Middle East crisis live: Iran denies Trump’s claims that talks due to take place

Crude oil prices fell sharply and European stock markets rallied on Monday after Donald Trump cancelled planned strikes on Iran to focus on negotiations for a peace deal.

Brent crude was trading ۵% lower at $۸۳.۵۰ a barrel by mid-morning, after falling as low as $۸۱.۵۵ a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate dropped more than $۵ to $۷۹.۴۷ a barrel.

Both global oil benchmarks jumped more than ۲۰% in July after fighting between the US and Iran resumed, and as attacks on several tankers in the strait of Hormuz revived fears for the safety of vessels transiting the important shipping passage.

Michel Issa, the US ambassador to Lebanon, said on Monday that he was “encouraged” that the US-brokered peace talks between Israel and Lebanon are ongoing in Rome.

“A great deal of technical work remains to ensure civilian safety on the ground. There is a meaningful difference between drafting an agreement on paper and implementing it responsibly — moving too quickly risks jeopardizing the very civilians this process is meant to protect,” Issa said in a statement.

The ambassador continued: “We believe it is better to take the time needed to get this right the first time. Doing so will allow subsequent pilot zones to move forward more efficiently. Above all, both sides must agree on a clear, workable process before proceeding.”

CNN reports that an officer in the intelligence branch of the US Central Command sent a message to a broad group of military analysts “looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran”.

The email went out on Wednesday, before Donald Trump threatened to launch new strikes against Iran and then backed down after speaking on the phone to the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Iranian state media is reporting that Iran executed two people on Monday on charges of espionage and ⁠cooperation with Israel, according to Reuters.

Omid Behzad and ⁠Pouria Safvat were accused ⁠of sending ​Israel the coordinates of military and security sites in addition to images and information in the latest conflict that began ۲۸ February as well as during the brief war last summer, judiciary news outlet Mizan reported.

A source briefed ‌on Israel’s military strategy told Reuters in March that Israel targeted checkpoints manned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during the current conflict based on intelligence from informants on the ground.

Iran has executed at least ۵۰ p[eople in the past four months on vague national security charges, including several ۱۸- and ۱۹-year-olds, Human Rights Watch reported last month. In January, Iranian authorities quelled a period of nationwide ⁠unrest by killing thousands of protesters.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reports that Israeli forces dropped phosphorus shells overnight in the towns of Yaroun and Haroun and the city of Bint Jbeil, sparking fires in olive and pine groves.

International humanitarian law currently restricts the usage of white phosphorus, given its incendiary nature, according to Amnesty International. Though it can be used lawfully, it must never be fired at, or in close proximity to, a populated civilian area or civilian infrastructure.

The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In addition to the phosphorus shells, Israeli forces also conducted an airstrike just after ۱ a.m. local time Monday on the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, according to the National News agency.

An Israeli drone also dropped a sound bomb on Bouyout al-Sayyad, the news agency reported.

Two ⁠tankers laden with ​Saudi oil crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait over the weekend, data collected by Reuters showed on Monday, despite the maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia declared by the Iran-aligned Houthis at the end of last month.

Kpler data showed that ۱۸ commodity vessels total passed the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Sunday, down from the ۲۷ that passed on Saturday and the ۲۸ on Friday.

Two tankers – the Suezmax tanker Lesvos, carrying ۱ million barrels of Saudi crude. and Very Large Crude Carrier Desh Vaibhav, ۱ million barrels of Saudi crude – exited the Red Sea with ‌their automatic identification systems (AIS) transponders switched off, the data showed.

The Houthis of Yemen, who control the capital Sana’a and much of its Red Sea coastline, announced on ۲۰ July that they were implementing a blockade against Saudi ships, opening a new front against the US and its allies in the war on Iran. They have since claimed to have been behind a number of strikes on Saudi tankers.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Middle East.

Esmaeil Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, told reporters at a weekly press briefing on Monday that Iran is not currently holding any talks with the US, Reuters reports – contradicting claims made by Donald Trump on Sunday night that talks with Iran would happen the next day.

Baghaei said that there were no plans to receive a delegation or send an Iranian one, and that Iran’s current focus was on negotiations with Oman over the strait of Hormuz.

“We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides – neither the northern route nor the southern route – but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security,” he said in an interview with Iranian state television.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he decided to hold off on ordering American forces to carry out new strikes against Iran at the urging of Gulf allies Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, including a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“I said to the crown prince, ‘What would you rather do? Would you rather us do this or not?’” Trump said. “They said we would much prefer a deal as opposed to an attack, because you don’t know where these attacks lead.”