live Trump Says War With Iran Will End 'Pretty Soon'

As regional security tensions continue to mount amid the protracted conflict between Iran and the United States, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey came together on August 7 to sign a joint defense agreement in order to "strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression."

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement stipulates that "any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all," said Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on August 7.

Signed by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Saudi city of Mecca, the trilateral pact comes at a time of growing uncertainty in the Middle East, with no immediate end in sight to the confrontation between Tehran and Washington.

The agreement reflects the shared commitment of the three states to further strengthen their collective security and to "promote peace, security and stability in the region and beyond in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future," the ministry said in a statement.

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Despite the halt in reciprocal attacks by the United States and Iran, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted, business intelligence firm Kpler announced.

According to data released by Kpler on August 7, only eight ships passed through the strait on August 6.

Last week, an average of about 13 ships a day passed through the strait between the coasts of Iran and Oman. Before the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28, that figure was more than 100 per day.

The temporary framework agreement between Iran and the United States signed on June 17 brought a period of relative calm to the region. But since the collapse of that agreement and the resumption of blockades, dry cargo ship traffic has almost halved.

The new US naval blockade has also had a severe impact on Iran. Shipping data analytics firm Windward reported, based on satellite imagery, that it has been a while stankers have docked at Kharg Island, the main hub for Iranian oil exports.

Iran and the United States have recently spoken of being close to reaching an agreement on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has announced that it is in direct talks with neighboring Oman.

The Federation of German Industries (BDI) says the war in Iran has dealt a blow to the global economic outlook, triggering what it described as a stagflationary shock.

In its latest global growth outlook, published on August 7, the BDI forecasts global economic growth of 3 percent this year.

BDI says the US economy is expected to grow by 2 percent, supported by the boom in artificial intelligence, while China's economy was forecast to expand by 4.6 percent.

Growth in the euro area is expected to slow to 0.8 percent, while Germany's economy is forecast to grow by 0.6 percent, according to the BDI.

The BDI warned that the war and its impact on energy prices and global trade were weighing on the economic outlook. Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have added to pressure on the global economy.

The United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28. The conflict has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for global oil and gas shipments.

The BDI's outlook comes as Iran and the United States seek arrangements to restore shipping through the strait, with Oman playing a role in the process.

For Germany, Europe's largest economy, the BDI forecasts growth of 0.6 percent this year, while the euro-area economy is expected to expand by 0.8 percent.

US President Donald Trump said on August 6 that he believed the war with Iran would end soon, while saying negotiations were continuing over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he believed Iran could not sustain the conflict much longer.

“I think it’s going to end pretty soon. I don’t think they can go much longer,” Trump said, referring to Iran.

Trump's comments came as Iran and Oman were working on a proposed agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although key details remained unresolved. Reuters reported on August 5 that the proposed arrangement could give Iran control over inbound maritime traffic through the strait, while issues including fees and the management of outbound traffic remained under discussion.

The United States has promoted a southern shipping route through Omani waters as an alternative route through the strait. The route was established after the central channel was considered unsafe because of reported naval mines.

The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, and the conflict has continued for more than five months. Iran has repeatedly attacked commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, including vessels using the southern route through Omani waters.

Trump also acknowledged that the US military was experiencing shortages of some types of ammunition.

Asked about the status of US munitions stockpiles, Trump said some weapons were available in almost unlimited quantities but that supplies of others were more constrained.

“We have certain types of munitions that are very powerful, that we have unlimited, virtual unlimited supply. We have others where it’s a little bit tighter,” Trump said.

Trump said US defense companies were building additional production facilities, including plants for Patriot and Tomahawk missiles.

His comments followed a Reuters report published on August 4 that the US Army had used up much of its global stockpile of highly accurate, long-range missiles during war with Iran. The missiles include Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, and Precision Strike Missiles, or PrSMs. Two sources told Reuters the military had used “virtually all” of those weapons.

Oil prices jumped again on August 6, continuing their volatile trend, while global stock markets faltered and investors evaluated corporate earnings reports.

As traders awaited developments related to the Strait of Hormuz, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil rose 3 percent to around $82, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.3 percent to near $77.

"The rise in oil prices has capped some of the optimism at the start of the week. But prices are still well below where they were a week ago, and that provides some positive momentum as we enter the second week of August," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at trading platform IG.

Kathleen Brooks, director of research at trading firm XTB, also said: "Today's caution in the oil market shows that the market needs confirmation from the White House that all of this is real and that the prospect of reaching an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is not a fleeting mirage."

Kuwait has ordered the closure of an Iranian-funded school in the small Persian Gulf nation, according to state media.

Iran has fired thousands of ballistic missiles and combat drones at US allies in the Persian Gulf, including Kuwait, during the five-month war with the United States.

Iran has accused the Gulf states, many of which house US military bases, of aiding the American war effort, an allegation they deny.

Kuwait’s Education Minister Seyyed Jalal Tabatabaei on August 6 revoked the Iranian school’s license and ordered its closure, reported Kuwait's state news agency, KUNA. Authorities did not disclose the reason for the decision.

The school is one of the largest Iranian-funded education institutions abroad. Around 1,600 students were enrolled at the school, according to Iran’s Embassy in Kuwait City.

In March, the United Arab Emirates cracked down on Iranian-linked institutions in the country, closing a social club and several schools.

Authorities also closed the Iranian Hospital, a state-affiliated health facility in Dubai. Employing around 700 people and run by the Iranian Red Crescent Society, the hospital was one of the oldest health facilities in the country.

UN experts have urged Iran to end what they say is the escalating arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and execution of members of ethnic minorities in the country.

In a statement issued on August 6, the UN experts said the plight of ethnic minorities has worsened since mass anti-government protests in January that posed the most serious threat to Iran’s clerical rulers in decades.

During the demonstrations, the authorities killed thousands of people and detained thousands of others, many of whom were subjected to torture, according to human rights groups.

Western Iran, home to the Kurdish and Azeri minorities, were the scene of some of the biggest protests and harshest government crackdowns.

The Islamic republic has long been accused of suppressing and discriminating against the country’s ethnic minorities.

“Reports point to a significant increase in arbitrary arrests, and what appears to be politically motivated sentences, including against individuals from ethnic minorities, who are often arrested under broadly defined national security charges,” the UN experts said.

In 2026, at least 24 members of the Baluch minority and 22 members of the Kurdish minority have been executed, and dozens more are at imminent risk of execution, the experts said.

The UN experts said a 2025 law broadening the definition of espionage and other national security offences, including enmity against God, spreading corruption on earth, and armed rebellion against the Islamic republic have been used, specially against the Kurds, “as a tool to repress dissent,” said the experts.

The Kurds make up about 10 percent of Iran's 88-million population.

Iran executed at least 71 people in July, including six who took part in mass anti-government protests at the turn of the year, according to Iran Human Rights (IHR), an NGO based in Norway.

In a report issued on August 6, IHR said that figure brings the total number of executions recorded in the first seven months of this year to at least 444. Hundred more, the NGO said, are currently facing the death penalty.

Iran has witnessed a surge in executions of what human rights groups consider political prisoners -- from demonstrators to alleged members of banned groups and those convicted of spying -- since the start of the war with the United States and Israel on February 28.

Activists say the rise in executions is an attempt by the authorities to create fear among Iranians and prevent a repeat of the nationwide demonstrations that rattled the country’s clerical rulers in January.

“We are deeply concerned that the ongoing military conflict between the Islamic republic, the United States and Israel will be used to intensify executions under the pretext of national security,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of IHR.

“The international community must respond with stronger and more coordinated pressure against the Islamic republic’s use of the death penalty.”

The United States has sent Montenegro a request for the extradition of an Iranian citizen, Amir Barati, who is accused of participating in major cyberattacks, RFE/RL has learned.

Following his arrest by local police and the FBI in Kotor, Montenegro, earlier this summer, Podgorica received a request from the competent US authorities on July 15 to extradite Barati, the Montenegrin Justice Ministry confirmed to RFE/RL's Balkan Service.

Barati is accused of participating in cyberattacks that caused more than $3.5 billion in damages, with the proceeds allegedly benefiting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

The charges against him include attacks on at least 150 US universities, as well as the theft of confidential data and intellectual property.

According to Montenegrin police, Barati holds dual Iranian and Turkish citizenship.

He was not named in any previously published US cybercrime indictments. The US Embassy in Podgorica told RFE/RL that it could not share any details about the case.

Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh, two former members of the Iranian women's national soccer team who sought refuge in Australia at the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran and during the Asian Cup, have been granted Australian citizenship.

After Iranian national team players were accused of "treason" for not singing the national anthem in their first game, which coincided with the first days of the war, several members of the team decided to stay in Australia.

As pressure on these players increased and following reports of their families in Iran being harassed, most of them returned to Iran, but Pasandideh and Ramezanizadeh remained in Australia.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke offered the two players humanitarian visas in March, and they officially became Australian citizens on August 5 at a citizenship ceremony in Brisbane.