensive international sanctions over the Tehran's nuclear program, development of ballistic missiles, and support for proxy groups across the Middle East.

An Iranian official said that Tehran rejects the "US-imposed" southern corridor through the Strait of Hormuz.

Hassan Qashqavi, spokesman for the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said the United States had sought to impose the southern corridor through "pressure and threats" and "in violation of Clause 5 of the 14-point Islamabad memorandum of understanding."

According to Mizan news agency, which is run by Iran's judiciary, Qashqavi added that the corridor "would not serve Iran's national security and national interests" and that Tehran had therefore explicitly conveyed its opposition to the Omani side.

Iran has said only Tehran and Muscat have the right to determine the structure and management of the strategically important international waterway. However, Iran has repeatedly attacked ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz near Omani waters with Oman's permission.

Qashqavi also said that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz "will not return to pre-war conditions."

His remarks come as the administration of US President Donald Trump said an agreement to reopen the strategic waterway could be finalized by August 5.

Trump has warned that if Iran refuses to reach an agreement, the country will suffer "heavy blows."

US Treasury Secretary Scott ‌Bessent said on August 4 that a deal with Iran on opening the Strait of Hormuz is near.

"We are in talks with the Iranians, and I ‌think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the ‌Strait and move towards a more ‌normalized position in this conflict," ‌Bessent in a live interview on CNBC.

The United Kingdom's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said it had received a report of an incident 9 nautical miles northwest of Al Mokha on the Red Sea coast, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

According to the report, a drone struck the vessel, causing a fire on board. UKMTO added that the crew of the oil tanker had been safely evacuated.

The report said the vessel later sank in the area off the coast of Yemen.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk expressed alarm over Iran's surge in executions and death sentences since March, urging the authorities to immediately halt all executions and move toward the abolition of the death penalty.

Since March 19, at least 56 people have been executed on national security-related charges, including 27 individuals in cases linked to protests earlier this year, Turk said in a media statement on August 5. He added that more than 100 others are at risk of execution on similar charges.

Iran's persistent lack of fair trials and due process, including torture-induced confessions, public and rushed executions, and death sentences issued after brief closed-door hearings, is deeply troubling, the UN human rights chief said.

"The death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and irreconcilable with human dignity. Such punishment has no place in our world," Turk concluded.

US President Donald Trump said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached "tomorrow or the next day," adding that progress has been made in the negotiations.

Trump's comments came after Axios reported, citing sources, that the United States, Iran, and Oman are close to reaching an interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil trade usually passes, with an announcement reportedly planned for August 5.

"They called me and they said, 'Please, let's talk.' They want to talk," Trump said, referring to the Iranian side.

"They want to make a deal. They do not want to be hit," Trump told reporters before departing from Los Angeles aboard Air Force One for Las Vegas.

He also described the latest round of negotiations positively, saying, "They had a very good day. The negotiations were good."

US Treasury Secretary Scott ‌Bessent says a deal with Iran on opening the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy shipping lane, is near.

"We are in talks with the Iranians, and I ‌think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the ‌Strait and move towards a more ‌normalized position in this conflict," US Treasury Secretary Scott ‌Bessent in live interview on CNBC on August 4. He gave no further details.

Talks to end the conflict between the United States and Iran in recent weeks have focused on the free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

More than 20 percent of the world's oil and gas supplies moved through the strait prewar, but Iran has at times effectively shut down the waterway, including with attacks on ships it said had not received proper approval from Tehran. Iran has also threatened to impose fees or tolls on ships in the strait.

The United States and other countries have insisted the strait is an international waterway and is not under the control of any nation.

Washington reimposed a naval blockade on Iran in the strait following the collapse of a US-Iran truce signed in June.

Saudi oil giant Aramco announced on August 4 that its net profit rose 44 percent in the second quarter of the year, as energy prices increased amid the conflict in the Middle East.

According to the company's financial results, Aramco's net profit reached 122.6 billion Saudi riyals ($32.7 billion) between April and June, up from 85 billion riyals during the same period last year.

Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said the company had been able to maintain operations despite an unprecedented disruption to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz by relying on its East-West pipeline, storage capacity, and export terminals.

The announcement came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized major oil companies for profiting from higher energy prices caused by the Middle East conflict, saying they were making "too much money" and urging them to lower prices.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian said in a video published by several Iranian news agencies that he has no intention of resigning, dismissing weeks of speculation about his political future.

In the video, Pezeshkian said that if he ever decided to step down, he would announce it officially.

"For now, I will stand firm," he said.

He also rejected speculation of a rift between himself and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, saying: "They want to create the impression that there is a disagreement. The leader says one thing, and they claim I say something else."

The video, titled Report to the People, is expected to be released in full in the coming days.

Since the reported killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes on February 28 and the announcement of his son as his successor, unconfirmed reports have circulated that Pezeshkian was preparing to resign.

More recently, Mohammad Baqer Kharazi, secretary-general of the Hezbollah Iran party and the brother-in-law of Masud Khamenei, another of Ali Khamenei's sons, claimed Mojtaba Khamenei had "officially and publicly warned" that if Pezeshkian submitted another resignation, it would be accepted.

Kharazi did not say when or to whom the supreme leader had allegedly made the warning.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since being announced as his father's successor. Apart from several written statements attributed to him, no verified video or audio recordings of him have been released.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre said a cargo vessel has been struck by an "unknown projectile" in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman.

Issuing a warning about the incident, which was reported at 10 p.m. UTC on August 3, the monitor said "UKMTO has received a report of an incident 20NM northeast of Al Khasab, Oman. A cargo vessel has broadcasted on VHF 16 that they have been hit by an unknown projectile."

It added that authorities are investigating the attack.

Meanwhile, Kpler data shows that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains remarkably slow, with only six vessels, including three tankers and three bulk carriers, passing through the strait on August 3, down from seven the previous day.

We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.