Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) at the White House for his first in-person talks with U.S. President Donald Trump since the Iran war began, as the leaders seek to patch over public disagreements on the conflict.
The meeting is the eighth between the leaders since Mr. Trump’s return to office in early 2025 and comes ahead of key electoral tests later this year for both Mr. Netanyahu and the U.S. president: national elections in Israel and midterm polls in the United States.
“We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, first and foremost Iran. Naturally, our goal is to safeguard our security and also to expand the circle of peace around us,” Netanyahu said before departing from Israel.
- AFP
OPEC+ is likely to pause its gradual oil output hikes after September for the rest of this year, four sources said, as the producer group needs to have additional talks before deciding its output quotas for 2027. The pause would mark the end of several months of output hikes, which have been largely on paper as the Iran war forced West Asia members to cut exports.
The debate over next year’s quotas may test the alliance’s cohesion, as some members seek higher targets and forecasters such as the International Energy Agency say supply may outpace demand.
- Reuters
The European Union on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) condemned an “aggression” this month by Iranian security services against two French diplomats in Tehran.
“The EU unequivocally condemns the aggression against two diplomats of the Embassy of France in Tehran perpetrated by Iranian security forces on July 19,” the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement.
“Such acts constitute a blatant violation of the Vienna Conventions and jeopardise the very conduct of diplomatic relations.”
France said the two diplomats suffered “an extremely serious act of intimidation” by Iranian security services, with one of them physically abused. Both were “detained for several hours without reason, interrogated, and one of them was physically abused” before they were able to return to the embassy, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a July 20 statement.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday (July 27, 2026) said it had summoned the French ambassador to protest the conduct of the diplomats.
A Ministry spokesman said the diplomats had “interfered in Iran’s internal affairs under the pretext of engaging with civil society”.
- AFP
Any company or country that receives Iranian frozen assets as compensation for its damaged vessels won’t be allowed to transit the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s joint military command said on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) according to state media.
The military command spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaqari rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning that ships damaged by Iran in the Gulf would be compensated using Iranian frozen funds.
- Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) said there have been good talks with Iran even as he reiterated his threats to target Pickaxe Mountain as well as bridges and power plants if a deal is not made with Tehran.
In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Trump said he wanted to avoid targeting Iran’s bridges and power plants if possible.
“It’s a very, very delicate balance. So I think we have a very strong position right now. They know I’m going to do that if they don’t make a deal,” Mr. Trump told the Fox and Friends program.
“We cannot have them break deals anymore.”
“We have had some very good talks,” Mr. Trump said of Iran. Mr. Trump is due to meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House later on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) after the two countries launched strikes against Iran in February.
Mr. Trump was asked about reports that Mr. Netanyahu plans to talk to him about work happening at a site linked to Iran’s nuclear programme known as Pickaxe Mountain, a fortified facility buried deep underground near one of Tehran’s main nuclear sites.
“I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi’s telling me that because he wants me to stay involved,” the Republican president said, referring to Mr. Netanyahu.
“I know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe. It’s not a big problem. We took out their nuclear sites, and we’ll have to take out Pickaxe if we don’t make a deal. We don’t make a deal, we’ll take it out very easily,” Mr. Trump said.
- Reuters
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that American warplanes used Israeli bases during their attacks on Iran, reiterating that his country was prepared to retaliate if targeted.
Fighting between the U.S. and Iran has been paused since Friday (July 24, 2026) after 13 nights of U.S. strikes on the Islamic republic, after an April ceasefire collapsed.
Israel has not taken part in the latest round of hostilities in the war that began in late February with a wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
“The fact is that, at the moment - and this could change within an hour - the Iranians are firing at everything in the region except one country: the State of Israel,” Mr. Katz told Israel’s right-wing Channel 14. “They know that American aircraft are taking off from here to carry out strikes,” he added.
“This does not mean we know what will happen tomorrow; it means we know what our response will be. I announced it, the Prime Minister announced it, and we made it absolutely clear: if Israel comes under fire, we will strike back with full force,” Mr. Katz said.
- AFP
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” underway 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.
- Reuters
Saudi Aramco shut down its 400,000 barrel per day Jazan oil refinery in Saudi Arabia on July 27 following an attack on Saturday, a note from consultancy IIR seen by Reuters showed.
The attack damaged the plant’s Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) complex and the tank farm area, the note said, adding that Aramco will tentatively complete repairs and restart the plant by August 15.
Aramco did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
- Reuters
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea should be considered as an assault on Iran itself and showed how important it was to eliminate what it said was the threat from Kyiv.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the Ukrainian attack, saying it resulted in an explosion that killed one sailor and injured another. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv had struck vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday accused Ukraine of widening the geographical scope of what he called its “terrorist attacks”.
- Reuters
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held separate phone calls on the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani and Saudi counterparts, Badr Al-Busaidi and Faisal bin Farhan, state TV said Tuesday (July 28).
During the calls, “they stressed the need to strengthen cooperation and advance joint diplomatic efforts to establish stability in the region and eliminate the insecurity imposed on the Strait of Hormuz due to the aggressive actions of the United States,” the state broadcaster added.
Iran has maintained control over the strait since the start of the West Asia war on February 28, disrupting shipping through the vital conduit.
- AFP
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday, with wars in Iran and Ukraine at critical stages and his ties with both leaders markedly different.
Relations with Zelenskiy have warmed as Ukraine has blunted Russian advances, while Netanyahu arrives amid growing White House frustration over the lack of progress toward a broader settlement in the Iran conflict and criticism from some of Trump’s supporters who oppose deeper U.S. involvement in West Asia.
- Reuters
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday is the first since the two leaders launched a joint war against Iran and a chance for Mr. Netanyahu to smooth out strains in their relationship.
The meeting comes as both face growing pressures at home. Mr. Netanyahu is up for reelection and is embattled in part because of his deteriorating relationship with Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war that has wreaked economic havoc and driven prices higher ahead of midterm elections this November.
The two leaders also plan to discuss the framework agreement the U.S. and Israel signed with Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah war and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the meeting.
- AP
Iran’s Foreign Minister discussed issues related to the security of the Strait of Hormuz in separate phone calls with his Saudi and Omani counterparts on Monday evening, according to a statement published on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.
The statement said Abbas Araqchi “discussed the latest bilateral and regional developments, and emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation and advance joint diplomatic efforts to establish stability in the region.”
The call between Mr. Araqchi and his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, came after Saudi Arabia said it shot down drones launched at the kingdom by Iran-affiliated groups in Iraq.
- Reuters
The Israeli military said on Tuesday (July 28) it intercepted a drone near the Jordanian border and was looking into its origin. “A short while ago, the Israeli Air Force intercepted a UAV in the area of the Jordan border,” the military said.
“The UAV did not cross into Israeli territory. The origin of the launch is under review.”
Jordan has been repeatedly targeted since war resumed between Iran and the United States earlier this month. Israel has not taken part in the latest round of fighting.
Separately, the Israeli military said early Tuesday that air sirens sounded in the area of Kissufim, next to the Gaza Strip, due to a “false identification”.
- AFP
Iran has executed two men over charges related to nationwide protests in January, the Judiciary’s Mizan News Agency reported on Tuesday.
Mizan identified the individuals as Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi and said they were charged with taking part in the killing of security force members.
- Reuters
Iran said on Monday (July 27, 2026) it was still in control of the Strait of Hormuz and not seeking to resume peace talks with the U.S. after President Donald Trump halted a two-week bombing campaign that his top brass told him had run its course.
Iran maintains control over the Strait of Hormuz, rejecting U.S. negotiation offers after Trump's halted bombing campaign.
The U.S. State Department confirmed Monday that the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held in Rome on August 4 through 6, as Israel prepares to withdraw from two “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani first announced the next round of U.S.-mediated talks last week, with a State Department official detailing the talks to AFP on the condition of anonymity.
“In Rome, technical groups will focus on advancing the full implementation of the framework agreement,” the official told AFP, adding that the planned discussion “includes expanding the pilot zone process, resolving all outstanding border issues, and working on a comprehensive peace and security agreement.”
-AFP
Oil prices fell 1% as market participants continued to weigh a pause in U.S. strikes on Iran, which has raised hope of a diplomatic solution to their conflict and the normalisation of Middle East energy flows.
Brent crude futures were down $0.54, or 0.6%, at $87.82 by 0046 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $81.95 a barrel, down $0.66, or 0.8%.
Both contracts fell 1% earlier in the session to their lowest level in more than a week.
-Reuters
Published - July 28, 2026 06:45 am IST