Washington launched its renewed bombing campaign earlier this month to break Iran’s grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war

International News via Reuters:

Oman has won backing from Gulf states for a plan that would let Tehran collect voluntary fees to use the Strait of Hormuz, a Gulf source told Reuters on Tuesday, a path towards ending the disruption to oil trade caused by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

President Donald Trump, who abruptly called off a two-week U.S. bombing campaign over the weekend in his latest strategic U-turn, said there were “good talks” under way with Iran but threatened to restart strikes unless negotiations deliver. Iran denies seeking to resume talks with the United States.

Washington launched its renewed bombing campaign earlier this month to break Iran’s grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the war.

Iran effectively shut the strait to ships other than its own after the United States and Israel attacked on February 28. A deal last month between the United States and Iran partially reopened it, but the agreement collapsed in early July after Iran fired on ships using a channel it does not approve.

Iran has said it wants to manage the strait alongside Oman which controls the opposite shore, and charge service fees to ships that use it. Washington wants to return to the status quo prior to the war, when ships were able to pass freely with no payments, and says charging mandatory fees would be illegal.

Under the Omani proposal, Iran would not exercise sole control and fees would be voluntary, a source told Reuters. The system would be analogous to one in place on Asia’s Strait of Malacca, where Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore ask ships to pay voluntary contributions to fund navigation, environmental protection and search-and-rescue operations.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi discussed the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani and Saudi counterparts on Monday and stressed the need for regional cooperation, an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement said.

TRUMP WARNS OF MORE STRIKES

Trump called off his latest campaign of air strikes after receiving advice from military commanders that the strategy had run its course. The 13 nights of renewed U.S. bombing killed scores in Iran and destroyed bridges and tunnels across the south as well as military targets.

Iran had responded with attacks on U.S. bases in neighbouring countries that killed four service members, and strikes on civil infrastructure in Gulf states that it said was retaliation for U.S. strikes on civilian targets.

Iran has said it would hold fire as long as Washington does. But drone attacks were reported in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and northern Iran on Monday, and Jordan reported another drone being downed on Tuesday.

Speaking on Monday, Trump expressed optimism for a deal to end the five-month conflict, while warning that U.S. strikes would resume if negotiations failed to deliver.

“I think there’s a good chance that something could happen, and if it does, good, if it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.”

Iran says it has not sought any new negotiations with the United States, which it accuses of violating the agreement reached last month on a framework for talks to end the war.

The U.S. president is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Tuesday. Although Israel was involved in the initial bombing campaign, it has not been part of subsequent peace talks, and recent relations between the two leaders have been strained.

Trump has had to rein in the Israeli leader from attacking targets in Lebanon to try to weaken Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, complicating peace talks with Tehran.

The end of the U.S. bombing campaign over the weekend sent oil prices tumbling by around 8% on Monday, and the fall continued on Tuesday. Brent crude futures were down more than 2.5% at around $86 a barrel by mid-morning on Tuesday. 

Washington and Tehran reached an agreement in June on a framework for talks meant to take place by the end of August to resolve major issues such as Iran’s nuclear programme.

But they have disputed the meaning of the memorandum’s language about the strait, with Washington insisting it requires Tehran to allow free travel, while Iran says it grants it the authority to supervise transit.

Reporting by Timour Azhari and Parisa HafeziWriting by Sharon SingletonEditing by Peter Graff

Speaking to reporters at her office in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the number of casualties and extent of the damage in the area – which was devastated by a tremblor a decade ago – were still being assessed

International News via Reuters:

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of homes, rupturing roads and injuring at least 50 people, including some trapped inside a partially collapsed shopping mall.

Speaking to reporters at her office in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the number of casualties and extent of the damage in the area – which was devastated by a tremblor a decade ago – were still being assessed.

“We have already been informed that people have been injured. Power outages and fires have occurred in some areas, and there has also been damage to roads and bridges and the collapse of buildings,” Takaichi said.

“I ask everyone to take action to protect themselves, including evacuating to a safe location.”

‘LIKE VOLCANIC ASH WAS FALLING’

One hospital had reported more than 50 injuries, public broadcaster NHK said. Several people on a high-speed train at the time of the quake were also injured, Nikkei newspaper said.

Multiple people were trapped inside an Aeon shopping mall rocked by an explosion that occurred after the earthquake, emergency services said.

An Aeon spokesperson said customers and employees were evacuated right after the initial quake and that the exact cause of the ensuing explosion was unclear.

Kazuya Tsurunaga told broadcaster TBS he heard the explosion while cleaning up dishes broken by the earthquake inside a pub about 300 metres from the Aeon mall.

“It was a huge impact,” he said. “A large cloud of smoke billowed up, and because the wind happened to be blowing and the wind direction was towards the shop, the area around us was in a state like volcanic ash was falling.”

BUILDINGS ON FIRE

Several other buildings were also on fire or partially collapsed, according to footage from NHK, while large cracks appeared on major roads, including an elevated highway. Rail services were halted and flights grounded.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, evacuated workers from its plant in the area as a precaution, a spokesperson for the firm said.

Sony and Fujifilm also evacuated staff from their plants in the area, Nikkei newspaper reported. A Sony spokesperson earlier said it was checking the situation.

Around 300,000 people have been instructed to go to evacuation centres, the disaster management agency said. The quake’s epicentre was about 20 kilometres south of Kumamoto, central Kyushu island’s largest city with a population of around 700,000.

Residents in the areas that felt the biggest tremors must beware of further strong quakes for about a week, as well as the risk of landslides, an official for the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

TSUNAMI WARNING LIFTED

Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, with a tremor occurring at least every five minutes.

Located along the “Ring of Fire” of volcanoes and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin, Japan accounts for about 20% of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or more. 

A tsunami warning was issued immediately after Tuesday’s quake, but was later lifted.

Kyushu Electric Power said 48,000 homes had lost power as a result of the latest quake, while railway company JR Kyushu said that it had suspended services, including its high-speed bullet trains. Kumamoto airport also shut its runway, as airlines diverted and cancelled flights.

Telecoms operators KDDI and Docomo said there was disruption to their mobile phone services due to power shortages and transmission-line failures.

There were no irregularities reported at the nuclear power stations in the area, Japan’s nuclear regulation authority said.

A massive earthquake in Kumamoto 10 years ago killed 275 people and injured a further 2,739, according to an official count, and damaged thousands of buildings including the city’s castle, a top tourist site.

Some portions of the stone walls at the castle also collapsed as a result of Tuesday’s quake, an official at the castle’s office said.

Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Anton Bridge, Kantaro Komiya, Mariko Katsumura, Hina Suzuki and Tim Kelly; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Alex Richardson

Temperatures in Bordeaux are forecast to reach 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, around 7 degrees above the average high between 1961 and 1990

International News via Reuters:

France was bracing for its fourth major heatwave of the year on Tuesday, as soaring temperatures and tinder-dry conditions across the southwest piled pressure on crews battling a giant wildfire in the Bordeaux region.

Temperatures in Bordeaux are forecast to reach 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, around 7 degrees above the average high between 1961 and 1990, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.

“The situation we are dealing with today is the most severe we have ever recorded, the toughest since the Second World War,” President Emmanuel Macron, who flew to the area, said on Monday evening.

Fire crews had contained the blaze overnight, but the situation remained difficult, Nathalie Delattre, Senator for Gironde which covers the city of Bordeaux, said.

“Everything will depend on how the firefighters on the ground get on,” she told BFM TV on Tuesday.

France is going through an unprecedented wildfire season. The area burned has already surpassed the previous record year of 2022.

The Landes area, southwest of Bordeaux, is covered by pine forests, which become highly flammable when dry. The fire has burned down 42,000 hectares so far.

Authorities have evacuated about 220,000 people, including holidaymakers and local residents.

In the area of Biscarrosse, a town about 40 km south, which was hit by another wildfire last week, the situation has improved and some 15,000 evacuated people were gradually allowed back home in the town and a campsite nearby, the local administration said on X.

“However, (the favourable) development does not mean the risk has been eliminated. Flare-ups remain possible, particularly due to weather conditions (wind, drought, etc.),” it said.

Temperatures were set to increase in the region from the afternoon and peak at 37 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, weather office Meteo France said.

Reporting by Yves Herman, Manuel Ausloos, Inti Landauro, Sarah Meysonnier; Editing by Andrew Heavens