live Iran Demands Access To Qatar In Dispute Over Downed Pilots

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.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Organization (UKMTO) announced on August 6 that an oil tanker had reported several explosions while passing through the Strait of Hormuz near the coast of Oman.

This comes as officials from Iran's Foreign Affairs Ministry say they are in talks with Oman for joint management of the strategic waterway.

"The Master of a tanker has reported hearing two explosions while transiting in the Strait of Hormuz," the UKMTO said on X.

The incident occurred 9 nautical miles southeast of the Omani coast late on August 5.

The organization added that based on the report received, the crew and the ship are safe and no environmental damage has been reported.

Iran, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz on several occasions since the start of the US-Israeli war against it, has previously opened fire on ships that Tehran says did not pass through designated "authorized routes."

US President Donald Trump said on August 5 that he would prefer to reach a diplomatic agreement with Iran rather than launch further military action, while reiterating that Tehran must not acquire nuclear weapons.

Speaking in Las Vegas, Trump said: "We're either going to make a deal or we're going to finish the job. And it won't be tough to finish the job. I'd rather make a deal, because I don't want to affect 91 million people."

Trump also claimed Iran had sought talks after the United States was on the verge of carrying out what he described as a much larger military strike, saying continued military pressure had brought Tehran back to the negotiating table.

The remarks came as the Trump administration said it would continue negotiations with Iran, with discussions including the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan coalition in the US Senate is working to keep momentum behind a sweeping sanctions package targeting Russia and Iran, with lawmakers from both parties arguing that the legislation would send a broader message about American resolve against authoritarian powers.

Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the unusually broad support for the measure reflects a growing recognition in Congress that Russia's war against Ukraine is not simply a regional conflict but a test of the international order.

The Senate advanced the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in a key procedural vote last week, with Curtis serving in the presiding chair during the vote. Speaking with RFE/RL on August 5, he said the level of bipartisan backing was significant.

"It's not very often that you see things here in the Senate that are that overwhelmingly bipartisan," Curtis said. "And when you see that many of my colleagues on both sides come together, you should pay attention because that means we're serious and something's going to happen."

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

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband met in Washington on August 5 and emphasized their countries' commitment to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and preventing Iran from ever acquiring or developing a nuclear weapon.

According to a statement from the US State Department, the two sides also discussed the importance of Europe playing a greater role in ensuring the security of the vital waterway.

The development came as Iranian officials said Tehran was close to reaching a deal with Oman to establish a safe route through the Strait of Hormuz, while warning against "third-party" intervention in the negotiations.

The continued disruption of traffic through the strait has been a major source of tension in the war between the United States and Iran and has complicated diplomatic efforts to end the wider conflict in the Middle East.

Reports from Iran indicate that the cost of electricity consumption in July this year increased three to four times compared to the previous month.

Iranian media said a family who received a bill of around 300,000 tomans in June were faced with a bill of 800,000 tomans in July.

A spokesman for the electricity industry, Mustafa Rajabi-Mashadi, responded by saying that "there was no sudden increase in tariffs, and the heavy bills are mainly due to subscribers going beyond their consumption patterns."

According to Rajabi-Mashadi, the "consumption pattern" is determined based on the consumption of 75 percent of subscribers in each region, and subscribers who consume less than this pattern benefit from subsidies and receive rewards for efficient consumption.

The increase in electricity costs comes at a time when temperatures are extremely high in many parts of Iran. At the same time, Iranian citizens are facing sharp increases in the prices of essential goods and services due to the consequences of the war and rising inflation.

Iran and Oman made progress on August 5 in talks on a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, agreeing on the route's geographical coordinates, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said.

Tehran and Muscat have been in talks for the past couple of months, discussing various aspects of the proposed route, Baqaei said, adding that the two countries have nearly finalized a joint announcement, "provided that certain third parties do not obstruct the process."

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump said the vital waterway would be reopened "soon," threatening to hit Iran "very hard" if Tehran refuses to negotiate its reopening. "They understand that. I have no choice," he added.

Speaking to Fox News, Trump also said that "very good discussions" were underway with Iranian authorities. However, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that, according to the country's Foreign Ministry, no talks had been held between Washington and Tehran in recent days.

However, Baqaei said any agreement between Iran and Oman on a safe route through the Strait of Hormuz would not, by itself, guarantee security there.

The effective closure of the strait has long been one of the central issues in the war between the United States and Iran and one of the main obstacles to a negotiated settlement aimed at ending the broader conflict in the Middle East.

From the early days of the war, Tehran kept access to the waterway restricted, disrupting global oil markets and sending prices soaring.

In the following months, it also sought to impose a toll on vessels passing through the Strait, a move that the United States described as unacceptable.

With reporting by Reuters and Fox News.

The United States has lifted sanctions imposed on the Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad (FBA). The company had previously been placed on the sanctions list due to suspected ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

According to an August 5 update on the US Treasury Department's website, sanctions on Fly Baghdad and two of its aircraft have been lifted, but sanctions on Bashir Abdulkadhim Alwan Al-Shabani, who was previously identified as the owner of the company, remain in place.

In January 2024, Washington sanctioned the company, its aircraft, and its owner, saying it was assisting the IRGC's Quds Force and its proxy groups in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.

A US Treasury official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that the company had been removed from the sanctions list after going through an administrative review process.

"FBA has demonstrated major changes to their operations such that their listing is no longer warranted," the official said. "This is not indicative of any shift in US policy toward the Government of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, any designated terrorist organization, or any person who supports or acts on behalf of any of these.

"Today’s removal was done as part of the normal administrative process upon review of the specifics related to FBA."